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MODERN 


BRITISH   ESSAYISTS. 


VOL.  III. 


REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH 


PHILADELPHIA: 

CAREY    AND    HART. 

1846. 


THE 


V 


^ 


^^    ^>r 


>"'. 


A 


J''-'OiunL      ^'^ 


WOEKS 


OF 


THE  REY.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


THREE  VOLUMES, 


COMPLETE     IN      ONE. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
CAREY    AND     HART. 

STEREOTYPED    BY   L.    JOHNSON. 

1845. 


Printed  by  T.  K.  &  P.  G.  Collins. 
Stpreotyped  by  L.  Johnson  &  Co..  Philadelphia. 


PREFACE. 


When  first  I  went  into  the  Church,  I  had  a  curacy  in  the  middle  of 
Salisbury  Plain.  The  Squire  of  the  parish  took  a  fancy  to  me,  and  requested 
me  to  go  with  his  son  to  reside  at  the  University  of  Weimar;  before  we 
could  get  there,  Germany  became  the  seat  of  war,  and  in  stress  of  politics 
we  put  into  Edinburgh,  where  I  remained  five  years.  The  principles  of 
the  French  Revolution  were  then  fully  afloat,  and  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive a  more  violent  and  agitated  state  of  society.  Among  the  first  persons 
with  whom  I  became  acquainted  were.  Lord  Jeffrey,  Lord  Murray  (late 
Lord  Advocate  for  Scotland),  and  Lord  Brougham ;  all  of  them  maintaining 
opinions  upon  political  subjects  a  little  too  liberal  for  the  dynasty  of  Dundas, 
then   exercising  supreme   power   over  the   northern   division   of  the   island. 

One  day  we  happened  to  meet  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  story  or  flat  in 
Buccleugh-place,  the  elevated  residence  of  the  then  Mr.  Jeffrey.  I  proposed 
that  we  should  set  up  a  Review;  this  was  acceded  to  with  acclamation. 
I  was  appointed  Editor,  and  remained  long  enough  in  Edinburgh  to  edit 
the  first  number  of  the  Edinburgh  Review.  The  motto  I  proposed  for  the 
Review   was, 

"  Tenui   musam   meditamur  avena." 
"  We  cultivate   literature  upon  a  little   oatmeal." 

But  this  was  too  near  the  truth  to  be  admitted,  and  so  we  took  our  present 
grave  motto  from  Publius  Syrus,  of  whom  none  of  us  had,  I  am  sure, 
ever  read  a  single  line;  and  so  began  what  has  since  turned  out  to  be 
a  very  important  and  able  journal.  When  I  left  Edinburgh,  it  fell  into 
the  stronger  hands  of  Lord  Jefl^rey  and  Lord  Brougham,  and  reached  the 
highest  point  of  popularity  and  success.  I  contributed  from  England  many 
articles,  which  I  have  been  foolish  enough  to  collect  and  publish  with  some 
other  tracts   written   by  me. 

To  appreciate  the  value  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  the  state  of  England 
at  the  period  when  that  journal  began  should  be  had  in  remembrance. 
The  Catholics  were  not  emancipated — the  Corporation  and  Test  Acts  were 
unrepealed — the  Game  Laws  were  horribly  oppressive — Steel  Traps  and  Spring 


4  PREFACE. 

Guns  were  set  all  over  the  country — Prisoners  tried  for  their  Lives  could 
have  no  Counsel — Lord  Eldon  and  the  Court  of  Chancery  pressed  heavily 
upon  mankind — Libel  was  punished  by  the  most  cruel  and  vindictive  im- 
prisonments— the  principles  of  Political  Economy  were  little  understood — 
the  Law  of  Debt  and  of  Conspiracy  were  upon  the  worst  possible  footing — 
the  enormous  wickedness  of  the  Slave  Trade  was  tolerated — a  thousand  evils 
were  in  existence,  which  the  talents  of  good  and  able  men  have  since 
lessened  or  removed;  and  these  effects  have  been  not  a  little  assisted  by 
the   honest    boldness   of  the   Edinburgh   Review. 

I  see  very  little  in  my  Reviews  to  alter  or  repent  of:  I  always  endea- 
voured to  fight  against  evil;  and  what  I  thought  evil  then,  I  think  evil 
now.  I  am  heartily  glad  that  all  our  disqualifying  laws  for  religious  opinions 
are  abolished,  and  I  see  nothing  in  such  measures  but  unmixed  good  and 
real  increase   of  strength  to   our  Establishment. 

The  idea  of  danger  from  the  extension  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  Eng- 
land I  utterly  deride.  The  Catholic  faith  is  a  misfortune  to  the  world, 
but  those  whose  faith  it  conscientiously  is,  are  quite  right  in  professing  it 
boldly,  and  in  promoting  it  by  all  means  which  the  law  allows.  A  phy- 
sician does  not  say  "You  will  be  well  as  soon  as  the  bile  is  got  rid  of;" 
but  he  says,  "  You  will  not  be  well  until  after  the  bile  is  got  rid  of" 
He  knows  after  the  cause  of  the  malady  is  removed,  that  morbid  habits 
are  to  be  changed,  weakness  to  be  supported,  organs  to  be  called  back 
to  their  proper  exercise,  subordinate  maladies  to  be  watched,  secondary  and 
vicarious  sj'raptoms  to  be  studied.  The  physician  is  a  wise  man — but  the 
anserous  politician  insists,  after  200  years  of  persecution,  and  ten  of  emanci- 
pation, that  Catholic   Ireland   should   be  as  quiet  as  Edmonton,  or  Tooting. 

Not  only  are  just  laws  wanted  for  Catholic  Ireland,  but  the  just  adminis- 
tration of  just  laws ;  such  as  they  have  in  general  experienced  under  the 
Whig  government ;  and  this  system  steadily  preserved  in  will,  after  a  lapse 
of  time  and  O'Connell,  quiet,  conciliate,  and  civilize  that  long  injured  and 
irritable   people. 

I  have  printed  in  this  Collection  the  Letters  of  Peter  Plymley.  The 
Government  of  that  day  took  great  pains  to  find  out  the  author;  all  that 
they  could  find  was,  that  they  were  brought  to  Mr.  Budd,  the  publisher, 
by  the  Earl  of  Lauderdale.  Somehow  or  another,  it  came  to  be  conjec- 
tured that  I  was  that  author:  I  have  always  denied  it;  but  finding  that 
I  deny  it  in  vain,  I  have  thought  it  might  be  as  well  to  include  the  Let- 
ters in  this  Collection ;  they  had  an  immense  circulation  at  the  time,  and 
I    think    above   20,000    copies  were   sold. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  century  (about  which  time  the  Review  began) 


PREFACE.  9 

to  the  death  of  Lord  Liverpool,  was  an  awful  period  for  those  who  had 
the  misfortune  to  entertain  liberal  opinions,  and  who  were  too  honest  to 
sell  them  for  the  ermine  of  the  judge,  or  the  lawn  of  the  prelate : — a  long 
and  hopeless  career  in  your  profession,  the  chuckling  grin  of  noodles,  the 
sarcastic  leer  of  the  genuine  political  rogue — prebendaries,  deans,  and  bishops 
made  over  your  head — reverend  renegadoes  advanced  to  the  highest  digni- 
ties of  the  Church,  for  helping  to  rivet  the  fetters  of  Catholic  and  Protestant 
Dissenters,  and  no  more  chance  of  a  Whig  administration  than  of  a  thaw 
in  Zembla — these  were  the  penalties  exacted  for  liberality  of  opinion  at  that 
period ;  and  not  only  was  there  no  pay,  but  there  were  many  stripes.  It 
is  always  considered  as  a  piece  of  impertinence  in  England,  if  a  man  of  less 
than  two  or  three  thousand  a  year  has  any  opinions  at  all  upon  important 
subjects;  and  in  addition  he  was  sure  at  that  time  to  be  assailed  with  all 
the  Billingsgate  of  the  French  Revolution — Jacobin,  Leveller,  Atheist,  Deist, 
Socinian,  Incendiary,  Regicide,  were  the  gentlest  appellations  used;  and  the 
man  who  breathed  a  syllable  against  the  senseless  bigotry  of  the  two  Georges, 
or  hinted  at  the  abominable  tyranny  and  persecution  exercised  upon  Catholic 
Ireland,  was  shunned  as  unfit  for  the  relations  of  social  life.  Not  a  murmur 
against  any  abuse  was  permitted ;  to  say  a  word  against  the  suitorcide  delays 
of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  or  the  cruel  punishments  of  the  Game  Laws, 
or  against  any  abuse  which  a  rich  man  inflicted,  or  a  poor  man  suffered, 
w^as  treason  against  the  Plousiocracy,  and  was  bitterly  and  steadily  resented. 
Lord  Grey  had  not  then  taken  off  the  bearing-rein  from  the  English  people, 
as  Sir  Francis  Head   has  now  done  from  horses. 

To  set  on  foot  such  a  Journal  in  such  times,  to  contribute  towards  it 
for  many  years,  to  bear  patiently  the  reproach  and  poverty  which  it  caused, 
and  to  look  back  and  see  that  I  have  nothing  to  retract,  and  no  intempe- 
rance and  violence  to  reproach  myself  with,  is  a  career  of  life  which  I  must 
think  to  be  extremely  fortunate.  Strange  and  ludicrous  are  the  changes  in 
human  affairs.  The  Tories  are  now  on  the  treadmill,  and  the  well-paid 
Whigs  are  riding  in  chariots :  with  many  faces,  however,  looking  out  of  the 
windows,  (including  that  of  our  Prime  Minister,)  which  I  never  remember  to 
have  seen  in  the  days  of  the  poverty  and  depression  of  Whiggism.  Libe- 
rality is  now  a  lucrative  business.  Whoever  has  any  institution  to  destroy, 
may  consider  himself  as  a  commissioner,  and  his  fortune  as  made ;  and  to 
my  utter  and  never  ending  astonishment,  I,  an  old  Edinburgh  Reviewer, 
find  myself  fighting,  in  the  year  1839,  against  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
and  the  Bishop  of  London,  for  the  existence  of  the  National  Church. 

SYDNEY  SMITH. 

a2 


CONTENTS. 


ARTICLES    OniGINALLT    PrBIISHED    IN    THE 

"EDINBUEGH     EETIKW." 

Page 

Dr.  Parr 9 

Dr.  Rennel 12 

John  Bowles 15 

Dr.  Langford 17 

Archdeacon  Nares 17 

Matthew  Lewis If* 

Australia 20 

Fievee's  Letters  on  England 26 

Edgeworth  on  Bulls 28 

Trimmer  and  Lancaster 30 

Parnell  and  Ireland 33 

Methodism. 37 

Indian  Missions 48 

Catholics 62 

Methodism 65 

Hannah  More 70 

Professional  Education 73 

Female  Education 79 

Public  Schools 86 

Toleration 90 

Charles  Fox 95 

Mad  Quakers 103 

America 107 

Game  Laws 116 

Botany  Bay 122 

Chimney  Sweepers 131 

America 137 

Ireland 142 

Spring  Guns 150 

Prisons 155 

Prisons 162 

Persecuting  Bishops 172 

Botany  Bay 179 

Game  Laws 189 


Pag« 

Cruel  Treatment  of  untried  Prisoners. . .  195 

America 202 

Bentham  on  Fallacies 209 

Waterton 219 

Man  Traps  and  Spring  Guns 227 

Hamilton's  Method  of  teaching  Languages  233 

Counsel  for  Prisoners 243 

Catholics 253 

Neckar's  Last  Views 263 

Catteau,  Tableau  des  Etats  Danois 270 

Thoughts  on  the  Residence  of  the  Clergy  279 

Travels  from  Palestine 281 

Letter  on  the  Curates'  Salary  Bill 283 

Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  the  Sup- 
pression of  Vice 287 

Characters  of  Fox 293 

Observations  on  the  Historical  Work  of 
the  Right  Honourable  Charles  James 

Fox 295 

Disturbances  at  Madras 304 

Bishop  of  Lincoln's  Charge 311 

Madame  d'Epinay 315 

Poor  Laws 320 

Public  Characters  of  1801,  1802 323 

Anastasius 329 

Scarlett's  Poor  Bill 334 

Memoirs  of  Captain  Rock 338 

Granby 343 

Island  of  Ceylon 349 

Delphine 354 

Mission  to  Ashantee 356 

Wittman's  Travels 361 

SPEECHES. 

Speech  on  the  Catholic  Claims 365 

Speech  at  the  Taunton  Reform  Meeting. .  369 


CONTENTS. 

Page 


Speech  at  Taunton  at  a  Meeting  to  cele- 
•brate  the  Accession  of  King  William  IV.  372 

Speech  at  Taunton  in  1831  on  the  Reform 
Bill  not  being  passed 373 

Speech  respecting  the  Reform  Bill 374 


The  Ballot 379 

First  Letter  to  Archdeacon  Singleton. . . .  388 
Second  Letter  to  Archdeacon  Singleton..  401 
Third  Letter  to  Archdeacon  Singleton . . .  408 
Letter  on  the  Character  of  Sir  James 
Mackintosh 416 


v*g> 


Letter  to  Lord  John  Russell 418 

Sermon  on  the  Duties  of  the  Queen 421 

The  Lawyer  that  tempted  Christ :  a  Ser- 
mon   424 

The  Judge  that  smites   contrary  to  the 

Law :  a  Sermon 428 

A  letter  to  the  Electors  upon  the  Catholic 

Question 432 

A  Sermon  on  the  Rules  of  Christian  Cha- 
rity  445 


Peter  Plymley's  Letters 449 


WORKS 


OF    THE 


REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


DR.  PARR.* 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1802.] 


tVs>-»prER  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  see 
D^.  Parr's  wig,  ninst  have  observed,  that  while 
it  trespasses  a  little  on  the  orthodox  magnitude 
of  perukes  in  the  anterior  parts,  it  scorns  even 
Episcopal  limits  behind,  and  swells  out  into 
boundless  convexity  of  frizz,  the  y-r^a.  ^a.u/ji.%  of 
barbers,  and  the  terror  of  the  literary  world. 
After  the  manner  of  his  wig,  the  Doctorf  has 
constructed  his  sermon,  giving  us  a  discourse 
of  no  common  length,  and  subjoining  an  im- 
measurable mass  of  notes,  which  appear  to 
concern  every  learned  thing,  every  learned 
man,  and  almost  every  unlearned  man  since 
the  beginning  of  the  world. 

For  his  text.  Dr.  Parr  has  chosen  Gal.  vi.  10. 
^s  ive  have  therefore  oppMunity,  let  us  do  good  to 
all  men,  especially  to  those  %vho  are  of  the  household 
of  faith.  After  a  short  preliminary  comparison 
between  the  dangers  of  the  selfish  system,  and 
the  modern  one  of  universal  benevolence,  he 
divides  his  sermon  into  two  parts :  in  the  first, 
examining  how  far,  by  the  constitution  of  hu- 
man nature,  and  the  circumstances  of  human 
life,  the  principles  of  particular  and  universal 
benevolence  are  compatible  :  in  the  last,  com- 
menting on  the  nature  of  the  charitable  institu- 
tion for  which  he  is  preaching. 

The  former  part  is  levelled  against  the  doc- 
trines of  Mr.  Godwin  ;  and,  here.  Dr.  Parr  ex- 
poses, very  strongly  and  happily,  the  folly  of 
making  universal  benevolence  the  immediate 
motive  of  our  actions.  As  we  consider  this, 
though  of  no  very  diificult  execution,  to  be  by 
far  the  best  part  of  the  sermon,  we  shall  very 
willingly  make  some  extracts  from  it. 

"To  me  it  appears,  that  the  modern  advo- 
cates for  universal  philanthropy  have  fallen 
into  the  error  charged  upon  those  who  are  fas- 
cinated by  a  violent  and  extraordinary  fondness 
for  what  a  celebrated  author  calls  '  some  moral 

*  Spital  Sermon,  preached  at  Christ  Church  upon  Eas- 
ter-Tuesday, April  15,  1800.  To  which  are  added,  Notes 
by  Samuel  Parr,  LL.D.  Printed  for  J.  Mawman  in  the 
Poultry.     1801. 

+  A  great  scholar,  as  rude  and  violent  as  most  Greek 
scholars  are,  unless  they  happen  to  be  Bishops.  He  has 
left  nothing  behind  him  worth  leaving:  he  was  rather 
fitted  for  the  law  than  the  church,  and  would  have  been 
a  more  considerable  man,  if  he  had  been  more  knocked 
about  among  his  equals.  He  lived  with  country  gen- 
tlemen and  clergymen,  who  flattered  and  feared  him. 
2 


species.'  Some  men,  it  has  been  remarked, 
are  hurried  into  romantic  adventures,  by  their 
excessive  admiration  of  fortitude.  Others  are 
actuated  by  a  headstrong  zeal  for  disseminat- 
ing the  true  religion.  Hence,  while  the  only 
properties,  for  which  fortitude  or  zeal  can  be 
esteemed,  are  scarcely  discernible,  from  the 
enormous  bulkiness  to  which  they  are  swollen, 
the  ends  to  which  alone  they  can  be  directed 
usefully  are  overlooked  or  defeated  ;  the  public 
good  is  impaired,  rather  than  increased;  and 
the  claims  that  other  virtues  equally  obligatory 
have  to  our  notice  are  totally  disregarded. 
Thus,  too,  when  any  dazzling  phantoms  of 
universal  philanthropy  have  seized  our  atten- 
tion, the  objects  that  formerly  engaged  it  shrink 
and  fade.  All  considerations  of  kindred, 
friends,  and  countrymen,  drop  from  the  mind, 
during  the  struggles  it  makes  to  grasp  the  col- 
lective interests  of  the  species  ;  and  when  the 
association  that  attached  us  to  them  has  been 
dissolved,  the  notions  we  have  formed  of  their 
comparative  insignificance  will  prevent  them 
from  recovering,  I  do  not  say  any  hold  what- 
soever, but  that  strong  and  lasting  hold  they 
once,  had  upon  our  conviction  and  our  feelings. 
Universal  benevolence,  should  it,  from  any 
strange  combination  of  circumstances,  ever 
become  passionate,  will,  like  every  other  pas- 
sion, justify  itself;  and  the  importunity  of  its 
demands  to  obtain  a  hearing  will  be  propor- 
tionate to  the  weakness  of  its  cause.  But 
what  are  the  consequences  1  A  perpetual 
wrestling  for  victory  between  the  refinements 
of  sophistry,  and  the  remonstrances  of  indig- 
nant nature — the  agitations  of  secret  distrust 
in  opinions  which  gain  few  or  no  proselytes, 
and  feelings  which  excite  little  or  no  sympathy 
— the  neglect  of  all  the  usual  duties,  by  which 
social  life  is  preserved  or  adorned  ;  and  in  the 
pursuit  of  other  duties  which  are  unusual,  and 
indeed  imaginary,  a  succession  of  airy  projects 
eager  hopes,  tumultuous  efforts,  and  galling 
disappointments,  such,  in  truth,  as  every  wise 
man  foresaw,  and  a  good  man  would  rarely 
commiserate." 

In  a  subsequent  part  of  his  sermon.  Dr. 
Parr  handles  the  same  topic  with  equal 
success. 


10 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"The  stoics,  it  has  been  said,  were  more 
successful  in  weakening  the  tender  aifections, 
than  in  animating  men  to  the  stronger  virtues 
of  fortitude  and  self-command ;  and  possible 
it  is,  that  the  influence  of  our  modern  reform- 
ers may  be  greater,  in  furnishing  their  disciples 
with  pleas  for  the  neglect  of  their  ordinary 
duties,  than  in  stimulating  their  endeavours 
for  the  performance  of  those  which  are  extra- 
ordinary, and  perhaps  ideal.  If,  indeed,  the 
representations  we  have  lately  heard  of  uni- 
versal philanthropy  served  only  to  amuse  the 
fancy  of  those  who  approve  of  them,  and  to 
communicate  that  pleasure  which  arises  from 
contemplating  the  magnitude  and  grandeur  of 
a  favourite  subject,  we  might  be  tempted  to 
smile  at  them  as  groundless  and  harmless. 
But  they  tend  to  debase  the  dignity,  and  to 
weaken  the  efficacy  of  those  particular  affec- 
tions, for  which  we  have  daily  and  hourly 
occasion  in  the  events  of  real  life.  They 
tempt  us  to  substitute  the  ease  of  speculation, 
and  the  pride  of  dogmatism,  for  the  toil  of  prac- 
tice. To  a  class  of  artificial  and  ostentatious 
sentiments,  they  give  the  most  dangerous 
triumph  over  the  genuine  and  salutary  dictates 
of  nature.  They  delude  and  inflame  our  minds 
with  Pharisaical  notions  of  superior  wisdom 
and  superior  virtue  ;  and,  what  is  the  worst  of 
all,  they  may  be  used  as  'a  cloke  to  us'  for 
insensibility,  where  other  men  feel;  and  for 
negligence,  where  other  men  act  with  visible 
and  useful,  though  limited,  effect." 

In  attempting  to  show  the  connection  be- 
tween particular  and  universal  benevolence, 
Dr.  Parr  does  not  appear  to  us  to  have  taken  a 
clear  and  satisfactory  view  of  the  subject.  Na- 
ture impels  us  both  to  good  and  bad  actions ; 
and,  even  in  the  former,  gives  us  no  measure 
by  which  we  may  prevent  them  from  degenerat- 
ing into  excess.  Rapine  and  revenge  are  not 
less  natural  than  parental  and  filial  affection; 
which  latter  class  of  feelings  may  themselves 
be  a  source  of  crimes,  if  they  overpower  (as 
they  frequently  do)  the  sense  of  justice.  It  is 
not,  therefore,  a  sufficient  justification  of  our 
actions,  that  they  are  natural.  We  must  seek, 
from  our  reason,  some  principle  which  will 
finable  us  to  determine  what  impulses  of  nature 
we  are  to  obey,  and  what  we  are  to  resist : 
such  is  that  of  general  utility,  or,  what  is  the 
same  thing,  of  universal  good;  a  principle 
which  sanctifies  and  limits  the  more  particular 
affections.  The  duty  of  a  son  to  a  parent,  or  a 
parent  to  a  son,  is  not  an  ultimate  principle  of 
morals,  but  depends  on  the  principle  of  univer- 
sal good,  and  is  only  praiseworthy  because  it 
is  found  to  promote  it.  At  the  same  time,  our 
spheres  of  action  and  intelligence  are  so  con- 
fined, that  it  is  better,  in  a  great  majority  of 
instances,  to  suffer  our  conduct  to  be  guided 
by  those  aflections  which  have  been  long  sanc- 
tioned by  the  approbation  of  mankind,  than  to 
enter  into  a  process  of  reasoning,  and  investi- 
gate the  relation  which  every  trifling  event 
might  bear  to  the  general  interests  of  the  world. 
In  his  principle  of  universal  benevolence,  Mr. 
Godwin  is  unquestionably  right.  That  it  is  the 
grand  principle  on  which  all  morals  rest — that 
it  is  the  corrective  for  the  excess  of  all  parti- 
cular affections,  we  believe  to  be  undeniable: 


and  he  is  only  erroneous  in  excluding  the  par- 
ticular affections,  because,  in  so  doing,  he  de- 
prives us  of  our  most  powerful  means  of  pro- 
moting his  own  principle  of  universal  good ; 
for  it  is  as  much  as  to  say,  that  all  the  crew 
ought  to  have  the  general  welfare  of  the  ship 
so  much  at  heart  that  no  sailor  should  ever 
pull  a.ny  particular  rope,  or  hand  any  individual 
sail.  By  universal  benevolence,  we  mean,  and 
understand  Dr.  Parr  to  mean,  not  a  barren 
afl^ection  for  the  species,  but  a  desire  to  pro- 
mote their  real  happiness;  and  of  this  princi- 
ple, he  thus  speaks  : 

"  I  admit,  and  I  approve  of  it,  as  an  emotion 
of  which  general  happiness  is  the  cause,  but 
not  as  a  passion,  of  which,  according  to  the 
usual  order  of  human  affairs,  it  could  often  be 
the  object.  I  approve  of  it  as  a  disposition  to 
wish,  and,  as  opportunity  may  occur,  to  desire 
and  do  good,  rather  than  harm,  to  those  with 
whom  we  are  quite  unconnected." 

It  would  appear,  from  this  kind  of  lan- 
guage, that  a  desire  of  promoting  the  universal 
good  were  a  pardonable  weakness,  rather  than 
a  fundamental  principle  of  ethics  ;  that  the 
particular  affections  were  incapable  of  excess; 
and  that  they  never  wanted  the  corrective  of  a 
more  generous  and  exalted  feeling.  In  a  sub- 
sequent part  of  his  sermon.  Dr.  Parr  atones  a 
little  for  this  over-zealous  depreciation  of  the 
principle  of  universal  benevolence ;  but  he 
nowhere  states  the  particular  affections  to 
derive  their  value  and  their  limits  from  their 
subservience  to  a  more  extensive  philanthro- 
py. He  does  not  show  us  that  they  exist  only 
as  virtues,  from  their  instrumentality  in  pro- 
moting the  general  good;  and  that,  to  preserve 
their  true  character,  they  should  be  frequently 
referred  to  that  principle  as  their  proper  crite- 
rion. 

In  the  latter  part  of  his  sermon.  Dr.  Parr 
combats  the  general  objections  of  Mr.  Turgot 
to  all  charitable  institutions,  with  considerable 
vigour  and  success.  To  say  that  an  institution 
is  necessarily  bad,  because  it  will  not  always 
be  administered  with  the  same  zeal,  proves  a 
little  too  much ;  for  it  is  an  objection  to  po- 
litical and  religious,  as  well  as  to  charitable 
institutions;  and,  from  a  lively  apprehension 
of  the  fluctuating  characters  of  those  who 
govern,  would  leave  the  world  without  any 
government  at  all.  It  is  better  there  should  be 
an  asylum  for  the  mad,  and  a  hospital  for  the 
wounded,  if  they  were  to  squander  away  50 
per  cent,  of  their  income,  than  that  we  should 
be  disgusted  with  sore  limbs,  and  shocked  by 
straw-crowned  monarchs  in  the  streets.  All 
institutions  of  this  kind  must  sufier  the  risk 
of  being  governed  by  more  or  less  of  probity 
and  talents.  The  good  which  one  active  cha- 
racter eflfects,  and  the  wise  order  which  he 
establishes,  may  outlive  him  for  a  long  period ; 
and  we  all  hate  each  other's  crimes,  by  which 
we  gain  nothing,  so  much,  that  in  proportion 
as  public  opinion  acquires  ascendency  in  any 
particular  country,  every  public  institution 
becomes  more  and  more  guarantied  from 
abuse. 

Upon  the  whole,  this  sermon  is  rather  the 
production  of  what  is  called  a  sensible,  than 
of  a  very  acute  man;    of  a  man  certainly 


WORKS  OP  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


11 


more  remarkable  for  his  learning  than  his  ori- 
ginality. It  refutes  the  very  refutable  positions 
of  Mr.  Godwin,  without  placing  the  doctrine  of 
benevolence  in  a  clear  light;  and  it  almost 
leaves  us  to  suppose,  that  the  particular  affec- 
tions are  themselves  ultimate  principles  of  ac- 
tion, instead  of  convenient  instruments  of  a 
more  general  principle. 

The  style  is  such  as  to  give  a  general  im- 
pression of  heaviness  to  the  whole  sermon. 
The  Doctor  is  never  simple  and  natural  for  a 
single  instant.  Every  thing  smells  of  the  rhe- 
torician. He  never  appears  to  forget  himself, 
or  to  be  hurried  by  his  subject  into  obvious 
language.  Every  expression  seems  to  be  the 
result  of  artifice  and  intention;  and  as  to  the 
worthy  dedicatees,  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men, unless  the  sermon  be  done  into  English  by 
a  person  of  honour,  they  may  perhaps  be  flatter- 
ed by  the  Doctor's  politeness,  but  they  can 
never  be  much  edified  by  his  meaning.  Dr. 
Parr  seems  to  think,  that  eloquence  consists 
not  in  exuberance  of  beautiful  images — not  in 
simple  and  sublime  conceptions — not  in  the 
feelings  of  the  passions  ;  but  in  a  studious  ar- 
rangement of  sonorous,  exotic,  and  sesquipedal 
words:  a  very  ancient  error,  which  corrupts 
the  style  of  young,  and  wearies  the  patience 
of  sensible  men.  In  some  of  his  combinations 
of  words  the  Doctor  is  singularly  unhappy. 
We  have  the  din  of  superficial  cavillers,  the 
prancings  of  giddy  ostentation,  flattering  vanity, 
hissing  scorn,  dank  clod,  &c.  &c.  &c.  The  fol- 
lowing intrusion  of  a  technical  word  into  a 
pathetic  description  renders  the  whole  passage 
almost  ludicrous. 

"  Within  a  few  days,  mute  was  the  tongue 
that  uttered  these  celestial  sounds,  and  the  hand 
which  signed  your  indenture  lay  cold  and  mo- 
tionless in  the  daik  and  dreary  chambers  of 
death." 

In  page  16,  Dr.  Parr,  in  speaking  of  the  in- 
dentures of  the  hospital,  a  subject  (as  we  should 
have  thought)  little  calculated  for  rhetorical 
panegyric,  says  of  them— 

"  If  the  writer  of  whom  I  am  speaking  had 
perused,  as  I  have,  your  indentures,  and  your 
rules,  he  would  have  found  in  them  serious- 
ness without  austerity,  earnestness  without  ex- 
travagance, good  sense  without  the  trickeries 
of  art,  good  language  without  the  trappings  of 
rhetoric,  and  the  firmness  of  conscious  worth, 
rather  than  the  prancings  of  giddy  ostenta- 
tion." 

The  latter  member  of  this  eloge  would  not 
be  wholly  unintelligible,  if  applied  to  a  spirited 
coach  horse;  but  we  have  never  yet  witnessed 
the  phenomenon  of  a  prancing  indenture. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  follow  Dr.  Parr 
through  the  copious  and  varied  learning  of  his 
notes  ;  in  the  perusal  of  which  we  have  been 
as  much  delighted  with  the  richness  of  his  ac- 
quisitions, the  vigour  of  his  understanding,  and 
,  the  genuine  goodness  of  his  heart,  as  we  have 
been  amused  with  his  ludicrous  self-import- 
ance, and  the  miraculous  simplicity  of  his  cha- 
racter. We  would  rather  recommend  it  to  the 
Doctor  to  publish  an  annual  list  of  worthies,  as 
a  kind  of  stimulus  to  literary  men;  to  be  in- 
cluded in  which,  will  unquestionably  be  con- 


sidered as  great  an  honour,  as  for  a  commoner 
to  be  elevated  to  the  peerage.  A  line  of  Greek, 
a  line  of  Latin,  or  no  line  at  all,  subsequent  to 
each  name,  will  distinguish,  with  sufficient  ac- 
curacy, the  shades  of  merit,  and  the  degree  of 
immortality  conferred. 

Why  should  Dr.  Parr  confine  this  eulogoma- 
nia  to  the  literary  characters  of  this  island 
alone  1  In  the  university  of  Benares,  in  the 
lettered  kingdom  of  Ava,  among  the  Mandarins 
at  Pekin,  there  must,  doubtless,  be  many  men 
who  have  the  eloquence  of*  B^t^^cvoc,  the  feel- 
ing of  TctiKue^oi,  and  the  judgment  of  Qjcx^oc,  of 
whom  Dr.  Parr  might  be  happy  to  say,  that 
they  have  profundity  without  obscurity — per- 
spicuity without  prolixity — ornament  without 
glare — terseness  without  barrenness — penetra- 
tion withoutsubtlety — comprehensiveness  with- 
out digression — and  a  great  number  of  other 
things  without  a  great  number  of  other  things. 

In  spite  of  33  pages  of  very  close  printing, 
in  defence  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  is  it,  or 
is  it  not  true,  that  very  many  of  its  Professors 
enjoy  ample  salaries,  without  reading  any  lec- 
tures at  all  1  The  character  of  particular  col- 
leges will  certainly  vary  with  the  character  of 
their  governors;  but  the  University  of  Oxford 
so  far  difl^ers  from  Dr.  Parr  in  the  commenda- 
tion he  has  bestowed  upon  its  state  of  public 
education,  that  they  have,  since  the  publication 
of  his  book,  we  believe,  and  forty  years  after 
Mr.  Gibbon's  residence,  completely  abolished 
their  very  ludicrous  and  disgraceful  exercises 
for  degrees,  and  have  substituted  in  their  place 
a  system  of  exertion,  and  a  scale  of  academical 
honours,  calculated  (we  are  willing  to  hope)  to 
produce  the  happiest  eflfects. 

We  were  very  sorry,  in  reading  Dr.  Parr's 
note  on  the  Universities,  to  meet  with  the  fol- 
lowing passage : — 

"  111  would  it  become  me  tamely  and  silently 
to  acquiesce  in  the  strictures  of  this  formidable 
accuser  upon  a  seminary  to  which  I  owe  many 
obligations,  though  I  left  it,  as  must  not  be  dis- 
sembled, before  the  usual  time,  and,  in  truth, 
had  been  almost  compelled  to  leave  it,  iwt  by 
the  want  of  proper  education,  for  I  had  arrived 
at  the  first  place  in  the  first  form  of  Harrow 
School,  when  I  was  not  quite  fourteen — not  by 
the  want  of  useful  tutors,  for  mine  were  emi- 
nently able,  and  to  me  had  been  uniformly 
kind — not  by  the  want  of  ambition,  for  I  had 
begun  to  look  up  ardently  and  anxiously  to 
academical  distinctions — not  by  the  want  of  at- 
tachment to  the  place,  for  I  regarded  it  then,  as 
I  continue  to  regard  it  now,  with  the  fondest 
and  most  unfeigned  affection — but  by  another 
want,  which  it  were  unnecessary  to  name,  and 
for  the  supply  of  which,  after  some  hesitation, 
I  determined  to  provide  by  patient  toil  and  re- 
solute self-denial,  when  I  had  not  completed 
my  twentieth  year.  I  ceased,  therefore,  to  re- 
side, with  an  aching  heart:  I  looked  back  with 
mingled  feelings  of  regret  and  humiliation  to 
advantages  of  which  I  could  no  longer  partake, 
and  honours  to  which  I  could  no  longer 
aspire." 

To  those  who  know  the  truly  honourable 


*  rtrtiTEj  iilv  (TOipoi'  e\i)  Se''UKripov  fiiv  aeSo),  Sau/ja^oi 
Si  Bdppovov  Hal  0(Xcj  TaiAt.ipov.  See  Lucian  in  Vita 
Deemonact.  vol.  ii.  p.  394. — (Dr.  Parr'a  note.) 


12 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


and  respectable  character  of  Dr.  Parr,  the  vast 
extent  of  his  learning,  and  the  unadulterated 
benevolence  of  his  nature,  such  an  account 
cannot  but  be  very  affecting,  in  spite  of  the  bad 
taste  in  which  it  is  communicated.  How  pain- 
ful to  reflect,  that  a  truly  devout  and  attentive 


minister,  a  strenuous  defender  of  the  church 
establishment,  and  by  far  the  most  learned 
man  of  his  day,  should  be  permitted  to  languish 
on  a  little  paltry  curacy  in  Warwickshire  ! 

Dii  meliora,  &c.  &c.* 


DE.  RENNEL.t 


[Edinburgh   Review,  1802.] 


AVe  have  no  modern  sermons  in  the  English 
language  that  can  be  considered  as  very  elo- 
quent. The  merits  of  Blair  (by  far  the  most 
popular  writer  of  sermons  within  the  last  cen- 
tury) are  plain  good  sense,  a  happy  applica- 
tion of  scriptural  quotation,  and  a  clear  har- 
monious style,  richly  tinged  with  scriptural 
language.  He  generally  leaves  his  readers 
pleased  with  his  judgment,  and  his  just  obser- 
vations on  human  conduct,  without  ever  rising 
so  high  as  to  touch  the  great  passions,  or  kindle 
any  enthusiasm  in  favour  of  virtue.  For  elo- 
quence, we  must  ascend  as  high  as  the  days  of 
Barrow  and  Jeremy  Taylor:  and  even  there, 
Avhile  we  are  delighted  with  their  energy,  their 
copiousness,  and  their  fancy,  we  are  in  danger 
of  being  suffocated  by  a  redundance  which 
abhors  all  discrimination ;  which  compares 
till  it  perplexes,  and  illustrates  till  it  confounds. 

To  the  Gases  of  Tillotson,  Sherlock,  and  At- 
terbury,  we  must  wade  through  many  a  barren 
page,  in  which  the  weary  Christian  can  descry 
nothing  all  around  him  but  a  dreary  expanse 
of  trite  sentiments  and  languid  words. 

The  great  object  of  modern  sermons  is  to 
hazard  nothing:  their  characteristic  is,  decent 
debility;  which  alike  guards  their  authors  from 
ludicrous  errors,  and  precludes  them  from 
striking  beauties.  Every  man  of  sense,  in 
taking  up  an  English  sermon,  expects  to  find 
it  a  tedious  essay,  full  of  commonplace  morali- 
ty; and  if  the  fulfilment  of  such  expectations 
be  meritorious,  the  clergy  have  certainly  the 
merit  of  not  disappointing  their  readers.  Yet 
it  is  curious  to  consider,  how  a  body  of  men  so 
well  educated,  and  so  magnificently  endowed 
as  the  English  clergy,  should  distinguish  them- 
selves so  little  in  a  species  of  composition  to 
which  it  is  their  peculiar  duty,  as  v.'ell  as  their 
ordinary  habit,  to  attend.  To  solve  this  diffi- 
culty, it  should  be  remembered,  that  the  elo- 
quence of  the  Bar  and  of  the  Senate  force  them- 
selves into  notice,  power,  and  wealth — that  the 
penalty  which  an  individual  client  pays  for 
choosing  a  bad  advocate,  is  the  loss  of  his 
cause — that  a  prime  minister  must  infallibly 
suffer  in  the  estimation  of  the  public,  who  neg- 
lects to  conciliate  the  eloquent  men,  and  trusts 
the  defence  of  his  measures  to  those  who  have 
not  adequate  talents  for  that  purpose  :  whereas 
the  only  evil  which  accrues  from  the  promotion 
of  a  clergyman  to  the  pulpit,  which  he  has  no 
ability  to  fill  as  he  ought,  is  the  fatigue  of  the 
audience,  and  the  discredit  of  that  species  of 


public  instruction  ;  an  evil  so  general,  that  no 
individual  patron  would  dream  of  sacrificing 
to  it  his  particular  interest.  The  clergy  are 
generally  appointed  to  their  situations  by  those 
who  have  no  interest  that  they  should  please 
the  audience  before  whom  they  speak;  while 
the  very  reverse  is  the  case  in  the  eloquence 
of  the  Bar,  and  of  Parliament.  We  by  no 
means  would  be  understood  to  say,  that  the 
clergy  should  owe  their  promotion  principally 
to  their  eloquence,  or  that  eloquence  ever  could 
consistently  with  the  constitution  of  the  English 
Church,  be  made  out  a  common  cause  of  pre- 
ferment. In  pointing  out  the  total  want  of  con- 
nection between  the  privilege  of  preaching, 
and  the  power  of  preaching  well,  we  are  giving 
no  opinion  as  to  whether  it  might,  or  might  not 
be  remedied ;  but  merely  stating  a  fact.  Pulpit 
discourses  have  insensibly  dwindled  from 
speaking  to  reading;  a  practice,  of  itself,  suf- 
ficient to  stifle  every  genn  of  eloquence.  It  is 
only  by  the  fresh  feelings  of  the  heart,  that  man- 
kind can  be  very  powerfully  affected.  What 
can  be  more  ludicrous,  than  an  orator  deliver- 
ing stale  indignation,  and  fervour  of  a  week 
old  ;  turning  over  whole  pages  of  violent  pas- 
sions, written  out  in  German  text;  reading  the 
tropes  and  apostrophes  into  which  he  is  hurried 
by  the  ardour  of  his  mind  ;  and  so  affected  at  a 
preconcerted  line,  and  page,  that  he  is  unable 
to  proceed  any  farther  ! 

The  prejudices  of  the  English  nation  have 
proceeded  a  good  deal  from  their  hatred  to  the 
French ;  and  because  that  country  is  the  na- 
tive soil  of  elegance,  animation,  and  grace,  a 
certain  patriotic  soliditj%  and  loyal  awkward- 
ness, have  become  the  characteristics  of  this  ; 
so  that  an  adventurous  preacher  is  afraid  of 
violating  the  ancient  tranquillity  of  the  pulpit; 
and  the  audience  are  commonly  apt  to  consider 
the  man  who  tires  them  less  than  usual,  as  a 
trifler,  or  a  charlatan. 

Of  British  education,  the  study  of  eloquence 
makes  little  or  no  part.  The  exterior  graces 
of  a  speaker  are  despised ;  and  debating  socie- 
ties (admirable  institutions,  under  proper  regu- 
lations) would  hardly  be  tolerated  either  at  Ox- 
ford or  Cambridge.  It  is  commonly  answered 
to  any  animadversions  upon  the  eloquence  of 

*  The  courtly  phrase  was,  that  Dr.  Parr  was  not  a  pro- 
ducible man.  The  same  phrase  was  used  for  the  neglect 
of  Paley. 

+  Discourses  on  Various  Subjects.  By  Thomas  Ken- 
nel, D.D.  Master  of  the  Temple.    Rivington,  London. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


13 


the  English  pulpit,  that  a  clergyman  is  to  re- 
commend himself,  not  by  his  eloquence,  but  by 
the  purity  of  his  life,  and  the  soundness  of  his 
doctrine ;  an  objection  good  enough,  if  any 
connection  could  be  pointed  out  between  elo- 
quence, heresy,  and  dissipation;  but  if  it  is 
possible  for  a  man  to  live  well,  preach  well, 
and  teach  well,  at  the  same  time,  such  objec- 
tions, resting  only  upon  a  supposed  incompati- 
bility of  these  good  qualities,  are  duller  than 
the  dulness  they  defend. 

The  clergy  are  apt  to  shelter  themselves 
under  the  plea,  that  subjects  so  exhausted  are 
utterly  incapable  of  novelty;  and,  in  the  very 
strictest  sense  of  the  wordnovelly,  meaning  that 
which  was  never  said  before,  at  any  time,  or 
in  any  place,  this  may  be  true  enough,  of  the 
first  principles  of  morals ;  but  the  modes  of  ex- 
panding, illustrating,  and  enforcing  a  particular 
theme  are  capable  of  infinite  variety;  and,  if 
they  were  not,  this  might  be  a  very  good  rea- 
son for  preaching  commonplace  sermons,  but 
is  a  very  bad  one  for  publishing  them. 

We  had  great  hc^e§,  that  Dr.  Rennel's  Ser- 
mons would  have  proved  an  exception  to  the 
character  we  have  given  of  sermons  in  gene- 
ral ;  and  we  have  read  through  his  present  vo- 
lume with  a  conviction  rather  that  he  has  mis- 
applied, than  that  he  wants,  talents  for  pulpit 
eloquence.  The  sub'ects  of  his  sermons,  four- 
teen in  number,  are,  1.  The  consequences  of 
the  vice  of  gaming  :  2.  On  old  age  :  3.  Benevo- 
lence exclusively  an  evangelical  virtue :  4.  The 
services  rendered  to  the  English  nation  by  the 
Church  of  England,  a  motive  for  liberality  to 
the  orphan  children  of  indigent  ministers :  5.  On 
the  grounds  and  regulation  of  national  joy  : 
6.  On  the  connection  of  the  duties  of  loving  the 
brotherhood,  fearing  God,  and  honouring  the 
King :  7.  On  the  guilt  of  blood-thirstiness  :  8.  On 
atonement:  9.  A  visitation  sermon:  10.  Great 
Britain's  naval  strength,  and  insular  situation, 
a  cause  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God:  11.  Ig- 
norance productive  of  atheism,  anarchy,  and 
superstition:  12,  13,  14.  On  the  sting  of  death, 
the  strength  of  sin,  and  the  victory  over  them 
both  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Dr.  Kennel's  first  sermon,  upon  the  conse- 
quences of  gaming,  is  admirable  for  its  strength 
of  language,  its  sound  good  sense,  and  the 
vigour  with  which  it  combats  that  detestable 
vice.  From  this  sermon,  we  shall,  with  great 
pleasure,  make  an  extract  of  some  length. 

"Farther  to  this  sordid  habit  the  gamester 
joins  a  disposition  to  fraud,  and  that  of  the 
meanest  cast.  To  those  who  soberly  and  fairly 
appreciate  the  real  nature  of  human  actions, 
nothing  appears  more  inconsistent  than  that 
societies  of  men,  who  have  incorporated  them- 
selves for  the  express  purpose  of  gaming,  should 
disclaim  fraud  or  indirection,  or  aifect  to  drive 
from  their  assemblies  those  among  their  asso- 
ciates whose  crimes  would  reflect  disgrace  on 
them.  Surely  this,  to  a  considerate  mind,  is  as 
solemn  and  refined  a  banter  as  can  well  be 
exhibited  :  for  when  we  take  into  view  the  vast 
latitude  allowed  by  the  most  upright  gamesters, 
when  we  reflect  that,  according  to  their  precious 
casuistry,  every  advantage  may  be  legitimately 
taken  of  the  young,  the  unwary,  and  the  ine- 
briated, which  superior  coolness,  skill,  address, 


and  activity  can  supply,  we  must  look  upon 
pretences  to  honesty  as  a  most  shameless  ag- 
gravation of  their  crimes.  Even  if  it  were  pos- 
sible that,  in  his  own  practices,  a  man  might 
be  a  FAIR  GAMESTER,  yet,  for  the  result  of  the 
extended  frauds  committed  by  his  fellows,  he 
stands  deeply  accountable  to  God,  his  country, 
and  his  conscience.  To  a  system  necessarily 
implicated  with  fraud;  to  associations  of  men, 
a  large  majority  of  whom  subsist  by  fraud ;  to 
habits  calculated  to  poison  the  source  and 
principle  of  all  integrity,  he  gives  efficacy, 
countenance,  and  concurrence.  Even  his  vir- 
lues  he  suiiers  to  be  subsidiary  to  the  cause  of 
vice.  He  sees  with  calmness,  depredation 
committed  daily  and  hourly  in  his  company, 
perhaps  under  his  very  roof.  Yet  men  of  this 
description  declaim  (so  desperately  deceitful  is 
the  heart  of  man)  against  the  very  knaves  they 
cherish  and  protect,  and  whom,  perhaps,  with 
some  poor  sophistical  refuge  for  a  worn-out 
conscience,  they  even  imitate.  To  such,  let 
the  Scripture  speak  with  emphatical  decision 
—  When  thou  sawest  a  thief,  then  thou  conseniedst 
with  him." 

The  reader  will  easily  observe,  in  this  quota- 
tion, a  command  of  language,  and  a  power  of 
style,  very  superior  to  what  is  met  with  in  the 
great  mass  of  sermons.  We  shall  make  one 
more  extract. 

"But  in  addition  to  fraud,  and  all  its  train  of 
crimes,  propensities  and  habits  of  a  very  difle- 
rent  complexion  enter  into  the  composition  of 
a  gamester:  a  most  ungovernable  FERociTr  of 
iiisposiTioN,  however  for  a  time  disguised  and 
latent,  is  invariably  the  result  of  his  system  of 
conduct.  Jealousy,  rage,  and  revenge,  exist 
among  gamesters  in  their  worst  and  most  fran- 
tic excesses,  and  end  frequently  in  conse- 
quences of  the  most  atrocious  violence  and 
outrage.  By  perpetual  agitation  the  malignant 
passions  spurn  and  overwhelm  every  boundary 
which  discretion  and  conscience  can  oppose. 
From  what  source  are  we  to  trace  a  very  large 
number  of  those  murders,  sanctioned  or  palli- 
ated indeed  by  custom,  but  which  stand  at  the 
tribunal  of  God  precisely  upon  the  same 
grounds  with  every  other  species  of  murder  1 — 
From  the  gaming-table,  from  the  nocturnal  re- 
ceptacles of  distraction  and  frenzy,  the  duellist 
rushes  with  his  hand  lifted  up  against  his  bro- 
ther's life ! — Those  who  are  as  yet  on  the 
threshold  of  these  habits  should  be  warned,  that 
however  calm  their  natural  temperament,  how- 
ever ineek  and  placable  their  disposition,  yet 
that,  by  the  events  which  every  moment  anse, 
they  stand  exposed  to  the  ungovernable  fury 
of  themselves  and  others.  In  the  midst  of  fraud, 
protected  by  menace  on  the  one  hand,  and  on 
the  other,  of  despair ;  irritated  by  a  recollection 
of  the  meanness  of  the  artifices  and  the  base- 
ness of  the  hands  by  which  utter  and  remediless 
ruin  has  been  inflicted  ;  in  the  midst  of  these 
feelings  of  horror  and  distraction  it  is,  that  the 
voice  of  brethren's  blood  'crieth  unto  God  from 
the  ground^ — '  and  now  art  thou  cursed  from  the 
earth,  which  hatli  opened  her  mouth  to  receive  thij 
brothe)-'s  blood  from  thy  hand.'  Not  only  THOU 
who  actually  sheddest  that  blood,  but  THOU  who 
art  the  artificer  of  death — thou  who  adminis- 
terest  incentives  to  these  habits — who  dJssemi 
B 


14 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


natest  the  practice  of  them — irnprovest  the 
skill  in  them — sharpenest  the  propensity  to 
them — at  thy  hands  will  it  be  required,  surely, 
at  the  tribunal  of  God  in  the  next  world,  and 
perhaps,  in  most  instances,  in  his  distributive 
and  awful  dispensations  towards  thee  and  thine 
here  on  earth." 

Having  paid  this  tribute  of  praise  to  Dr. 
Rennel's  first  sermon,  we  are  sorry  so  soon  to 
change  our  eulogium  into  censure,  and  to  blame 
him  for  having  selected  for  publication  so  many 
sermons  touching  directly  and  indirectly  upon 
the  French  Revolution.  We  confess  ourselves 
long  since  wearied  with  this  kind  of  discourses, 
bespattered  with  blood  and  brains,  and  ringing 
eternal  changes  upon  atheism,  cannibalism, 
and  apostasy.  Upon  the  enormities  of  the 
French  Revolution  there  can  be  but  one  opinion ; 
but  the  subject  is  not  fit  for  the  pulpit.  The 
public  are  disgusted  with  it  to  satiety;  and  we 
can  never  help  remembering,  that  this  politico- 
orthodox  rage  in  the  mouth  of  a  preacher  may 
be  profitable  as  well  as  sincere.  Upon  such 
subjects  as  the  murder  of  the  Queen  of  France, 
and  the  great  events  of  these  days,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  endure  the  draggling  and  the  daubing 
of  such  a  ponderous  limner  as  Dr.  Rennel, 
after  the  ethereal  touches  of  Mr.  Burke.  In 
events  so  truly  horrid  in  themselves,  the  field 
is  so  easy  for  a  declaimer,  that  we  set  little 
value  upon  the  declamation;  and  the  mind,  on 
such  occasions,  so  easily  outruns  ordinary 
description,  that  we  are  apt  to  feel  more,  before 
a  mediocre  oration  begins,  than  it  even  aims 
at  inspiring. 

We  are  surprised  that  Dr.  Rennel,  from 
among  the  great  number  of  subjects  which  he 
must  have  discussed  in  the  pulpit  (the  interest 
in  which  must  be  permanent  and  universal), 
should  have  published  such  an  empty  and 
frivolous  sermon  as  that  upon  the  victory  of 
Lord  Nelson ;  a  sermon  good  enough  for  the 
garrulity  of  joy,  when  the  phrases,  and  the  ex- 
ultation of  the  Porcupine,  or  the  True  Briton, 
may  pass  for  eloquence  or  sense;  but  utterly 
unworthy  of  the  works  of  a  man  who  aims  at 
a  place  among  the  great  teachers  of  morality 
and  religion. 

Dr.  Rennel  is  apt  to  put  on  the  appearance 
of  a  holy  bully,  an  evangelical  swaggerer,  as 
if  he  could  carry  his  point  against  infidelity  by 
big  words  and  strong  abuse,  and  kick  and  culf 
men  into  Christians.  It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to 
talk  about  the  shallow  impostures,  and  the  silly 
ignorant  sophisms  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  (^on- 
dorcet,  D'Alembert,  and  Volney,  and  to  say 
that  Hume  is  not  worth  answering.  This  af- 
fectation of  contempt  will  not  do.  While  these 
pernicious  writers  have  power  to  allure  from 
the  church  great  numbers  of  proselytes,  it  is 
better  to  study  them  diligently,  and  to  reply  to 
them  satisfactorily,  than  to  veil  insolence,  want 
of  power,  or  want  of  industry,  by  a  pretended 
contempt;  which  may  leave  infidels  and 
•wavering  Christians  to  suppose  that  such 
writers  are  abused,  because  they  are  feared; 
and  not  answered,  because  they  are  unanswer- 
able. While  every  body  was  abusing  and 
despising  Mr.  Godwin,  and  while  Mr.  Godwin 
was,  among  a  certain  description  of  under- 
standings, increasing  every  day  in  popularity, 


Mr.  Mallhus*  took  the  trouble  of  refuting  him  ; 
and  we  hear  no  more  of  Mr.  Godwin.  We 
recommend  this  example  to  the  consideration 
of  Dr.  Rennel,  who  seems  to  think  it  more  use- 
ful, and  more  pleasant,  to  rail  than  to  fight. 

After  the  world  has  returned  to  its  sober 
senses  upon  the  merits  of  the  ancient  philoso- 
phy, it  is  amusing  enough  to  see  a  few  bad 
heads  bawling  for  the  restoration  of  exploded 
errors  and  past  infatuation.  We  have  some 
dozen  of  plethoric  phrases  about  Aristotle,  who 
is,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Doctor,  ci  rex  et  sutor 
bonus,  and  every  thing  else ;  and  to  the  neglect 
of  whose  works  he  seems  to  attribute  every 
moral  and  physical  evil  under  which  the  world 
has  groaned  for  the  last  century.  Dr.  Rennel's 
admiration  of  the  ancients  is  so  great,  that  he 
considers  the  works  of  Homer  to  be  the  region 
and  depository  of  natural  law,  and  natural  reli- 
gion.f  Now,  if,  by  natural  religion,  is  meant 
the  will  of  God  collected  from  his  works,  and 
the  necessity  man  is  under  of  obeying  it;  it  is 
rather  extraordinary  that  Homer  should  be  so 
good  a  natural  theologian,  when  the  divinities 
he  has  painted  are  certainly  a  more  drunken, 
quarrelsome,  adulterous,  intriguing,  lascivious 
set  of  beings,  than  are  to  be  met  with  in  the 
most  profligate  court  in  Europe.  There  is, 
every  now  and  then,  some  plain  coarse  morality 
in  Homer;  but  the  most  bloody  revenge,  and 
the  most  savage  cruelty  in  warfare,  the  ravish- 
ing of  women,  and  the  sale  of  men,  &c.  &c. 
&c.  are  circumstances  which  the  old  bard 
seems  to  relate  as  the  ordinary  events  of  his 
times,  without  ever  dreaming  that  there  could 
be  much  harm  in  them  ;  and  if  it  be  urged 
that  Homer  took  his  ideas  of  right  and  wrong 
from  a  barbarous  age,  that  is  just  saying,  in 
other  words,  that  Homer  had  very  imperfect 
ideas  of  natural  law. 

Having  exhausted  all  his  powers  of  eulogium 
upon  the  times  that  are  gone.  Dr.  Rennel  in- 
demnifies himself  by  the  very  novel  practice 
of  declaiming  against  the  present  age.  It  is 
an  evil  age — an  adulterous  age — an  ignorant  age — 
an  apostate  age — and  a  foppish  age.  Of  the  pro- 
priety of  the  last  epithet,  our  readers  may  per- 
haps be  more  convinced,  by  calling  to  mind  a 
class  of  fops  not  usually  designated  by  that 
epithet — men  clothed  in  profound  black,  with 
large  canes,  and  strange  amorphous  hats — of 
big  speech,  and  imperative  presence — talkers 
about  Plato — great  affecters  of  senility — de- 
spisers  of  women,  and  all  the  graces  of  life — 
fierce  foes  to  common  sense — abusive  of  tne 
living,  and  approving  no  one  who  has  not  been 
dead  for  at  least  a  century.  Such  fops,  as  vain 
and  as  shallow  as  their  fraternity  in  Bond 
street,  differ  from  these  only  as  Gorgonius  dif- 
fered from  Rufillus. 

In  the  ninth  Discourse  (p.  226),  we  read  of 
St.  Paul,  that  he  had  "  an  heroic  zeal,  directed, 
rather  than  bounded,  by  the  nicest  discretion — 
a  conscious  and  commanding  dignity,  softened 
by  the  meekest  and  most  profound  humility." 


*  I  cannot  read  the  name  of  Malthus  without  adding 
my  tril)iite  of  afiection  for  the  nieinory  of  one  of  the  best 
men  tliat  ever  lived.  lie  loved  philosophical  truth  more 
than  any  man  I  ever  knew, — was  full  of  practical  wis- 
dom,— and  never  indulged  in  contemptuous  feelings 
ajrainsl  his  inferiors  in  understanding. 

t  Page  318 


WOEKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH, 


15 


This  is  intended  for  a  fine  piece  of  writing ; 
but  it  is  without  meaning :  for,  if  words  have 
any  limits,  it  is  a  contradiction  in  terms  to  say  of 
the  same  person,  at  the  satne  time,  that  he  is 
nicely  discreet,  and  heroically  zealous  ;  or  that 
he  is  profoundly  humble,  and  imperatively  dig- 
nified :  and  if  Dr.  Rennel  means,  that  St.  Paul 
displayed  these  qualities  at  different  times,  then 
could  not  any  one  of  them  direct  or  soften  the 
other. 

Sermons  are  so  seldom  examined  with  any 
considerable  degree  of  critical  vigilance, thatwe 
are  apt  to  discover  in  them  sometimes  a  great 
laxity  of  assertion  :  such  as  the  following: — 

"Labour  to  be  undergone,  afflictions  to  be 
borne,  contradictions  to  be  endured,  danger  to 
be  braved,  interest  to  be  despised  in  the  best 
and  most  flourishing  ages  of  the  church,  are 
the  perpetual  badges  of  far  the  greater  part  of 
those  who  take  up  their  cross  and  follow 
Christ." 

This  passage,  at  first,  struck  us  to  be  untrue ; 
and  we  could  not  immediately  recollect  the 
afflictions  Dr.  Rennel  alluded  to,  till  it  occurred 
to  us,  that  he  must  undoubtedly  mean  the  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  actions  which,  in  the  course 
of  eighteen  months,  have  been  brought  against 
the  clergy  for  non-residence. 

Upon  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from 
Roman  Catholics  in  this  country.  Dr.  Rennel  is 
laughable.  We  should  as  soon  dream  that  the 
wars  of  York  and  Lancaster  would  break  out 
afresh,  as  that  the  Protestant  religion  in  Eng- 


land has  any  thing  to  apprehend  from  the 
machinations  of  Catholics.  To  such  a  scheme 
as  that  of  Catholic  emancipation,  which  has 
for  its  object  to  restore  their  natural  rights  tc 
three  or  four  millions  of  men,  and  to  allay  the 
fury  of  religious  hatred.  Dr.  Rennel  is,  as  might 
be  expected,  a  very  strenuous  antagonist.  Time, 
which  lifts  up  the  veil  of  political  mystery,  will 
inform  us  if  the  Doctor  has  taken  that  side  of 
the  question  which  may  be  as  lucrative  to  him- 
self as  it  is  inimical  to  human  happiness,  and 
repugnant  to  enlightened  policy. 

Of  Dr.  Rennel's  talents  as  a  reasoner,  we 
certainly  have  formed  no  very  high  opinion. 
Unless  dogmatical  assertion,  and  the  practice 
(but  too  common  among  theological  writers) 
of  taking  the  thing  to  be  proved,  for  part  of  the 
proof,  can  be  considered  as  evidence  of  a 
logical  understanding,  the  specimens  of  argu- 
ment Dr.  Rennel  has  afi"orded  us  are  very  in- 
significant. For  putting  obvious  truths  into 
vehement  language;  for  expanding  and  adorn- 
ing moral  instruction  ;  this  gentleman  certain- 
ly possesses  considerable  talents:  and  if  he 
will  moderate  his  insolence,  steer  clear  of 
theological  metaphysics,  and  consider  rather 
those  great  laws  of  Christian  practice,  which 
jnust  interest  mankind  through  all  ages,  than 
the  petty  questions  which  are  important  to  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  for  the  time  being, 
he  may  live  beyond  his  own  days,  and  become 
a  star  of  the  third  or  fourth  magnitude  in  the 
English  Church. 


JOHN  BOWLES; 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1802.] 


If  this  piece  be,  as  Mr.  Bowles  asserts,f  the 
death-warrant  of  the  liberty  and  power  of  Great 
Britain,  we  will  venture  to  assert,  that  it  is  also 
the  death-warrant  of  Mr.  Bowles's  literary  re- 
putation ;  and  that  the  people  of  this  island, 
if  they  verify  his  predictions,  and  cease  to  read 
his  books,  whatever  they  may  lose  in  political 
greatness,  will  evince  no  small  improvement 
in  critical  acumen.  There  is  a  political,  as 
well  as  a  bodily  hypochondriasis;  and  there 
ai'e  empirics  always  on  the  watch  to  make 
their  prey,  either  of  the  one  or  of  the  other. 
Dr.  Solomon,  Dr.  Brodum,  and  Mr.  Bowles, 
have  all  commanded  their  share  of  the  public 
attention :  but  the  two  former  gentlemen  con- 
tinue to  flourish  with  undiminished  splendour; 
while  the  patients  of  the  latter  are  fast  dwin- 
dling away,  and  his  drugs  falling  into  disuse 
and  contempt. 


*  Reflections  at  the  Conclusion  of  the  War:  Beinj  a 
Pequel  to  Reflections  on  the  Political  and  Moral  State  of 
Society  at  the  Close  of  the  Eighteenth  Century.  The 
Tliird  Edition,  with  Additions.  By  John  Bowles, 
Esq. 

+  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  mischievous  power  of 
the  corrupt  alarmists  of  those  days,  and  the  despotic 
manner  in  which  thev  exercised  their  authority.  They 
were  fair  objects  for  the  Edinburgh  Review. 


The  truth  is,  if  Mr.  Bowles  had  begun  his 
literary  career  at  a  period  when  superior  dis- 
crimination, and  profound  thought,  not  vulgar 
violence,  and  the  eternal  repetition  of  rabble- 
rousing  words,  were  necessary  to  literary 
reputation,  he  would  never  have  emerged 
froin  that  obscurity  to  which  he  will  soon 
turn.  The  intemperate  passions  of  the  public, 
not  his  own  talents,  have  given  him  some  tem- 
porary reputation  ;  and  now,  when  men  hope 
and  fear  with  less  eagerness  than  they  have 
been  lately  accustomed  to  do,  Mr.  Bowles  will 
be  compelled  to  descend  from  that  moderate 
eminence,  where  no  man  of  real  genius  would 
ever  have  condescended  to  remain. 

The  pamphlet  is  written  in  the  genuine  spi- 
rit of  the  Windham  and  Burke  School ;  though 
Mi%  Bowles  cannot  be  called  a  servile  copyist 
of  either  of  these  gentlemen,  as  he  has  rejected 
the  logic  of  the  one,  and  the  eloquence  of  the 
other,  and  imitated  them  only  in  their  head 
strong  violence,  and  exaggerated  abuse.  There 
are  some  men  who  continue  to  astonish  and 
please  the  world,  even  in  the  support  of  a  bad 
cause.  They  are  mighty  in  their  fallacies,  and 
beautiful  in  their  errors.  Mr.  Bom'Ics  sees 
only  one  half  of  the  precedent ;  and  thinks,  in. 


16 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


order  to  be  famous,  that  he  has  nothing  to  do 
but  to  be  in  the  wrong. 

War,  etei'nal  war,  till  the  wrongs  of  Europe 
are  avenged,  and  the  Bourbons  restored,  is  the 
master-principle  of  Mr.  Bowles's  political  opi- 
nions, and  the  object  for  which  he  declaims 
through  the  whole  of  the  present  pamphlet. 

The  first  apprehensions  which  Mr.  Bowles 
seems  to  entertain,  are  of  the  boundless  am- 
bition and  perfidious  character  of  the  First 
Consul,  and  of  that  military  despotism  he  has 
established,  which  is  not  only  impelled  by  the 
love  of  conquest,  but  interested,  for  its  own 
preservation,  to  desire  the  overthrow  of  other 
states.  Yet  the  author  informs  us,  immediate- 
ly after,  that  the  life  of  Buonaparte  is  exposed 
to  more  dangers  than  that  of  any  other  indi- 
vidual in  Europe  who  is  not  actually  in  the 
last  stage  of  an  incurable  disease ;  and  that 
his  death,  whenever  it  happens,  must  involve 
the  dissolution  of  that  machine  of  government, 
of  which  he  mus.tbe  considered  not  only  as  the 
sole  director,  but  the  main  spi'ing.  Confusion 
of  thought,  we  are  told,  is  one  of  the  truest 
indications  of  terror ;  and  the  panic  of  this 
alarmist  is  so  very  great,  that  he  cannot  listen 
to  the  consolation  which  he  himself  aflbrds : 
for  it  appears,  upon  summing  up  these  perils, 
that  we  are  in  the  utmost  danger  of  being  de- 
stroyed by  a  despot,  whose  system  of  govern- 
ment, as  dreadful  as  himself,  cannot  survive 
him,  and  who,  in  all  human  probability,  will 
be  shot  or  hanged  before  he  can  execute  any 
one  of  his  projects  against  us. 

We  have  a  good  deal  of  flourishing  in  the 
beginning  of  the  pamphlet,  about  the  effect  of 
the  moral  sense  upon  the  stability  of  govern- 
ments ;  that  is,  as  Mr.  Bowles  explains  it,  the 
power  which  all  old  governments  derive  from 
the  opinion  entertained  by  the  people  of  the 
justice  of  their  rights.  If  this  sense  of  an- 
cient right  be  (as  is  here  confidently  asserted) 
strong  enough  ultimately  to  restore  the  Bour- 
bons, why  are  we  to  fight  for  that  which  will 
be  done  without  any  fighting  at  alii  And  if 
it  be  strong  enough  to  restore,  why  was  it  weak 
enough  to  render  restoration  necessary  1 

To  notice  every  singular  train  of  reasoning 
into  which  Mr.  Bowles  falls,  is  not  possible  ; 
and,  in  the  copious  choice  of  evils,  we  shall, 
from  feelings,  of  mercy,  take  the  least. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  he  observes,  that 
"  those  rights  of  government,  which,  because 
they  are  ancient,  are  recognised  by  the  moral 
sense  as  lawful,  are  the  only  ones  which  are 
compatible  with  civil  liberty."  So  that  all 
questions  of  right  and  wrong,  between  the 
governors  and  the  governed,  are  determinable 
by  chronology  alone.  Every  political  institu- 
tion is  favourable  to  liberty,  not  according  to 
its  spirit,  but  in  proportion  to  the  antiquity  of 
its  date  ;  and  the  slaves  of  Great  Britain  are 
groaning  under  the  trial  by  jury,  while  the  free 
men  of  Asia  exult  in  the  bold  privilege  trans- 
mitted to  them  by  their  fathers,  of  being  tram- 
pled to  death  by  elephants. 

In  the  8th  page,  Mr.  Bowles  thinks  that 
France,  if  she  remains  without  a  king,  will 
conquer  all  Europe  ;  and,  in  the  19th  page, 
that  she  will  be  an  object  of  Divine  vengeance 
till  she  takes  one.     In  the  same  page,  all  the 


miseries  of  France  are  stated  to  be  a  judgment 
of  Heaven  for  their  cruelty  to  the  king  ;  and, 
in  the  33d  page,  they  are  discovered  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  perfidy  of  the  same  king  to  this 
country  in  the  Amei-ican  contest.  So  that  cer- 
tain misfortunes  proceed  fi'om  the  maltreat- 
ment of  a  person,  who  had  himself  occasioned 
these  identical  misfortunes  before  he  was  mal- 
treated; and  while  Providence  is  compelling 
the  French,  by  every  species  of  affliction,  to 
resume  the  monarchical  government,  they  are 
to  acquire  such  extraordinary  vigour,  from  not 
acting  as  Providence  would  wish,  that  they 
are  to  trample  on  every  nation  which  co-ope- 
rates with  the  Divine  intention. 

In  the  60th  page,  Mr.  Bowles  explains  what 
is  meant  by  Jacobinism;  and,  as  a  concluding 
proof  of  the  justice  with  which  the  character 
is  drawn,  triumphantly  quotes  the  case  of  a 
certain  R.  Mountain,  who  was  tried  for  damn- 
ing all  kings  and  all  governments  upon  earth  ; 
for,  adds  R.  Mountain,  "  I  am  a  Jacobin."  No- 
body can  more  thoroughly  detest  and  despise 
that  restless  spirit  of  political  innovation, 
which,  we  suppose,  is  meant  by  the  name  of 
Jacobinism,  than  we  ourselves  do  ;  but  we 
Avere  highly  amused  with  this  proof,  ah  ehriis 
sutoribus,  of  tlie  prostration  of  Europe,  the  last 
hour  of  human  felicity,  the  perdition  of  man, 
discovered  in  the  crapulous  eructations  of  a 
drunken  cobler. 

This  species  of  evidence  might  certainly 
have  escaped  a  common  observer  :  But  this  is 
not  all  ;  there  are  other  proofs  of  treason  and 
sedition,  equally  remote,  sagacious,  and  pro- 
found. Many  good  subjects  are  not  very 
much  pleased  with  the  idea  of  the  Whig  Club 
dining  together  ;  but  Mr.  Bowles  has  the  merit 
of  first  calling  the  public  attention  to  the 
alarming  practice  of  singing  after  dinner  at 
these  political  meetings.  He  speaks  with  a 
proper  horror  of  tavern  dinners, 

"  — where  conviviality  is  made  a  stimulus 
to  disaffection — where  wine  serves  only  to  in- 
flame disloyalty — where  toasts  are  converterl 
into  a  vehicle  of  sedition — and  where  the 
powers  of  harmony  are  called  forth  in  the 
cause  of  Discord  by  those  hireling  singers, 
Avho  are  equally  readv  to  invoke  the  Divine 
favour  on  the  head  of  their  King,  or  to  strain 
their  venal  throats  in  chanting  the  triumphs  of 
his  bitterest  enemies." 

All  complaint  is  futile,  which  is  not  followed 
up  by  appropriate  remedies.  If  Parliament, 
or  Catarrh,  do  not  save  us,  Dignum  and  Sedg- 
wick will  quaver  away  the  King,  shake  down 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  warble  us  into  all  the 
horrors  of  republican  government.  When,  in 
addition  to  these  dangers,  we  reflect  also  upon 
those  with  which  our  national  happiness  is 
menaced,  by  the  present  thinness  of  ladies' 
petticoats  (p.  78),  temerity  may  hope  our  sal- 
vation, but  how  can  reason  promise  it  1 

One  solitary  gleam  of  comfort,  indeed, 
beams  itpon  us  in  reading  the  solemn  devo- 
tion of  this  modern  Curtius  to  the  cause  of  his 
King  and  country — 

"  My  attachment  to  the  British  monarchy, 
and  to  the  reigning  family,  is  rooted  in  my 
'  heart's   core.' — My  anxiety  for    the    Britislx 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


17 


throne,  pending  the  dangers  to  which,  in  com- 
mon with  every  other  throne,  it  has  lately  been 
exposed,  has  imbittered  my  choicest  comforts. 
And  I  must  solemnly  vow,  before  Almighty 
God,  to  devote  myself,  to  the  end  of  my  days, 
to  the  maintenance  of  that  throne." 

Whether  this  patriotism  be  original,  or  whe- 
ther it  be  copied  from  the  Upholsterer  in 
Foote's  Farces,  who  sits  up  whole  nights 
watching  over  the  British  constitution,  we  shall 
not  stop  to  inquire ;  because,  when  the  practi- 
cal effect  of  sentiments  is  good,  we  would  not 
diminish  their  merits   by  investigating  their 


origin.  We  seriously  commend  in  Mr.  Bowles 
this  future  dedication  of  his  life  to  the  service 
of  his  King  and  country ;  and  consider  it  as  a 
virtual  promise  that  he  will  write  no  more  in 
their  defence.  No  wise  or  good  man  has  ever 
thought  of  either,  but  with  admiration  and  re- 
spect. That  they  should  be  exposed  to  that 
ridicule,  by  the  forward  imbecility  of  friend- 
ship, from  which  they  appear  to  be  protected 
by  intrinsic  worth,  is  so  painful  a  considera- 
tion, that  the  very  thought  of  it,  we  are  per- 
suaded, will  induce  Mr.  Bowles  to  desist  from 
writing  on  political  subjects. 


DH.  LANGFORD/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1802.] 


Ax  accident  which  happened  to  the  gentle- 
man engaged  in  reviewing  this  Sermon  proves', 
in  the  most  striking  manner,  the  importance 
of  this  charity  for  restoring  to  life  persons  in 
whom  the  vital  power  is  suspended.  He  was 
discovered,  with  Dr.  Langford'sf  discourse 
lying  open  before  him,  in  a  state  of  the  most 
profound  sleep ;  from  which  he  could  not,  by 
any  means,  be  awakened  for  a  great  length  of 
time.  By  attending,  however,  to  the  rules  pre- 
scribed by  the  Humane  Society,  flinging  in  the 
smoke  of  tobacco,  applying  hot  tiannels,  and 
carefully  removing  the  discourse  itself  to  a 
great  distance,  the  critic  was  restored  to  his 
disconsolate  brothers. 

The  only  account  he  could  give  of  himself 
was,  that  he  remembers  reading  on,  regularly, 
till  he  came  to  the  following  pathetic  descrip- 
tion of  a  drowned  tradesman  ;  beyond  which 
he  recollects  nothing:. 


"  But  to  the  individual  himself,  as  a  man,  let 
us  add  the  interruption  to  all  the  temporal 
business  in  which  his  interest  was  engaged. 
To  him  indeed,  now  apparently  lost,  the  world 
is  as  nothing  :  but  it  seldom  happens,  that  man 
can  live  for  himself  alone:  society  parcels  out 
its  concerns  in  various  connections;  and  from 
one  head  issue  waters  which  run  down  in 
many  channels. — The  spring  being  suddenly 
cut  off,  what  confusion  must  follow  in  the 
streams  which  have  flowed  from  its  source  1 
It  may  be,  that  all  the  expectations  reasonably 
raised  of  approaching  prosperity,  to  those  who 
have  embarked  in  the  same  occupation,  may 
at  once  disappear;  and  the*! important  inter- 
change of  commercial  faith  be  broken  off, 
before  it  could  be  brought  to  any  advantageous 
conclusion." 

This  extract  will  suffice  for  the  style  of  the 
sermon.    The  charity  itself  is  above  all  praise. 


AECHDEACON  NARES.t 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1802.] 


Fob  the  swarm  of  ephemeral  sermons  which 
issue  from  the  press,  we  are  principally  in- 
debted to  the  vanity  of  popular  preachers,  who 
are  puffed  up  by  female  praises  into  a  belief, 
that  what  may  be  delivered,  with  great  pro- 
priety, in  a  chapel  full  of  visitors  and  friends, 
is  fit  for  the  deliberate  attention  of  the  public, 

*  Anniversary  Sermon  of  the  Royal  Humane  Society.  By 
W.  Lanoford,  D.  D.     Printed  for  F.  and  C.  Rivington. 

■(■  To  this  exceedingly  foolish  man,  the  first  years  of 
Etonian  Education  were  intrusted.  How  is  it  possil)le 
to  inflict  a  greater  misfortune  on  a  country,  than  to  fill 
up  such  an  office  with  such  an  officer  1 

XA  Thanksgiving  for  Plenty,  and  Warning  against 
Avarice.  A  Sermon.  By  the  Reverend  RoBF.nT  Nares, 
Archdeacon  of  Staftord,  and  Canon  Residentiary  of 
Litchfield.  London  :  Printed  for  the  author,  and  sold  by 
Rivingtons,  St.  Paul's  Churchyard. 

This  was  another  gentleman  of  the  alarmist  tribe. 
3 


who  cannot  be  influenced  by  the  aecency  of  a 
clergyman's  private  life,  flattered  by  the  sedu- 
lous politeness  of  his  manners,  or  misled  by 
the  fallacious  circumstances  of  voice  and 
action.  A  clergyman  cannot  be  always  consi- 
dered as  reprehensible  for  preaching  an  indif- 
ferent sermon  ;  because,  to  the  active  piety, 
and  correct  life,  which  the  profession  requires, 
many  an  excellent  man  may  not  unite  talents 
for  that  species  of  composition;  but  every 
man  who  prints,  imagines  he  gives  to  the 
world  something  which  they  had  not  before, 
either  in  matter  or  style;  that  he  has  brought 
forth  new  truths,  or  adorned  old  ones ;  and 
when,  in  lieu  of  novelty  and  ornament,  we  can 
discover  nothing  but  trite  imbecility,  the  law 
must  take  its  course,  and  the  delinquent  suffer 
B  2 


18 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


that  mortification  from  which  vanity  can  rarely 
be  expected  to  escape,  when  it  chooses  dulness 
for  the  minister  of  its  gratifications. 

The  learned  author,  after  observing  that  a 
large  army  praying  would  be  a  much  finer 
spectacle  than  a  large  army  fighting,  and  after 
entertaining  us  with  the  old  anecdote  of 
Xerxes,  and  the  flood  of  tears,  proceeds  to  ex- 
press his  sentiments  on  the  late  scarcity,  and 
the  present  abundance;  then,  stating  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  Jews  were  governed  by  the 
immediate  interference  of  God,  and  informing 
us,  that  other  people  expect  not,  nor  are  taught 
to  look  for,  miraculous  interference,  to  punish 
or  reward  them,  he  proceeds  to  talk  of  the 
visitation  of  Providence,  for  the  purposes  of 
trial,  warning,  and  correction,  as  if  it  were  a 
truth  of  which  he  had  never  doubted. 

Still,  however,  he  contends,  though  the  Deity 
does  interfere,  it  would  be  presumptuous  and 
impious  to  pronounce  the  purposes  for  which 
he  interferes  ;  and  then  adds,  that  it  has  pleased 
God,  within  these  few  years,  to  give  us  a  most 
awful  lesson  of  the  vanity  of  agriculture  and 
importation  without  piety,  and  that  he  has 
proved  this  to  the  conviction  of  every  thinking 
mind. 

"Though  he  interpose  not  (says  Mr.  Nares) 
by  positive  miracle,  he  influences  by  means 
unknown  to  all  but  himself,  and  directs  the 
winds,  the  rain,  and  the  glorious  beams  of 
heaven  to  execute  his  judgment,  or  fulfil  his 
merciful  designs." — Now,  either  the  wind,  the 
rain,  and  the  beams,  are  here  represented  to 
act  as  they  do  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature, 
or  they  are  not.  If  they  are,  how  can  their 
operations  be  considered  as  a  judgment  on 
sins  1  and  if  they  are  not,  what  are  their  extra- 
ordinary operations,  but  positive  miracles]  So 
that  the  archdeacon,  after  denying  that  any 
body  knows  when,  how,  and  whij,  the  Creator 
works  a  miracle,  proceeds  to  specify  the  time, 
instrument,  and  object  of  a  miraculous  scarcity; 
and  then,  assuring  us  that  the  elements  were 
employed  to  execute  the  judgments  of  Provi- 
dence, denies  that  this  is  any  proof  of  a  posi- 
tive miracle. 

Having  given  us  this  specimen  of  his  talents 
for  theological  metaphysics,  Mr.  Nares  com- 
mences his  attack  upon  the  farmers;  accuses 
them  of  cruelty  and  avarice;  raises  the  old  cry 
of  monopoly;  and  expresses  some  doubts,  in  a 
note,  whether  the  better  way  would  not  be,  to 
subject  their  granaries  to  the  control  of  an 
exciseman  ;  and  to  levy  heavy  penalties  upon 
those,  in  whose  possession  corn,  beyond  a  cer- 
tain quantity  to  be  fixed  by  law,  should  be 
found. — This  style  of  reasoning  is  pardonable 


enough  in  those  who  argue  from  the  belly 
rather  than  the  brains;  but  in  a  well-fed,  and 
well-educated  clergyman,  who  has  never  been 
disturbed  by  hunger  from  the  free  exercise  of 
cultivated  talents,  it  merits  the  severest  repre- 
hension. The  farmer  has  it  not  in  his  power 
to  raise  the  price  of  corn;  he  never  has  fixed 
and  never  can  fix  it.  He  is  unquestionably 
justified  in  receiving  any  price  he  can  obtain: 
for  it  happens  very  beautifully,  that  the  eflect 
of  his  efforts  to  better  his  fortune  is  as  benefi- 
cial to  the  public  as  if  their  motive  had  not 
been  selfish.  The  poor  are  not  to  be  supported, 
in  time  of  famine,  by  abatement  of  price  on 
the  part  of  the  farmer,  but  by  the  subscription 
of  residentiary  canons,  archdeacons,  and  all 
men  rich  in  public  or  private  property;  and 
to  these  subscriptions  the  farmer  should  con- 
tribute according  to  the  amount  of  his  fortune. 
To  insist  that  he  should  take  a  less  price  when 
he  can  obtain  a  greater,  is  to  insist  upon  laying 
on  that  order  of  men  the  whole  burden  of  sup- 
porting the  poor;  a  convenient  system  enough 
in  the  eyes  of  a  rich  ecclesiastic;  and  objec- 
tionable only,  because  it  is  impracticable, 
pernicious,  and  unjust.* 

The  question  of  the  corn  trade  has  divided 
society  into  two  parts — those  who  have  any 
talents  for  reasoning,  and  those  who  have  not. 
We  owe  an  apology  to  our  readers  for  taking 
any  notice  of  errors  that  have  been  so  fre- 
quently and  so  unanswerably  exposed ;  but 
when  they  are  echoed  from  the  bench  and  the 
pulpit,  the  dignity  of  the  teacher  may  perhaps 
communicate  some  degree  of  importance  to 
the  silliest  and  most  extravagant  doctrines. 

No  reasoning  can  be  more  radically  erro- 
neous than  that  upon  which  the  whole  of  Mr. 
Nares's  sermon  is  founded.  The  most  bene- 
volent, the  most  Christian,  and  the  most  pro- 
fitable conduct  the  farmer  can  pursue,  is,  to 
sell  his  commodities  for  the  highest  price  he 
can  possibly  obtain.  This  advice,  we  think, 
is  not  in  any  great  danger  of  being  rejected  : 
we  wish  we  were  equally  sure  of  success  in 
counselling  the  Reverend  Mr.  Nares  to  attend, 
in  future,  to  practical  rather  than  theoretical 
questions  about  provisions.  He  may  be  a  very 
hospitable  archdeacon ;  but  nothing  short  of 
a  positive  miracle  can  make  him  an  acute 
reasoner. 


*  If  it  is  pleasdnt  to  notice  the  intellectual  growth  of 
an  individual,  it  is  still  more  pleasant  to  see  the  public 
growing  wiser.  This  absurdity  of  attributing  the  high 
price  of  corn  to  the  combinations  of  farmers,  was  the 
common  nonsense  talked  in  the  days  of  my  youth.  I  re- 
member when  ten  judges  out  of  twelve  laid  down  this 
doctrine  in  their  charges  to  the  various  grand  juries  on 
the  circuits.  The  lowest  attorney's  clerk  is  now  better 
instructed. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


n 


MATTHEW  LEWIS/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


AtFOKSo,  king  of  Castile  had,  many  years 
previous  to  the  supposed  epoch  of  the  play, 
left  his  minister  and  general,  Orsino,  to  perish 
in  prison,  from  a  false  accusation  of  treason. 
Cassario,  son  to  Orsino,  (who  by  accident  had 
liberated  Amelrosa,  daughter  of  Alfonso,  from 
the  Moors,  and  who  is  married  to  her,  unknown 
to  the  father,)  becomes  a  great  favourite  with 
the  king,  and  avails  himself  of  the  command 
of  the  armies,  with  which  he  is  intrusted,  to 
gratify  his  revenge  for  his  father's  misfor- 
tunes, to  forward  his  own  ambitious  views, 
and  to  lay  a  plot  by  which  he  may  deprive 
Alfonso  of  his  throne  and  his  life.  Marquis 
Guzman,  poisoned  by  his  wife  Ottilia,  in  love 
with  Coasario,  confesses  to  the  king  that  the 
papers  upon  which  the  suspicion  of  Orsino's 
guilt  was  founded  were  forged  by  him :  and 
the  king,  learning  from  his  daughter  Amel- 
rosa that  Orsino  is  still  alive,  repairs  to  his 
retreat  in  the  forest,  is  received  with  the  most 
implacable  hauteur  and  resentment,  and  in 
vain  implores  forgiveness  of  his  injured  minis- 
ter. To  the  same  forest  Caesario,  informed  of 
the  existence  of  his  father,  repairs  and  reveals 
his  intended  plot  against  the  king.  Orsino,  con- 
vinced of  Alfonso's  goodness  to  his  subjects, 
though  incapable  of  forgiving  him  for  his  un- 
intentional injuries  to  himself,  in  vain  dis- 
suades his  son  from  the  conspiracy;  and  at 
last,  ignorant  of  their  marriage,  acquaints 
Amelrosa  with  the  plot  formed  by  her  hus- 
band against  her  father.  Amelrosa,  already 
poisoned  by  Ottilia,  in  vain  attempts  to  pre- 
vent Csesario  from  blowing  up  a  mine  laid 
under  the  royal  palace  ;  information  of  which 
she  had  received  from  Ottilia,  stabbed  by  Cge- 
sario  to  avoid  her  importunity.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  king  had  been  removed  from  the 
palace  by  Orsino  to  his  ancient  retreat  in  the 
forest:  the  people  rise  against  the  usurper 
Csesario ;  a  battle  takes  place:  Orsino  stabs 
his  own  son  at  the  moment  the  king  is  in  his 
son's  power ;  falls  down  from  the  wounds  he 
has  received  in  battle;  and  dies  in  the  usual 
dramatic  style,  repeating  twenty-two  hexame- 
ter verses.    Mr.  Lewis  says  in  his  preface, 

"To  the  assertion,  that  my  play  is  stupid,  I 
have  nothing  to  object ;  if  it  be  found  so,  even 
let  it  be  so  said;  but  if  (as  was  most  falsely 
asserted  of  Adelmorn)  any  anonymous  writer 
should  advance  that  this  Tragedy  is  immoral, 
I  expect  him  to  prove  his  assertion  by  quoting 
the  objectionable  passages.  This  I  demand  as 
an  act  of  justice." 

We  confess  ourselves  to  have  been  highly 
delighted  with  these  symptoms  of  returning, 
or  perhaps  nascent  purity  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Lewis ;  a  delight  somewhat  impaired,  to  be 
sure,  at  the  opening  of  the  play,  by  the  foUow- 


*  -Alfonso,  King  of  Castile.    A  Tragedy,  in  five  Acts. 
By  M.  G.  Lewis.    Price  2s.  6d. 


ing  explanation  which  Ottilia  gives  of  her  early 
rising. 

"  ACT  I.    Scene  I. — The  palace-garden. — Day-break. 
Ottilia  enters  in  a  night-dress:  her  hair  flows  dishevelled. 
"  Ottil.     Dews  of  tlie  morn  descend !    Breathe  sum- 
mer gales  : 
My  flushed  cheeks  woo  ye  !     Play,  sweet  wantons,  play 
'Rlid  my  loose  tresses,  fan  my  panting  breast, 
Quencli  my  blood's  burning  fever! — Vain,  vain  prayer! 
Not  Winter  throned  'midst  Alpine  snows,  whose  will 
Can  with  one  breath,  one  touch,  congeal  whole  realms, 
And  blanch  whole  seas  :  not  that  fiend's  self  could  ease 
This  heart,  this  gulf  of  flames,  this  purple  kingdom, 
Where  passion  rules  and  rages  1" 

Ottilia  at  last  becomes  quite  furious,  from 
the  conviction  that  Caesario  has  been  sleeping 
with  a  second  lady,  called  Estella ;  whereas 
he  has  really  been  sleeping  with  a  third  lady, 
called  Amelrosa.  Passing  across  the  stage, 
this  gallant  gentleman  takes  an  opportunity 
of  mentioning  to  the  audience,  that  he  has 
been  passing  his  time  very  agreeably,  meets 
Ottilia,  quarrels,  makes  it  up ;  and  so  end  the 
first  two  or  three  scenes. 

Mr.  Lewis  will  excuse  us  for  the  liberty  we 
take  in  commenting  on  a  few  passages  in  his 
play  which  appear  to  us  rather  exceptionable. 
The  only  information  which  Csesario,  imagin- 
ing his  father  to  have  been  dead  for  many 
years,  receives  of  his  existence,  is  in  the  fol- 
lowing short  speech  of  Melchior. 

"Melch.    The  Count  San  Lucar,  long  thought  dead 
but  saved, 
It  seems,  by  Amelrosa's  care. — Time  presses — 
I  must  away  :  farewell." 

To  this  laconic,  but  important  information, 
Ccesario  makes  no  reply ;  but  merely  desires 
Melchior  to  meet  him  at  one  o'clock,  under  the 
Royal  Tower,  and  for  some  other  purposes. 

In  the  few  cases  which  have  fallen  under 
our  observation,  of  fathers  restored  to  life  after 
a  supposed  death  of  twenty  years,  the  parties 
concerned  have,  on  the  first  intimation,  ap- 
peared a  little  surprised,  and  generally  ask  a 
few  questions  ;  though  we  do  not  go  the  length 
of  saying  it  is  natural  so  to  do.  This  sams 
CaBsario  (whose  love  of  his  father  is  a  prin- 
cipal cause  of  his  conspiracy  against  the 
king)  begins  criticising  the  old  warrior,  upon 
his  first  seeing  him  again,  much  as  a  virtuoso 
woulA  criticise  an  ancient  statue  that  wanted 
an  arm  or  a  leg. 

"  Orsino  enters  from  the  cave. 
"CjESARIO.  Now  by  my  lilb 

A  noble  ruin !" 

Amelrosa,  who  imagines  her  father  to  have 
banished  her  from  his  presence  for  ever,  in  th-e 
first  transports  of  joy  for  pardon,  obtained  by 
earnest  intercessions,  thus  exclaims : — 

"  Lend  thy  doves,  dear  Venut), 
That  I  may  send  them  where  Csesario  strays  : 
And  while  he  smooths  their  silver  wings,  and  gives  them 
For  drink  the  honey  of  his  lips,  I'll  bid  them 
Coo  in  his  ear,  his  Amelrosa's  happy !" 

What  judge  of  human  feelings  does  not  re- 


so 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


cognise  in  these  images  of  silver  wings,  doves 
and  honey,  the  genuine  language  of  the  pas- 
sions ] 

If  Mr.  Lewis  is  really  in  earnest  in  pointing 
out  the  coincidence  between  his  own  dramatic 
sentiments,and  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  such 
a  reference  (wide  as  we  know  this  assertion 
to  be)  evinces  a  want  of  judgment,  of  which 
we  did  not  think  him  capable.  If  it  proceeded 
from  irreligious  levity,  we  pity  the  man  who 
has  bad  taste  enough  not  to  prefer  honest  dul- 
ness  to  such  paltry  celebrity. 

We  beg  leave  to  submit  to  Mr.  Lewis,  if  Al- 
fonso, considering  the  great  interest  he  has  in 
the  decision,  might  not  interfere  a  little  in  the 
long  argument  carried  on  between  Caesario 
and  Orsino,  upon  the  propriety  of  putting  him 
to  death.  To  have  expressed  any  decisive 
opinion  upon  the  subject,  might  perhaps  have 
been  incorrect ;  but  a  few  gentle  hints  as  to 
that  side  of  the  question  to  which  he  leaned, 
might  be  fairly  allowed  to  be  no  very  unnatu- 
ral incident. 

This  tragedy  delights  in  explosions.  Al- 
fonso's empire  is  destroyed  by  a  blast  of  gun- 
powder, and  restored  by  a  clap  of  thunder. 
After  the  death  of  Caesario,  and  a  short  exhor- 
tation to  that  purpose  by  Orsino,  all  the  con- 
spirators fall  down  in  a  thunder-clap,  ask  par- 
don of  the  king,  and  are  forgiven.  This 
mixture  of  physical  and  moral  power  is 
beautiful !  How  interesting  a  water-spout 
would  appear  among  Mr.  Lewis's  kings  and 


queens  !  We  anxiously  look  forward,  in  his 
next  tragedy,  to  a  fall  of  snow  three  or  four 
feel  deep;  or  expect  that  a  plot  shall  gradually 
unfold  itself  by  means  of  a  general  thaw. 

All  is  not  so  bad  in  this  play.  There  is 
some  strong  painting,  which  shows,  every  now 
and  then,  the  hand  of  a  master.  The  agitation 
which  Csesario  exhibits  upon  his  first  joining 
the  conspirators  in  the  cave,  previous  to  the 
blowing  up  of  the  mine,  and  immediately  after 
stabbing  Ottilia,  is  very  fine. 

"CjESAnio.     Ay,  shout,  shout, 
And  kneeling  greet  your  blood-anoipted  king, 
This  steel  his  sceptre  !    Tremble,  dwarfs  in  guilt. 
And  own  your  master  !     Thou  art  proof,  Henriquez, 
'Gainst  pity;  I  once  saw  thee  stab  in  battle 
A  page  who  clasped  thy  knees  :  And  Melchior  there 
Made  quick  work  with  a  brother  whom  he  hated. 
But  what  did  I  this  night  I    Hear,  hear,  and  reverence ! 
There  was  a  breast,  on  which  my  head  had  rested 
A  thousand  times  ;  a  breast  which  loved  me  fondly 
As  heaven  loves  martyred  saints ;  and  yet  this  breast 
1  stabbed,  knave— stabbed  it  to  the  heart — Wine  !  wine 

there  1 
For  my  soul's  joyous  !" — p.  86. 

The  resistance  which  Amelrosa  opposes  to 
the  firing  of  the  mine,  is  well  wrought  out; 
and  there  is  some  good  poetry  scattered  up 
and  down  the  play,  of  which  we  should  very 
willingly  make  extracts,  if  our  limits  would 
permit.  The  ill  success  which  it  has  justly 
experienced,  is  owing,  we  have  no  doubt,  to  the 
want  of  nature  in  the  characters,  and  of  proba- 
bility and  good  arrangement  in  the  incidents; 
objections  of  some  force. 


austealia; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


To  introduce  an  European  population,  and 
consequently,  the  arts  and  civilization  of  Eu- 
rope, into  such  an  untrodden  country  as  New 
Holland,  is  to  confer  a  lasting  and  important 
benefit  upon  the  world.  If  man  be  destined  for 
perpetual  activity,  and  if  the  proper  objects  of 
that  activity  be  the  subjugation  of  physical 
difficulties,  and  of  his  own  dangerous  passions, 
how  absurd  are  those  systems  which  proscribe 
the  acquisitions  of  science  and  the  restraints 
of  law,  and  would  arrest  the  progress  of  man 
in  the  rudest  and  earliest  stages  of  his  exist- 
ence!  Indeed,  opinions  so  very  extravagant 
in  their  nature  must  be  attributed  rather  to  the 
wantonness  of  paradox,  than  to  sober  reflec- 
tion and  extended  inquiry. 

To  suppose  the  savage  state  permanent,  we 
must  suppose  the  numbers  of  those  who  com- 
pose it  to  be  stationary,  and  the  various  pas- 
sions by  which  men  have  actually  emerged 
from  it  to  be  extinct;  and  this  is  to  suppose 
man  a  very  different  being  from  what  he  really 
IS.  To  prove  such  a  permanence  beneficial, 
(if  it  were  possible,)  we  must  have  recourse 

♦  Account  of  the  English  Colony  of  M'ew  South  WaUs. 
By  Lieutenant-Colonel  Collins  of  the  R,-yal  Marines. 
Vol.  ii.  4to.    Cadell  and  Davies,  London. 


to  matter  of  fact,  and  judge  of  the  rude  state 
of  society,  not  from  the  praises  of  tranquil 
literati,  but  from  the  narratives  of  those  who 
have  seen  it,  through  a  nearer  and  better  me- 
dium than  that  of  itnagination.  There  is  an 
argument,  however,  for  the  continuation  of 
evil,  drawn  from  the  ignorance  of  good  ;  by 
which  it  is  contended,  that  to  teach  men  their 
situation  can  be  better,  is  to  teach  them  that  it 
is  bad,  and  to  destroy  that  happiness  which 
always  results  from  an  ignorance  that  any 
greater  happiness  is  within  our  reach.  All 
pains  and  pleasures  are  clearly  by  comparison ; 
but  the  most  deplorable  savage  enjoys  a  suffi- 
cient contrast  of  good,  to  know  that  the  grosser 
evils  from  which  civilization  rescues  him  are 
evils.  A  New  Hollander  seldom  passes  a  year 
without  suffering  from  famine  ;  the  small-pox 
falls  upon  him  like  a  plague ;  he  dreads  those 
calamities,  though  he  does  not  know  how  to 
avert  them ;  but,  doubtless,  would  find  his 
happiness  increased,  if  they  ivere  averted.  To 
deny  this,  is  to  suppose  that  men  are  recon- 
ciled to  evils, because  they  are  inevitable;  and 
yet  hurricanes,  earthquakes,  bodily  decay,  and 
death,  stand  highest  in  the  catalogue  of  human 
calamities. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


21 


Where  civilization  gives  new  birth  to  new- 
comparisons  unfavourable  to  savage  life,  with 
the  information  that  a  greater  good  is  possible, 
it  generally  connects  the  means  of  attaining  it. 
The  savage  no  sooner  becomes  ashamed  of  his 
nakedness,  than  the  loom  is  ready  to  clothe 
him;  the  forge  prepares  for  him  more  perfect 
tools,  when  he  is  disgusted  with  the  awkward- 
ness of  his  own  :  his  weakness  is  strength- 
ened, and  his  wants  supplied  as  soon  as  they 
are  discovered  ;  and  the  use  of  the  discovery 
is,  that  it  enables  him  to  derive  from  compari- 
son the  best  proof  of  present  happiness.  A 
man  born  blind  is  ignorant  of  the  pleasures  of 
which  he  is  deprived.  Afler  the  restoration  of 
his  sight,  his  happiness  will  be  increased  from 
two  causes; — from  the  delight  he  experiences 
at  the  novel  accession  of  power,  and  from  the 
contrast  he  will  always  be  enabled  to  make 
between  his  two  situations,  long  after  the  plea- 
sure of  novelty  has  ceased.  For  these  rea- 
sons it  is  humane  to  restore  him  to  sight. 

But,  however  beneficial  to  the  general  inte- 
rests of  mankind  the  civilization  of  barbarous 
countries  may  be  considered  to  be,  in  this  par- 
ticular instance  of  it,  the  interest  of  Great 
Britain  would  seem  to  have  been  very  little 
consulted.  With  fanciful  schemes  of  universal 
good  we  have  no  business  to  meddle.  Why 
we  are  to  erect  penitentiary  houses  and  prisons 
at  the  distance  of  half  the  diameter  of  the 
globe,  and  to  incur  the  enormous  expense  of 
feeding  and  transporting  their  inhabitants  to 
and  at  such  a  distance,  it  is  extremely  difBcult 
to  discover.  It  certainly  is  not  from  any  de- 
ficiency of  barren  islands  near  our  own  coast, 
nor  of  uncultivated  wastes  in  the  interior;  and 
if  we  were  sufficiently  fortunate  to  be  wanting 
in  such  species  of  accommodation,  we  might 
discover  in  Canada,  or  the  West  Indies,  or  on 
the  coast  of  Africa,  a  climate  malignant 
enough,  or  a  soil  sufficiently  sterile,  to  revenge 
all  the  injuries  which  have  been  inflicted  on 
society  by  pickpockets,  larcenists,  and  petty 
felons.  Upon  the  foundation  of  a  new  colony, 
and  especially  one  peopled  by  criminals,  there 
is  a  disposition  in  Government  (where  any 
circumstance  in  the  commission  of  the  crime 
aflbrds  the  least  pretence  for  the  commutation) 
to  convert  capital  punishments  into  transpor- 
tation ;  and  by  these  means  to  hold  forth  a 
very  dangerous,  though  certainly  a  very  unin- 
tentional, encouragement  to  offences.  And 
•when  the  history  of  the  colony  has  been  atten- 
tively perused  in  the  parish  of  St.  Giles,  the 
ancient  avocation  of  picking  pockets  will  cer- 
tainly not  become  more  discreditable  from  the 
knowledge,  that  it  may  eventually  lead  to  the 
possession  of  a  farm  of  a  thousand  acres  on 
the  river  Hawkesbury.  Since  the  benevolent 
Howard  attacked  our  prisons,  incarceration 
has  become  not  only  healthy  but  elegant;  and 
a  county  jail  is  precisely  the  place  to  which 
any  pauper  might  wish  to  retire  to  gratify  his 
taste  for  magnificence  as  well  as  for  comfort. 
Upon  the  same  principle,  there  is  some  risk 
that  transportation  will  be  considered  as  one 
of  the  surest  roads  to  honour  and  to  wealth ; 
and  that  no  felon  will  hear  a  verdict  of  "  not 
guilty"  without  considering  himself  as  cut  off 
in  the  fairest  career  of  prosperity.     It  is  fool- 


ishly believed,  that  the  colony  of  Botany  Bay 
unites  our  moral  and  commercial  interests, 
and  that  we  shall  receive  hereafter  an  ample 
equivalent,  in  bales  of  goods,  for  all  the  vices 
we  export.  Unfortunately,  the  expenses  we 
have  incurred  in  founding  the  colony,  will  not 
retard  the  natural  progress  of  its  emancipa- 
tion, or  prevent  the  attacks  of  other  nations, 
who  will  be  as  desirous  of  reaping  the  fruit, 
as  if  they  had  sown  the  seed.  It  is  a  colony, 
besides,  begun  under  every  possible  disadvan- 
tage; it  is  too  distant  to  be  long  governed,  or 
well  defended  ;  it  is  undertaken,  not  by  the  vo- 
luntary association  of  individuals,  but  by  Go- 
vernment, and  by  means  of  compulsory  labour. 
A  nation  must,  indeed,  be  redundant  in  capital, 
that  will  expend  it  where  the  hopes  of  a  just 
return  are  so  very  small. 

It  may  be  a  very  curious  consideration,  to 
reflect  what  we  are  to  do  with  this  colony  when 
it  comes  to  years  of  discretion.  Are  we  to 
spend  another  hundred  millions  of  money  in 
discovering  its  strength,  and  to  humble  our- 
selves again  before  a  fresh  set  of  Washingtons 
and  Franklins  1  The  moment  after  we  have 
suffered  such  serious  mischief  from  the  es- 
cape of  the  old  tiger,  we  are  breeding  up  a 
young  cub,  whom  we  cannot  render  less  fero- 
cious, or  more  secure.  If  we  are  gradually  to 
manumit  the  colony,  as  it  is  more  and  more 
capable  of  protecting  itself,  the  degrees  of 
emancipation,  and  the  periods  at  which  they 
are  to  take  place,  will  be  judged  of  very  differ- 
ently by  the  two  nations.  But  we  confess  our- 
selves not  to  be  so  sanguine  as  to  suppose,  that 
a  spirited  and  commercial  people  would,  in 
spite  of  the  example  of  America,  ever  consent 
to  abandon  their  sovereignty  over  an  import- 
ant colony,  without  a  struggle.  Endless  blood 
and  treasure  will  be  exhausted  to  support  a 
tax  on  kangaroos'  skins ;  faithful  Commons 
will  go  on  voting  fresh  supplies  to  support  a 
just  and  necessary  war;  and  Newgate,  then  be- 
come a  quarter  of  the  world,  will  evince  a 
heroism,  not  unworthy  of  the  great  characters 
by  whom  she  was  originally  peopled. 

The  experiment,  however,  is  not  less  inte- 
resting in  a  moral,  because  it  is  objectionable 
in  a  commercial  point  of  view.  It  is  an  ob- 
ject of  the  highest  curiosity,  thus  to  have  the 
growth  of  a  nation  subjected  to  our  exami- 
nation ;  to  trace  it  by  such  faithful  records, 
from  the  first  day  of  its  existence ;  and  to  ga- 
ther that  knowledge  of  the  progress  of  human 
affairs,  from  actual  experience,  which  is  con- 
sidered to  be  only  accessible  to  the  conjectural 
reflections  of  enlightened  minds. 

Human  nature,  under  very  old  governments, 
is  so  trimmed,  and  pruned,  and  ornamented, 
and  led  into  such  a  variety  of  factitious  shapes, 
that  we  are  almost  ignorant  of  the  appearance 
it  would  assume,  if  it  were  left  more  to  itself. 
From  such  an  experiment  as  that  now  before 
us,  we  shall  be  better  able  to  appreciate  what 
circumstances  of  our  situation  are  owing  to 
those  permanent  laws  by  which  all  men  are 
influenced,  and  what  to  the  accidental  positions 
in  which  we  have  been  placed.  New  circum- 
stances will  throw  new  light  upon  the  effects 
of  our  religious,  political,  and  economical  in- 
stitutions, if  we  cause  them  to  be  adopted  as 


sfe^ 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


models  in  our  rising  empire ;  and  if  we  do  not, 
we  shall  estimate  the  effects  of  their  presence, 
by  observing  those  which  are  produced  by 
their  non-existence. 

The  history  of  the  colony  is  at  present,  how- 
ever, in  its  least  interesting  state,  on  account 
of  the  great  preponderance  of  depraved  inha- 
bitants, whose  crimes  and  irregularities  give 
a  monotony  to  the  narrative,  which  it  cannot 
lose,  till  the  respectable  part  of  the  community 
come  to  bear  a  greater  proportion  to  the  cri- 
minal. 

These  Memoirs  of  Colonel  Collins  resume 
the  history  of  the  colony  from  the  period  at 
which  he  concluded  it  in  his  former  volume, 
September  1796,  and  continue  it  down  to  Au- 
gust 1801.  They  are  written  in  the  style  of  a 
journal,  which,  though  not  the  most  agreeable 
mode  of  conveying  information,  is  certainly 
the  most  authentic,  and  contrives  to  banish  the 
suspicion  (and  most  probably  the  reality)  of 
the  interference  of  a  book-maker — a  species 
of  gentlemen  who  are  now  almost  become  ne- 
cessary to  deliver  naval  and  military  authors 
in  their  literary  labours,  though  they  do  not 
always  atone,  by  orthography  and  grammar, 
for  the  sacrifice  of  truth  and  simplicity.  Mr. 
Collins's  book  is  written  with  great  plainness 
and  candour :  he  appears  to  be  a  man  always 
meaning  well ;  of  good,  plain  common  sense ; 
and  composed  of  those  well-wearing  matei'ials, 
which  adapt  a  person  for  situations  where 
genius  and  refinement  would  only  prove  a 
source  of  misery  and  of  error. 

We  shall  proceed  to  lay  before  our  readers 
an  analysis  of  the  most  important  matter  con- 
tained in  this  volume. 

The  natives  in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Jackson 
stand  extremely  low,  in  point  of  civilization, 
when  compared  with  many  other  savages, 
with  whom  the  discoveries  of  Captain  Cook 
have  made  us  acquainted.  Their  notions  of 
religion  exceed  even  that  degree  of  absurdity 
which  we  are  led  to  expect  in  the  creed  of  a 
barbarous  people.  In  politics,  they  appear  to 
have  scarcely  advanced  beyond  family-govern- 
ment. Huts  they  have  none;  and,  in  all  their 
economical  inventions,  there  is  a  rudeness  and 
deficiency  of  ingenuity,  unpleasant,  when  con- 
trasted with  the  instances  of  dexterity  with 
which  the  descriptions  and  importations  of 
our  navigators  have  rendered  us  so  familiar. 
Their  numbers  appear  to  us  to  be  very  small: 
a  fact,  at  once,  indicative  either  of  the  ferocity 
of  manners  in  any  people,  or,  more  probably, 
of  the  sterility  of  their  country ;  but  which, 
in  the  present  instance,  proceeds  from  both 
these  causes. 

"  Gaining  every  day  (says  Mr.  Collins)  some 
further  knowledge  of  the  inhuman  habits  and 
customs  of  these  people,  their  being  so  thinly 
scattered  through  the  country  ceased  to  be  a 
matter  of  surprise.  It  was  almost  daily  seen, 
that  from  some  trifling  cause  or  other,  they 
were  continually  living  in  a  state  of  warfare : 
to  this  must  be  added  their  brutal  treatment  of 
their  women,  who  are  themselves  equally  de- 
structive to  the  measure  of  population,  by  the 
horrid  and  cruel  customs  of  endeavouring  to 
cause  a  miscarriage,  which  their  female  ac- 
quaintances effect  by  pressing  the  body  in  such 


a  way,  as  to  destroy  the  infant  in  the  womb ; 
which  violence  not  unfrequently  occasions  the 
death  of  the  unnatural  mother  also.  To  this 
they  have  recourse  to  avoid  the  trouble  of  car- 
rying the  infant  about  when  born,  which,  when 
it  is  very  young,  or  at  the  breast,  is  the  duty 
of  the  woman.  The  operation  for  this  destruc- 
tive purpose  is  termed  Mee-bra.  The  burying 
an  infant  (when  at  the  breast)  with  the  mo- 
ther, if  she  should  die,  is  another  shocking 
cause  of  the  thinness  of  population  among 
them.  The  fact  that  such  an  operation  as  the 
Mee-bra  was  practised  by  these  wretched  peo- 
ple, was  communicated  by  one  of  the  natives 
to  the  principal  surgeon  of  the  settlement." — 
(p.  124,  125.) 

It  is  remarkable,  that  the  same  paucity  of 
numbers  has  been  observed  in  every  part  of 
New  Holland  which  has  hitherto  been  ex- 
plored ;  and  yet  there  is  not  the  smallest  rea- 
son to  conjecture  that  the  population  of  it  has 
been  very  recent ;  nor  do  the  people  bear  any 
marks  of  descent  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 
numerous  islands  by  which  this  great  conti- 
nent is  surrounded.  The  force  of  population 
can  only  be  resisted  by  some  great  physical 
evils;  and  many  of  the  causes  of  this  scarcity 
of  human  beings,  which  Mr.  Collins  refers  to 
the  ferocity  of  the  natives,  are  ultimately  re- 
ferable to  the  ditficulty  of  support.  We  have 
always  considered  this  phenomenon  as  a  symp- 
tom extremely  unfavourable  to  the  future  des- 
tinies of  this  country.  It  is  easy  to  launch  out 
into  eulogiums  of  the  fertility  of  nature  in  par- 
ticular spots ;  but  the  most  probable  reason 
why  a  country  that  has  been  long  inhabited, 
is  not  well  inhabited,  is,  that  it  is  not  calcu- 
lated to  support  many  inhabitants  without  great 
labour.  It  is  difficult  to  suppose  any  other 
causes  powerful  enough  to  resist  the  impetu- 
ous tendency  of  man,  to  obey  that  mandate 
for  increase  and  multiplication,  which  has 
certainly  been  better  observed  than  any  other 
declaration  of  the  Divine  will  ever  revealed 
to  us. 

There  appears  to  be  some  tendency  to  civi- 
lization, and  some  tolerable  notions  of  justice, 
in  a  practice  very  similar  to  our  custom  of 
duelling;  for  duelling,  though  barbarous  in 
civilized,  is  a  highly  civilized  institution  among 
barbarous  people  :  and  when  compared  to  as- 
sassination, is  a  prodigious  victory  gained 
over  human  passions.  Whoever  kills  another 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Botany  Bay,  is  com- 
pelled to  appear  at  an  appointed  day  before  the 
friends  of  the  deceased,  and  to  sustain  the  at- 
tacks of  their  missile  weapons.  If  he  is  killed, 
he  is  deemed  to  have  met  with  a  deserved 
death ;  if  not,  he  is  considered  to  have  expiated 
the  crime  for  the  commission  of  which  he  was 
exposed  to  the  danger.  There  is  in  this  in- 
stitution a  command  over  present  impulses,  a 
prevention  of  secrecy  in  the  gratification  of 
revenge,  and  a  wholesome  correction  of  that 
passion  by  the  effect  of  public  observation, 
which  evince  such  a  superiority  to  the  mere 
animal  passions  of  ordinary  savages,  and  form 
such  a  contrast  to  the  rest  of  the  history  of 
this  people,  that  it  may  be  considered  as  alto- 
gether an  anomalous  and  inexplicable  fact 
The  natives  differ  very  much  in  the  progress 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


23 


they  have  made  m  the  arts  of  economy. 
Those  to  the  north  of  Port  Jackson  evince  a 
considerable  degree  of  ingenuity  and  con- 
trivance in  the  structure  of  their  houses, 
which  are  rendered  quite  impervious  to  the 
weather,  while  the  inhabitants  at  Port  Jackson 
have  no  houses  at  all.  At  Port  Dalrymple,  in 
Van  Diemen's  Land,  there  was  every  reason 
to  believe  the  natives  were  unacquainted  with 
the  use  of  canoes ;  a  fact  extremely  embar- 
rassing to  those  who  indulge  themselves  in 
speculating  on  the  genealogy  of  nations  ;  be- 
cause it  reduces  them  to  the  necessity  of  sup- 
posing that  the  progenitors  of  this  insular 
people  swam  over  from  the  main  land,  or  that 
they  were  aboriginal ;  a  species  of  dilemma, 
which  effectually  bars  all  conjecture  upon  the 
intermixture  of  nations.  It  is  painful  to 
learn,  that  the  natives  have  begun  to  plunder 
and  rob  in  so  very  alarming  a  manner,  that  it 
has  been  repeatedly  found  necessary  to  fire 
upon  them ;  and  many  have,  in  consequence, 
fallen  victims  to  their  rashness. 

The  soil  is  found  to  produce  coal  in  vast 
abundance,  salt,  lime,  veiy  fine  iron  ore,  tim- 
ber fit  for  all  purposes,  excellent  flax,  and  a 
tree,  the  bark  of  which  is  admirably  adapted 
for  cordage.  The  discovery  of  coal  (which, 
by  the  by,  we  do  not  believe  was  ever  before 
discovered  so  near  the  line)  is  probably  rather 
a  disadvantage  than  an  advantage ;  because, 
as  it  lies  extremely  favourable  for  sea  car- 
riage, it  may  prove  to  be  a  cheaper  fuel  than 
wood,  and  thus  operate  as  a  discouragement 
to  the  clearing  of  lands.  The  soil  upon  the 
sea-coast  has  not  been  found  to  be  very  pro- 
ductive, though  it  improves  in  partial  spots 
in  the  interior.  The  climate  is  healthy,  in 
spite  of  the  prodigious  heat  of  the  summer 
months,  at  which  period  the  thermometer  has 
been  observed  to  stand  in  the  shade  at  107, 
and  the  leaves  of  garden-vegetables  to  fall  into 
dust,  as  if  the)'-  had  been  consumed  with  fire. 
But  one  of  the  most  insuperable  defects  in 
New  Holland,  considered  as  the  future  coun- 
try of  a  great  people,  is,  the  want  of  large  ri- 
vers penetrating  very  far  into  the  interior,  and 
navigable  for  small  crafts.  The  Hawkesbury, 
the  largest  river  yet  discovered,  is  not  acces- 
sible to  boats  for  more  than  twenty  miles. 
This  same  river  occasionally  rises  above  its 
natural  level,  to  the  astonishing  height  of  fifty 
feet;  and  has  swept  away,  more  than  once, 
the  labours  and  the  hopes  of  the  new  people 
exiled  to  its  banks. 

The  laborious  acquisition  of  any  good  we 
have  long  enjoyed  is  apt  to  be  forgotten.  We 
walk  and  talk,  and  run  and  read,  without 
remembering  the  long  and  severe  labour  dedi- 
cated to  the  cultivation  of  these  powers,  the 
formidable  obstacles  opposed  to  our  progress, 
or  the  infinite  satisfaction  with  which  we  over- 
came them.  He  who  lives  among  a  civilized 
people,  may  estimate  the  labour  by  which  so- 
ciety has  been  brought  into  such  a  state,  by  read- 
ing these  annals  of  Botany  Bay,  the  account 
of  a  whole  nation  exerting  itself  to  new  floor 
the  government-house,  repair  the  hospital,  or 
build  a  wooden  receptacle  for  stores.  Yet  the 
time  may  come,  when  some  Botany  Bay  Taci- 
tus shall  record  the  crimes  of  an  emperor 


lineally  descended  from  a  London  pick-pocket, 
or  paint  the  valour  with  which  he  has  led  his 
New  Hollanders  into  the  heart  of  China.  At 
that  period,  when  the  Grand  Lahma  is  sending 
to  supplicate  alliance  ;  when  the  spice  islands 
are  purchasing  peace  with  nutmegs ;  when 
enormous  tributes  of  green  tea  and  nankeen 
are  wafted  into  Port  Jackson,  and  landed  on 
tlie  quays  of  Sydney,  who  will  ever  remember 
that  the  sawing  of  a  few  planks,  and  the 
knocking  together  a  few  nails,  were  such  a 
serious  trial  of  the  energies  and  resources  of 
the  nation ! 

The  Government  of  the  colony,  after  enjoy- 
ing some  little  respite  from  this  kind  of  labour, 
has  begun  to  turn  its  attention  to  the  coarsest 
and  most  necessaiy  species  of  manufactures, 
for  which  their  wool  appears  to  be  well  ?„dapt- 
ed.  The  state  of  stock  in  the  whole  settle- 
ment, in  June  1801,  was  about  7,000  sheep, 
1,300  head  of  cattle,  250  horses,  and  5,000 
hogs.  There  Were  under  cultivation  at  the 
same  time,  between  9  and  10,000  acres  of  corn. 
Three  years  and  a-half  before  this,  in  Decem- 
ber 1797,  the  numbers  were  as  follows  : — 
Sheep,  2,500  ;  cattle  350  ;  horses,  100  ;  hogs, 
4,300 ;  acres  of  land  in  cultivation,  4,000. 
The  temptation  to  salt  pork,  and  sell  it  for 
Government  store,  is  probably  the  reason  why 
the  breed  of  hogs  has  been  so  much  Icept 
under.  The  increase  of  cultivated  lands  be- 
tween the  two  periods  is  prodigious.  It  ap- 
pears (p.  319)  that  the  whole  number  of  con- 
victs imported  between  January  1788  and 
June  1801  (a  period  of  thirteen  years  and  a 
half)  has  been  about  5,000,  of  whom  1,157 
were  females.  The  total  amount  of  the  popu- 
lation on  the  continent,  as  well  as  at  Norfolk 
Island,  amounted,  June  1801,  to  6,500  persons  ; 
of  these  766  were  children  born  at  Port  Jack- 
son. In  the  returns  from  Norfolk  Island, 
children  are  not  discriminated  from  adults. 
Let  us  add  to  the  imported  population  of  5,000 
convicts,  500  free  people,  which  (if  we  consi- 
der that  a  regiment  of  soldiers  has  been  kept 
up  there)  is  certainly  a  very  small  allowance  ; 
then,  in  thirteen  years  and  a  half,  the  imported 
population  has  increased  only  by  two-thir- 
teenths. If  we  suppose  that  something  more 
than  a  fifth  of  the  free  people  were  women, 
this  will  make  the  total  of  women  1,270 ;  of 
whom  we  may  fairly  presume  that  800  were 
capable  of  child-bearing ;  and  if  we  suppose 
the  children  of  Norfolk  Island  to  bear  the  same 
proportion  to  the  adults  as  at  Port  Jackson, 
their  total  number  at  both  settlements  will  be 
913; — a  state  of  infantine  population  which 
certainly  does  not  justify  the  very  high  eulo- 
giums  which  have  been  made  on  the  fertility 
of  the  female  sex  in  the  climate  of  New  Hol- 
land. 

The  Governor,  who  appears  on  all  occasions 
to  be  an  extremely  well-disposed  man,  is  not 
quite  so  conversant  in  the  best  writings  on 
political  economy  as  we  could  wish :  and  in- 
deed (though  such  knowledge  would  be  ex- 
tremely serviceable  to  the  interests  which  this 
Romulus  of  the  Southern  Pole  is  superintend- 
ing), it  is  rather  unfair  to  exact  from  a  sujicr- 
intendent  of  pick-pockets,  that  he  should  be  a 
philosopher.     In  the  18th  page  we  have  the 


u 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


following  information  respecting  the  price  of 
labour : — 

"  Some  representations  having  been  made 
to  the  Governor  from  the  settlers  in  different 
parts  of  the  colony,  purporting  that  the  wages 
demanded  by  the  free  labouring  people,  whom 
they  had  occasion  to  hire,  were  so  exorbitant 
as  to  run  away  with  the  greatest  part  of  the 
profit  of  their  farms,  it  was  recommended  to 
them  to  appoint  quarterly  meetings  among 
themselves,  to  be  held  in  each  district,  for  the 
purpose  of  settling  the  rate  of  wages  to  la- 
bourers in  every  different  kind  of  work ;  that, 
to  this  end,  a  written  agreement  should  be  en- 
tered into,  and  subscribed  by  each  settler,  a 
breach  of  which  should  be  punished  by  a 
penalty,  to  be  fixed  by  the  general  opinion, 
and  made  recoverable  in  a  court  of  civil  judi- 
cature. It  was  recommended  to  them  to  apply 
this  forfeiture  to  the  common  benefit;  and 
they  were  to  transmit  to  the  head-quarters  a 
copy  of  their  agreement,  with  the  rate  of 
wages  which  they  should  from  time  to  time 
establish,  for  the  Governor's  information,  hold- 
ing their  first  meeting  as  early  as  possible." 

And  again,  at  p.  24,  the  following  arrange- 
ments on  that  head  are  enacted: — 

"In    pursuance   of   the   order  which   was 
issued  in  January  last  recommending  the  set- 
tlers to  appoint  meetings,  at  which  they  should 
fix  the  rate  of  wages  that  it  might  be  proper 
to  pay  for  the  different  kinds  of  labour  which 
their  farms   should  require,  the   settlers  had 
submitted  to  the  Governor  the  several  resolu- 
tions that  they  had  entered  into,  by  which  he 
was  enabled  to  fix  a  rate  that  he  conceived  to 
be  fair  and  equitable  between  the  farmer  and 
the  labourer. 

"  The  following  prices  of  labour  were  now  established, 
viz. 

£     s.    d. 
Fellins  forfist  timber,  per  acre,        -  -         0      9      0 

Ditto  in  brushwood,  ditto        -  -  1     10      6 

Burning  otf  open  ground,  ditto        -  -  15      0 

Ditto  brush  ground,  ditto        -  -  1     10      0 

Breaking  up  new  ground,  ditto        -  -  14      0 

Chipping  fresh  ground,       ditto        -  -  1     12      3 

Chipping  in  wheat,  ditto        -  -         0      7      0 

Breaking  up  stubble  or  corn  ground,  l^d.  per  rod, 

or  ditto       -         -         0    16     8 

Planting  Indian  corn,  ditto        -  -  0      7      0 

Hilling  ditto  ditto        -         -         0      7      0 

Reaping  wheat,  ditto        -  -         0    10      0 

Thrashingditto,pr.  bush.,  ditto        -  -  0      0      9 

Pulling  and  husking  Indian  corn,  per  bushel       0      0      6 
Splitting  paling  of  seven  feet  long,  per  hundred  0      3      0 
Ditto  of  five  ftet  long,  ditto     -        -         -  0      16 

Sawing  plank,  ditto     -        -  -  0      7      0 

Ditching  per  rod,  three  feet  wide,  and  3  ft.  deep  0      0    10 
Carriage  of  wheat,  per  bushel,  per  mile   -         0      0      2 
Ditto  Indian  corn,  neat  -        -         -  0      0      3 

Yearly  wages  for  labour,  with  board        -        10      0      0 
Wages  per  week,  with  provisions,  consisting 
of  4  lb.  of  salt  pork,  or  6  lb.  of  fresh,  and  21 
lb.  of  wheat  with  vegetables        -  -  0      6      0 

A  day's  wages  with  board        -        -         -         0      10 
Dmo  without  board  ...  .  026 

A  government-man  allowed  to  officers  or  set- 
tlers in  their  own  time  -        -         -  0      0    10 
Price  of  an  a.xe         ..--          -         020 
New  steeling  ditto            _        .        -         -         0      0      6 
A  new  hoe        -_-..         -  019 
A  sickle             .....         .         016 

Hire  of  a  boat  to  carry  grain,  per  day  -  0  5  0 
"The  settlers  were  reminded,  that,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  kin^l  of  dispute  between  the  master  and  servant, 
when  thiy  should  have  occasion  to  hire  a  man  for  any 
length  of  time,  they  would  find  it  most  convenient  to  en- 
gage him  for  a  quarter,  half-year,  or  year,  and  to  make 
their  ;mii;ement  in  writing;  on  which,  should  any  dis- 
pute yrise,  an  appeal  to  the  magistrates  would  settle  it." 


This  is  all  very  bad ;  and  if  the  Governor 
had  cherished  the  intention  of  destroying  the 
colony,  he  could  have  done  nothing  more  de- 
trimental to  its  interests.  The  high  price  of 
labour  is  the  very  corner-stone  on  which  the 
prosperity  of  a  new  colony  depends.  It  ena- 
bles the  poor  man  to  live  with  ease ;  and  is  the 
strongest  incitement  to  population,  by  render- 
ing children  rather  a  source  of  riches  than  of 
poverty.  If  the  same  ditficulty  of  subsist- 
ence existed  in  new  countries  as  in  old,  it  is 
plain  that  the  progress  of  population  would  be 
equally  slow  in  each.  The  very  circumstances 
which  cause  the  difference  are,  that,  in  the  lat- 
ter, there  is  a  competition  among  the  labour- 
ers to  be  employed  ;  and,  in  the  former,  a  com- 
petition among  the  occupiers  of  land  to  obtain 
labourers.  In  the  one,  land  is  scarce  and  men 
plenty;  in  the  other,  men  are  scarce,  and  land 
is  plenty.  To  disturb  this  natural  order  of 
things  (a  practice  injurious  at  all  times)  must 
be  particularly  so  where  the  predominant  dis- 
position of  the  colonist  is  an  aversion  to  la- 
bour, produced  by  a  long  course  of  dissolute 
habits.  In  such  cases  the  high  prices  of  la- 
bour, which  the  Governor  was  so  desirous  of 
abating,  bid  fair  not  only  to  increase  the  agri- 
cultural prosperity,  but  to  effect  the  moral  re- 
formation of  the  colony.  We  observe  the  same 
unfortunate  ignorance  of  the  elementary  prin- 
ciples of  commerce  in  the  attempts  of  the  Go- 
vernor to  reduce  the  prices  of  the  European 
commodities,  by  bulletins  and  authoritative 
interference,  as  if  there  were  any  other  mode 
of  lowering  the  price  of  an  article  (while  the 
demand  continues  the  same)  but  by  increasing 
its  quantity.  The  avaricious  love  of  gain, 
which  is  so  feelingly  deplored,  appears  to  us 
a  principle  which,  in  able  hands,  might  be 
guided  to  the  most  salutary  purposes.  The 
object  is  to  encourage  the  love  of  labour, 
which  is  best  encouraged  by  the  love  of  money. 
We  have  very  great  doubts  on  the  policy  of 
reserving  the  best  timber  on  the  estates  as  go- 
vernment timber.  Such  a  reservation  would 
probably  operate  as  a  check  upon  the  clearing 
of  lands  without  attaining  the  object  desired; 
for  the  timber,  instead  of  being  immediately 
cleared,  would  be  slowly  destroyed,  by  the  neg- 
lect or  malice  of  the  settlers  whose  lands  it  en- 
cumbered. Timber  is  such  a  drug  in  new  coun- 
tries, that  it  is  at  any  time  to  be  purchased  for 
little  more  than  the  labour  of  cutting.  To  se- 
cure a  supply  of  it  by  vexatious  and  invidious 
laws,  is  surely  a  work  of  supererogation  and 
danger.  The  greatest  evil  which  the  govern- 
ment has  yet  to  contend  with  is,  the  inordinate 
use  of  spirituous  liquors ;  a  passion  which 
puts  the  interests  of  agriculture  at  variance 
with  those  of  morals  :  for  a  dram-drinker  will 
consume  as  much  corn,  in  the  form  of  alcohol, 
in  one  day,  as  would  supply  him  with  bread 
for  three  ;  and  thus,  by  his  vices,  opens  an  ad- 
mirable market  to  the  industry  of  a  new  set- 
tlement. The  only  mode,  we  believe,  of  en- 
countering this  evil,  is  by  deriving  froyi  it  such 
a  revenue  as  will  not  admit  of  smuggling. 
Beyond  this  it  is  almost  invincible  by  autho- 
rity ;  and  is  probably  to  be  cured  oiily  by  the 
progressive  refinement  of  manners. 

To  evince  the  increasing  commerce  of  the 


WORKS  OF  THi:  REV.  SYDNEY^SMITH. 


85 


settlement,  a  list  is  subjoined  of  140  ships, 
which  have  arrived  there  since  its  first  foun- 
dation, forty  only  of  which  were  from  Eng- 
land. The  colony  at  Norfolk  Island  is  repre- 
sented to  be  in  a  very  deplorable  situation,  and 
will  most  probably  be  abandoned  for  one  about 
to  be  formed  on  Van  Diemen's  Land,*  though 
the  capital  defect  of  the  former  settlement  has 
'leen  partly  obviated,  by  a  discovery  of  the 
harbour  for  small  craft. 

The  most  important  and  curious  information 
contained  in  this  volume,  is  the  discovery  of 
straits  which  separate  Van  Diemen's  Land 
(hitherto  considered  as  its  southern  extremity) 
from  New  Holland.  For  this  discovery  we  are 
indebted  to  Mr.  Bass,  a  surgeon,  after  whom 
the  straits  have  been  named,  and  who  was  led 
to  a  suspicion  of  their  existence  by  a  prodi- 
gious swell  which  he  observed  to  set  in  from 
the  westward,  at  the  mouth  of  the  opening 
which  he  had  reached  on  a  voyage  of  disco- 
very, prosecuted  in  a  common  whale-boat.  To 
verify  this  suspicion,  he  proceeded  afterwards 
in  a  vessel  of  25  tons,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Flanders,  a  naval  gentleman ;  and,  entering 
the  straits  between  the  latitudes  of  39°  and 
40°  south,  actually  circumnavigated  Van  Die- 
men's  Land.  Mr.  Bass's  ideas  of  the  import- 
ance of  this  discovery,  we  shall  give  from  his 
narrative,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Collins. 

"The  most  prominent  advantage  Vhich 
seemed  likely  to  accrue  to  the  settlement 
from  this  discovery  was,  the  expediting  of 
the  passage  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to 
Port  Jackson  :  for,  although  a  line  drawn  from 
the  Cape  to  44°  of  south  latitude,  and  to  the 
longitude  of  the  South  Cape  of  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  would  not  sensibly  differ  from  one 
drawn  to  the  latitude  of  40°  to  the  same  longi- 
tude ;  yet  it  must  be  allowed,  that  a  ship  will 
be  four  degrees  nearer  to  Port  Jackson  in  the 
latter  situation  than  it  would  be  in  the  former. 
But  there  is,  perhaps,  a  greater  advantage  to 
be  gained  by  making  a  passage  through  the 
strait,  than  the  mere  saving  of  four  degrees  of 
latitude  along  the  coast.  The  major  part  of 
the  ships  that  have  arrived  at  Port  Jackson 
have  met  with  N.  E.  winds,  on  opening  the  sea 
round  the  South  Cape  and  Cape  Pillar;  and 
have  been  so  much  retarded  by  them,  that  a 
fourteen  days'  passage  to  the  port  is  reckoned 
to  be  a  fair  one,  although  the  difference  of  lati- 
tude is  but  ten  degrees,  and  the  most  prevail- 
ing winds  at  the  latter  place  are  from  S.  E.  to 
S.  in  summer,  and  from  W.  S.  W.  to  S.  in 
winter.  If,  by  going  through  Bass  Strait,  these 
N.  E.  winds  can  be  avoided,  which  in  many 
cases  would  probably  be  the  case,  there  is  no 
doubt  but  a  week  or  more  would  be  gained  by 
it ;  and  the  expense,  with  the  wear  and  tear  of 
a  ship  for  one  week,  are  objects  to  most  owners, 
more  especially  when  freighted  with  convicts 
by  the  run. 


'  *  It  is  singular  that  Governments  are  not  more  desir- 
ous of  pusliini?  their  settlements  rather  to  the  north  than 
the  soutli  of  Port  Jackson.  The  soil  and  climate  would 
probably  improve,  in  the  latitude  nearer  the  equator; 
and  settlements  in  that  position  would  be  more  contigu- 
ous to  oar  Indian  colonies. 


"This  Strait  likewise  presents  another  ad- 
vantage. From  the  prevalence  of  the  N.  E. 
and  easterly  winds  of  the  South  Cape,  many 
suppose  that  a  passage  may  be  made  from 
thence  to  the  westward,  either  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  or  to  India ;  but  the  fear  of  the 
great  unknown  bight  between  the  South  Cape 
and  the  S.  W.  Cape  of  Lewen's  Land,  lying  in 
about  35°  south  and  113°  east,  has  hitherto 
prevented  the  trial  being  made.  Now,  the 
strait  removes  a  part  of  this  danger,  by  pre- 
senting a  certain  place  of  retreat,  should  a 
gale  oppose  itself  to  the  ship  in  the  Srst  part 
of  the  essay:  and  should  the  wind  come  at  S. 
W.  she  need  not  fear  making  a  good  stretch  to 
the  W.  N.  W.,  which  course,  if  made  good,  is 
within  a  few  degrees  of  going  clear  of  all. 
There  is,  besides.  King  George  the  Third's 
Sound,  discovered  by  Captain  Vancouver, 
situate  in  the  latitude  of  35°  30'  south,  and 
longitude  118°  12'  east;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
that  a  few  years  will  disclose  many  others 
upon  the  coast,  as  well  as  the  confirmation  or 
futility  of  the  conjecture  that  a  still  larger  than 
Bass  Strait  dismembers  New  Holland." — (p. 
192,  193.) 

We  learn  from  a  note  subjoined  to  this  pas- 
sage, that,  in  order  to  verify  or  refute  this  con- 
jecture, of  the  existence  of  other  important 
inlets  on  the  west  coast  of  New  Holland,  Cap- 
tain Flinders  has  sailed  with  two  ships  under 
his  command,  and  is  said  to  be  accompanied 
by  several  professional  men  of  considerable 
ability. 

Such  are  the  most  important  contents  of  Mr. 
CoUins's  book,  the  style  of  which  we  very 
much  approve,  because  it  appears  to  be  writ- 
ten by  himself;  and  we  must  repeat  again, 
that  nothing  can  be  more  injurious  to  the  opi- 
nion the  public  will  form  of  the  authenticity 
of  a  book  of  this  kind,  than  the  suspicion  that 
it  has  been  tricked  out  and  embellished  by 
other  hands.  Such  men,  to  be  sure,  have  ex- 
isted as  Julius  Cfesar ;  but,  in  general,  a  cor- 
rect and  elegant  style  is  hardly  attainable  by 
those  who  have  passed  their  lives  in  action  : 
and  no  one  has  such  a  pedantic  love  of  good 
writing,  as  to  prefer  mendacious  finery  to 
rough  and  ungrammatical  truth.  The  events 
which  Mr.  CoUins's  book  records,  we  have 
read  with  great  interest.  There  is  a  charm  in 
thus  seeing  villages,  and  churches,  and  farms, 
rising  from  a  wilderness,  where  civilized  man 
has  never  set  his  foot  since  the  creation  of  the 
world.  The  contrast  between  fertility  and  bar- 
renness, population  and  solitude,  activity  and 
indolence,  fills  the  mind  with  the  pleasing 
images  of  happiness  and  increase.  Man 
seems  to  move  in  his  proper  sphere,  while  he 
is  thus  dedicating  the  powers  of  his  mind  and 
body  to  reap  those  rewards  which  the  bounti- 
ful Author  of  all  things  has  assigned  to  his  in- 
dustry. Neither  is  it  any  common  enjoyment, 
to  turn  for  a  while  from  the  memory  of  those 
distractions  which  have  so  recently  agitated 
the  Old  World,  and  to  reflect  that  its  very  hor- 
rors and  crimes  may  have  thus  prepared  a 
long  era  of  opulence  and  peace  for  a  people 
yet  involved  in  the  womb  of  time. 


26 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


J.  FIEVEE.* 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1809.] 


Of  all  the  species  of  travels,  that  which  has 
moral  observation  for  its  object  is  the  most 
liable  to  error,  and  has  the  greatest  difficulties 
to  overcome,  before  it  can  arrive  at  excellence. 
Stones,  and  roots,  and  leaves,  are  subjects 
which  may  exercise  the  understanding  without 
rousing  the  passions.  A  mineralogical  travel- 
ler will  hardly  fall  fouler  upon  the  granite  and 
the  feldspar  of  other  countries  than  his  own ; 
a  botanist  Avill  not  conceal  its  non-descripts  ; 
and  an  agricultural  tourist  will  faithfully  detail 
the  average  crop  ])er  acre ;  but  the  traveller 
who  observes  on  the  manners,  habits,  and 
institutions  of  other  countries,  must  have 
emancipated  his  mind  from  the  extensive  and 
powerful  dominion  of  association,  must  have 
extinguished  the  agreeable  aud  deceitful  feel- 
ings of  national  vanity,  and  cultivated  that 
5)atient  humility  Avhich  -builds  general  infer- 
ences only  upon  the  repetition  of  individual 
facts.  Every  thing  he  sees  shocks  some  pas- 
sion or  flatters  it ;  and  he  is  perpetually  se- 
duced to  distort  facts,  so  as  to  render  them 
agreeable  to  his  system  and  his  feelings ! 
]5ooks  of  travels  are  now  published  in  such 
vast  abundance,  that  it  may  not  be  useless, 
perhaps,  to  state  a  few  of  the  reasons  why 
their  value  so  commonly  happens  to  be  in  the 
inverse  ratio  of  their  number. 

1st,  Travels  are  bad,  from  a  ■want  of  oppor- 
tunity for  observation  in  those  who  write  them. 
If  the  sides  of  a  building  are  to  be  measured, 
and  the  number  of  its  windoAvs  to  be  counted, 
a  very  short  space  of  time  may  suffice  for  these 
operations ;  but  to  gain  such  a  knowledge  of 
their  prevalent  opinions  and  propensities,  as 
will  enable  a  stranger  to  comprehend  (what  is 
commonly  called)  the  genhis  of  people,  re- 
quires a  long  residence  among  them,  a  fami- 
liar acquaintance  with  their  language,  and  an 
easy  circulation  among  their  various  societies. 
The  society  into  which  a  transient  stranger 
{^ains  the  most  easy  access  in  anj"-  country,  is 
not  often  that  which  ought  to  stamp  the  na- 
tional character;  and  no  criterion  can  be  more 
fallible,  in  a  people  so  reserved  and  inaccessi- 
ble as  the  British,  who  (even  when  they  open 
their  doors  to  letters  of  introduction)  cannot 
I'or  years  overcome  the  awkward  timidity  of 
their  nature.  The  same  expressions  are  of  so 
different  a  value  in  different  countries,  the 
.same  actions  proceed  from  such  different 
causes,  and  produce  such  different  effects, 
that  a  judgment  of  foreign  nations,  founded  on 
rapid  observation, 'is  almost  certainly  a  mere 
tissue  of  ludicrous  and  disgraceful  mistakes; 
and  yet  a  residence  of  a  month  or  two  seems 
to  entitle  a  traveller  to  present  the  world  with 
a,  picture  of  manners  in  London,  Paris,  or 
Vienna,  and  even  to  dogmatize  upon  the  poli- 


*  Lettres  sur  l\1nghUrre.    Par  J.  Fievee.    1802. 


tical,  religious,  and  legal  institutions,  as  if  it 
were  one  and  the  same  thing  to  speak  of  ab- 
stract effects  of  such  institutions,  and  of  their 
effects  combined  with  all  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances in  which  any  nation  may  be  placed. 

2dly,  An  affectation  of  quickness  in  obser- 
vation, an  intuitive  glance  that  requires  only 
a  moment,  and  a  part,  to  judge  of  &  perpetuity, 
and  a  whole.  The  late  Mr.  Petion,  who  was 
sent  over  into  this  country  to  acquire  a  know- 
ledge of  our  criminal  law,  is  said  to  have  de- 
clared himself  thoroughly  informed  upon  the 
subject  after  remaining  precisely  two  and 
thirty  minutes  in  the  Old  Bailey. 

3dly,  The  tendency  to  found  observation  on 
a  system,  rather  than  a  system  upon  observa- 
tion. The  fact  is,  there  are  very  icvf  original 
eyes  and  ears.  The  great  mass  see  and  hear 
as  they  are  directed  by  others,  and  bring  back 
from  a  residence  in  foreign  countries  nothing 
but  the  vague  and  customary  notions  concern- 
ing it,  which  are  carried  and  brought  back  for 
half  a  century,  without  verification  or  change. 
The  most  ordinary  shape  in  which  this  ten- 
dency to  prejudge  makes  its  appearance 
among  travellers,  is  by  a  disposition  to  exalt, 
or,  a  still  more  absurd  disposition  to  depre- 
ciate their  native  country.  They  are  incapable 
of  considering  a  foreign  people  but  under  one 
single  point  of  view — the  relation  in  which 
they  stand  to  their  own  ;  and  the  whole  narra- 
tive is  frequently  nothing  more  than  a  mere 
triumph  of  national  vanity,  or  the  ostentation 
of  superiority  to  so  common  a  failing. 

But  we  are  wasting  our  time  in  giving  a 
theory  of  the  faults  of  travellers,  when  we 
have  such  ample  means  of  exemplifying  them 
all  from  the  publication  now  before  us,  in 
which  Mr.  Jacob  Fievee,  Avith  the  most  sur- 
prising talents  for  doing  wrong,  has  contrived 
to  condense  and  agglomerate  every  species  of 
absurdity  that  has  hitherto  been  made  known, 
and  even  to  launch  out  occasionally  into  new 
regions  of  nonsense,  with  a  boldness  which 
well  entitles  him  to  the  merit  of  originality  in 
folly,  and  discovery  in  impertinence.  We  con- 
sider Mr.  Fievee's  book  as  extremely  valuable 
in  one  point  of  view.  It  affords  a  sort  of  limit 
or  mind-mark,  beyond  which  we  conceive  it 
to  be  impossible  in  future  that  pertness  and 
petulance  should  pass.  It  is  well  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  boundaries  of  our  nature  on 
both  sides ;  and  to  Mr.  Fievee  we  are  indebted 
for  this  valuable  approach  to  pessimism.  The 
height  of  knowledge  no  man  has  yet  scanned ; 
but  we  have  now  pretty  well  fathomed  the  gulf 
of  ignorance. 

We  must,  however,  do  justice  to  Mr.  Fievee 
when  he  deserves  it.    He  evinces,  in  his  pre- 
face, a  lurking  uneasiness  at  the  apprehen- 
sion of  exciting  war  between  the  two  coun 
tries,  from  the  anger  to  which  his  letters  will 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


«» 


give  birth  in  England.  He  pretends  to  deny 
that  they  will  occasion  a  war ;  but  it  is  very 
easy  to  see  he  is  not  convinced  by  his  own 
arguments;  and  we  confess  ourselves  ex- 
tremely pleased  by  this  amiable  solicitude  at 
the  probable  effusion  of  human  blood.  We 
hope  Mr.  Fievee  is  deceived  by  his  philan- 
thropy, and  that  no  such  unhappy  conse- 
quences will  ensue,  as  he  really  believes, 
though  he  affects  to  deny  them.  We  dare  to 
say  the  dignity  of  this  country  will  be  satis- 
fied if  the  publication  in  question  is  disowned 
by  the  French  government,  or,  at  most,  if  the 
author  is  given  up.  At  all  events,  we  have  no 
scruple  to  say,  that  to  sacrifice  20,000  lives, 
and  a  hundred  millions  of  money  to  resent 
Mr.  Fievee's  book,  would  be  an  unjustifiable 
waste  of  blood  and  treasure ;  and  that  to  take 
him  off  privately  by  assassination  would  be 
an  undertaking  hardly  compatible  with  the 
dignity  of  a  great  empire. 

To  show,  however,  the  magnitude  of  the 
provocation,  we  shall  specify  a  few  of  the 
charges  which  he  makes  against  the  English. 
That  they  do  not  understand  fireworks  as  well 
as  the  French ;  that  they  charge  a  shilling  for 
admission  to  the  exhibition ;  that  they  have 
the  misfortune  of  being  incommoded  by  a  cer- 
tain disgraceful  privilege,  called  the  liberty 
of  the  press ;  that  the  opera  band  pla5'^s  out  of 
tune ;  that  the  English  are  so  fond  of  drinking 
that  they  get  drunk  with  a  certain  air  called 
the  gas  of  Paradise  ;  that  the  privilege  of  elect- 
ing members  of  Parliament  is  so  burthensome 
that  cities  sometimes  petition  to  be  exempted 
from  it;  that  the  great  obstacle  to  a  Parlia- 
mentary reform  is  the  mob ;  that  women  some- 
times have  titles  distinct  from  those  of  their 
husbands,  although,  in  England,  any  body  can 
sell  his  wife  at  market,  with  a  rope  about  her 
neck.  To  these  complaints  he  adds — that  the 
English  are  so  far  from  enjoying  that  equality 
of  which  their  partisans  boast,  that  none  but 
the  servants  of  the  higher  nobility  can  carry 
canes  behind  a  carriage ;  that  the  power  which 
the  French  kings  had  of  pardoning  before  trial 
is  much  the  same  thing  as  the  English  mode 
of  pardoning  after  trial;  that  he  should  con- 
ceive it  to  be  a  good  reason  for  rejecting  anj^ 
measure  in  France  that  it  was  imitated  from 
the  English,  who  have  no  family  affections, 
and  who  love  money  so  much  that  their  first 
question,  in  an  inquiry  concerning  the  cha- 
racter of  any  man,  is,  as  to  his  degree  of  for- 
tune. Lastly,  Mr.  Fievee  alleges  against  the 
English,  that  they  have  great  pleasure  in  con- 
templating the  spectacle  of  men  deprived  of 
their  reason.  And,  indeed,  we  must  have  the 
candour  to  allow  that  the  hospitality  which 
Mr.  Fievee  experienced  seems  to  afford  some 
pretext  for  this  assertion. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  of  Mr.  Fievee's 
book  is  to  combat  the  Anglomania  which  has 
raged  so  long  among  his  countrymen,  and 
which  prevailed  at  Paris  to  such  an  excess 
that  even  M.  Neckar,  a  foreigner  (incredible 
as  it  may  seem),  after  having  been  twice  minis- 
ter of  France,  retained  a  considerable  share  of 
admiration  for  the  English  government.   This 


IS  quite  inexplicable.  But  this  is  nothing  to 
the  treason  of  the  Encyclopedists,  who,  instead 
of  attributing  the  merit  of  the  experimental 
philosophy  and  the  reasoning  by  induction  to 
a  Frenchman,  have  shown  themselves  so  lost 
to  all  sense  of  duty  which  they  owed  their 
country,  that  they  have  attributed  it  to  an 
Englishman*  of  the  name  of  Bacon,  and  this 
for  no  better  reason  than  that  he  really  was 
the  author  of  it.  The  whole  of  this  passage 
is  written  so  entirely  in  the  genius  of  Mr. 
Fievee,  and  so  completely  exemplifies  that 
very  caricature  species  of  Frenchmen  from 
which  our  gross  and  popular  notions  of  the 
whole  people  are  taken,  that  we  shall  give  the 
whole  passage  at  full  length,  cautiously  ab- 
staining from  the  sin  of  translating  it. 

"Quand  je  reproche  aux  philosophes  d' avoir 
vante  I'Angleterre,  par  haine  pour  les  institu- 
tions qui  soutenoient  la  France,  je  ne  hasarde 
rien,  et  je  fournirai  uue  nouvelle  preuve  de 
cette  assertion,  en  citant  les  encyclopedistes, 
chefs  avout^s  de  la  philosophic  moderne. 

"  Comment  nous  ont-ils  presente  I'Ency- 
clopedie  1  Comme  un  monument  immortel, 
comme  le  depot  precieux  de  toutes  les  con- 
noissances  humaines.  Sous  quel  patronage 
I'ont-ils  eleve  ce  monument  immortel  1  Est 
ce  sous  I'egide  des  ecrivains  dont  la  France 
s'honoroiti  Non,  ils  ont  choisi  pour  maitre 
et  pour  idole  un  Anglais,  Bacon;  ils  lui  or 
fait  dire  tout  ce  qu'ils  ont  voulu,  parce  que  cet 
auteur,  extraordinairement  volumineux,  n'etoit 
pas  connu  en  France,  et  ne  Test  guere  en 
Angleterre  que  de  quelques  hommes  studieux; 
mais  les  philosophes  sentoient  que  leur  suc- 
ces,  pour  introduire  des  nouveautes,  tenoit  a 
faire  croire  qu'elles  n'etoicnt  pas  neuves  pour 
les  grands  esprits ;  et  comme  les  grands  es- 
prits  Frangais,  trop  connus,  ne  ce  pretoient 
pas  a  un  pareil  dessein,  les  philosophes  ont 
eu  recours  a  I'Angleterre.  Ainsi,  un  ouvrage 
fait  en  France,  et  offert  a  I'admiration  de  I'Eu- 
rope  comme  I'ouvrage  pai"  excellence,  fut  mis 
par  des  Frangais  sous  la  protection  du  genie 
Anglais.  0  honte!  Et  les  philosophes  se  sont 
dit  patriotes,  et  la  France,  pour  prix  de  sa  de- 
gradation, leur  a  eleve  des  statues  !  La  siecle 
qui  commence,  plus  jutte,  parce  qu'il  a  le  sen- 
timent de  la  veritable  grandeur,  laissera  ces 
statues  et  I'Encyclopedie  s'ensevelir  sous  la 
meme  poussiere." 

When  to  this  are  added  the  commendations  that 
have  been  bestowed  on  Newton,  the  magnitude 
and  the  originality  of  the  discoveries  which  have 
been  attributed  to  him,  the  admiration  which 
the  words  of  Locke  have  excited,  and  the  ho- 
mage that  has  been  paid  to  Milton  and  Shak- 
speare,  the  treason  which  lurks  at  the  bottom 
of  it  all  will  not  escape  the  penetrating  glance 
of  Mr.  Fievee ;  and  he  will  discern  that  same 
cause  from  which  every  good  Frenchman 
knows  the  defeat  of  Aboukir  and  of  the  first 
of  June  to  have  proceeded — the  monster  Pitt, 
and  his  English  guineas. 


*  "  Gaul  was  conquered  by  a  person  of  the  name  of 
Julius  CsEsar,"  is  the  flrat  phrase  in  one  of  Mr.  Ne\> 
berry's  little  books. 


28 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH- 


EDGEWOETH  ON  BULLS/ 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


We  hardly  know  what   to   say  about   this 
rambling,  scrambling  book;  but  that  we  are 
quite  sure  the  author,  when  he  began  any  sen- 
tence in  it,  had  not  the  smallest  suspicion  of 
what  it  was   about  to  contain.     We   say  the 
author;  because,  in  spite  of  the   mixture  of 
sexes  in  the  title-page,  we   are  strongly  in- 
clined to  suspect  that  the  male  contributions 
exceed  the  female  in  a  very  great  degree.  The 
Essay  on  Bulls  is  written  much  with  the  same 
mind,  and  in  the  same  manner,  as  a  schoolboy 
takes  a  walk:  he  moves  on  for  ten  yards  on 
the  straight  road,  with  surprising   persever- 
ance; then  sets  out  after  a  butterfly,  looks  for 
a  bird's  nest,  or  jumps  backwards  and  forwards 
over  a  ditch.    In  the  same  manner,  this  nim- 
ble and   digressive  gentleman  is  away  after 
every  object  which  crosses  his  mind.    If  you 
leave  him  at  the  end  of  a  comma,  in  a  steady 
pursuit  of  his  subject,  you  are  sure  to  find  him, 
before  the  next  full  stop,  a  hundred  yards  to 
the  right  or  left,  frisking,  capering,  and  grin- 
ning in  a  high  paroxysm  of  merriment  and 
agility.     Mr.  Edgeworth  seems  to  possess  the 
sentiments  of  an  accomplished  gentleman,  the 
information  of  a  scholar,  and  the  vivacity  of  a 
first-rate  harlequin.     He  i?  fuddled  with  ani- 
mal spirits,  giddy  with  con.-titutional  joy;  in 
such  a  state  he  must  have  written  on,  or  burst. 
A  discharge  of  ink  was  an  evacuation  abso- 
lutely necessary,  to  avoid  fatal  and  plethoric 
congestion. 

The  object  of  the  book  is  to  prove,  that  the 
practice  of  making  bulls  is  not  more  imputa- 
ole  to  the  Irish  than  to  any  other  people ;  and 
the  manner  in  svhich  he  sets  about  it,  is  to 
quote  examples  of  bulls  produced  in  other 
countries.  But  this  is  surely  a  singular  way 
of  reasoning  the  question:  for  there  are  goitres 
out  of  Valais,  extortioners  who  do  not  wor- 
ship Moses,  oat  cakes  out  of  the  Tweed,  and 
balm  beyond  the  precincts  ofGilead.  If  nothing 
can  be  said  to  exist  pre-eminently  and  em- 
phatically in  one  country,  which  exists  at  all 
in  another,  then  Frenchmen  are  not  gay,  nor 
Spaniards  grave,  nor  are  gentlemen  of  the 
Milesian  race  remarkable  for  their  disinte- 
rested contempt  of  wealth  in  their  connubial 
relations.  It  is  probable  there  is  some  founda- 
tion for  a  character  so  generally  diffused; 
though  it  is  also  probable  that  such  founda- 
tion is  extremely  enlarged  by  fame.  If  there 
were  no  foundation  for  the  common  opinion, 
we  must  suppose  national  characters  formed 
by  chance ;  and  that  the  Irish  might,  by  acci- 
dent, have  been  laughed  at  as  bashful  and 
sheepish;  which  is  impossible.  The  author 
puzzles  himself  a  good  deal  about  the  nature 
of  bulls,  without  coming  to  any  decision  about 


*  Essay  on  Irish  Bulls.    By  Richard  I,ovell  Edge- 
worth,  and  Maria.  Edgeworth.    London,  1802. 


the  matter.  Though  the  question  is  not  a  very 
easy  one,  we  shall  venture  to  say,  that  a  bull 
is  an  apparent  congruity,  and  real  incongruicy, 
of  ideas,  suddenly  discovered.  And  if  this 
account  of  bulls  be  just,  they  are  (as  might 
have  been  supposed)  the  very  reverse  of  wit; 
for  as  wit  discovers  real  relations,  that  are  not 
apparent,  bulls  admit  apparent  relations  that 
are  not  real.  The  pleasure  arising  from  wit 
proceeds  from  our  surprise  at  suddenly  disco- 
vering two  things  to  be  similar,  in  which  we 
suspected  no  similarity.  The  pleasure  aris- 
ing from  bulls  proceeds  from  our  discovering 
two  things  to  be  dissimilar,  in  which  a  re- 
semblance might  have  been  suspected.  The 
same  doctrine  will  apply  to  wit,  and  to  bulls 
in  action.  Practical  wit  discovers  connection 
or  relation  between  actions,  in  which  duller 
understandings  discover  none ;  and  practical 
bulls  originate  from  an  apparent  relation  be- 
tween two  actions,  which  more  correct  under- 
standings immediately  perceive  to  have  no 
relation  at  all. 

Louis  XIV.  being  extremely  harassed  by  the 
repeated  solicitations  of  a  veteran  officer  for 
promotion,  said  one  day,  loud  enough  to  be 
heard,  "  That  gentleman  is  the  most  trouble- 
some officer  I  have  in  my  service."  "  That  is 
precisely  the  charge  (said  the  old  man)  which 
your  majesty's  enemies  bring  against  me." 

"An  English  gentleman,"  (says  Mr.  Edge- 
worth,  in  a  story  cited  from  Joe  Millar,)  "was 
writing  a  letter  in  a  coff"ce-house ;  and  per- 
ceiving that  an  Irishman  stationed  behind  him 
was  taking  that  liberty  which  Parmenio  used 
with  his  friend  Alexander,  instead  of  putting 
his  seal  upon  the  lips  of  the  curious  impertinent, 
the  English  gentleman  thought  proper  to  re- 
prove the  Hibernian,  if  not  with  delicacy,  at 
least  with  poetical  justice.  He  concluded  writ- 
ing his  letter  in  these  words :  '  I  would  say 
more,  but  a  damned  tall  Irishman  is  reading 
over  my  shoulder  every  word  I  write.' 

"'You  lie,  you  scoundrel,'  said  the  self- 
convicted  Hibernian.'" — (p.  29.) 

The  pleasure  derived  from  the  first  of  these 
stories,  proceeds  from  the  discovery  of  the 
relation  that  subsists  between  the  object  he 
had  in  view,  and  the  assent  of  the  officer  to 
an  observation  so  unfriendly  to  that  end.  In 
the  first  rapid  glance  which  the  mind  throws 
upon  his  words,  he  appears,  by  his  acquies- 
cence, to  be  .pleading  against  himself.  There 
seems  to  be  no  relation  between  what  he  says 
and  what  he  wishes  to  effect  by  speaking. 

In  the  second  story,  the  pleasure  is  directly 
the  reverse.  The  lie  given  was  apparently  the 
readiest  means  of  proving  his  innocence,  and 
really  the  most  effectual  way  of  establishing 
his  guilt.  There  seems  for  a  moment  to  be  a 
strong  relation  between  the  means  and  the  ob- 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


8* 


ject;  while,  in  fact,  no  irrelation  can  be  so 
complete. 

What  connection  is  there  between  pelting 
stones  at  monkeys,  and  gathering  cocoa-nuts 
from  lofty  trees  1  Apparently  none.  But 
monkeys  sit  upon  cocoa-nut  trees;  monkeys 
are  imitative  animals;  and  if  you  pelt  a 
monkey  with  a  stone,  he  pelts  you  with  a 
cocoa-nut  in  return.  This  scheme  of  gather- 
ing cocoa-nuts  is  very  witty,  and  would  be 
more  so,  if  it  did  not  appear  useful :  for  the 
idea  of  utility  is  always  inimical  to  the  idea 
of  wit.*  There  appears,  on  the  contrary,  to 
be  some  relation  between  the  revenge  of  the 
Irish  rebels  against  a  banker,  and  the  means 
which  they  took  to  gratify  it,  by  burning  all 
his  notes  wherever  they  found  them ;  whereas 
they  could  not  have  rendered  him  a  more 
essential  service.  In  both  these  cases  of  bulls, 
the  one  verbal,  the  other  practical,  there  is  an 
apparent  congruity,  and  real  incongruity  of 
ideas.  In  both  the  cases  of  wit,  there  is  an 
apparent  incongruity  and  a  real  relation. 

It  is  clear  that  a  bull  cannot  depend  upon 
mere  incongruity  alone;  for  if  a  man  were  to 
say  that  he  wouldride  to  London  upon  acocked 
hat,  or  that  he  would  cut  his  throat  with  a 
pound  of  pickled  salmon,  this,  though  com- 
pletely incongruous,  would  not  be  to  make 
bulls,  but  to  talk  nonsense.  The  stronger  the 
apparent  connection,  and  the  more  complete 
the  real  disconnection  of  the  ideas,  the  greater 
the  surprise,  and  the  better  the  bull.  The  less 
apparent,  and  the  more  complete  the  relations 
established  by  wit,  the  higher  gratification 
does  it  afford.  A  great  deal  of  the  pleasure 
experienced  from  bulls,  proceeds  from  the 
sense  of  superiority  in  ourselves.  Bulls  which 
we  invented,  or  knew  to  be  invented,  might 
please,  but  in  a  less  degree,  for  want  of  this 
additional  zest. 

As  there  must  be  apparent  connection,  and 
leal  incongruity,  it  is  seldom  that  a  man  of 
sense  and  education  finds  any  form  of  words 
by  which  he  is  conscious  that  he  might  have 
been  deceived  into  a  bull.  To  conceive  how 
the  person  has  been  deceived,  he  must  sup- 
pose a  degree  of  information  very  different 
from,  and  a  species  of  character  very  hete- 


*  It  must  tie  observed,  that  all  the  great  passions,  and 
many  other  feelings,  extinguisli  the  relish  for  wit.  Thus 
lympka  pwlka  Vevm  vidit  et  erehuit,  would  be  witty,  were 
it  not  bordering  on  the  sut)liine.  The  resemblance  be- 
tween the  sandal  tree  imparting  (while  it  falls)  its  aro- 
matic flavour  to  the  edge  of  the  axe,  and  the  benevolent 
man  rewarding  evil  with  good,  would  be  witty,  did  it 
not  excite  virtuous  emotions.  There  are  many  mechan- 
ical contrivances  which  excite  sensations  very  similar 
to  wit;  but  the  attention  is  absorbed  by  their  utility. 
Some  of  Merlin's  machines,  which  have  no  utility  at  ail, 
are  quite  similar  to  wit.  A  small  model  of  a  steam- 
engine,  or  mere  squirt,  is  wit  to  a  child.  A  man  specu- 
lates on  the  causes  of  the  first,  or  in  its  consequences, 
and  so  loses  the  feelings  of  wit ;  with  the  latter,  he  is  too 
familiar  to  be  surprised.  In  short,  the  essence  of  every 
species  of  wit  is  surprise  ;  which  vi  termini,  must  be 
sudden ;  and  the  sensations  which  wit  has  a  tendency  to 
excite,  are  impaired  or  destroyed  as  often  as  they  are 
mingled  with  much  thought  or  passion. 


rogeneous  to,  his  own ;  a  process  which  di- 
minishes surprise,  and  consequently  pleasure. 
In  the  above-mentioned  story  of  the  Irishman 
overlooking  the  man  writing,  no  person  of 
ordinary  sagacity  can  suppose  himself  be- 
trayed into  such  a  mistake;  but  he  can  easily 
represent  to  himself  a  kind  of  character  thai 
might  have  been  so  betrayed.  There  ar^ 
some  bulls  so  extremely  fallacious,  that  any 
man  may  imagine  himself  to  have  been  be 
trayed  into  them ;  but  these  are  rare :  and,  iv 
general,  it  is  a  poor,  contemptible  species  ol 
amusement;  a  delight  in  which  evinces  a  ver* 
bad  taste  in  wit. 

Whether  the  Irish  make  more  bulls  tha?. 
their  neighbours,  is,  as  we  have  before  re 
marked,  not  a  point  of  much  importance;  bus 
it  is  of  considerable  importance,  that  the  cha 
racter  of  a  nation  should  not  be  degraded;  and 
Mr.  Edgeworth  has  great  merit  in  his  verj' 
benevolent  intention  of  doing  justice  to  thp 
excellent  qualities  of  the  Irish.  It  is  not  pos 
sible  to  read  his  book,  without  feeling  a  strong 
and  a  new  disposition  in  their  favour.  Whe 
ther  the  imitation  of  the  Irish  manner  be  accu 
rate  in  his  little  stories  we  cannot  determine; 
but  we  feel  the  same  confidence  in  the  accu- 
racy of  the  imitation,  that  is  often  felt  in  the 
resemblance  of  a  portrait,  of  Avhich  we  have 
never  seen  the  original.  It  is  no  very  high 
compliment  to  Mr.  Edgeworth's  creative  pow- 
ers, to  say,  he  could  not  have  formed  anything, 
which  was  not  real,  so  like  reality;  but  such  a 
remark  only  robs  Peter  to  pay  Paul;  and  gives 
every  thing  to  his  powers  of  observation, 
which  it  takes  from  those  of  his  imagination. 
In  truth,  nothing  can  be  better  than  his  imita- 
tion of  the  Irish  manner:  It  is  first-rate  painting. 
Edgeworth  and  Co.  have  another  faculty  in 
great  perfection.  _  They  are  eminently  masters 
of  the  j5a^Ao.s.  The  Firm  drew  tears  from  us 
in  the  stories  of  little  Dominick,  and  of  the 
Irish  beggar,  who  killed  his  sweetheart :  Never 
was  any  grief  more  natural  or  simple.  The 
first,  however,  ends  in  a  very  foolish  way; 
•  formosa  s'lperne 


Sesinit  in  piscem. 

We  are  extremely  glad  thai  our  avocations 
did  not  call  us  from  Bath  to  London  on  the  day 
that  the  Bath  coach  conversation  took  place. 
We  except  from  this  wish  the  stcry  with  which 
the  conversation  terminates  ;  for  as  soon  as 
Mr.  Edgeworth  enters  upon  a  story  he  excels. 

We  must  confess  we  have  been  much  more 
pleased  Avith  Mr.  Edgeworth  in  hi.^  laughing 
and  in  his  pathetic,  than  in  his  grave  and  rea- 
soning moods.  He  meant,  perhaps,  that  we 
should  ;  and  it  certainly  is  not  very  necessary 
that  a  writer  should  be  profound  on  the  sub- 
ject of  bulls.  Whatever  be  the  deficiencies 
of  the  book,  they  are,  in  our  estimation,  amply 
atoned  for  by  its  merits  ;  by  none  more  than 
that  lively  feeling  of  compassion  which  per- 
vades it  for  the  distresses  of  the  wild,  kind 
hearted,  blundering  poor  of  Ireland. 


o2 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


TEIMMEU  AND  LANCASTEE/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1806.] 


This  is  a  book  written  by  a  lady  who  has 
gained  considerable  reputation  at  the  corner 
of  St.  Paul's  churchyard ;  who  flames  in  the 
van  of  Mr.  Newberry's  shop  ;  and  is,  upon  the 
whole,  dearer  to  mothers  and  aunts  than  any 
other  author  who  pours  the  milk  of  science 
into  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings.  Tired 
at  last  of  scribbling  for  children,  and  getting 
ripe  in  ambition,  she  has  now  written  a  book 
for  grown-up  people,  and  selected  for  her  an- 
tagonist as  stiff  a  controversialist  as  the  whole 
field  of  dispute  could  well  have  supplied.  Her 
opponent  is  Mr.  Lancaster,!  ^  Quaker,  who  has 
lately  given  to  the  world  new  and  striking 
lights  upon  the  subject  of  Education,  and  come 
forward  to  the  notice  of  his  country  by  spread- 
ing order,  knowledge,  and  innocence  among 
the  lowest  of  mankind. 

Mr.  Lancaster,  she  says,  wants  method  in 
his  book  ;  and  therefore  her  answer  to  him  is 
without  any  arrangement.  The  same  excuse 
must  suffice  for  the  desultory  observations  we 
shall  make  upon  this  lady's  publication. 

The  first  sensation  of  disgust  we  experienced 
at  Mrs.  Trimmer's  book,  was  from  the  patron- 
izing and  protecting  air  with  which  she  speaks 
of  some  small  part  of  Mr.  Lancaster's  plan. 
She  seems  to  suppose,  because  she  has  dedi- 
cated her  mind  to  the  subject,  that  her  opinion 
must  necessarily  be  valuable  upon  it;  forget- 
ting it  to  be  barely  possible,  that  her  applica- 
tion may  have  made  her  more  wrong,  instead 
of  more  right  If  she  can  make  out  her  case, 
that  Mr.  Lancaster  is  doing  mischief  in  so  im- 
portant a  point  as  that  of  national  education, 
she  has  a  right,  in  common  with  every  one 
else,  to  lay  her  complaint  before  the  public; 
but  a  right  to  publish  praises  must  be  earned 
by  something  more  difiicult  than  the  writing 
sixpenny  books  for  children.  This  may  be 
very  good;  though  we  never  remember  to  have 
seen  any  one  of  them;  but  if  they  be  no  more 
remarkable  for  judgment  and  discretion  than 
parts  of  the  work  before  us,  there  are  many 
thri\ang  children  quite  capable  of  repaying 
the  obligations  they  owe  to  their  amiable  in- 
structress, and  of  teaching,  with  grateful  reta- 
liation, "the  old  idea  how  to  shoot." 

In  remarking  upon  the  work  before  us,  we 
shall  exactly  follow  the  plan  of  the  authoress, 

*  A  Comparative  View  of  the  JVew  Plan  of  Edttcation 
promulgated  hy  Mr.  Joseph  Lancaster,  in  his  Tracts  con- 
cerning the  Instruction  of  the  Children  of  the  Labourino' 
Part  of  the  Community  ;  and  of  the  System  of  Christian 
Education  founded  by  our  pious  Forefathers  for  the  Initia- 
tion of  the  Youna-  Members  of  the  Established  Church  in 
the  Princijiles  of  the  Reformed  Religion.  By  Mrs.  Trim- 
mer.    1805. 

+  Lancaster  invented  the  new  method  of  education. 
The  Church  was  sorely  vexed  at  his  success,  endeavour- 
ed to  set  up  Dr.  Bell  as  the  discoverer,  and  to  run  down 
poor  Lancaster.  Georfie  the  Third  was  irritated  by  this 
»habby  conduct,  and  always  protected  Lancaster.  He 
was  delighted  with  this  Review,  and  made  Sir  Herbert 
Taylor  read  it  a  secoud  time  to  him. 


and  prefix,  as  she  does,  the  titles  of  those 
subjects  on  which  her  observations  are  made; 
doing  her  the  justice  to  presume,  that  her  quo- 
tations are  fairly  taken  from  Mr.  Lancaster's 
book. 

1.  Mr.  Lancaster's  Preface. — Mrs.  Trimmer 
here  contends,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Lancaster, 
that  ever  since  the  establishment  of  the  Pro- 
testant Church,  the  education  of  the  poor  has 
been  a  national  concern  in  this  country;  and 
the  only  argument  she  produces  in  support  of 
this  extravagant  assertion,  is  an  appeal  to  the 
act  of  uniformity.  If  there  are  millions  of 
Englishmen  who  cannot"  spell  their  own 
names,  or  read  a  sign-post  which  bids  them 
turn  to  the  right  or  left,  is  it  any  answer  to 
this  deplorable  ignorance  to  say,  there  is  an 
act  of  Parliament  for  public  instruction? — to 
show  the  very  line  and  chapter  where  the 
King,  Lords,  and  Commons,  in  Parliament  as- 
sembled, ordained  the  universality  of  reading 
and  writing,  when,  centuries  afterwards,  the 
ploughman  is  no  more  capable  of  the  one  or 
the  other  than  the  beast  which  he  drives  1  In 
point  of  fact,  there  is  no  Protestant  countiy  in 
the  world  where  the  education  of  the  poor  has 
been  so  grossly  and  infamously  neglected  as 
in  England.  Mr.  Lancaster  has  the  very  high 
merit  of  calling  the  public  attention  to  this 
evil,  and  of  calling  it  in  the  best  way,  by  new 
and  active  remedies;  and  this  uncandid  and 
feeble  lady,  instead  of  using  the  influence  she 
has  obtained  over  the  anility  of  these  realms, 
to  join  that  useful  remonstrance  which  Mr. 
Lancaster  has  begun,  pretends  to  deny  that  the 
evil  exists ;  and  when  you  ask  where  are  the 
schools,  rods,  pedagogues,  primers,  histories 
of  Jack  the  Giant-killer,  and  all  the  usual  ap- 
paratus for  education,  the  only  thing  she  can 
produce  is  the  act  of  uniformity  and  common 
prayer. 

2.  The  Pnnciples  on  which  Mr.  Lancaster's 
Listitutio7i  is  conducted. — "  Happily  for  man- 
kind," says  Mr.  Lancaster,  "it  is  possible  to 
combine  precept  and  practice  together  in  the 
education  of  youth:  that  public  spirit,  or  gene- 
ral opinion,  which  gives  such  strength  to  vice, 
may  be  rendered  serviceable  to  the  cause  of 
virtue ;  and  in  thus  directing  it,  the  whole  se- 
cret, the  beauty,  and  simplicity  of  national  edu- 
cation consists.  Suppose,  for  instance,  it  be 
required  to  train  a  youth  to  strict  veracity. 
He  has  learnt  to  read  at  school:  he  there  reads 
the  declaration  of  the  Divine  will  respecting 
liars :  he  is  there  informed  of  the  pernicious 
effects  that  practice  produces  on  society  at 
large ;  and  he  is  enjoined,  for  the  fear  of  God, 
for  the  approbation  of  his  friends,  and  for  the 
good  of  his  school-fellows,  never  to  tell  an  un- 
truth. This  is  a  most  excellent  precept ;  but 
let  it  be  taught,  and  yet,  if  the  ccmtrary  prac- 
tice be  treated  with  indifference   by  parents, 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


31 


teachers,  or  associates,  i't  will  either  weaken 
or  destroy  all  the  good  that  can  be  derived 
from  it :  But  if  the  parents  or  teachers  tender- 
ly nip  the  rising  shoots  of  vice ;  if  the  asso- 
ciates of  youth  pour  contempt  on  the  liar ;  he 
will  soon  hide  his  head  with  shame,  and  most 
likely  leave  off  the  practice." — (p.  24,  25.) 

The  objection  which  Mrs.  Trimmer  makes 
to  this  passage,  is,  that  it  is  exalting  the  fear 
of  man  above  the  fear  of  God.  This  observation 
is  as  mischievous  as  it  is  unfounded.  Un- 
doubtedly the  fear  of  God  ought  to  be  the  para- 
mount principle  from  the  very  beginning  of 
life,  if  it  were  possible  to  make  it  so;  but  it  is 
a  feeling  which  can  only  be  built  up  by  de- 
grees. The  awe  and  respect  which  a  child 
entertains  for  its  parent  and  instructor,  is  the 
first  scaifoluingupon  which  the  sacred  edifice  of 
religion  is  reared.  A  child  begins  to  pray,  to  act, 
and  to  abstain,  not  to  please  God,  but  to  please 
the  parent,  who  tells  hiin  that  such  is  the  will  of 
God.  The  religious  principle  gains  ground 
from  the  power  of  association  and  the  im- 
provement of  reason;  but  without  the  fear  of 
man, — the  desire  of  pleasing,  and  the  dread  of 
offending  those  with  whom  he  lives, — it  would 
be  extremely  ditficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
cherish  it  at  all  in  the  minds  of  the  children. 
If  you  tell  (says  Mr.  Lancaster)  a  child  not  to 
swear,  because  it  is  forbidden  by  God,  and  he 
finds  everybody  whom  he  lives  with  addicted 
to  that  vice,  the  mere  precept  will  soon  be 
obliterated ;  which  would  acquire  its  just  in- 
fiuence  if  aided  by  the  etlect  of  example.  Mr. 
Jjancaster  does  not  say  that  the  fear  of  man 
ever  ought  to  be  a  stronger  motive  than  the 
fear  of  God,  or  that,  in  a  thoroughly  formed 
character,  it  ever  is:  he  merely  says,  that  the 
fear  of  man  may  be  made  the  most  powerful 
mean  to  raise  up  the  fear  of  God ;  and  nothing, 
in  our  opinion,  can  be  more  plain,  more  sen- 
sil)le,  or  better  expressed,  than  his  opinions 
upon  these  subjects.  In  corroboration  of  this 
sentiment,  Mr.  Lancaster  tells  the  following 
story : — 

"A  benevolent  friend  of  mine,"  says  he, 
"who  resides  at  a  village  near  London,  where 
he  has  a  school  of  the  class  called  Sunday 
Schools,  recommended  several  lads  to  me  for 
education.  He  is  a  pious  man,  and  these 
children  had  the  advantage  of  good  precepts 
under  his  instruction  in  an  eminent  degree,  but 
had  reduced  them  to  very  little  practice.  As 
they  came  to  my  school  from  some  distance, 
they  were  permitted  to  bring  their  dinners; 
and,  in  the  interval  between  morning  and  after- 
noon school  hours,  spent  their  time  with  a 
number  of  lads  under  similar  circumstances  in 
a  play-ground  adjoining  the  school-room.  In 
this  play-ground  the  boys  usually  enjoy  an 
hour's  recreation  ;  tops,  balls,  races,  or  what 
best  suits  their  inclination  or  the  season  of  the 
year;  but  with  this  charge,  'Let  all  be  kept  in 
innocence.'  These  lads  thought  themselves 
very  happy  at  play  with  their  new  associates; 
but  on  a  sudden  they  were  seized  and  over- 
come by  numbers,  were  brought  into  school 
just  as  people  in  the  street  would  seize  a  pick- 
pocket, and  bring  him  to  the  police  office. 
Happening  at  that  time  to  be  within,  I  inquired, 
♦Well,  boys,  what  is  all  this  bustle  about V — 


'Why,  sir,'  was  the  general  reply,  'these  lads 
have  been  swearing."  This  was  announced 
with  as  much  emphasis  and  solemnity  as  a 
judge  would  use  in  passing  sentence  upon  a 
criminal.  The  culprits  were,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, in  much  terror.  After  the  examinatioa 
of  witnesses  and  proof  of  the  facts,  they  re- 
ceived admonition  as  to  the  offence ;  and,  on 
promise  of  better  behaviour,  were  dismissed. 
No  more  was  ever  heard  of  their  swearing; 
yet  it  was  observable,  that  they  were  better 
acquainted  with  the  theory  of  Christianity,  and 
could  give  a  more  rational  answer  to  questions 
from  the  scripture,  than  several  of  the  boys  who 
had  thus  treated  them,  on  comparison  as  con- 
stables tvauld  do  a  thief.  I  call  this,"  adds  Mr. 
Lancaster,  "practical  religious  instruction,  and 
could,  if  needful,  give  many  such  anecdotes." 
—(p.  26,  27.) 

All  that  Mrs.  Trimmer  has  to  observe  against 
this  very  striking  illustration  of  Mr.  Lancas- 
ter's doctrine,  is,  that  the  monitors  behaved  to 
the  swearers  in  a  very  rude  and  unchristian- 
like  manner.  She  begins  with  being  cruel, 
and  ends  with  being  silly.  Her  first  observa- 
tion is  calculated  to  raise  the  posse  comitatus 
against  Mr.  Lancaster,  to  get  him  stoned  for 
impiety ;  and  then,  when  he  produces  the  most 
forcible  example  of  the  etfect  of  opinion  to 
encourage  religious  precept,  she  says  such  a 
method  of  preventing  swearing  is  too  rude  for 
the  gospel.  True,  modest,  unobtrusive  reli- 
gion— charitable,  forgiving,  indulgent  Chris- 
tianity, is  the  greatest  ornament  and  the 
greatest  blessing  that  can  dwell  in  the  mind 
of  man.  But  if  there  is  one  character  more 
base,  more  infamous,  and  more  shocking  than 
another,  it  is  him  who,  for  the  sake  of  some 
paltry  distinction  in  the  world,  is  ever  ready 
to  accuse  conspicuous  persons  of  irreligion — 
to  turn  common  informer  for  the  church — and 
to  convert  the  most  beautiful  feelings  of  the 
human  heart  to  the  destruction  of  the  good  and 
great,  by  fixing  upon  talents  the  indelible 
stigma  of  irreligion.  It  matters  not  how  trifling 
and  how  insignificant  the  accuser;  cry  out 
that  the  church  is  in  danger,  and  your  object  is 
acconiplished ;  lurk  in  the  walk  of  hypocrisy, 
to  accuse  your  enemy  of  the  crime  of  Atheism, 
and  his  ruin  is  quite  certain ;  acquitted  or 
condemned,  is  the  same  thing;  it  is  only  sutfi- 
cient  that  he  be  accused,  in  order  that  his 
destruction  be  accomplished.  If  we  could 
satisfy  ourselves  that  such  were  the  real  views 
of  Mrs.  Trimmer,  and  that  she  were  capable 
of  such  baseness,  we  would  have  drawn  blood 
from  her  at  every  line,  and  left  her  in  a  stale 
of  martyrdom  more  piteous  than  that  of  St. 
Uba.  Let  her  attribute  the  milk  and  mildness 
she  meets  with  in  this  review  of  her  book,  to 
the  conviction  we  entertain,  that  she  knew  no 
better — that  she  really  did  understand  Mr.  Lan- 
caster as  she  pretends  to  understand  him — and 
that  if  she  had  been  aware  of  the  extent  of  the 
mischief  she  was  doing,  she  would  have  tossed 
the  manuscript  spelling-book  in  which  she 
was  engaged  into  the  fire,  rather  than  have 
done  it.  As  a  proof  that  we  are  in  earnest  in 
speaking  of  Mrs.  Trimmer's  simplicity,  we 
must  state  the  objection  she  makes  to  one  of 
Mr.  Lancaster's  punishmer  .s.  "  When  I  meet,' 


33 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


says  Mr.  Lancaster,  "  with  a  slovenly  boy,  I 
put  a  label  upon  his  breast,  I  walk  him  round 
the  school  with  a  tin  or  a  paper  crown  upon 
his  head."  "  Surely,"  says  Mrs.  Trimmer  (in 
reply  to  this),  "  surely  it  should  be  remember- 
ed, that  the  Saviour  of  the  world  was  croioned 
with  thorns,  in  derision,  ajid  that  this  is  the  rea- 
son why  crowni77g  is  an  improper  punishment 
for  a  slovenly  boy^\' .'.' 

Rewards  and  Punishments. — Mrs.  Trimmer 
objects  to  the  fear  of  ridicule  being  made  an 
instrument  of  education,  because  it  may  be 
hereafter  employed  to  shame  a  boy  out  of  his 
religion.  She  might,  for  the  same  reason, 
object  to  the  cultivation  of  the  reasoning 
faculty,  because  a  boy  may  hereafter  be  rea- 
soned out  of  his  religion  :  she  surely  does  not 
mean  to  say  that  she  would  make  boys  insen- 
sible to  ridicule,  the  fear  of  which  is  one  curb 
upon  the  follies  and  eccentricities  of  human 
nature.  Such  an  object  it  would  be  impossible 
to  effect,  even  if  it  were  useful :  Put  a  hundred 
boys  together,  and  the  fear  of  being  laughed 
at  will  always  be  a  strong  influencing  motive 
with  every  individual  among  them.  If  a  mas- 
ter can  turn  this  principle  to  his  own  use,  and 
get  boys  to  laugh  at  vice,  instead  of  the  old 
plan  of  laughing  at  virtue,  is  he  not  doing  a 
very  new,  a  very  difficult,  and  a  ver)'  laudable 
thing  1 

When  Mr.  Lancaster  finds  a  little  boy  with 
a  very  dirty  face,  he  sends  for  a  little  girl,  and 
makes  her  wash  off'  the  dirt  before  the  whole 
school:  and  she  is  directed  to  accompany  her 
ablutions  Avith  a  gentle  box  of  the  ear.  To  us, 
this  punishment  appears  well  adapted  to  the 
offence ;  and  in  this,  and  in  most  other  in- 
stances of  Mr.  Lancaster's  interference  in 
scholastic  discipline,  we  are  struck  with  his 
good  sense,  and  delighted  that  arrangements 
apparently  so  trivial,  really  so  important, 
should  have  fallen  under  the  attention  of  so 
ingenious  and  so  original  a  man.  Mrs.  Trim- 
mer objects  to  this  practice,  that  it  destroys 
female  modesty,  and  inculcates,  in  that  sex,  a 
habit  of  giviiig  boxes  on  the  ear. 

"  When  a  boy  gets  into  a  singing  tone  in 
reading,"  says  Mr.  Lancaster,  "  the  best  mode 
of  cure  that  I  have  hitherto  found  eff'ectual  is 
by  \\\e  force  of  ridicule. — Decorate  the  olfender 
with  matches,  ballads,  (dying  speeches  if 
needful;)  and  in  this  garb  send  him  round  the 
school,  with  some  boys  before  him  crying 
matches,  &c.,  exactly  imitating  the  dismal 
tones  with  which  such  things  are  hawked 
about  London  streets,  as  will  readily  recur  to 
the  reader's  memory.  I  believe  many  boys 
behave  rudely  to  Jews  more  on  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  the}^  cry 'old  clothes,'  than 
because  they  are  Jews.  I  have  always  found 
excellent  effects  from  treating  boys,  who  sing 
or  tone  in  their  reading,  in  the  manner  de- 
scribed. It  is  sure  to  turn  the  laugh  of  the 
whole  school  upon  the  delinquent;  it  provokes 
risibility,  in  spite  of  every  endeavour  to  check 
it,  in  all  but  tlie  offender.  I  have  seldom  known 
a  boy  thus  punished  once,  for  whom  it  was 
needful  a  second  time.  It  is  also  very  seldom 
that  a  boy  deserves  both  a  log  and  a  shackle 
at  the  same  time.  Most  boys  are  wise  enough, 
when  under  one  punishment,  not  to  transgress 


immediately,  lest  it  should  be  doubled." — (p. 
47,  48.) 

This  punishment  is  objected  to  on  the  part 
of  Mrs.  Trimmer,  because  it  inculcates  a  dis- 
like to  Jews,  and  an  indifference  about  dying 
speeches !  Toys,  she  says,  given  as  rewards, 
are  worldly  things ;  children  are  to  be  taught 
that  there  are  eternal  rewards  in  store  for 
them.  It  is  very  dangerous  to  give  prints  as 
rewards,  because  prints  may  hereafter  be  the 
vehicle  of  indecent  ideas.  It  is,  above  all 
things,  perilous  to  create  an  order  of  merit  in 
the  borough  school,  because  it  gives  the  boys 
an  idea  of  the  origin  of  nobility,  "  especially  in 
times  (we  use  Mrs.  Trimmer's  own  words) 
which  furnish  instances  of  the  extinction  if  a 
race  of  ancient  nobility,  in  a  neighbouring  no- 
tion,  and  the  elevation  of  some  of  the  lowest  peo- 
ple to  the  highest  stations.  Boys  accustomed  to 
consider  themselves  the  nobles  of  the  school,  may, 
in  their  future  lives,  form  a  conceit  of  their  ovm 
merits  (unless  they  have  very  sou7id  principles'), 
aspire  to  be  nobles  of  the  land,  and  to  take  place 
of  the  hereditary  nobility." 

We  think  these  extracts  will  sufbciently 
satisfy  every  reader  of  common  sense,  of  the 
merits  of  tliis  publication.  For  our  part,  when 
we  saw  these  ragged  and  interesting  little 
nobles,  shining  in  their  tin  stars,  Ave  only 
thought  it  probable  that  the  spirit  of  emulation 
would  make  them  better  ushers,  tradesmen, 
and  mechanics.  We  did,  in  truth,  imagine  we 
had  observed,  in  some  of  their  faces,  a  bold 
project  for  procuring  better  breeches  for  keep- 
ing out  the  blast  of  heaven,  which  howled 
through  those  garments  in  every  direction,  and 
of  aspiring  hereafter  to  greater  strength  of 
seam,  and  more  perfect  continuity  of  cloth. 
But  for  the  safety  of  the  titled  orders  we  had 
no  fear;  nor  did  we  once  dream  that  the  black 
rod  which  whipt  these  dirty  little  dukes,  would 
one  day  be  borne  before  them  as  the  emblem 
of  legislative  dignity,  and  the  sign  of  noble 
blood. 

Order. — The  order  of  Mr.  Lancaster  has  dis- 
played in  the  school  is  quite  astonishing. 
Every  boy  seems  to  be  the  cog  of  a  wheel — 
the  whole  school  a  perfect  machine.  This  is 
so  far  from  being  a  burden  or  constraint  to 
the  boys,  that  Mr.  Lancaster  has  made  it  quite 
pleasant  and  interesting  to  them,  by  giving  to 
it  the  air  of  military  arrangement;  not  fore- 
seeing, as  Mrs.  Trimmer  foresees,  that,  in 
times  of  public  dangers,  this  plan  furnishes 
the  disaffected  with  the  immediate  means  of 
raising  an  army;  for  what  have  they  to  do  but 
to  send  for  all  the  children  educated  by  Mr. 
Lancaster,  from  the  different  corners  of  the 
kingdom  into  which  they  are  dispersed, — to 
beg  it  as  a  particular  favour  of  them  to  fall 
into  the  same  order  as  they  adopted  in  the 
spelling  class  twenty-five  years  ago;  and  the 
rest  is  all  matter  of  course — 

Jamque  faces,  et  Saxa  volant. 

The  main  object,  however,  for  which  this 
book  is  written,  is  to  prove  that  the  church  es- 
tablishment is  in  danger,  from  the  increase  of 
Mr.  Lancaster's  institutions.  Mr.  Lancaster 
is,  as  we  have  before  observed,  a  Quaker.  As 
a  Quaker,  he  says,  I  cannot  teach  your  creeds  : 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


33 


but  I  pledge  myself  not  to  teach  my  own.  I 
pledge  myself  (and  if  I  deceive  you,  desert  me, 
and  give  me  up)  to  confine  myself  to  those 
points  of  Christianity  in  which  all  Christians 
agree.  To  which  Mrs.  Trimmer  replies,  that, 
in  the  first  place,  he  cannot  do  this ;  and,  in 
the  next  place,  if  he  did  do  it,  it  would  not  be 
enough.  But  why,  we  would  ask,  cannot  Mr. 
Lancaster  efiect  his  first  object?  The  prac- 
tical and  the  feeling  parts  of  religion  are  much 
more  likely  to  attract  the  attention  and  provoke 
the  questions  of  children  than  its  speculative 
doctrines.  A  child  is  not  very  likely  to  put 
any  questions  at  all  to  a  catechising  master, 
and  still  less  likely  to  lead  him  into  subtle  and 
profound  disquisition.  It  appears  to  us  not 
only  practicable,  but  very  easy,  to  confine  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  poor,  in  the  first 
years  of  life,  to  those  general  feelings  and 
principles  which  are  suitable  to  the  estab- 
lished church,  and  to  every  sect;  afterwards, 
the  discriminating  tenets  of  each  subdivision 
of  Christians  may  be  fixed  upon  this  general 
basis.  To  say  this  is  not  enough,  that  a  child 
should  be  made  an  Antisocinian,  or  an  Antipe- 
lagian,  in  his  tenderest  years,  may  be  very 
just ;  but  what  prevents  you  from  making  him 
so  1  Mr.  Lancaster,  purposely  and  intention- 
ally, to  allay  all  jealousj'',  leaves  him  in  a  state 
as  well  adapted  for  one  creed  as  another.  Be- 
gin ;  make  your  pupil  a  firm  advocate  for  the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  the  English  church ;  dig 
round  about  him,  on  every  side,  a  trench  that 
shall  guard  him  from  every  species  of  heresy. 
In  spite  of  all  this  clamour  you  do  nothing; 


you  do  not  stir  a  single  step;  you  educate 
alike  the  swineherd  and  his  hog;  and  then, 
when  a  man  of  real  genius  and  enterprise 
rises  up,  and  says,  Let  me  dedicate  my  life  to 
this  neglected  object ;  I  will  do  every  thing  but 
that  which  must  necessarily  devolve  upon  you 
alone  ;  you  refuse  to  do  your  little,  and  compel 
him,  by  the  cry  of  infidel  and  Atheist,  to  leave 
you  to  your  ancient  repose,  and  not  to  drive 
you,  bjr  insidious  comparisons,  to  any  system 
of  active  utility.  We  deny,  again  and  again, 
that  Mr.  Lancaster's  instruction  is  any  kind  of 
impediment  to  the  propagation  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  church ;  and  if  Mr.  Lancaster 
was  to  perish  with  his  system  to-morrow,  these 
boys  would  positively  be  taught  nothing;  the 
doctrines  which  Mrs.  Trimmer  considers  pro- 
hibited would  not  rush  in,  but  there  would  be 
an  absolute  vacuum.  We  will,  however,  say 
this  in  favour  of  Mrs.  Trimmer,  that  if  every 
one  who  has  joined  in  her  clamour,  had  la- 
boured one-hundredth  part  as  much  as  she  has 
done  in  the  cause  of  national  education,  the 
clamour  would  be  much  more  rational,  and 
much  more  consistent,  than  it  now  is.  By  liv- 
ing with  a  few  people  as  active  as  herself,  she 
is  perhaps  somehow  or  another  persuaded  that 
there  is  a  national  education  going  on  in  this 
country.  But  our  principal  argument  is,  that 
Mr.  Lancaster's  plan  is  at  least  better  than  the 
nothing  which  preceded  it.  The  authoress 
herself  seems  to  be  a  lady  of  respectable  opi- 
nions, and  very  ordinary  talents;  defending 
what  is  right  without  judgment,  and  believing 
what  is  holy  without  charity. 


PAENELL  AND  lEELAND.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1807.] 


If  ever  a  nation  exhibited  symptoms  of 
downright  madness,  or  utter  stupidity,  we  con- 
ceive these  symptoms  may  be  easily  recog- 
nized in  the  conduct  of  this  country  upon  the 
Catholic  question.-]-  A  man  has  a  wound  in 
his  great  toe,  and  a  violent  and  perilous  fever 
at  the  same  time ;  and  he  refuses  to  take  the 
medicines  for  the  fever,  because  it  will  discon- 
cert his  toe  !  The  mournful  and  folly-stricken 
blockhead  forgets  that  his  toe  cannot  survive 
him ; — that  if  he  dies,  there  can  be  no  digital 
life  apart  from  him  ;  yet  he  lingers  and  fondles 
over  this  last  part  of  his  body,  soothing  it 
madly  with  little  plasters,  and  anile  fomenta- 
tions, while  the  neglected  fever  rages  in  his 


*  Historical  Apology  for  the  Irish  Catholics.  By  Wil- 
liam Pabnell,  Esq.    Fitzpatrick,  Dublin,  1807. 

fl  do  not  retract  one  syllable  (or  one  iota)  of  what  1 
have  said  or  written  upon  the  Catholic  question.  What 
was  wanted  for  Ireland  was  emancipation,  time  and  jus- 
tice, abolition  of  present  wrongs  ;  time  for  forgetting  past 
wrongs,  and  that  continued  and  even  justice  which 
would  make  such  oblivion  wise.  It  is  now  only  difficult 
to  tranquillize  Ireland, before  emancipation  it  was  impos- 
sible. As  to  the  danger  from  Catholic  doctrines,  I  must 
leave  such  apprehensions  to  the  respectable  anility  of 
these  realms.    I  will  not  meddle  with  it. 


entrails,  and  burns  away  his  whole  life.  If  the 
comparatively  little  questions  of  Establish- 
ment are  all  that  this  country  is  capable  of 
discussing  or  regarding,  for  God's  sake  let  us 
remember,  that  the  foreign  conquest  which  de- 
stroys all,  destroys  this  beloved  foe  also.  Pass 
over  freedom,  industry,  and  science — and  look 
upon  this  great  empire,  by  which  we  are  about 
to  be  swallowed  up,  only  as  it  affects  the  man- 
ner of  collecting  tithes,  and  of  reading  the  li- 
turgy— still,  if  all  goes,  these  must  go  too; 
and  even,  for  their  interests,  it  is  worth  while 
to  conciliate  Ireland,  to  avert  the  hostility,  and 
to  employ  the  strength  of  the  Catholic  popula- 
tion. We  plead  the  question  as  the  sincerest 
friends  to  the  Establishment; — as  wishing  to 
it  all  the  prosperity  and  duration  its  warmest 
advocates  can  desire, — but  remembering  al- 
ways, what  these  advocates  seem  to  forget, 
that  the  Establishment  cannot  be  threatened 
by  any  danger  so  great  as  the  perdition  of  the 
kingdom  in  which  it  is  established. 

We  are  truly  glad  to  agree  so  entirely  with 
Mr.  Parnell  upon  this  great  question ;  we  ad- 
mire his  way  of  thinking ;  and  most  cordially 


34 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


recommend  his  work  to  the  attention  of  the 
public.  The  general  conclusion  which  he  at- 
tempts to  prove  is  this ;  that  religious  senti- 
ment, however  perverted  to  bigotry  or  fanati- 
cism, has  always  a  tendency  to  moderation ; 
that  it  seldom  assumes  any  great  portion  of 
activity  or  enthusiasm,  except  from  novelty  of 
opinion,  or  from  opposition,  contumely  and 
persecution,  when  novelty  ceases ;  that  a  go- 
vernment has  little  to  fear  from  any  religious 
sect,  except  while  that  sect  is  new.  Give  a 
government  only  time,  and,  provided  it  has  the 
good  sense  to  treat  folly  with  forbearance,  it 
must  ulumately  prevail.  When,  therefore,  a 
sect  is  found,  after  a  lapse  of  years,  to  be  ill 
disposed  to  the  government,  we  may  be  certain 
that  government  has  widened  its  separation  by 
marked  distinctions,  roused  its  resentment  by 
contumely,  or  supported  its  enthusiasm  by  per- 
secution. 

The  particular  conclusion  Mr.  Parnell  at- 
tempts to  prove  is,  that  the  Catholic  religion 
in  Ireland  had  sunk  into  torpor  and  inactivity, 
till  government  roused  it  with  the  lash :  that 
even  then,  from  the  respect  and  attachmeiit, 
which  men  are  always  inclined  to  show  to- 
wards government,  there  still  remained  a  large 
body  of  loyal  Catholics ;  that  these  only  de- 
creased in  number  from  the  rapid  increase  of 
persecution ;  and  that,  after  all,  the  effects 
which  the  resentment  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
had  in  creating  rebellions  had  been  very  much 
exaggerated. 

In  support  of  these  two  conclusions,  Mr. 
Parnell  takes  a  survey  of  the  history  of  Ireland 
from  the  conquest  under  Henry,  to  the  rebellion 
under  Charles  the  First,  passing  very  rapidly 
.  over  the  period  which  preceded  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  dwelling  pi-incipally  upon  the  various 
rebellions  which  broke  out  in  Ireland  between 
the  Reformation  and  the  grand  rebellion  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  the  First.  The  celebrated 
conquest  of  Ireland  by  Henry  the  Second,  ex- 
tended only  to  a  very  few  counties  in  Lein- 
ster ;  nine-tenths  of  the  whole  kingdom  were 
left,  as  he  found  them,  under  the  dominion  of 
their  native  princes.  The  influence  of  ex- 
ample was  as  strong  in  this,  as  in  most  other 
instances;  and  great  numbers  of  the  English 
settlers  who  came  over  under  various  adven- 
turers, resigned  their  pretensions  to  superior 
civilization,  cast  off  their  lower  garments,  and 
lapsed  into  the  nudity  and  barbarism  of  the 
Irish.  The  limit  which  divided  the  posses- 
sions of  the  English  settler  from  those  of  the 
native  Irish,  was  called  the  pale;  and  the  ex- 
pression of  inhabitants  within  pale,  and  with- 
out the  pale,  were  the  terms  by  which  the  two 
nations  were  distinguished.  It  is  almost  su- 
perfluous to  state,  that  the  most  bloody  and 
pernicious  warfare  was  carried  on  upon  the 
borders— sometimes  for  something— sometimes 
for  nothing — most  commonly  for  cows.  The 
Irish,  over  whom  the  sovereigns  of  Eng- 
land affected  a  sort  of  nominal  dominion,  were 
entirely  governed  by  their  own  laws ;  and  so 
very  little  connection  had  they  with  the  justice 
of  the  invading  country,  that  it  was  as  lawful 
to  kill  an  Irishman,  as  it  was  to  kill  a  badger 
or  a  fox.  The  instances  are  innumerable, 
whei-e  the  defendant  has  pleaded  that  the  de- 


ceased was  an  Irishman,  and  that  therefore 
defendant  had  a  right  to  kill  him; — and  upon 
the  proof  of  Hibernicism,  acquittal  followed 
of  course. 

When  the  English  army  mustered  in  any 
great  stren-gth,  the  Irish  chieftains  would  do 
extei-ior  homage  to  the  English  Crown ;  and 
they  very  frequently,  by  this  artifice,  averted 
from  their  country  the  miseries  of  invasion : 
but  they  remained  completely  unsubdued,  till 
the  rebellion  which  took  place  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  of  which  that  politic  woman 
availed  herself  to  the  complete  subjugation  of 
Ireland.  In  speaking  of  the  Irish  about  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  or  James  the  First,  we  must 
not  draw  our  comparisons  from  England,  but 
from  New  Zealand ;  they  were  not  civilized 
men,  but  savages  ;  and  if  we  reason  about  their 
conduct,  we  must  reason  of  them  as  savages. 

"  After  reading  every  account  of  Irish  his- 
tory," (says  Mr.  Parnell,)  "one  great  perplexity 
appears  to  remain  :  How  does  it  happen,  that, 
from  the  first  invasion  of  the  English,  till  the 
reign  of  James  I.,  Ireland  seems  not  to  have 
made  the  smallest  progress  in  civilization  or 
wealth  1 

"  That  it  was  divided  into  a  number  of  small 
principalities,  which  waged  constant  war  on 
each  other;  or  that  the  appointment  of  the 
chieftains  was  elective ;  do  not  appear  sufh- 
cient  reasons,  although  these  are  the  only  ones 
assigned  by  those  who  have  been  at  the  trou- 
ble of  considering  the  subject :  neither  are  the 
confiscations  of  property  quite  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  effect.  There  have  been  great 
confiscations  in  other  countries,  and  still  they 
have  flourished :  the  petty  states  of  Greece  were 
quite  analogous  to  the  chiefries  (as  they  were 
called)  in  Ireland ;  and  yet  they  seemed  to 
flourish  almost  in  proportion  to  their  dissen- 
sions. Poland  felt  the  bad  effects  of  an  elec- 
tive monarchy  more  than  any  other  country  ; 
and  yet,  in  point  of  civilization,  it  maintained 
a  very  respectable  rank  among  the  nations  of 
Europe ;  but  Ireland  never,  for  an  instant, 
made  any  progress  in  improvement  till  the 
reign  of  James  I. 

"  It  is  scarcely  credible,  that  in  a  climate  like 
that  of  Ireland,  and  at  a  period  so  far  advanced 
in  civilization  as  the  end  of  Elizabeth's  reign, 
the  greater  part  of  the  natives  should  go  naked. 
Yet  this  is  rendered  certain  by  the  testimony 
of  an  eye-witness,  Fynes  Moryson.  'In  the 
remote  parts,'  he  says,  '  where  the  English 
laws  and  manners  are  unknown,  the  very  chief 
of  the  Irish,  as  well  men  as  women,  go  naked 
in  the  winter  time,  only  having  their  privy 
parts  covered  with  a  rag  of  linen,  and  their 
bodies  with  a  loose  mantle.  This  I  speak  of 
my  own  experience ;  yet  remembering  that  a 
Bohemian  Baron  coming  out  of  Scotland  to  us 
by  the  north  parts  of  the  wild  Irish,  told  me  in 
great  earnestness,  that  he,  coming  to  the  house 
of  O'Kane,  a  great  lord  amongst  them,  was 
met  at  the  door  by  sixteen  women  all  naked, 
excepting  their  loose  mantles,  whereof  eight 
or  ten  were  very  fair;  with  which  strange 
sight  his  eyes  being  dazzled,  they  led  him>  into 
the  house,  and  then  sitting  down  by  the  fi.re 
with  crossed  legs,  like  tailors,  and  so  low  as 
could  not  but  offend  chaste  eyes,  desired  him 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


S5 


to  sit  down  ■with  them.  Soon  after,  O'Kane, 
the  lord  of  the  country,  came  in  all  naked, 
except  a  loose  mantle  and  shoes,  which  he  put 
off  as  soon  as  he  came  in ;  and,  entertaining 
the  Baron  after  his  best  manner  in  the  Latin 
tongue,  desired  him  to  put  off  his  apparel, 
which  he  thought  to  be  a  burden  to  him,  and 
to  sit  naked. 

"'To  conclude,  men  and  women  at  night, 
going  to  sleep,  lye  thus  naked  in  a  round  cir- 
cle about  the  fire,  with  their  feet  towards  it. 
They  fold  their  heads  and  their  upper  parts  in 
woollen  mantles,  first  steeped  in  water  to  keep 
them  warm. ;  for  they  say,  that  woollen  cloth, 
wetted,  preserves  heat,  (as  linen,  wetted,  pre- 
serves cold,)  when  the  smoke  of  their  bodies 
has  warmed  the  woollen  cloth.' 

"  The  cause  of  this  extreme  poverty,  and  of 
its  long  continuance,  we  must  conclude,  arose 
from  the  peculiar  laws  of  property,  which  were 
in  force  under  the  Irish  dynasties.  These  laws 
have  been  described  by  most  writers  as  similar 
to  the  Kentish  custom  of  gavelkind ;  and  in- 
deed so  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  subject, 
that  were  it  not  for  the  researches  of  Sir  J. 
Davis,  the  knowledge  of  this  singular  usage 
would  have  been  entirely  lost, 

"  The  Brehon  law  of  property,  he  tells  us, 
was  similar  to  the  custom  (as  the  English  law- 
yers term  it)  of  hodge-podge.  When  any  one 
of  the  sept  died,  his  lands  did  not  descend  to 
his  sons,  but  were  divided  among  the  whole 
sept :  and,  for  this  purpose,  the  chief  of  the 
sept  made  a  new  division  of  the  whole  lands 
belonging  to  the  sept,  and  gave  every  one  his 
part  according  to  seniority.  So  that  no  man 
had  a  property  which  could  descend  to  his 
children ;  and  even  during  his  own  life,  his 
possession  of  any  particular  spot  was  quite 
uncertain,  being  liable  to  be  constantly  shuffled 
and  changed  by  new  partitions.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  was  that  there  was  not  a  house 
of  brick  or  stone,  among  the  Irish,  down  to 
the  reign  of  Henry  VII.;  not  even  a  garden  or 
orchard,  or  well  fenced  or  improved  field, 
neither  village  or  town,  or  in  any  respect  the 
least  provision  for  posterity.  This  monstrous 
custom,  so  opposite  to  the  natural  feelings  of 
mankind,  was  probably  perpetuated  by  the 
policy  of  the  chiefs.  In  the  first  place,  the 
power  of  partitioning  being  lodged  in  their 
hands,  made  them  the  most  absolute  of  tyrants, 
being  the  dispensers  of  the  property  as  well  as 
of  the  liberty  of  their  subjects.  In  the  second 
place,  it  had  the  appearance  of  adding  to  the 
number  of  their  savage  armies  ;  for,  where 
there  was  no  improvement  or  tillage,  war  was 
pursued  as  an  occupation. 

"In  the  early  history  of  Ireland,  we  find 
several  instances  of  chieftains  discountenanc- 
ing tillage;  and  so  late  as  Elizabeth's  reign, 
Moryson  says,  that  'Sir  Neal  Garve  restrained 
his  people  from  ploughing,  that  they  might 
assist  him  to  do  any  mischief.'  " — (p.  98 — 102.) 

These  quotations  and  observations  will  ena- 
ble us  to  state  a  few  plain  facts  for  the  recol- 
lection of  our  English  readers.  1st.  Ireland  was 
never  subdued  till  the  rebellion  in  the  reign 
of  Queen  Elizabeth.  2c?.  For  four  hundred 
years  before  that  period,  the  two  nations  had 
been  almost  constantly  at  war ;  and  in  conse- 


quence of  this,  a  deep  and  irreconcileable  ha 
tred  existed  between  the  people  within  and 
without  the  pale.  3d.  The  Irish,  at  the  acces- 
sion of  Queen  Elizabeth,  were  unquestionably 
the  most  barbarous  people  in  Europe.  So 
much  for  what  had  happened  previous  to  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth :  and  let  any  man, 
who  has  the  most  superficial  knowledge  of 
human  affairs,  determine,  v/hether  national 
hatred,  proceeding  from  such  powerful  causes, 
could  possibly  have  been  kept  under  by  the  de- 
feat of  one  single  rebellion  ;  whether  it  would 
not  have  been  easy  to  have  foreseen,  at  that 
period,  that  a  proud,  brave,  half-savage  people, 
would  cherish  the  memory  of  their  wrongs  for 
centuries  to  come,  and  break  forth  into  arms 
at  every  period  when  they  were  particularly 
exasperated  by  oppression,  or  invited  by  op- 
portunity. If  the  Protestant  religion  had 
spread  in  Ireland  as  it  did  in  England,  and  if 
there  never  had  been  any  difference  of  faith 
between  the  two  countries, — can  it  be  believed 
that  the  Irish,  ill-treated,  and  infamously  go- 
verned as  they  have  been,  would  never  have 
made  any  efforts  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  Eng- 
land 1  Surely  there  are  causes  enough  to 
account  for  their  impatience  of  that  5'oke, 
without  endeavouring  to  inflame  the  zeal  of 
ignorant  people  against  the  Catholic  religion, 
and  to  make  that  mode  of  faith  responsible  for 
all  the  butchery  which  the  Irish  and  English, 
for  these  last  two  centuries,  have  exercised 
upon  each  other.  Every  body,  of  course,  must 
admit,  that  if  to  the  causes  of  hatred  already 
specified,  there  be  added  the  additional  cause 
of  religious  distinction,  this  last  will  give 
greater  force  (and  what  is  of  more  conse- 
quence to  observe,  give  a  name)  to  the  whole 
aggregate  motive.  But  what  Mr.  Parnell  con- 
tends for,  and  clearly  and  decisively  proves,  is, 
thatmany  of  those  sanguinary  scenes  attributed 
to  the  Catholic  religion,  are  to  be  partly  im- 
puted to  causes  totally  disconnected  from  reli- 
gion ;  that  the  unjust  invasion,  and  the  tyran- 
nical, infamous  policy  of  the  English,  are  to 
take  their  full  share  of  blame  with  the  sophisms 
and  plots  of  Catholic  priests.  In  the  reign  of 
Henry  the  Eighth,  Mr.  Parnell  shows,  that 
feudal  submission  was  readily  paid  to  him  by 
all  the  Irish  chiefs  ;  that  the  Reformation  was 
received  without  the  slightest  opposition  ;  and 
that  the  troubles  which  took  place  at  that 
period  in  Ireland,  are  to  be  entirely  attributed 
to  the  ambition  and  injustice  of  Henry.  In  the 
reign  of  Queen  Mary,  there  was  no  recrimi- 
nation upon  the  Protestants; — a  striking  proof, 
that  the  bigotry  of  the  Catholic  religion  had 
not,  at  that  period,  risen  to  any  great  height  in 
Ireland.  The  insurrections  of  the  various 
Irish  princes  were  as  numerous,  during  this 
reign,  as  they  had  been  in  the  two  preceding 
reigns, — a  circumstance  rather  difficult  of  ex- 
planation, if,  as  is  commonly  believed,  the  Ca- 
tholic religion  was  at  that  period  the  main 
spring  of  men's  actions. 

In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  the  Catholic  in  the 
pale  regularly  fought  against  the  Catholic  out 
of  the  pale.  O'Sullivan,  a  bigoted  Papist,  re- 
proaches them  with  doing  so.  Speaking  of  the 
reign  of  James  the  First,  he  says,  "And  now 
the  eyes  even  of  the  English  Irish"  (the  Ca- 


36 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH; 


tholics  of  the  pale)  "  were  opened ;  and  they 
cursed  their  former  folly  for  helping  the  here- 
tic." The  English  government  were  so  sen- 
sible of  the  loyalty  of  the  Irish  English  Catho- 
lics, that  they  entrusted  them  with  the  most 
confidential  services.  The  Earl  of  Kildare 
was  the  principal  instrument  in  waging  war 
against  the  chieftains  of  Leix  and  Offal.  Wil- 
liam O'Bourge,  another  Catholic,  was  created 
Lord  Castle  Connel  for  his  eminent  services; 
and  MacGuUy  Patrick,  a  priest,  was  the  state 
spy.  We  presume  that  this  wise  and  manly 
conduct  of  Queen  Elizabeth  was  utterly  un- 
known both  to  the  Pastrycook  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  who  have  published  upon  the 
dangers  of  employing  Catholics  even  against 
foreign  enemies;  and  in  those  publications 
have  said  a  great  deal  about  the  wisdom  of  our 
ancestors — the  usual  topic  whenever  the  folly 
of  their  descendants  is  to  be  defended.  To 
whatever  other  of  our  ancestors  they  may 
allude,  they  may  spare  all  compliments  to  this 
illustrious  Princess,  who  would  certainly  have 
kept  the  worthy  confectioner  to  the  composition 
of  tarts,  and  most  probably  furnished  him  with 
the  productions  of  the  Right  Honourable  Sec- 
retary, as  the  means  of  conveying  those  juicy 
delicacies  to  an  hungry  and  discerning  pub- 
lic. 

In  the  next  two  reigns,  Mr.  Parnell  shows 
by  what  injudicious  measures  of  the  English 
government  the  spirit  of  Catholic  opposition 
was  gradually  formed  ;  for  that  it  did  produce 
Dowerful  effects  at  a  subsequent  period,  he 
does  not  deny ;  but  contends  only  (as  we  have 
before  stated),  that  these  effects  have  been 
much  overrated,  and  ascribed  solely  to  the 
Catholic  religion,  when  other  causes  have  at 
least  had  an  equal  agency  in  bringing  them 
about.  He  concludes  with  some  general  re- 
marks on  the  dreadful  state  of  Ireland,  and 
the  contemptible  folly  and  bigotry  of  the  Eng- 
lish ;* — remarks  full  of  truth,  of  good  sense, 
and  of  political  courage.  How  melancholy 
to  reflect,  that  there  would  be  still  some 
chance  of  saving  England  from  the  general 
wreck  of  empires,  but  that  it  may  not  be 
saved,  because  one  politician  will  lose  two 
thousand  a  year  by  it,  and  another  three  thou- 
sand— a  third  a  place  in  reversion,  and  a  fourth 
a  pension  for  his  aunt ! — Alas  !  these  are  the 


*  It  would  l>e  as  well,  in  future,  to  say  no  more  of  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantz. 


powerful  causes  which  have  always  settled 
the  destiny  of  great  kingdoms,  and  which  may 
level  Old  England,  with  all  its  boasted  free- 
dom, and  boasted  wisdom,  to  the  dust.  Nor 
is  it  the  least  singular  among  the  political 
phenomena  of  the  present  day,  that  the  sole 
consideration  which  seems  to  influence  the 
unbigoted  part  of  the  English  people,  in  this 
great  question  of  Ireland,  is  a  regard  for  the 
personal  feelings  of  the  Monarch.  Nothing 
is  said  or  thought  of  the  enormous  risk  to 
which  Ireland  is  exposed, — nothing  of  the 
gross  injustice  with  which  the  Catholics  are 
treated, — nothing  of  the  lucrative  apostasy 
of  those  from  whom  they  experience  this 
treatment :  but  the  only  concern  by  which  we 
all  seem  to  be  agitated  is,  that  the  King  must 
not  be  vexed  in  his  old  age.  We  have  a  great 
respect  for  the  King;  and  wish  him  ail  the 
happiness  compatible  with  the  happiness  of 
his  people.  But  these  are  not  times  to  pay 
foolish  compliments  to  Kings,  or  the  sons  of 
Kings,  or  to  any  body  else :  this  journal  has 
always  preserved  its  character  for  courage 
and  honesty ;  and  it  shall  do  so  to  the  last. 
If  the  people  of  this  country  are  solely  occu- 
pied in  considering  what  is  personally  agree- 
able to  the  King,  without  considering  what  is 
for  his  permanent  good,  and  for  the  safety  of 
his  dominions ;  if  all  public  men,  quitting  the 
common  vulgar  scramble  for  emolument,  do 
not  concur  in  conciliating  the  people  of  Ire- 
land; if  the  unfounded  alarms,  and  the  com- 
paratively trifling  interests  of  the  clergy,  are 
to  supersede  the  great  question  of  freedom  or 
slavery,  it  does  appear  to  us  quite  impossible 
that  so  mean  and  so  foolish  a  people  can 
escape  that  destruction  which  is  ready  to  burst 
upon  them ; — a  destruction  so  imminent,  that 
it  can  only  be  averted  by  arming  all  in  ottr 
defence  who  would  evidently  be  sharers  in  our 
ruin, — and  by  such  a  change  of  system  as 
may  save  us  from  the  hazard  of  being  ruined 
by  the  ignorance  and  cowardice  of  any  gene- 
ral, by  the  bigotry  or  the  ambition  of  any 
minister,  or  by  the  well-meaning  scruples  of 
any  human  being,  let  his  dignity  be  what  it 
may.  These  minor  and  domestic  dangers  we 
must  endeavour  firmly  and  temperately  to 
avert  as  we  best  can ;  but,  at  all  hazcirds,  we 
must  keep  out  the  destroyer  from  among  us, 
or  perish  like  wise  and  brave  men  in  the 
attempt. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


SV 


METHODISM; 


[Edinburgh   Review,  1808.] 


This  is  the  production  of  an  honest  man, 
possessed  of  a  fair  share  of  understanding. 
He  cries  out  lustily  (and  not  before  it  is  time), 
upon  the  increase  of  Methodism ;  proposes 
various  remedies  for  the  diminution  of  this 
evil ;  and  speaks  his  opinions  with  a  freedom 
which  does  him  great  credit,  and  convinces 
us  that  he  is  a  respectable  man.  The  clergy 
are  accusedof  not  exerting  themselves.  What 
temporal  motive,  Mr.  Ingram  asks,  have  they 
for  exertion?  Would  a  curate,  who  had 
served  thirty  years  upon  a  living  in  the  most 
exemplary  manner,  secure  to  himself,  by  such 
a  conduct,  the  slightest  right  or  title  to  promo- 
tion in  the  church  1  What  can  you  expect  of 
a  whole  profession,  in  which  there  is  no  more 
connection  between  merit  and  reward,  than 
between  merit  and  beauty,  or  merit  and 
strength  1  This  is  the  substance  of  what  Mr. 
Ingram  says  upon  this  subject;  and  he  speaks 
the  truth.  We  regret,  however,  that  this  gen- 
tleman has  thought  tit  to  use  against  the  dis- 
senters, the  exploded  clamour  of  Jacobinism ; 
or  that  he  deems  it  necessary  to  call  into  the 
aid  of  the  Church,  the  power  of  intolerant 
laws,  in  spite  of  the  odious  and  impolitic  tests 
to  which  the  dissenters  are  still  subjected. 
We  believe  them  to  be  very  good  subjects ; 
and  we  have  no  doubt  but  that  any  further  at- 
tempt upon  their  religious  liberties,  without 
reconciling  them  to  the  Church,  would  have  a 
direct  tendency  to  render  them  disaffected  to 
to  the  State. 

Mr.  Ingram  (Avhose  book,  by  the  by,  is  very 
dull  and  tedious)  has  fallen  into  the  common 
mistake  of  supposing  his  readers  to  be  as  well 
acquainted  with  his  subject  as  he  is  himself; 
and  has  talked  a  great  deal  about  dissenters, 
without  giving  us  any  distinct  notions  of  the 
spirit  which  pervades  these  people — the  ob- 
jects they  have  in  view — or  the  degree  of 
talent  which  is  to  be  found  among  them.  To 
remedy  this  very  capital  defect,  we  shall  en- 
deavour to  set  before  the  eyes  of  the  reader  a 
complete  section  of  the  tabernacle ;  and  to 
present  him  with  a  near  view  of  those  secta- 
ries, who  are  at  present  at  work  upon  the  de- 
struction of  the  orthodox  churches,  and  are 
destined  hereafter,  perhaps,  to  act  as  conspi- 
cuous a  part  in  public  affairs,  as  the  children 
of  Sion  did  in  the  time  of  Cromwell. 

The  sources  from  which  we  shall  derive 
our  extracts,  are  the  Evangelical  and  Metho- 
distical  Magazines  for  the  year  1807 ; — works 
which  are  said  to  be  circulated  to  the  amount 
of  18,000  or  20,000  each,  every  month;  and 
which  contain  the  sentiments  of  Arminian 
and  Calvinistic  Methodists,  and  of  the  evan- 
gelical clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England. 
We  shall  use  the  general  term  of  Methodism, 

*  Causes  of  the  Increase  of  Methodism  and  Dissension. 
By  Robert  Acklem  Ingram,  B.  D.    Hatchard. 


to  designate  these  three  classes  of  fanatics, 
not  troubling  ourselves  to  point  out  the  finer 
shades,  and  nicer  discriminations  of  lunacy, 
but  treating  them  all  as  in  one  general  conspi- 
racy against  common  sense,  and  rational  or- 
thodox Christianity. 

In  reading  these  very  curious  productions, 
we  seemed  to  be  in  a  new  world,  and  to  have 
got  among  a  set  of  beings,  of  whose  existence 
we  had  hardly  before  entertained  the  slightest 
conception.  It  has  been  our  good  fortune  to 
be  acquainted  with  many  truly  religious  per- 
sons, both  in  the  Presbyterian  and  Episcopa- 
lian churches ;  and  from  their  manly,  rational, 
and  serious  characters,  our  conceptions  of 
true  practical  piety  have  been  formed.  To 
these  coniined  habits,  and  to  our  want  of  pro- 
per introductions  among  the  children  of  light 
and  grace,  any  degree  of  surprise  is  to  be  at- 
tributed, which  may  be  excited  by  the  publi- 
cations before  us  ;  which,  under  opposite  cir- 
cumstances, would  (Ave  doubt  not)  have  proved 
as  great  a  source  of  instruction  and  delight  to 
the  Edinburgh  reviewers,  as  they  are  to  the 
most  melodious  votaries  of  the  tabernacle. 

It  is  not  wantonly,  or  with  the  most  distant 
intention  of  trifling  upon  serious  subjects,  that 
we  call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  these  sort 
of  publications.  Their  circulation  is  so  enor- 
mous, and  so  increasing, — they  contain  the 
opinions,  and  display  the  habits  of  so  many 
human  beings, — that  they  cannot  but  be  ob- 
jects of  curiosity  and  importance.  The  com- 
mon and  the  middling  classes  of  the  people 
are  the  purchasers;  and  the  subject  is  reli- 
gion,— though  not  that  religion  certainly  which 
is  established  by  law,  and  encouraged  by  na- 
tional provision.  This  may  lead  to  unpleasant 
consequences,  or  it  may  not ;  but  it  carries 
with  it  a  sort  of  aspect,  which  ought  to  insure 
to  it  serious  attention  and  reflection. 

It  is  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  knowledge 
of  a  religious  sect,  by  merely  detailing  the  set- 
tled articles  of  their  belief:  it  may  be  the 
fashion  of  such  a  sect  to  insist  upon  some  arti- 
cles very  slightly;  to  bring  forward  others  pro- 
minently ;  and  to  consider  some  portion  of  their 
formal  creed  as  obsolete.  As  the  knowledge 
of  the  jurisprudence  of  any  country  can  never 
be  obtained  by  the  perusal  of  volumes  which 
contain  some  statutes  that  are  daily  enforced, 
and  others  that  have  been  silently  antiquated: 
in  the  same  manner,  the  practice,  the  preach- 
ing, and  the  writing  of  sects,  are  comments 
absolutely  necessary  to  render  the  perusal  of 
their  creed  of  any  degree  of  utility. 

It  is  the  practice,  we  believe,  with  the  orthi) 
dox,  both  in  the  Scotch  and  English  churches, 
to  insist  very  rarely,  and  very  discreetly,  upon 
the  particular  instances  of  the  interference  of 
Divine  Providence.  They  do  not  contend  that 
the  world  is  governed  onlv  by  general  laws, — 
D" 


38 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


that  a  Superintending  Mind  never  interferes 
for  particular  purposes  ;  but  such  purposes  are 
represented  to  be  of  a  nature  very  awful  and 
sublime, — when  a  guilty  people  are  to  be  de- 
stroyed, when  an  oppressed  nation  is  to  be  lift- 
ed up,  and  some  remarkable  change  introduced 
into  the  order  and  arrangement  of  the  world. 
With  this  kind  of  theology  we  can  have  no 
quarrel ;  we  bow  to  its  truth  ;  we  are  satisfied 
with  the  moderation  which  it* exhibits;  and  we 
have  no  doubt  of  the  salutary  effect  which  it 
produces  upon  the  human  heart.  Let  us  now 
come  to  those  special  cases  of  the  interference 
of  Providence  as  they  are  exhibited  in  the  pub- 
lications before  us. 

^n  interference  with  respect  to  the  Rev.  James 
Moody. 

"  Mr.  James  Moody  was  descended  from  pious 
ancestors,  who  resided  at  Paisley ; — his  heart 
was  devoted  to  music,  dancing,  and  theatrical 
amusements ;  of  the  latter  he  was  so  fond,  that 
he  used  to  meet  with  some  men  of  a  similar 
cast  to  rehearse  plays,  and  used  to  entertain  a 
hope  that  he  should  make  a  figure  upon  the 
stage.  To  improve  himself  in  music,  he  would 
rise  very  early,  even  in  severely  cold  weather, 
and  practise  on  the  German  flute:  by  his  skill 
in  music  and  singing,  with  his  general  powers 
of  entertaining,  he  became  a  desirable  com- 
panion :  he  would  sometimes  venture  to  pro- 
fane the  day  of  God,  by  turning  it  into  a  season 
of  carnal  pleasure :  and  would  join  in  excur- 
sions on  the  water,  to  various  parts  of  the  vi- 
cinity of  London.  But  the  time  was  approach- 
ing, %olien  the  Lord,  who  had  dcsig7is  of  mercy  for 
him,  and  for  many  others  by  his  means,  teas  about 
to  stop  him  in  his  vain  career  of  sin  and  fully.  There 
were  two  professing  servants  in  the  house 
where  he  lived  ;  one  of  these  was  a  porter,  who, 
in  brushing  his  clothes,  would  say,  'Master 
James,  this  will  never  do — you  must  be  other- 
wise employed — you  must  be  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.'  This  worthy  man,  earnestly  wishing 
his  conversion,  put  into  his  hands  that  excel- 
lent book  which  God  hath  so  much  owned, 
Allcutc's  Alarm  to  the  Unconverted. 

"  About  this  time,  it  pleased  God  to  visit  him 
with  a  disorder  in  his  eyes,  occasioned,  as  it 
Avas  thought,  by  his  sitting  up  in  the  night  to 
improve  himself  in  drawing.  The  apprehen- 
sion of  losing  his  sight  occasioned  many  seri- 
ous reflections;  his  mind  was  impressed  with 
the  importance  and  necessity  of  seeking  the 
salvation  of  his  soul,  and  he  was  induced  to 
attend  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  The  first 
sermon  that  he  heard  with  a  desire  to  profit, 
was  at  Spa-fields  Chapel ;  a  place  where  he  had 
formerly  frequented,  when  it  was  a  temple  of 
vanity  and  dissipation.  Strong  convictions  of 
sin  fixed  on  his  mind;  and  he  continued  to  at- 
tend the  preached  word,  particularly  at  Totten- 
ham-court Chapel.  Every  sermon  increased 
his  sorrow  and  grief  that  he  had  not  earlier 
sought  the  Lord.  It  was  a  considerable  time 
before  he  found  comfort  from  the  gospel.  He 
has  stood  in  the  free  part  of  the  chapel,  hear- 
ing with  such  emotion,  that  the  tears  have 
flowed  from  his  eyes  in  torrents;  and,  when 
be  has  returned  home,  he  has  continued  a  great 


part  of  the  night  on  his  knees,  praying  over 
what  he  had  heard. 

"  The  change  effected  by  the  poM'er  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  on  his  heart  now  became  visible  to 
all.  Nor  did  he  halt  between  two  opinions,  as 
some  persons  do;  he  became  at  once  a  decided 
character,  and  gave  up  for  ever  all  his  vain 
pursuits  and  amusements ;  devoting  himself 
with  as  much  resolution  and  diligence  to  the 
service  of  God,  as  he  had  formerly  done  to  folly." 
Ev.  Mag.  p.  194. 

An  interference  respecting  Cards, 

"A  clergyman  not  far  distant  from  the  spot 
on  which  these  lines  were  written,  was  spend- 
ing an  evening — not  in  his  closet  wrestling 
with  his  Divine  Master  for  the  communication 
of  that  grace  which  is  so  peculiarly  necessary 
for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  ministerial 
function, — not  in  his  study  searching  the  sacred 
oracles  of  divine  truth  for  materials  wherewith 
to  prepare  for  his  public  exercises  and  feed  the 
flock  under  his  care, — not  in  pastoral  visits  to 
that  flock,  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  their  souls, 
and  endeavour,  by  his  pious  and  afiectionate 
conversation,  to  conciliate  their  esteem,  and 
promote  their  edification, — but  at  the  card  table.'" 
— After  stating  that  when  it  was  his  turn  to 
deal,  he  dropped  down  dead,  "It  is  worthy  of 
remark  (says  the  writer),  that  within  a  very 
few  years  this  was  the  third  character  in  the 
neighbourhood  which  had  been  summoned 
from  the  card  table  to  the  bar  of  God." — Ev. 
Mag.  p.  262. 

Interference  respecting  Swearing — a  Bee  the  instru- 
ment. 
"  A  young  man  is  stung  by  a  bee,  upon  which 
he  buffets  the  bees  with  his  hat,  uttering  at  the 
same  time  the  most  dreadful  oaths  and  impre- 
cations. In  the  midst  of  his  fury,  one  of  these 
little  combatants  stung  him  upon  the  tip  of  that 
unruly  member  (his  tongue),  which  was  then 
employed  in  blaspheming  his  Maker.  Thus 
can  the  Lord  engage  one  of  the  meanest  of  his 
creatures  in  reproving  the  bold  transgressor 
who  dares  to  take  his  name  in  vain." — Ev. 
Mag.  p.  363. 

Interference  ivith  respect  to  David  White,  who  was 
cured  of  Atheism  and  Scrofula  by  one  Sermon  of 
Mr.  Coles. 

This  case  is  too  long  to  quote  in  the  lan- 
guage and  with  the  evidences  of  the  writers. 
The  substance  of  it  is  what  our  title  implies. — 
David  Wright  was  a  man  with  scrofulous  legs 
and  atheistical  principles; — being  with  diffi- 
culty persuaded  to  hear  one  sermon  from  Mr. 
Coles,  he  limped  to  the  church  in  extreme  pain, 
and  arrived  there  after  great  exertion ; — dur- 
ing church  time  he  was  entirely  converted, 
walked  home  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  never 
after  experienced  the  slightest  return  of  scro- 
fula or  infidelity.— £v.  Mag.  p.  444. 

The  displeasure  of  Providence  is  expressed  at  Cap- 
tain  Scott's  going  to  preach  in  Mr.  Romaine's 
Chapel. 
The  sign  of  this   displeasure   is  a  violent 

storm  of  thunder  and  lightning  just  as  he  came 

into  town. — Ev.  3Iag.  p.  537. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


39 


Interference  with  respect  to  an  Innkeeper,  who  was 

destroyed  for  having  appointed  a  cock-fight  at  the 

very  lime  thai  the  service  was  beginning  at  the 

Methodist  Chapel. 

" '  Never  mind,'  says  the  innkeeper,  '  I'll  get  a 
greater  congregation  than  the  Methodist  par- 
son ; — we'll  have  a  cock-fight.'  But  what  is 
man  !  how  insignificant  his  designs,  how  im- 
potent his  strength,  how  ill-fated  his  plans,  when 
opposed  to  that  Being  who  is  infinite  in  wisdom, 
boundless  in  power,  terrible  in  judgment,  and 
who  frequently  reverses,  and  suddenly  renders 
abortive,  the  projects  of  the  wicked  !  A  few 
days  after  the  avowal  of  his  intention,  the  inn- 
keeper sickened,"  &c.  &c.  And  then  the  nar- 
rator goes  on  to  state,  that  his  corpse  was  car- 
ried by  the  meeting-house,  "  on  the  day,  and 
exactly  at  the  time,  the  deceased  had  fixed  for  the 
cock-fight."— Mei/i.  Mag.  p.  126. 

In  page  167,  Meth.  Mag.,  a  father,  mother, 
three  sons,  and  a  sister,  are  destroyed  by  par- 
ticular interposition. 

In  page  222,  Meth.  Mag.,  a  dancing-master  is 
destroyed  for  irreligion, — another  person  for 
swearing  at  a  cock-fight, — and  a  third  for  pre- 
tending to  be  deaf  and  dumb.  These  are  call- 
ed recent  and  authentic  accounts  of  God's  aveng- 
ing providence. 

So  much  for  the  miraculous  interposition  of 
Providence  in  cases  where  the  Methodists  are 
concerned:  we  shall  now  proceed  to  a  few  spe- 
cimens of  the  energy  of  their  religious  feelings. 

Mr.  Roberts^ s  feelings  in  the  month  of  May,  1793. 
"  But,  all  this  lime,  my  soul  was  stayed  upon 
God ;  my  desires  increased,  and  my  mind  was 
kept  in  a  sweet  praying  frame,  a  going  out  of 
myself,  as  it  were,  and  taking  shelter  in  Him. 
Every  breath  I  drew,  ended  in  a  prayer.  I  felt 
myself  helpless  as  an  infant,  dependent  upon 
God  for  all  things.  I  was  in  a  constant  daily 
expectation  of  receiving  all  I  wanted;  and,  on 
Friday,  May  31st,  under  Mr.  Rutherford's  ser- 
mon, though  entirely  independent  of  it,  (for  I 
could  not  give  any  account  of  what  he  had 
been  preaching  about,)  I  was  given  to  feel  that 
God  was  waiting  to  be  very  gracious  to  me ; 
the  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication  was  given 
me,  and  such  an  assurance  that  I  was  accepted 
in  the  Beloved,  as  I  cannot  describe,  but  which 
I  shall  never  forget." — Meth.  Mag.  p.  35. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Price  and  her  attendants  hear  sacred 
music  on  a  sudden. 

"A  few  nights  before  her  death,  while  some 
neighbours  and  her  husband  were  sitting  up 
with  her,  a  sudden  and  joyful  sound  of  music 
■was  heard  by  all  present,  although  some  of  them 
were  carnal  people :  at  which  time  she  thought 
she  saw  her  crucified  Saviour  before  her,  speak- 
ing these  words  with  power  to  her  soul,  'Thy 
sins  are  forgiven  thee,  and  I  love  thee  freely.' 
After  this  she  never  doubted  of  her  acceptance 
•with  God  ;  and  on  Christmas  day  following  was 
taken  to  celebrate  the  Redeemer's  birth  in  the 
Paradise  of  God.  Michakl  Cousin." — Meth. 
Mag.  p.  137. 

T.  L.,  a  Sailor  on  board  of  the  Slag  frigate  has  a 
special  revelation  from  our  Saviour. 

"October  26th,  being  the  Lord's  day,  he  had 
a  remarkable  manifestation  of  God's  love  to 


his  soul.  That  blessed  morning,  he  was  much 
grieved  by  hearing  the  wicked  use  profane 
language,  when  Jesus  revealed  himself  to  him, 
and  impressed  on  his  mind  those  words,  'Fol- 
low Me.'  This  was  a  precious  day  to  him." 
Meth.  Mag.  p.  140. 

The  manner  in  tvhich  Mr,  Thomas  Cook  ivas  accus* 
tomed  to  accost  S.  B. 

"Whenever  he  met  me  in  the  street,  his 
salutation  used  to  be,  'Have  you  free  and 
lively  intercourse  with  God  to-day?  Are  you 
giving  your  whole  heart  to  Godl'  I  have 
known  him  on  such  occasions  speak  in  so 
pertinent  a  manner,  that  I  have  been  as- 
tonished at  his  knowledge  of  my  state.  Meet- 
ing me  one  morning,  he  said,  'I  have  been 
praying  for  you  ;  you  have  had  a  sore  conflict, 
though  all  is  well  now.'  At  another  time  he 
asked,  'Have  you  been  much  exercised  these 
few  days,  for  I  have  been  led  to  pray  that  you 
might  especially  have  suffering  grace.'" — Meth. 
Mag.  p.  247. 

Mr.  John  Kestin  on  his  death-bed. 

"'Oh,  my  dear,  I  am  now  going  to  glory, 
happy,  happy,  happy.  I  am  going  to  sing 
praises  to  God  and  the  Lamb ;  I  am  going  to 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  I  think  I  can  see 
my  Jesus  without  a  glass  between.  I  can,  I 
feel  I  can,  discern  'my  title  clear  to  mansions 
in  the  skies.'  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  !  why 
are  thy  chariot-wheels  so  long  delaying]'" 
Ev.  Mag.  p.  124. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Mead^s  sorroiu  for  his  si7is. 

"  This  -wrought  him  up  to  temporary  despe- 
ration; his  inexpressible  grief  poured  itself 
forth  in  groans  :  'Oh,  that  I  had  never  sinned 
against  God !  I  have  a  hell  here  upon  earth,  and 
there  is  a  hell  for  me  in  eternity !'  One  Lord's 
day,  very  early  in  the  morning,  he  was  awoke  by 
a  tempest  of  thunder  and  lightning;  and  ima- 
gining it  to  be  the  end  of  the  world,  his  agony 
Avas  great,  supposing  the  great  day  of  divine 
wrath  was  come,  and  he  unprepared:  but  hap- 
py to  find  it  not  so." — Ev.  Mag.  p.  147. 

Similar  case  of  Mr.  John  Robinson. 
"About  two  hours  before  he  died,  he  was  in 
great  agony  of  body  and  mind :  it  appeared 
that  the  enemy  was  permitted  to  struggle  with 
him  ;  and  being  greatly  agitated,  he  cried  out, 
'  Ye  powers  of  darkness  begone  !'  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  last  long :  '  the  prey  was  taken 
from  the  mighty,  and  the  lawful  captive  de- 
livered,' although  he  was  not  permitted  to  tell 
of  his  deliverance,  but  lay  quite  still  and  com- 
posed."— Ev.  Mag.  p.  177. 

The  Reverend  William  Tennant  in  an  heavenly 
trance. 
" '  AVhile  I  was  conversing  with  my  brother,' 
said  he,  '  on  the  state  of  my  soul,  and  the  fears 
I  had  entertained  for  my  future  welfare,  I  found 
myself  in  an  instant,  in  another  state  of  exist- 
ence, under  the  direction  of  a  superior  being, 
who  ordered  me  to  follow  him.  I  was  wafted 
along,  I  know  not  how,  till  I  beheld  at  a  dis- 
tance an  ineffable  glory,  the  impression  of 
which  on  my  mind  it  is  impossible  to  commu- 
nicate to  mortal  man.  I  immediately  reflected 
on   my  happy   change ;    and   thought,   Well, 


40 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


blessed  be  God !  I  am  safe  at  last,  notwith- 
standing all  my  fears.  I  saw  an  innumerable 
host  of  happy  beings  surrounding  the  inex- 
pressible glory,  in  acts  of  adoration  and  joy- 
ous worship  ;  but  I  did  not  see  any  bodily  shape 
■or  representation  in  the  glorious  appearance. 
I  heard  things  unutterable.  I  heard  their  songs 
■and  hallelujahs  of  thanksgiving  and  praise, 
with  unspeakable  rapture.  I  felt  joy  unutter- 
able and  full  of  glory.  I  then  applied  to  my 
conductor,  and  requested  leave  to  join  the 
happy  throng.'  " — Ev.  Mag.  p.  251. 

The  following  we  consider  to  be  one  of  the 
most  shocking  histories  we  ever  read.  God 
only  knows  how  many  such  scenes  take  place 
in  the  gloomy  annals  of  Methodism. 

**  A  young  man,  of  the  name  of  S. C , 

grandson  to  a  late  eminent  Dissenting  minister, 
and  brought  up   by  him,  came  to   reside  at 

K g,  about  the  year  1803.    He  attended  at 

the  Baptist  place  of  worship,  not  only  on  the 
Lord's  day,  but  frequently  at  the  week-day 
lectures  and  prayer-meetings.  He  was  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  seriously  inclined;  bl^t 
his  opinion  of  himself  was,  that  he  had  never 
experienced  that  divine  change,  without  which 
no  man  can  be  saved. 

"  However  that  might  be,  there  is  reason  to 
believe  he  had  been  for  some  years  under 
powerful  convictions  of  his  miserable  condi- 
tion as  a  sinner.  In  June,  1806,  these  convic- 
tions were  observed  to  increase,  and  that  in  a 
more  than  common  degree.  From  that  time 
he  Avent  into  no  company;  but,  when  he  was 
not  at  work,  kept  in  his  chamber,  where  he 
was  employed  in  singing  plaintive  hymns,  and 
bewailing  his  lost  and  perishing  state. 

"  He  had  about  him  several  religious  peo- 
ple ;  but  could  not  be  induced  to  open  his  mind 
to  them,  or  to  impart  to  any  one  the  cause  of 
his  distress.  Whether  this  contributed  to  in- 
crease it  or  not,  it  did  increase,  till  his  health 
was  greatly  affected  by  it,  and  he  was  scarce- 
ly able  to  woi'k  at  his  business. 

"  While  he  was  at  meeting  on  Lord's  day, 
September  14th,  he  was  observed  to  labour 
under  very  great  emotion  of  mind,  especially 
when  he  heard  the  following  words  :  '  Sinner, 
if  you  die  without  an  interest  in  Christ,  you 
will  sink  into  the  regions  of  eternal  death.' 

"  On  the  Saturday  evening  following,  he  in- 
timated to  the  mistress  of  the  house  where  he 
lodged,  that  some  awful  judgment  Avas  about 
to  come  upon  him ;  and  as  he  should  not  be 
able  to  be  at  meeting  next  day,  requested  that 
an  attendant  might  be  procured  to  stay  with 
him.  She  replied,  that  she  would  herself  stay 
at  home,  and  Avait  upon  him ;  Avhich  she  did. 

"  On  the  Lord's  day  he  Avas  in  great  agony 
of  mind.  His  mother  was  sent  for,  and  some 
religious  friends  Adsited  him ;  but  all  Avas  of 
no  avail.  That  night  Avas  a  night  dreadful 
beyond  conception.  The  horror  Avhich  he  en- 
dured brought  on  all  the  symptoms  of  raging 
madness.  He  desired  the  attendants  not  to 
come  near  him,  lest  they  should  be  burnt.  He 
said  that  'the  bed-curtains  were  in  ilames, — 
that  he  smelt  the  brimstone, — that  devils  were 
come  to  fetch  him, — that  there  Avas  no  hope 
pjr  him,  for  that  he  had  sinned  against  light 


and  conviction,  and  that  he  should  certainly 
go  to  hell.'  It  was  with  difficulty  he^  could  be 
kept  in  bed. 

"  An  apothecary  being  sent  for,  as  soon  as 
he  entered  the  house,  and  heard  his  dreadful 
bowlings,  he  inquired  if  he  had  not  been  bitten 
by  a  mad  dog.  His  appearance,  likewise, 
seemed  to  justify  such  a  suspicion,  his  coun- 
tenance resembling  that  of  a  wild  beast  more 
than  of  a  man. 

"  Though  he  had  no  feverish  heat,  yet  his 
pulse  beat  above  150  in  a  minute.  To  abate 
the  mania,  a  quantity  of  blood  was  taken  from 
him,  a  blister  was  applied,  his  head  was  shaved, 
cold  water  was  copiously  poured  over  him, 
and  fox-glove  Avas  administered.  By  these 
means  his  fury  was  abated ;  but  his  mental 
agony  continued,  and  all  the  symptoms  of 
madness  AA^hich  his  bodily  strength,  thus  re- 
duced, would  allow,  till  the  following  Thurs- 
day. On  that  day  he  seemed  to  have  recovered 
his  reason,  and  to  be  calm  in  his  mind.  In 
the  evening  he  sent  for  the  apothecary;  and 
wished  to  speak  with  him  by  himself.  The 
latter,  on  his  coming,  desired  every  one  to 
leave   the    room,  and   thus    addressed    him  : 

'  C ,  have    you    not    something   on    your 

mind  V  '  Ay,'  answered  he,  '  that  is  it  /'  He 
then  acknowledged  that,  early  in  the  month 
of  June,  he  had  gone  to  a  fair  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, in  company  with  a  number  of  wicked 
young  men  :  that  they  drank  at  a  public-house 
together  till  he  was  in  a  measure  intoxicated ; 
and  that  from  thence  they  went  into  other  com- 
pany, Avhere  he  Avas  criminally  connected  with 
a  harlot.  '  I  have  been  a  miserable  creature,' 
continued  he,  '  ever  since  ;  but  during  the  last 
three  days  and  three  nights,  I  have  been  in  a 
state  of  desperation.'  He  intimated  to  the 
apothecary,  that  he  could  not  bear  to  tell  this 
story  to  his  minister :  '  But,'  said  he, '  do  you 
inform  him  that  I  shall  not  die  in  despair;  for 
light  has  broken  in  upon  me  ;  I  have  been  led 
to  the  great  Sacrifice  for  sin,  and  I  now  hope 
in  him  for  salvation.' 

"  From  this  time  his  mental  distress  ceased, 
his  countenance  became  placid,  and  bis  con- 
versation, instead  of  being  taken  up  as  before 
with  fearful  exclamations  concerning  devils 
and  the  wrath  to  come,  Avas  now  confined  to 
the  dying  love  of  Jesus  !  The  apothecary  was 
of  opinion,  that  if  his  strength  had  not  been  so 
much  exhausted,  he  would  now  have  been  in 
a  state  of  religious  transport.  His  nervous 
system,  however,  had  received  such  a  shock, 
that  his  recovery  was  doubtful ;  and  it  seemed 
certain,  that  if  he  did  recover,  he  would  sink 
into  a  state  of  idiocy.  He  survived  this  inter- 
view but  a  fcAv  days."— jBj;.  Mag.  p.  412,  413. 

A  religious  observer  stands  at  a  turnpike 
gate  on  a  Sunday,  to  witness  the  profane  crowd 
passing  by  ;  he  sees  a  man  driving  very  clum- 
sily in  a  gig ;  the  inexperience  of  the  driver 
provokes  the  following  pious  observations. 

" '  What  (said  I  to  myself)  if  a  single  un- 
toward circumstance  should  happen !  Should 
the  horse  take  fright,  or  the  wheel  on  either 
side  get  entangled,  or  the  gig  upset, — in  either 
case  Avhat  can  preserve  theml  And  should  a 
morning  so  fair  and  promising  bring  on  evil.. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


41 


before  night, — should  death  on  his  pale  horse 
appear, — what  follows  1  My  mind  shuddered 
at  the  images  I  had  raised.'  " — Ev.  Mag.  p.  558, 
559. 

Miss  Louisa  Cooke's  rapturous  state. 
"  From  this  period  she  lived  chiefly  in  retire- 
ment, either  in  reading  the  sacred  volume  on 
her  knees,  or  in  pouring  out  her  soul  in  prayer 
to  God.  While  thus  employed,  she  was  not 
unfrequently  indulged  with  visits  from  her 
gracious  Lord  ;  and  sometimes  she  felt  herself 
to  be  surrounded,  as  it  were,  by  his  glorious 
presence.  After  her  return  to  Bristol,  her  frame 
of  mind  became  so  heavenly,  that  she  seemed 
often  to  be  dissolved  in  the  love  of  God  her 
Saviour."— ^y.  Mag.  p.  576,  577. 

Objection  to  Almanacks. 
"Let  those  who  have  been  partial  to  such 
vain  productions,  only  read  Isaiah  xlvii.  13, 
and  Daniel  ii.  27;  and  they  will  here  see  what 
they  are  to  be  accounted  of,  and  in  what  com- 
pany they  are  to  be  found;  and  let  them  learn 
to  despise  their  equivocal  and  artful  insinua- 
tions, which  are  too  frequently  blended  with 
profanity ;  for  is  it  not  profanity  in  them  to  at- 
tempt to  palm  their  frauds  upon  mankind  by 
Scripture  quotations,  which  they  seldom  fail  to 
do,  especially  Judges  v.  20,  and  Job  xxxviii. 
31 1  neither  of  which  teaches  nor  warrants 
any  such  practice.  Had  Baruch  or  Deborah 
consulted  the  stars  1  No  such  thing." — Ev. 
Mag.  p.  600. 

This  energy  of  feeling  will  be  found  occa- 
sionally to  meddle  with,  and  disturb  the  ordi- 
nary occupations  and  amusements  of  life,  and 
to  raise  up  little  qualms  of  conscience,  which, 
instead  of  exciting  respect,  border,  we  fear, 
somewhat  too  closely  upon  the  ludicrous. 

A  Methodist  Footman. 
"  A  gentleman's  servant,  who  has  left  a  good 
place  because  he  was  ordered  to  deny  his  mas- 
ter when  actually  at  home,  wishes  something 
on  this  subject  may  be  introduced  into  this 
work,  that  persons  who  are  in  the  habit  of 
denying  themselves  in  the  above  manner  may 
be  convinced  of  its  evil." — Ev.  Mag.  p.  72. 

Doubts  if  it  is  right  to  take  any  interest  for 
money. 
"  Usury. — Sir,  I  beg  the  favour  of  you  to  in- 
sert the  following  case  of  conscience.  I  fre- 
quently find  in  Scripture,  that  Usury  is  parti- 
cularly condemned;  and  it  is  represented  as 
the  character  of  a  good  man,  that '  he  hath  not 
given  forth  upon  usury,  neither  hath  taken  any 
increase,'  Ezek.  xviii.  8,  &c.  I  wish,  there- 
fore, to  know  how  such  passages  are  to  be  un- 
derstood; and  whether  the  taking  of  interest 
for  money,  as  it  is  universally  practised  among 
us,  can  be  reconciled  with  the  word  and  will 
of  God]  q,."—Ev.  Mag.  p.  74. 

Dancing  ill  suited  to  a  creature  on  trial  for 
eternity 
"If  dancing  be  a  waste  of  time ;  if  the  pre- 
cious hours  devoted  to  it  may  be  better  em- 
ployed ;  if  it  be  a  species  of  trifling  ill  suited 
to  a  creatui-e  on  trial  for  eternity,  and  hasten- 
ing towards  it  on  the  swift  wings  of  time;  if  it 
be  incompatible  with  genuine  renentaace,  true 
6 


faith  in  Christ,  supreme  love  to  God,  and  a 
state  of  genuine  devotedhess  to  him, — then 
is  dancing  a  practice  utterly  opposed  to  the 
whole  spirit  and  temper  of  Christianity,  and 
subversive  of  the  best  interests  of  the  rising 
generation."— i¥e;A.  Mag.  p.  127,  128. 

The  Methodists  consider  themselves  as  con- 
stituting a  chosen  and  separate  people,  living 
in  a  land  of  atheists  and  voluptuaries.  The 
expressions  by  which  they  designate  their  own 
sects,  are  the  dear  people — the  elect — the  people 
of  God.  The  rest  of  mankind  are  carnal  peo- 
ple, the  people  of  this  world,  &c.  &c.  The  chil- 
dren of  Israel  were  not  more  separated,  through 
the  favour  of  God,  from  the  Egyptians,  than 
the  Methodists  are,  in  their  own  estimation, 
from  the  rest  of  mankind.  We  had  hitherto 
supposed  that  the  disciples  of  the  Established 
churches  in  England  and  Scotland  had  been 
Christians  ;  and  that,  after  baptism,  duly  per- 
formed by  the  appointed  minister,  and  partici- 
pation in  the  custoinary  worship  of  these  two 
churches,  Christianity  was  the  religion  of 
which  they  were  to  be  considered  as  mem- 
bers. We  see,  however,  in  these  publications, 
men  of  twenty  or  thirty  years  of  age  first  called 
to  a  knowledge  of  Christ  under  a  sermon  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Venn, — or  first  admitted  into  the 
church  of  Christ  under  a  sermon  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Romaine.  The  apparent  admission  turns 
out  to  have  been  a  mere  mockery ;  and  the 
pseudo-christian  to  have  had  no  religion  at  all, 
till  the  business  was  really  and  effectually  done 
under  these  sermons  by  Mr.  Venn  and  Mr. 
Romaine. 

./In  auful  and  general  departure  from  the  Christian 
Failh  in  the  Church  of  England. 
"A  second  volume  of  Mr.  Cooper's  sermons 
is  before  us,  stamped  with  the  same  broad  seal 
of  truth  and  excellence  as  the  former.  Amidst 
the  awful  and  general  departure  from  the  faith, 
as  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  in  the  Church 
of  England,  and  sealed  by  the  blood  of  our 
Reformers,  it  is  pleasing  to  observe  that  there 
is  a  remnant,  according  to  the  election  of  grace, 
who  continue  rising  up  to  testify  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God,  and  to  call  back  their  fellows 
to  the  consideration  of  the  great  and  leading 
doctrines  on  which  the  Reformation  was  built, 
and  the  Church  of  England  by  law  established. 
The  author  of  these  sermons,  avoiding  all 
matters  of  more  doubtful  disputation,  avowedly 
attaches  himself  to  the  great  fundamental 
truths  ;  and  on  the  two  substantial  pillars,  the 
Jachin  and  Boaz  of  the  living  temple,  erects 
his  superstructure.  1.  Justification  by  faith, 
without  works,  free  and  full,  by  grace  alone, 
through  the  redemption  which  is  in  Jesus 
Christ,  stands  at  the  commencement  of  the 
first  volume ;  and  on  its  side  rises  in  the  beauty 
of  holiness,"  &c. — Ev.  Mag.  p.  79. 

Mr.  Robinson  called  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ  under 
Mr.  Venn's  Sermon. 
"  Mr.  Robinson  was  called  in  early  life  to  the 
knowledge  of  Christ,  under  a  sermon  at  St. 
Dunstan's,  by  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Venn,  from 
Ezek.  xxxvi.  25,  26  ;  the  remembrance  of  which 
greatly  refreshed  his  soul  upon  his  death 
bed."— £y.  Mag  p.  176. 

1)2 


42 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Christianity  introduced  into  the  Parish  of  Laimton, 
near  Bicester,  in  the  year  1807. 

"A  very  general  spirit  of  inquiry  having  ap- 
peared for  some  time  in  the  village  of  Launton, 
near  Bicester,  some  serious  persons  were  ex- 
eited  to  communicate  to  them  the  word  of  life." 
Ev.  Mag.  p.  380. 

We  learn  in  page  128,  Meth.  Mag.,  that  twelve 
months  had  elapsed  from  the  time  of  Mrs. 
Cocker's  joining  the  people  of  God,  before  she 
obtained  a  clear  sense  of  forgiveness. 

^  religious  Hoy  sets  off  every  week  for  Margate. 

"Religious  Passengers  accommodated. — To  the 
Editor. — Sir,  it  afforded  me  considerable  plea- 
sure to  see  upon  the  cover  of  your  Magazine 
for  the  present  month,  an  advertisement,  an- 
nouncing the  establishment  of  a  packet,  to  sail 
weekly  between  London  and  Margate,  during 
the  season  ;  which  appears  to  have  been  set  on 
foot  for  the  accommodation  of  religious  cha- 
racters ;  and  in  which  '  no  profane  conversa- 
tion is  to  be  allowed.' 

"  To  those  among  the  followers  of  a  crucified 
Redeemer,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the 
Isle  of  Thanet  in  the  summer,  and  who,  for  the 
sea  air,  or  from  other  circumstances,  prefer 
travelling  by  water,  such  a  conveyance  must 
certainly  be  a  desida-atum,  especially  if  they 
have  experienced  a  mortification  similar  to  that 
of  the  writer,  in  the  course-of  the  last  summer, 
when  shut  up  in  a  cabin  with  a  mixed  multi- 
tude, who  spake  almost  all  languages  but  that 
of  Canaan.  Totally  unconnected  with  the  con- 
cern, and  personally  a  stranger  to  the  worthy 
owner,  I  take  the  liberty  of  recommending  this 
vessel  to  the  notice  of  my  fellow-Christians  ; 
persuaded  that  they  will  think  themselves  bound 
to  patronise  and  encourage  an  undertaking  that 
has  the  honour  of  the  dear  Redeemer  for  its 
professed  object.  It  ought  ever  to  be  remem- 
bered, that  every  talent  we  possess,  whether 
large  or  small,  is  given  us  in  trust  to  be  laid 
out  for  God  ; — and  I  have  often  thought  that 
Christians  act  inconsistently  with  their  high 
profession,  when  they  omit,  even  in  their  most 
common  and  trivial  expenditures,  to  give  a 
decided  preference  to  the  friends  of  their  Lord. 
I  do  not,  however,  anticipate  any  such  ground 
of  complaint  in  this  instance ;  but  rather  believe 
that  the  religious  world  in  general  will  cheer- 
fully unite  with  me,  while  I  most  cordially  wish 
success  to  the  Princess  of  Wales  Yacht,  and 
pray  that  she  may  ever  sail  under  the  divine 
protection  and  blessing;— that  the  humble  fol- 
lowers of  Him  who  spoke  the  storm  into  a 
calm,  when  crossing  the  lake  of  Gennesareth, 
may  often  feel  their  hearts  glowing  with  sacred 
ardour,  while  in  her  cabins  they  enjoy  sweet 
communion  with  their  Lord  and  with  each 
other  ; — and  that  strangers,  who  may  be  provi- 
dentially brought  among  them,  may  see  so  much 
of  the  beauty  and  excellency  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  exemplified  in  their  conduct  and  conver- 
sation, that  they  may  be  constrained  to  say, 
'  We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  perceive  that 
God  is  with  you. — Your  God  shall  be  our  God, 
and  his  people  shall  henceforth  be  our  chosen 
companions  and  associates.'  I  am,  Mr.  Editor, 
your  obliged  friend  and  sister  in  the  gospel, 
E  T."—Ev.  Mag.  p.  368. 


^  religious  neivspaper  is  announced  in  the  Ev.  M. 
for  September. — It  is  said  of  common  newspa- 
pers, "  That  they  are  absorbed  in  temporal  (concerns, 
while  the  consideration  of  those  ivhich  are  eternal  is 
postponed;  the  business  of  this  life  has  super- 
seded the  claims  of  immortality;  and  the 
monarchs  of  the  world  have  engrossed  an  at- 
tention which  would  have  been  more  properly 
devoted  to  the  Saviour  of  the  universe."  It  is 
then  stated,  "that  the  columns  of  this  paper 
(The  Instructor,  price  6d.)  will  be  supplied  by 
pious  reflections  ;  suitable  comments  to  im- 
prove the  dispensations  of  Providence  will  be 
introduced  ;  and  the  whole  conducted  with  an 
eye  to  our  spiritual,  as  well  as  temporal,  wel- 
fare. The  work  will  contain  the  latest  news 
up  to  four  o'clock  on  the  day  of  publication, 
together  with  the  most  recent  religious  occur- 
rences. The  prices  of  stock,  and  correct 
market-tables,  will  also  be  accurately  detailed." 
Ev.  Mag.  September  Advertisement.  The  Eclectic 
Review  is  also  understood  to  be  carried  on  upon 
Methodistical  principles. 

Nothing  can  evince  more  strongly  the  influ- 
ence which  Methodism  now  exercises  upon 
common  life,  and  the  fast  hold  it  has  got  of  the 
people,  than  the  advertisements  which  are  cir- 
culated every  month  in  these  very  singular 
publications.  On  the  cover  of  a  single  num- 
ber, for  example,  we  have  the  following: — 

"  Wanted,  by  Mr.  Turner,  shoemaker,  a 
steady  apprentice ;  he  will  have  the  privilege 
of  attending  the  ministry  of  the  gospel ; — a 
premium  expected,  p.  3. — Wanted,  a  serious 
young  woman,  as  servant  of  all  work,  3. — 
Wanted,  a  man  of  serious  character,  who  can 
shave,  3. — Wanted,  a  serious  woman  to  assist 
in  a  shop,  3. — A  young  person  in  the  millinery 
line  wishes  to  be  in  a  serious  family,  4. — Wants 
a  place,  a  young  man  who  has  brewed  in  a  se- 
rious family,  4. — Ditto,  a  young  woman  of 
evangelical  principles,  4.— Wanted,  an  active 
serious  shopman,  5. — To  be  sold,  an  eligible 
residence,  with  sixty  acres  of  land ;  gospel 
preached  in  three  places  within  half  a  mile,  5. — 
A  single  gentleman  may  be  accommodated 
with  lodging  in  a  small  serious  family,  5. — To 
let,  a  genteel  first  floor  in  an  airy  situation  near 
the  Tabernacle,  6. — Wanted,  a  governess,  of 
evangelical  principles  and  corresponding  cha- 
racter, 10." 

The  religious  vessel  we  have  before  spoken 
of,  is  thus  advertised  : — 

"  The  Princess  of  Wales  Yacht,  J.  Chapman, 
W.  Bourn,  master,  by  divine  permission,  will 
leave  Ralph's  Quay  every  Friday,  11,"  &c.&c. 
— July  Ev.  Mag. 

After  the  specimens  we  have  given  of  these 
people,  any  thing  which  is  said  of  their  activity 
can  very  easily  be  credited.  The  array  and 
navy  appear  to  be  particular  objects  of  their 
attention. 

"  British  Navy. — It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure 
we  insert  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from 
the  pious  chaplain  of  a  man-of-war,  to  a  gen- 
tleman at  Gosport,  intimating  the  power  and 
grace  of  God  manifested  towards  our  brave 
seamen.  "  Off  Cadiz,  Nov.  26,  1806.— My  dear 
friend — A  fleet  for  England  found  us  in  the 
night,  and  is  just  going  away.    I  have  only  to 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


48 


tell  you  that  the  work  of  God  seems  to  prosper. 
Many  are  under  convictions ; — some,  I  trust, 
are  converted.  I  preach  every  night,  and  am 
obliged  to  have  a  private  meeting  afterwards 
with  those  who  wish  to  speak  about  their  souls. 
But  my  own  health  is  suffering  much,  nor  shall 
I  probably  be  able  long  to  bear  it.  The  ship  is 
like  a  tabernacle;  and  really  there  is  much 

external  reformation.     Capt. raises  no 

objection.  I  have  near  a  hundred  hearers 
every  night  at  six  o'clock.  How  unworthy  am 
I !— Pray  for  us.'  "—Ev.  Mag.  84. 

The  Testimony  of  a  profane  Officer  to  the  worth  of 
Pious  Sailors. 

"  Mr.  Editor — In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three 
witnesses  a  truth  shall  be  established.  I  re- 
cently met  with  a  pleasing  confirmation  of  a 
narrative,  stated  sometime  since  in  your  Maga- 
zine. I  was  surprised  by  a  visit  from  an  old 
acquaintance  of  mine  the  other  day,  who  is 
now  an  officer  of  rank  in  his  Majesty's  navy. 
In  the  course  of  conversation,  I  was  shocked 
at  the  profane  oaths  that  perpetually  interrupted 
his  sentences;  and  took  an  opportunity  to 
express  my  regret  that  such  language  should 
be  so  common  among  so  valuable  a  body  of 
men.  'Sir,'  said  he,  still  interspersing  many 
solemn  imprecations,  'an  officer  cannot  live  at 
sea  without  swearing ; — not  one  of  my  men 
would  mind  a  word  without  an  oath  ;  it  is  com- 
mon sea-language.  If  we  were  not  to  swear, 
the  rascals  would  take  us  for  lubbers,  stare  in 
our  faces,  and  leave  us  to  do  our  commands 
ourselves.  I  never  knew  but  one  exception; 
and  that  was  extraordinary.  I  declare,  believe 
me  'tis  true  (suspecting  that  I  might  not  credit 
it),  there  was  a  set  of  fellows  called  Methodists, 
on  board  the  Victory,  Lord  Nelson's  ship  (to 
be  sure  he  was  rather  a  religious  man  him- 
self!), and  those  men  never  wanted  swearing 
at.  The  dogs  were  the  best  seamen  on  board. 
Every  man  knew  his  duty,  and  every  man  did 
his  duty.  They  used  to  meet  together  and  sing 
hymns;  and  nobody  dared  molest  them.  The 
commander  would  not  have  suffered  it,  had 
they  attempted  it.  They  were  allowed  a  mess 
by  themselves  ;  and  never  mixed  with  the  other 
men.  I  have  often  heard  them  singing  away 
myself;  and  'tis  true,  I  assure  you,  but  not  one 
of  them  was  either  killed  or  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Trafalgar,  though  they  did  their  duty 
as  well  as  any  men.  No,  not  one  of  the  psalm- 
singing  gentry  was  even  hurt;  and  there  the 
fellows  are  swimming  away  in  the  Bay  of  Bis- 
cay at  this  very  time,  singing  like  the  d . 

They  are  now  under  a  new  commander;  but 
still  are  allowed  the  same  privileges,  and  mess 
by  themselves.  These  were  the  only  fellows 
that  ever  I  knew  do  their  duty  without  swear- 
ing ;  and  I  will  do  them  the  justice  to  say  they 
doit.'     J.  C."—£j;.  Mig-.  p.  119,  120. 

These  people  are  spread  over  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth  in  the  shape  of  missionaries. — 
Upon  the  subject  of  missions  we  shall  say  very 
little  or  nothing  at  present,  because  we  reserve 
it  for  another  article  in  a  subsequent  Number. 
But  we  cannot  help  remarking  the  magnitude 
of  the  collections  made  in  favour  of  the  mis- 
sionaries at  the  Methodistical  chapels,  when 
compared  with  the  collections  for  any  common 


object  of  charity  in  the  prthodox  churches  and 
chapels. 

'^Religious  Tract  Society. — A  most  satisfac- 
tory report  was  presented  by  the  committee ; 
from  which  it  appeared  that,  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  institution  in  the  year  1799, 
upwards  of  four  millions  of  religious  tracts 
have  been  issued  under  the  auspices  of  the 
society;  and  that  considerably  more  than  one- 
fourth  of  that  number  have  been  sold  during 
the  last  year." — Ev.  Mag.  p.  284. 

These  tracts  are  dropped  in  villages  by  the 
Methodists,  and  thus  every  chance  for  con- 
version afforded  to  the  common  people.  There 
is  a  proposal  in  one  of  the  numbers  of  the 
volumes  before  us,  that  travellers,  for  every 
pound  they  spend  on  the  road,  should  fling  one 
shilling's  worth  of  these  tracts  out  of  the  chaise 
Avindow; — thus  taxing  his  pleasures  at  5  per 
cent,  for  the  purpose-s  of  doing  good. 

"  Every  Christian  who  expects  the  protec- 
tion and  blessing  of  God  ought  to  take  with 
him  as  many  shillings'  worth,  at  least,  of  ^ 
cheap  tracts  to  throw  on  the  road,  and  leave 
at  inns,  as  he  takes  out  pounds  to  expend  ou 
himself  and  family.  This  is  really  but  a  tri- 
fling sacrifice.  It  is  a  highly  reasonable  one; 
and  one  which  God  will  accept." — Ev.  Mag. 
p.  405. 

It  is  part  of  their  policy  to  have  a  great  change 
of  Ministers. 

"  Same  day,  the  Rev.  W.  Haward,  from  Hox- 
ton  Academy,  was  ordained  over  the  Indepen- 
dent church  at  Rendham,  Suffolk.  Mr.  Pic- 
kles, of  Walpole,  began  with  prayer  and  read- 
ing; Mr.  Price,  of  Woodbridge,  delivered  the  in- 
troductory discourse,  and  asked  the  questions; 
Mr.  Dennant,  of  Halesworth,  offered  the  ordi- 
nation prayer ;  Mr.  Shufflebottom,  of  Bungay, 
gave  the  charge  from  Acts  xx.  28  ;  Mr.  Vincent, 
of  Deal,  the  general  prayer;  and  Mr.  Walford, 
of  Yarmouth,  preached  to  the  people  from 
2  Phil.  ii.  1&:'—Ev.  Mag.  p.  429. 

Chapek  opened. — "  Hambledon,  Bucks,  Sept, 
22. — Eighteen  months  ago  this  parish  was  des 
titute  of  the  gospel ;  the  people  have  now  one 
of  the  Rev.  G.  Collison's  students,  the  Rev, 
Mr.  Eastmead,  settled  among  them.  Mr.  Eng- 
lish, of  Wooburn,  and  Mr.  Frey,  preached  oa 
the  occasion  ;  and  Mr.  Jones,  of  London,  Mr. 
Churchill,  of  Henley,  Mr.  Redford,  of  Windsor, 
and  Mr.  Barratt,  now  of  Petersfield,  prayed." — 
Ev.  Mag.  p.  533. 

Methodism  in  his  Majesty's  ship  Tonnant — A 
Letter  from  the  Sail-maker. 
"  It  is  with  great  satisfaction  that  I  can  now 
inform  you  God  has  deigned,  in  a  yet  greater 
degree,  to  own  the  weak  efforts  of  his  servant 
to  turn  many  from  Satan  to  himself.  Many 
are  called  here,  as  is  plain  to  be  seen  by  their 
pensive  looks  and  deep  sighs.  And  if  they 
would  be  obedient  to  the  heavenly  call,  in- 
stead of  grieving  the  Spirit  of  grace,  I  dare 
say  we  should  soon  have  near  half  the  ship's 
company  brought  to  God.  I  doubt  not,  how- 
ever, but,  as  I  have  cast  my  bread  upon  the 
waters,  it  will  be  found  after  many  days.  Our 
13  are  now  increased  tu  upwards  of  30.   Surely 


44 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


the  Lord  delighteth  not  in  the  death  of  him 
that  dieXh."—Mefh.  Mag.  p.  188. 

It  appears,  also,  from  p.  193,  Meth.  Mag., 
that  the  same  principles  prevail  on  board  his 
Majesty's  ship  Sea-horse,  44  guns.  And  in 
one  part  of  Evan.  Mag.  great  hopes  are  enter- 
tained of  the  25th  regiment.  We  believe  this 
is  the  number;  but  we  quote  this  fact  from 
memory. 

We  must  remember,  in  addition  to  these 
trifling  specimens  of  their  active  disposition, 
that  the  Methodists  have  found  a  powerful 
party  in  the  House  of  Commons,  who,  by  the 
neutrality  which  they  affect,  and  partly  adhere 
to,  are  courted  both  by  ministers  and  opposi- 
tion ;  that  they  have  gained  complete  posses- 
sion of  the  India-House ;  and  under  the  pre- 
tence, or  perhaps  with  the  serious  intention 
of  educating  young  people  for  India,  will  take 
care  to  introduce  (as  much  as  they  dare  with- 
out provoking  attention)  their  own  particular 
tenets.  In  fact,  one  thing  must  always  be 
taken  for  granted  respecting  these  people, — 
that  wherever  they  gain  a  footing,  or  whatever 
be  the  institutions  to  which  they  give  birth, 
proselytism  will  he  their  main  object;  every 
thing  else  is  a  mere  instrument — this  is  their 
principal  aim.  When  every  proselyte  is  not 
only  an  addition  to  their  temporal  power,  but 
when  the  act  of  conversion  which  gains  a  vote, 
saves  (as  they  suppose)  a  soul  from  destruc- 
tion,— it  is  quite  needless  to  state,  that  every 
faculty  of  their  minds  will  be  dedicated  to  this 
most  important  of  all  temporal  and  eternal 
concerns. 

Their  attack  upon  the  Church  is  not  merely 
confined  to  publications  ;  it  is  generally  under- 
stood that  they  have  a  very  considerable  fund 
for  the  purchase  of  livings,  to  which,  of  course, 
ministers  of  their  own  profession  are  always 
presented. 

Upon  the  foregoing  facts,  and  u;^on  the  spi- 
rit evinced  by  these  extracts,  we  shall  make  a 
few  comments. 

1.  It  is  obvious  that  this  description  of 
Christians  entertain  very  erroneous  and  dan- 
gerous notions  of  the  present  judgments  of 
God.  A  belief  that  Providence  interferes  in  all 
the  little  actions  of  our  lives,  refers  all  merit 
and  demerit  to  bad  and  good  fortune ;  and 
causes  the  successful  man  to  be  always  con- 
sidered as  a  good  man,  and  the  unhappy  man 
as  the  object  of  divine  vengeance.  It  fur- 
nishes ignorant  and  designing  men  with  a 
power  which  is  sure  to  be  abused : — the  cry 
of  a  judgment,  a  judgment,  it  is  always  easy 
to  make,  but  not  easy  to  resist.  It  encourages 
the  grossest  superstitions ;  for  if  the  Deity 
rewards  and  punishes  on  every  slight  occa- 
sion, it  is  quite  impossible,  but  that  such  an 
helpless  being  as  man  will  set  himself  at  work 
to  discover  the  will  of  Heaven  in  the  appear- 
ances of  outward  nature,  to  apply  all  the.phe- 
nomena  of  thunder,  lightning,  wind,  and  every 
striking  appearance  to  the  regulation  of  his 
■  conduct ;  as  the  poor  Methodist,  when  he  rode 
into  Piccadilly  in  a  thunder  storm,  and  ima- 
gined that  all  the  uproar  of  the  elements  was 
a  mere  hint  to  him  not  to  preach  at  Mr.  Ro- 
maine's  chapel.    Hence  a  great  deal  of  error, 


and  a  great  deal  of  secret  misery.  This  doc- 
trine of  a  theocracy  must  necessarily  place  aa 
excessive  power  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy : 
it  applies  so  instantly  and  so  tremendously  to 
men's  hopes  and  fears,  that  it  must  make  the 
priest  omnipotent  over  the  people,  as  it  always 
has  done  where  it  has  been  established.  It 
has  a  great  tendency  to  check  human  exer- 
tions, and  to  prevent  the  employment  of  those 
secondaiy  means  of  effecting  an  object  which 
Providence  has  placed  in  our  power.  The 
doctrine  of  the  immediate  and  perpetual  inter- 
ference of  Divine  providence  is  not  true.  If 
two  men  travel  the  same  road,  the  one  to  rob, 
the  other  to  relieve  a  fellow-creature  who  is 
starving;  will  any  biit  the  most  fanatic  con- 
tend that  they  do  not  both  run  the  same  chance 
of  falling  over  a  stone  and  breaking  their  legs  ? 
and  is  it  not  matter  of  fact,  that  the  robber 
often  returns  safe,  and  the  just  man  sustains 
the  injury?  Have  not  the  soundest  divines,  of 
both  "churches,  always  urged  this  unequal  dis- 
tribution of  good  and  evil,  in  the  present  state, 
as  one  of  the  strongest  natural  arguments  for 
a  future  state  of  retribution "?  Have  not  they 
contended,  and  well,  and  admirably  contend- 
ed, that  the  supposition  of  such  a  state  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  our  notion  of  the  justice 
of  God, — absolutely  necessary  to  restore  order 
to  that  moral  confusion  which  we  all  observe 
and  deplore  in  the  present  world  1  The  man 
who  places  religion  upon  a  false  basis  is  the 
greatest  enemy  to  religion.  If  victory  is  al- 
ways to  the  just  and  good, — how  is  the  fortune 
of  impious  conquerors  to  be  accounted  fori 
Why  do  they  erect  dynasties  and  found  fami- 
lies which  last  for  centuries  1  The  reflecting 
mind  whom  you  have  instructed  in  this  man- 
ner, and  for  present  effect  only,  naturally 
comes  upon  you  hereafter  with  difficulties  of 
this  sort ;  he  finds  he  has  been  deceived ;  and 
you  will  soon  discover  that,  in  breeding  up  a 
fanatic,  you  have  unwittingly  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  an  atheist.  The  honest  and  the  ortho- 
dox method  is  to  prepare  young  people  for  the 
world  as  it  actually  exists ;  to  tell  them  that 
they  will  often  find  vice  perfectly  successful, 
virtue  exposed  to  a  long  train  of  afHictions; 
that  they  must  bear  this  patientl)^,  and  look  to 
another  world  for  its  rectification. 

2.  The  second  doctrine  which  it  is  neces- 
sary to  notice  among  the  Methodists,  is  the 
doctrine  of  inward  impulse  and  emotions, 
which,  it  is  quite  plain,  must  lead,  if  univer- 
sally insisted  upon,  and  preached  among  the 
common  people,  to  eveiy  species  of  folly  and 
enormity.  When  an  human  being  believes 
that  his  internal  feelings  are  the  monitions  of 
God,  and  that  these  monitions  must  govern  his 
conduct ;  and  when  a  great  stress  is  purposely 
laid  upon  these  inward  feelings  in  all  the  dis- 
courses from  the  pulpit ;  it  is  impossible  to 
say  to  what  a  pitch  of  extravagance  mankind 
may  not  be  carried,  under  the  influence  of 
such  dangerous  doctrines. 

3.  The  Methodists  hate  pleasure  and  amuse- 
ments; no  theatre,  no  cards,  no  dancing,  no 
Punchinello,  no  dancing  dogs,  no  blind  fid- 
dlers ; — all  the  amusements  of  the  rich  and 
of  the  poor  must  disappear  wherever  these 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


45 


gloomy  people  get  a  footing.  It  is  not  the 
abuse  of  pleasure  which  they  attack,  but  the 
iuterspersion  of  pleasure,  however  much  it  is 
guarded  by  good  sense  and  moderation ; — it  is 
not  only  wicked  to  hear  the  licentious  plays 
of  Cougreve,  but  wicked  to  hear  Henry  the 
Vth,  or  the  School  for  Scandal : — it  is  not  only 
dissipated  to  run  about  to  all  the  parties  in 
London  atid  Edinburgh, — but  dancing  is  not 
Jit  for  a  being  who  is  preparing  himself  for 
Eternity.  Ennui,  wretchedness,  melancholy, 
groans  and  sighs,  are  the  offerings  which 
these  unhappy  men  make  to  a  Deity  who 
has  covered  the  earth  with  gay  colours,  and 
scented  it  with  rich  perfumes  ;  and  shown  us, 
by  the  plan  and  order  of  his  works,  that  he 
has  given  to  man  something  better  than  a 
bare  existence,  and  scattered  over  his  creation 
a  thousand  superfluous  joys,  which  are  totally 
unnecessary  to  the  mere  support  of  life. 

4.  The  Methodists  lay  very  little  stress  upon 
practical  righteousness.  They  do  not  say  to 
their  people,  do  not  be  deceitful ;  do  not  be 
idle  ;  get  rid  of  your  bad  passions ;  or  at  least 
(if  they  do  say  these  things)  they  say  them 
very  seldom.  Not  that  they  preach  faith  with- 
out works ;  for  if  they  told  the  people  that  they 
might  rob  and  murder  with  impunity,  the  civil 
magistrate  must  be  compelled  to  interfere  with 
such  doctrine  : — but  they  say  a  great  deal 
about  faith,  and  very  little  about  works.  What 
are  commonly  called  the  mysterious  parts  of 
our  religion,  are  brought  into  the  foreground 
much  more  than  the  doctrines  which  lead  to 
practice ; — and  this  among  the  lowest  of  the 
community. 

The  Methodists  have  hitherto  been  accused 
of  dissenting  from  the  Church  of  England. 
This,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  mere  subscription 
to  articles,  is  not  true ;  but  they  differ  in  their 
choice  of  the  articles  upon  which  they  dilate 
and  expand,  and  to  which  they  appear  to  give 
a  preference,  from  the  stress  which  they  place 
upon  them.  There  is  nothing  heretical  in  say- 
ing, that  God  sometimes  intenrenes  with  his 
special  providence;*  but  these  people  differ 
from  the  Established  Church,  in  the  degree  in 
which  they  insist  upon  this  doctrine.  In  the 
hands  of  a  man  of  sense  and  education,  it  is 
a  safe  doctrine ; — in  the  management  of  the 
Methodists,  we  have  seen  how  ridiculous  and 
degrading  it  becomes.  In  the  same  manner,  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  would 
not  do  his  duty,  if  he  did  not  insist  upon  the 
necessity  of  faith,  as  well  as  of  good  works ; 
but  as  he  believes  that  it  is  much  more  easy  to 
give  credit  to  doctrines  than  to  live  well,  he 
labours  most  in  those  points  where  human 
nature  is  the  most  liable  to  prove  defective.  Be- 
cause he  does  so,  he  is  accused  of  giving  up 
the  articles  of  his  faith,  by  men  who  have 
their  partialities  also  in  doctrine;  but  parties, 
not  founded  upon  the  same  sound  discretion, 
and  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

5.  The  Methodists  are  always  desirous  of 
making  men  more  religious  than  it  is  possible, 
from  the  constitution  of  human  nature,  to  make 
them.  If  they  could  succeed  as  much  as  they 
wish  to  succeed,  there  would  be  at  once  an  end 
of  delving  and  spinning,  and  of  every  exertion 
of  human  industry.    Men  must  eat,  and  drink, 


and  work;  and  if  you  wish  to  fix  upon  them 
high  and  elevated  notions,  as  the  ordinary  fur- 
niture of  their  minds,  you  do  these  two  things  : 
you  drive  men  of  warm  temperaments  mad, — 
and  you  introduce  in  the  rest  of  the  world,  a 
low  and  shocking  familiarity  with  words  and 
images,  which  every  real  friend  to  religion 
would  wish  to  keep  sacred.  The  friends  of  the 
dear  Redeemer,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting 
the  Isle  of  Thanet — (as  in  the  extract  we  have 
quoted) — Is  it  possible  that  this  mixture  of  the 
most  awful  with  the  most  familiar  images,  so 
common  among  Methodists  now,  and  with  the 
enthusiasts  in  the  time  of  Cromwell,  must  not, 
in  the  end,  divest  religion  of  all  the  deep  and 
solemn  impressions  which  it  is  calculated  to 
produce  1  In  a  man  of  common  imagination 
(as  we  have  before  observed),  the  terror,  and 
the  feeling  which  it  first  excited,  must  neces- 
sarily be  soon  separated:  but,  where  the  fer- 
vour of  impression  is  long  preserved,  piety 
ends  in  Bedlam.  Accordingly,  there  is  not  a 
mad-house  in  England,  where  a  considerable 
part  of  the  patients  have  not  been  driven  to 
insanity  by  the  extravagance  of  these  people. 
We  cannot  enter  such  places  without  seeing 
a  number  of  honest  artisans,  covered  with 
blankets,  and  calling  themselves  angels  and 
apostles,  who,  if  they  had  remained  contented 
with  the  instruction  of  men  of  learning  and 
education,  would  have  been  sound  masters  of 
their  own  trade,  sober  Christians,  and  useful 
members  of  society. 

6.  It  is  impossible  not  to  observe  how  di- 
rectly all  the  doctrine  of  the  Methodists  is  cal- 
culated to  gain  power  among  the  poor  and 
ignorant.  To  say,  that  the  Deity  governs  this 
world  by  general  rules,  and  that  we  must  wait 
for  another  and  a  final  scene  of  existence,  be- 
fore vice  meets  with  its  merited  punishment, 
and  virtue  with  its  merited  reward ;  to  preach 
this  up  daily,  would  not  add  a  single  votary  to 
the  Tabernacle,  nor  sell  a  Number  of  the 
Methodistical  Magazine : — but  to  publish  an 
account  of  a  man  who  was  cured  of  scrofula  by 
a  single  sermon — of  Providence  destroying  the 
innkeeper  at  Garstang  for  appointing  a  cock- 
fight near  the  Tabernacle; — this  promptness 
of  judgment  and  immediate  execution  is  so 
much  like  human  justice,  and  so  much  better 
adapted  to  vulgar  capacities",  that  the  system 
is  at  once  admitted  as  soon  as  any  one  can  be 
found  who  is  impudent  or  ignorant  enough  to 
teach  it ;  and  being  once  admitted,  it  produces 
too  strong  an  effect  upon  the  passions  to  be 
easily  relinquished.  The  case  is  the  same 
with  the  doctrine  of  inward  impulse,  or,  as 
they  term  it,  experience.  If  you  preach  up 
to  ploughmen  and  artisans,  that  every  singular 
feeling  which  comes  across  them  is  a  visita- 
tion of  the  Divine  Spirit — can  there  be  any 
difiiculty,  under  the  influence  of  this  nonsense, 
in  converting  these  simple  creatures  into  ac- 
tive and  mysterious  fools,  and  making  them 
your  slaves  for  life  1  It  is  not  possible  to 
raise  up  any  dangerous  enthusiasm,  by  telling 
men  to  be  just,  and  good,  and  charitable;  but 
keep  this  part  of  Christianity  out  of  sight — 
and  talk  long  and  enthusiastically  before  igno- 
rant people,  of  the  mysteries  of  our  religion, 
and  you  will  not  fail  to  attract  a  crowd  of  fol 


4€ 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


lowers : — ^verilj'  the  Tabernacle  loveth  not  that 
which  is  simple,  intelligible,  and  leadeth  to 
good  sound  practice. 

Having  endeavoured  to  point  out  the  spirit 
which  pervades  these  people,  we  shall  say  a 
few  words  upon  the  causes,  the  effects,  and 
the  cure  of  this  calamity. — The  fanaticism  so 
prevalent  in  the  present  day,  is  one  of  those 
evils  from  which  society  is  never  wholly  ex- 
empt; but  M'hich  bursts -out  at  different  periods, 
with  peculiar  violence,  and  sometimes  over- 
whelms every  thing  in  its  course.  The  last 
eruption  took  place  about  a  century  and  a 
half  ago,  and  destroyed  both  Church  and 
Throne  Avith  its  tremendous  force.  Though 
irresistible,  it  was  short;  enthusiasm  spent  its 
force — the  usual  reaction  took  place ;  and 
England  was  deluged  with  ribaldry  and  inde- 
cency,  because  it  had  been  worried  with  fana- 
tical restrictions.  By  degrees,  however,  it  was 
found  out  that  orthodoxy  and  loyalty  might  be 
secured  by  other  methods  than  licentious  con- 
duct and  immodest  conversation.  The  public 
morals  improved ;  and  there  appeared  as 
much  good  sense  and  moderation  upon  the 
subject  of  religion  as  ever  can  be  expected 
from  mankind  in  large  masses.  Still,  how- 
ever, the  mischief  which  the  Puritans  had 
done  was  not  forgotten ;  a  general  suspicion 
prevailed  of  the  dangers  of  religious  enthusi- 
asm; and  the  fanatical  preacher  wanted  his 
accustomed  power  among  a  people  recently 
recovered  from  a  religious  war,  and  guarded 
by  songs,  proverbs,  popular  stories,  and  the 
general  tide  of  humour  and  opinion,  against 
all  excesses  of  that  nature.  About  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  however,  the  character  of 
the  genuine  fanatic  was  a  good  deal  forgotten, 
and  the  memory  of  the  civil  wars  worn  away; 
the  field  was  clear  for  extravagance  in  piety; 
and  causes,  which  must  always  produce  an 
immense  influence  upon  the  mind  of  man, 
were  left  to  their  own  unimpeded  operations. 
Religion  is  so  noble  and  powerful  a  consider- 
ation— it  is  so  buoyant  and  so  insubmergi- 
ble — that  it  may  be  made,  by  fanatics,  to  carry 
with  it  any  degree  of  error  and  of  perilous 
absurdity.  In  this  instance  Messrs.  Whitefield 
and  Wesley  happened  to  begin.  They  were 
men  of  considerable  talents  ;  they  observed  the 
common  decorums  of  life ;  they  did  not  run 
naked  into  the  streets,  or  pretend  to  the  pro- 
phetical character ; — and  therefore  they  were 
not  committed  to  Newgate.  They  preached 
with  great  energy  to  weak  people ;  who  first 
stared — then  listened — then  believed — then  felt 
the  inward  feeling  of  grace,  and  became  as 
foolish  as  their  teachers  could  possibly  wish 
them  to  be; — in  short,  folly  ran  its  ancient 
course, — and  human  nature  evinced  itself  to 
be  what  it  always  has  been  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. The  great  and  permanent  cause, 
therefore,  of  the  increase  of  Methodism,  is  the 
cause  which  has  given  birth  to  fanaticism  in 
all  ages, — the  facility  of  mingling  human  errors 
tvith  the  fundamental  truths  of  religion.  The 
formerly  imperfect  residence  of  the  clergy 
may,  perhaps,  in  some  trifling  degree,  have 
aided  this  source  of  Methodism.  But  unless 
a  man  of  education,  and  a  gentleman,  could 
stoop  to  auch  disingenuous  arts  as  the  Metho- 


dist preachers,  unless  he  hears  heavenly  music 
all  of  a  sudden,  and  enjoys  sweet  experiences, — 
it  is  quite  impossible  that  he  can  contend 
against  such  artists  as  these.  More  active 
than  they  are  at  present  the  clergy  might  per- 
haps be :  but  the  calmness  and  moderation  of 
an  Establishment  can  never  possibly  be  a 
match  for  sectarian  activity. — If  the  common 
people  are  ennui'd  with  the  fine  acting  of  Mrs. 
Siddons,  they  go  to  Sadler's  Wells.  The  sub- 
ject is  too  serious  for  ludicrous  comparisons  : 
— but  the  Tabernacle  really  is  to  the  Church, 
what  Sadler's  Wells  is  to  the  Drama.  There 
popularity  is  gained  by  vaulting  and 'tumbling, 
— by  low  arts,  which  the  regular  clergy  are 
not  too  idle  to  have  recourse  to,  but  too  digni- 
fied :  their  institutions  are  chaste  and  sevei-e, — 
they  endeavour  to  do  that  which,  upon  the 
whole,  and  for  a  great  number  of  years,  will  be 
found  to  be  the  most  admirable  and  the  most 
useful:  it  is  no  part  of  their  plan  to  descend 
to  small  artifices  for  the  sake  of  present  popu- 
larity and  effect.  The  religion  of  the  common 
people  under  the  government  of  the  Church 
may  remain  as  it  is  for  ever; — enthusiasm 
must  be  progressive,  or  it  will  expire. 

It  is  probable  that  the  dreadful  scenes 
which  have  lately  been  acted  in  the  world,  and 
the  dangers  to  which  we  are  exposed,  have 
increased  the  numbers  of  the  Methodists.  To 
what  degree  will  Methodism  extend  in  this 
country'? — This  question  is  not  easy  to  an- 
swer. That  it  has  rapidly  increased  within 
these  few  years,  we  have  no  manner  of  doubt ; 
and  we  confess  we  cannot  see  what  is  likely 
to  impede  its  progress.  The  party  which  it 
has  formed  in  the  legislature ;  and  the  artful 
neutrality  with  which  they  give  respectability 
to  their  small  number,  the  talents  of  some  of 
this  party,  and  the  unimpeached  excellence  of 
their  characters,  all  make  it  probable  that 
fanaticism  will  increase  rather  than  diminish. 
The  Methodists  have  made  an  alarming  inroad 
into  the  Church,  and  they  are  attacking  the 
ai"my  and  navy.  The  principality  of  Wales, 
and  the  East  India  Company,  they  have  already 
acquired.  All  mines  and  subterraneous  places 
belong  to  them ;  they  creep  into  hospitals  and 
small  schools,  and  so  work  their  way  upwards. 
It  is  the  custom  of  the  religious  neutrals  to  beg 
all  the  little  livings,  particularly  in  the  north 
of  England,  from  the  minister  for  the  time 
being ;  and  from  these  fixed  points  they  make 
incursions  upon  the  happiness  and  common 
sense  of  the  vicinage.  We  most  sincerely 
deprecate  such  an  event ;  but  it  will  excite  in 
us  no  manner  of  surprise,  if  a  period  arrives 
when  the  churches  of  the  sober  and  orthodox 
part  of  the  English  clergy  are  completely  de- 
serted by  the  middling  and  lower  classes  of 
the  community.  We  do  not  prophesy  any 
such  event ;  but  we  contend  that  it  is  not  im- 
possible,— hardly  improbable.  If  such,  in  fu- 
ture, should  be  the  situation  of  this  country,  it 
is  impossible  to  say  what  political  animosities 
may  not  be  ingrafted  upon  this  marked  and 
dangerous  division  of  mankind  into  the  godly 
and  the  ungodly.  At  all  events,  we  are  quite 
sure  that  happiness  will  be  destroyed,  reason 
degraded,  sound  religion  banished  from  the 
world ;  and  that  when  fanaticism  becomes  too 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


47 


foolish  and  too  prurieut  to  be  endured,  (as  is 
at  last  sure  to  be  the  case,)  it  will  be  suc- 
ceeded by  a  long  period  of  the  grossest  immo- 
rality, atheism,  and  debauchery. 

We  are  not  sure  that  this  evil  admits  of  any 
cure, — or  of  any  considerable  palliation.  We 
most  sincerely  hope  that  the  government  of 
this  country  will  never  be  guilty  of  such  in- 
discretion as  to  tamper  with  the  Toleration 
Act,  or  to  attempt  to  put  down  these  follies  by 
the  intervention  of  the  law.  If  experience  has 
taught  us  any  thing,  it  is  the  absurdity  of  con- 
trolling men's  notions  of  eternity  by  acts  of 
Parliament.  Something  may  perhaps  be 
done,  in  the  way  of  ridicule,  towards  turning 
the  popular  opinion.  It  may  be  as  well  to  ex- 
tend the  privileges  of  the  dissenters  to  the 
members  of  the  Church  of  England;  for,  as  the 
law  now  stands,  any  man  who  dissents  from 
the  established  church  may  open  a  place  of 
worship  where  he  pleases.  No  orthodox  cler- 
gyman can  do  so,  without  the  consent  of  the 
parson  of  the  parish, — who  always  refuses, 
because  he  does  not  choose  to  have  his  mono- 
poly disturbed;  and  refuses  in  parishes  where 
there  are  not  accommodations  for  one  half  of 
the  persons  who  wish  to  frequent  the  Church 
of  England,  and  in  instances  where  he  knows 
that  the  chapels  from  which  he  excludes  the 
established  worship  will  be  immediately  oc- 


cupied by  sectaries.  It  may  be  as  well  to  en- 
courage in  the  early  education  of  the  clergy, 
as  Mr.  Ingram  recommends,  a  better  and  more 
animated  method  of  preaching;  and  it  may  be 
necessary,  hereafter,  if  the  evil  gets  to  a  great 
height,  to  relax  the  articles  of  the  English 
Church,  and  to  admit  a  greater  variety  of 
Christians  within  the  pale.  The  greatest  and 
best  of  all  remedies  is  perhaps  the  education 
of  the  poor; — we  are  astonished,  that  the  Es- 
tablished Church  of  England  is  not  awake  to 
this  mean  of  arresting  the  progress  of  Method- 
ism. Of  course,  none  of  these  things  will  be 
done ;  nor  i^  it  clear,  if  they  were  done,  they 
would  do  much  good.  Whatever  happens,  we 
are  for  common  sense  and  orthodoxy.  Inso- 
lence, servile  politics,  and  the  spirit  of  perse- 
cution, we  condemn  and  attack,  whenever  we 
observe  them ; — but  to  the  learning,  the  mode- 
ration, and  the  rational  piety  of  the  Establish- 
ment, we  most  earnestly  wish  a  decided  vic- 
tory over  the  nonsense,  the  melancholy,  and 
the  madness  of  the  Tabernacle.* 

God  send  that  our  wishes  be  not  in  vain. 


*  There  is  one  circumstance  to  which  we  have  neglect- 
ed to  advert  in  the  proper  place, — the  dreadful  pillage  of 
the  earnings  of  the  poor  which  is  made  by  the  Methodists. 
A  case  is  mentioned  in  one  of  the  Numbers  of  these  two 
magazines  for  1807,  of  a  poor  man  with  a  family,  earn- 
ing only  twenty-eight  shillings  a  week,  who  has  made 
two  donations  of  ten  guineas  tack  to  the  missionary  fund  I 


4'8 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.* 


(Edinburgh  Review,  180S.) 


At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  July  the  10th, 
1806,  the  European  barracks,  at  Vellore,  con- 
taining then  four  complete  companies  of  the 
69th  regiment,  were  surrounded  by  two  battal- 
ions of  Sepoys  in  the  Company's  service,  who 
poured  in  an  heavy  fire  of  musketry,  at  every 
door  and  window,  upon  the  soldiers:  at  the 
same  time  the  European  sentries,  the  soldiers 
at  the  main-guard,  and  the  sick  in  the  hospital, 
were  put  to  death;  the  ofRcers'  houses  were 
ransacked,  and  every  body  found  in  them  mur- 
dered. Upon  the  arrival  of  the  19th  Light 
Dragoons  under  Colonel  Gillespie,  the  Sepoys 
were  immediately  attacked ;  600  cut  down  upon 
the  spot;  and  200  taken  from  their  hiding 
places,  and  shot.  There  perished,  of  the  four 
European  companies,  about  164,  besides  offi- 
cers ;  and  many  British  officers  of  the  native 
troops  were  murdered  by  the  insurgents. 

Subsequent  to  this  explosion,  there  was  a 
mutiny  at  Nundydroog;  and,  in  one  day,  450 
Mahomedan  Sepoys  were  disarmed,  and  turned 
out  of  the  fort,  on  the  ground  of  an  intended 
massacre.  It  appeared,  also,  from  the  infor- 
mation of  the  commanding  officer  at  Tritchi- 
nopoly,  that,  at  that  period,  a  spirit  of  disaffec- 
tion had  manifested  itself  at  Bangalore,  and 
other  places;  and  seemed  to  gain  ground  in 
every  direction.  On  the  3d  of  December,  1806, 
the  government  of  Madras  issued  the  follow- 
ing proclamation : — 

"A  Prociamatiok. — The  Right  Hon.  the 
Governor  in  Council,  having  observed  that,  in 
some  late  instances,  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  agitation  has  prevailed  among  several 
corps  of  the  native  army  of  this  coast,  it  has 
been  his  Lordship's  particular  endeavour  to 
ascertain  the  motives  which  may  have  led  to 
conduct  so  different  from  that  which  formerly 
distinguished  the  native  army.  From  this 
inquiry,  it  has  appeared  that  many  person?  of 
evil  intention  have  endeavoured,  for  malicious 
purposes,  to  impress  upon  the  native  troops  a 
belief  that  it  is  the  wish  of  the  British  govern- 


*  Considerations  on  the  Policy  of  communicating  the 
Knowledge  of  Christianity  to  the  JVatives  in  India.  By 
a  late  Resident  in  Bengal.     London.    Hatchard,  1807. 

jSre  Address  to  the  Chairman  of  the  FmsI  India  Com- 
pany occasioned  by  Mr.  Tmning's  Letter  to  that  Oentle- 
man.    By  tlie  Rev.  Jolin  Owen.    London.    Hatchard. 

./?  Letter  to  the  Chairman  of  the  East  India  Company, 
on  the  Danger  of  interfering  in  the  religious  Opinions  of 
the  J^Tatives  of  India.  By  Thomas  Twining.  London. 
Kidgeway. 

Vindication  of  the  Hindoos.  By  a  Bengal  Officer. 
London.     Rodwell. 

Letter  to  John  Scott  Waring.    London.    Hatcnard. 
Cunningham's  Christianity  in  India.  London.  Hatch- 
ard. 

Mnswer  to  Major  Scott  Waring.  Extracted  from  the 
Christian  Observer. 

Observations  on  the  Present  State  of  the  East  Indti. 
Company.  By  Major  Scott  Waring.  Eidgeway.  Lon- 
don 


ment  to  convert  them  by  forcible  means  to 
Christianity;  and  his  Lordship  in  Council  has 
observed  with  concern,  that  such  malicious 
reports  have  been  believed  by  many  of  the 
native  troops. 

"The  Right  Hon.  the  Governor  in  Council, 
therefore,  deems  it  proper,  in  this  public  man- 
ner, to  repeat  to  the  native  troops  his  assur- 
ance, that  the  same  respect  which  has  been 
invariably  shown  by  the  British  government 
for  their  religion  and  for  their  customs,  will  be 
always  continued;  and  that  no  interruption 
will  be  given  to  any  native,  whether  Hindoo 
or  Mussulman,  in  the  practice  of  his  religious 
ceremonies. 

"His  Lordship  in  Council  desires  that  the 
native  troops  will  not  give  belief  to  the  idle 
rumours  which  are  circulated  by  enemies  of 
their  happiness,  who  endeavour,  with  the  basest 
designs,  to  weaken  the  confidence  of  the  troops 
in  the  IBritish  government.  His  Lordship  in 
Council  desires  that  the  native  troops  will  re- 
member the  constant  attention  and  humanity 
which  have  been  shown  by  the  British  govern- 
ment, in  providing  for  their  comfort,  by  aug- 
menting the  pay  of  the  native  officers  and 
Sepoys  ;  by  allowing  liberal  pensions  to  those 
who  have  done  their  duty  faithfully;  by  mak- 
ing ample  provisions  for  the  families  of  those 
who  may  have  died  in  battle  ;  and  by  receiving 
their  children  into  the  service  of  the  Honour- 
able Company,  to  be  treated  with  the  same  care 
and  bounty  as  their  fathers  had  experienced. 

"The  Right  Hon.  the  Governor  in  Council 
trusts,  that  the  native  troops,  remembering 
these  circumstances,  will  be  sensible  of  the 
happiness  of  their  situation,  which  is  greater 
than  what  the  troops  of  any  other  part  of  the 
world  enjoy;  and  that  they  will  continue  to 
observe  the  same  good  conduct  for  which  they 
were  distinguished  in  the  days  of  Gen.  Law- 
rence, of  Sir  Eyre  Coote,  and  of  other  renowned 
heroes. 

"  The  native  troops  must  at  the  same  time 
be  sensible,  that  if  they  should  fail  in  the  duties 
of  their  allegiance,  and  should  show  themselves 
disobedient  to  their  officers,  their  conduct  will 
not  fail  to  receive  merited  punishment,  as  the 
British  government  is  not  less  prepared  to 
puilish  the  guilty,  than  to  protect  and  distin- 
guish those  who  are  deserving  of  its  favour. 

"It  is  directed  that  this  paper  be  translated 
with  care  into  the  Tamul,  Telinga,  and  Hin- 
doostany  languages ;  and  that  copies  of  it  be 
circulated  to  each  native  battalion,  of  which 
the  European  officers  are  enjoined  and  ordered 
to  be  careful  in  making  it  known  to  every  na- 
tive officer  and  Sepoy  under  his  command. 

"  It  is  also  directed,  that  copies  of  the  paper 
be  circulated  to  all  the  magistrates  and  collect- 
ors under  this  government,  for  the  purpose  of 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


49 


being    fully  understood  in  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

«  Published  by  order  of  the  Right  Hon.  the 
Governor  in  Council. 

«  G.  BucHAN-,  Chief  Secretary  to  Government. 
"Dated  in  Fort  St.  George,  3d  Dec.  1806." 

Scott  Waring's  Preface,  iii. — v. 

So  late  as  March  1807,  three  months  after 
the  date  of  this  proclamation,  so  universal  was 
the  dread  of  a  general  revolt  among  the  native 
troops,  that  the  British  officers  attached  to  the 
native  troops  constantly  slept  with  loaded  pis- 
tols under  their  pillows. 

It  appears  that  an  attempt  had  been  made 
by  the  military  men  at  Madras,  to  change  the 
shape  of  the  Sepoy  turban  into  something 
resembling  the  helmet  of  the  light  infantry  of 
Europe,  and  to  prevent  the  native  troops  from 
wearing,  on  their  foreheads,  the  marks  cha- 
racteristic of  their  various  castes.  The  sons 
of  the  late  Tippoo,  with  many  noble  Mussul- 
men  deprived  of  office  at  that  time,  resided  in 
the  fortress  of  Vellore,  and  in  all  probability 
contributed  very  materially  to  excite,  or  to 
inflame  those  suspicions  of  design  against 
their  religion,  which  are  mentioned  in  the  pro- 
clamation of  the  Madras  government,  and 
generally  known  to  have  been  a  principal 
cause  of  the  insurrection  at  Vellore.  It  was 
this  insurrection  which  first  gave  birth  to  the 
question  upon  missions  to  India;  and  before 
we  deliver  any  opinion  upon  the  subject  itself, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  state  what  had  been 
done  in  former  periods  towards  disseminating 
the  truths  of  the  gospel  in  India,  and  what  new 
exertions  had  been  made  about  the  period  at 
which  this  event  took  place. 

More  than  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the 
first  Protestant  missionaries  appeared  in  India. 
Two  young  divines,  selected  by  the  University 
of  Halle,  were  sent  out  in  this  capacity  by  the 
king  of  Denmark,  and  arrived  at  the  Danish 
settlement  of  Tranquebar  in  1706.  The  mis- 
sion thus  begun,  has  been  ever  since  continued, 
and  has  been  assisted  by  the  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge  established 
in  this  country.  The  same  Society  has,  for 
many  years,  employed  German  missionaries, 
of  the  Iiutheran  persuasion,  for  propagating  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  among  the  natives  of 
India.  In  1799,  their  number  was  six;  it  is 
now  reduced  to  five. 

The  Scriptures  translated  into  the  Tamulic 
language,  which  is  vernacular  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  peninsula,  have,  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  been  printed  at  the  Tranquebar 
press,  for  the  use  of  Danish  missionaries  and 
their  converts.  A  printing  press,  indeed,  was 
established  at  that  place  by  the  two  first  Danish 
missionaries  ;  and,  in  1714,  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew,  translated  into  the  dialect  of  Malabar, 
was  printed  there.  Not  a  line  of  the  Scriptures, 
in  any  of  the  languages  current  on  the  coast, 
had  issued  from  the  Bengal  press  on  September 
13,  1806. 

It  does  appear,  however,  about  the  period  of 
the  mutiny  at  Vellore,  and  a  few  years  previotis 
to  it,  that  the  number  of  the  missionaries  on 
the  coast  had  been  increased.  In  1804,  the 
Missionary  Society,  a  recent  institution,  sent  a 
new  mission  to  the  coast  of  Coromandel ;  from 
7 


whose  papers,  we  think  it  right  to  lay  before 
our  readers  the  following  extracts.* 

"  March  3lst,  1805.— Waited  on  A.  B.  He 
says,  Government  seems  to  be  very  ivilling  to  for- 
tvard  our  vieivs.  We  may  stay  at  Madras  as 
long  as  we  please ;  and  when  we  intend  to  go 
into  the  country,  on  our  application  to  the 
governor  by  letter,  he  would  issue  orders  for 
granting  us  passports,  which  would  supersede 
the  necessity  of  a  public  petition. — Lord's 
Day."— Trans,  of  Miss.  Society,  II.  p.  365. 

In  a  letter  from  Brother  Ringletaube  to  Bro- 
ther Cran,  he  thus  expresses  himself; — 

"  The  passports  Government  has  promised 
you  are  so  valuable,  that  I  should  not  think  a 
journey  too  troublesome  to  obtain  one  for  my- 
self, if  I  could  not  get  it  through  your  inter- 
ference In  hopes  that  3'our  application  will 
suffice  to  obtain  one  for  me,  I  enclose  you  my 
Gravesend  passport,  that  will  give  you  the  par- 
ticulars concerning  my  person." — Trans,  of 
Miss.  Society,  II.  p.  369. 

They  obtain  their  passports  from  Govern- 
ment: and  the  plan  and  objects  of  their  mis- 
sion are  printed,  free  of  expense,  at  the  Gov- 
ernment press. 

"  1805,  Ju7ie  27,  Dr. sent  for  one  of  us 

to  consult  with  him  on  particular  business. 
He  accordingly  went.  The  Doctor  told  him, 
that  he  had  read  the  publications  which  the 
brethren  lately  brought  from  England,  and  was 
so  much  delighted  with  the  report  of  the 
Directors,  that  he  wished  200  or  more  copies 
of  it  were  printed,  together  with  an  introduction, 
giving  an  account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  in  order  to  be  distri- 
buted in  the  different  settlements  in  India.  He 
offered  to  print  them  at  the  Government  press  free 
of  expense.  On  his  return,  we  consulted  with 
our  two  brethren  on  the  subject,  and  resolved 
to  accept  the  Doctor's  favour.  We  have  begun 
to  prepare  it  for  the  press." — Trans,  of  Miss. 
Society,  II.  p.  394. 

In  page  89th  of  the  18th  Number,  Vol.  III., 
the  Missionaries  write  thus  to  the  Society  in 
London,  about  a  fortnight  before  the  massacre 
at  Vellore. 

"Every  encouragement  is  offered  us  by  the 
established  government  of  the  country.  Hi- 
therto they  have  granted  us  every  request, 
whether  solicited  by  ourselves  or  others.  Theii 
permission  to  come  to  this  place  ;  their  allow- 
ing us  an  acknowledgment  for  preaching  in  the 
fort,  which  sanctions  us  in  our  work ;  together 
with  the  grant  which  they  have  lately  given  us 
to  hold  a  large  spot  of  ground  every  way  suited 
for  missionary  labours,  are  objects  of  the  last 
importance,  and  remove  every  impediment 
which  might  be  apprehended  from  this  source. 
We  trust  not  to  an  arm  of  flesh  ;  but  when  we 
reflect  on  these  things,  we  cannot  but  behold 
the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord." 


*  There  are  six  societies  in  England  for  converting 
Heathens  to  the  Christian  religion.  1.  Society  for  Mis- 
sions to  Africa  and  t/te  East ;  of  whicli  Messrs.  Wilber- 
force,  Grant,  Parry,  and  Thorntons,  are  the  principal 
encouragers.  2.  Methodist  Society  for  Missions.  3. 
Anabaptist  Society  for  Missions.  4.  Missionary  Soci- 
ety. 5.  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge 
6.  Moravian  Missions.  They  all  publish  their  proceed- 
ings.  ^ 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


In  a  letter  of  the  same  date,  we  learn,  from 
Brother  Ringletaube,  the  following  fact  :— 

"  The  Dewan  ot  Travancore  sent  me  word, 
that  if  I  despatched  one  of  our  Christians  to 
him,  he  would  give  me  leave  to  build  a  church 
at  Magilandy.  Accordingly,  I  shall  send  in  a 
short  time.  For  this  important  service,  our 
society  is  indebted  alone  to  Colonel  — —— , 
without  whose  determined  and  fearless  interposition, 
none  of  their  missionaries  would  have  been  able  to 
set  afoot  in  that  country. ^^ 

In  page  381,  Vol.  II.,  Dr.  Kerr,  one  of  the 
chaplains  on  the  Madras  establishment,  bap- 
tises a  Mussulman  who  had  applied  to  him  for 
that  purpose ;  upon  the  first  application,  it 
appears  that  Dr.  Kerr  hesitated;  but  upon  the 
Mussulman  threatening  to  rise  against  him  on 
the  day  of  judgment,  Dr.  Kerr  complies. 

It  appears  that  in  the  Tinevelly  district, 
about  a  year  before  the  massacre  of  Vellore, 
not  only  riots,  but  very  serious  persecutions  of 
the  converted  natives  had  taken  place,  from 
the  jealousy  evinced  by  the  Hindoos  and  Mus- 
sulmen  at  the  progress  of  the  gospel. 

"  '  Rev.  Sir, — I  thought  you  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  the  late  vexations  of  the  Chris- 
tians in  those  parts,  arising  from  the  blind  zeal 
of  the  Heathens  and  Mahometans  ;  the  latter 
viewing  with  a  jealous  eye  the  progress  of  the 
gospel,  and  trying  to  destroy,  or  at  least  to  clog 
it,  by  all  the  crafty  means  in  their  power.  I 
therefore  did  not  choose  to  trouble  you  ;  but  as 
no  stop  has  been  put  to  these  grievances,  things 
go  on  from  bad  to  worse,  as  you  will  see  from 
what  has  happened  at  Hickadoe.  The  Catechist 
has  providentially  escaped  from  that  outra- 
geous attempt,  by  the  assistance  of  ten  or 
twelve  of  our  Christians,  and  has  made  good 
his  flight  to  Palamcotta  ;  whilst  the  exasperated 
mob,  coming  from  Padeckepalloe,  hovered 
round  the  village,  plundering  the  houses  of  the 
Christians,  and  ill-treating  their  families,  by 
kicking,  flogging,  and  other  bad  usage ;  those 
monsters  not  even  forbearing  to  attack,  strip, 
rob,  and  miserably  beat  the  Catechist  Jesuadian, 
who,  partly  from  illness  and  partly  through 
fear,  had  shut  himself  up  in  his  house.  I  have 
heard  various  accounts  of  this  sad  event;  but 
yesterday  the  Catechist  himself  called  on  me, 
and  told  me  the  truth  of  it.  From  what  he 
says,  it  is  plain  that  the  Manikar  of  Wayrom 
(a  Black  peace-officer  oi  that  place)  has  con- 
trived the  whole  affair,  with  a  view  to  vex  the 
Christians.  I  doubt  not  that  these  facts  have 
been  reported  to  the  Rev.  Mr.K.  by  the  country- 
priest;  and  if  I  mention  them  to  you,  it  is  with 
a  view  to  show  in  what  a  forlorn  state  the  poor 
Christians  hereabout  are,  and  how  desirable 
a  thing  it  would  be,  if  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ringle- 
taube were  to  come  hither  as  soon  as  possible  ; 
then  tranquillity  would  be  restored,  and  future 
molestations  prevented.  I  request  you  to  com- 
municate this  letter  to  him  with  my  compli- 
ments. I  am,  sir,  &c.  Manapaar,  June  8,  1805.' 
"  This  letter  left  a  deep  impression  on  my 
mind,  especially  when  I  received  a  fuller  ac- 
count of  the  troubles  of  the  Christians.  By  the 
Black  underlings  of  the  Collectors,  they  are 
frequently  driven  from  their  homes,  put  in  the 
stocks,  and  exposed  for  a  fortnight  together  to 


the  heat  of  the  raging  sun,  and  the  chilling 
dews  of  the  night,  all  because  there  is  no 
European  Missionary  to  bring  their  C(»mplaint3 
to  the  ear  of  Government,  who,  I  am  happy  to 
add,  have  never  been  deficient  in  their  duty  of 
procuring  redress,  where  the  Christians  have 
had  to  complain  of  real  injuries.  One  of  the 
most  trying  cases,  mentioned  in  a  postscript  of 
the  above  letter,  is  that  of  Christians  being 
flogged  till  they  consenfto  hold  the  torches  to 
the  Heathen  idols.  The  letter  says  '  the  Cat- 
echist of  Collesigrapatuam  has  informed  me, 
that  the  above  Manikar  has  forced  a  Christian, 
of  the  Villally  caste,  who  attends  at  our  church, 
to  sweep  the  temple  of  the  idol.  A  severe  flog- 
ging was  given  on  this  occasion.' — From  such 
facts,  the  postscript  continues,  '  You  may 
guess  at  the  deplorable  situation  of  our  fellow- 
believers,  as  long  as  every  Manikar  thinks  he 
has  a  right  to  do  them  what  violence  he 
pleases.' 

"  It  must  be  observed,  to  the  glory  of  the  Sa- 
viour who  is  strong  in  weakness,  that  many  of 
the  Neophytes  in  that  district  have  withstood 
all  these  fiery  trials  with  firmness.  Many  also, 
it  is  to  be  lamented,  have  fallen  off"  in  the  evil 
day,  and  at  least  so  far  yielded  to  the  importu- 
nity of  their  persecutors,  as  again  to  daub 
their  faces  with  paint  and  ashes,  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Heathen.  How  great  this  falling 
off  has  been  I  am  not  yet  able  to  judge.  But 
I  am  happy  to  add,  that  the  Board  of  Revenue 
has  issued  the  strictest  orders  against  all  un- 
provoked persecution." — Trans,  of  Miss.  Society, 
11.431,433. 

The  following  quotations  evince  how  far  from 
indifferent  the  natives  are  to  the  progress  of 
the  Christian  religion  in  the  East. 

"  1805.  Oct.  10 A  respectable  Brahmin  in 

the  Company's  employ  called  on  us.  We  endea- 
voured to  point  out  to  him  the  important  object 
of  our  coming  to  India,  and  mentioned  some 
of  the  great  and  glorious  truths  of  the  gospel, 
which  we  wished  to  impart  in  the  native  lan- 
guage. He  seemed  much  hurt,  and  told  us 
the  Gentoo  religion  was  of  a  divine  origin  as 
well  as  the  Christian ; — that  heaven  was  like 
a  palace  which  had  many  doors,  at  which  peo- 
ple may  enter ; — that  variety  is  pleasing  to  God, 
&c. — and  a  number  of  other  arguments  which 
we  hear  every  day.  On  taking  leave,  he  said, 
'  the  Company  has  got  the  country,  (for  the 
English  are  very  clever,)  and,  perhaps,  they 
may  succeed  in  depriving  the  Brahmins  of 
their  power,  and  let  you  have  it.' " 

"November  I6th.  Received  a  letter  from  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Taylor;  we  are  happy  to  find  he  is 
safely  arrived  at  Calcutta,  and  that  our  Baptist 
brethren  are  labouring  with  increasing  success. 
The  natives  around  us  are  astonished  to  hear 
this  news.  It  is  bad  news  to  the  Brahmins, 
who  seem  unable  to  account  for  it ;  they  say 
the  world  is  going  to  ruin." — Trans,  of  Miss.  So- 
ciety, II.  422  &  426. 

"  While  living  in  the  town,  our  house  was 
watched  by  the  natives  from  morning  to  night, 
to  see  if  any  person  came  to  converse  about 
religion.  This  prevented  many  from  coming 
who  have  been  very  desirous  of  hearing  of 
the  good  way." — Trans,  of  Miss.  Society,  No.  16, 
p.  87. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


51 


"If  Heathen, of  great  influence  and  connec- 
tions, or  Brahmins,  were  inclined  to  join  the 
Christian  church,  it  would  probably  cause 
commotions  and  even  rebellions,  either  to  pre- 
vent them  from  it,  or  to  endanger  their  life.  In 
former  years,  we  had  some  instances  of  this 
kind  at  Trunquebar  ;  where  they  were  protect- 
ed by  the  assistance  of  government.  If  such 
instances  should  happen  now  in  our  present 
times,  we  don't  know  what  the  consequence 
would  be." — Trans,  of  Miss.  Society,  II.  185. 

This  last  extract  is  contained  in  a  letter  from 
Danish  Missionaries  at  Tranquebar,  to  the 
Directors  of  the  Missionary  Society  at  London. 

It  is  hardly  fair  to  contend,  after  these  ex- 
tracts, that  no  symptoms  of  jealousy  upon  the 
subject  of  religion  had  been  evinced  on  the 
coast,  except  in  the  case  of  the  insurrection  at 
Vellore  ;  or  that  no  greater  activity  than  com- 
mon had  prevailed  among  the  missionaries. 
We  are  very  far,  however,  from  attributing  that 
insurrection  exclusively,  or  even  principally, 
to  any  apprehensions  from  the  zeal  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. The  rumor  of  that  zeal  might  pro- 
bably have  more  readily  disposed  the  minds  of 
the  troops  for  the  corrupt  influence  exercised 
upon  them;  but  we  have  no  doubt  that  the 
massacre  was  principally  owing  to  the  adroit 
use  made  by  the  sons  of  Tippoo,  and  the  high 
Mussulmen  living  in  the  fortress,  of  the  abomi- 
nable military  foppery  of  our  people. 

After  this  short  sketch  of  what  has  been 
lately  passing  on  the  coast,  we  shall  attempt  to 
give  a  similar  account  of  the  missionary  pro- 
ceedings in  Bengal ;  and  it  appears  to  us,  it 
will  be  more  satisfactory  to  do  so  as  much  as 
possible  in  the  words  of  the  missionaries  them- 
selves. In  our  extracts  from  their  publications, 
we  shall  endeavour  to  show  the  character  and 
style  of  the  men  employed  in  these  missions, 
the  extent  of  their  success,  or  rather  of  their 
failure,  and  the  general  impression  made  upon 
the  people  by  their  eiforts  for  the  dissemination 
of  the  gospel. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  premise,  that  the  mis- 
sions in  Bengal,  of  which  the  public  have 
heard  so  much  of  late  years,  are  the  mis- 
sions of  Anabaptist  dissenters,  whose  peculiar 
and  distinguishing  tenet  it  is,  to  baptize  the 
members  of  their  church  by  plunging  them 
into  the  water  when  ihey  are  grown  up,  instead 
of  sprinkling  them  with  water  when  they  are 
young.  Among  the  subscribers  to  this  society, 
we  perceive  the  respectable  name  of  the  De- 
puty Chairman  of  the  East  India  Company, 
who,  in  '.he  common  routine  of  office,  will  suc- 
ceed to  the  chair  of  that  Company  at  the  en- 
suing election.  The  Chairman  and  Deputy 
Chairman  of  the  East  India  Company,  are  also 
both  of  them  trustees  to  another  religious  so- 
ciety for  missions  to  .Africa  and  the  East. 

The  first  number  of  the  .Anabaptist  3Iissions 
informs  us  that  the  origin  of  the  society  will  be 
found  in  the  workings  of  Brother  Cwey's  mind, 
whose  heart  appears  to  have  been  set  upon  the  con- 
version of  the  Heathen  in  1786,  before  he  came  to  re- 
side at  Moulton.  (No.  I.  p.  1.)  These  workings 
produced  a  sermon  at  Northampton,  and  the 
sermon  a  subscription  to  convert  420  millions 
of  Pagans.  Of  the  subscription  we  have  the 
following   account :   "  Information   has    come 


from  Brother  Carey  that  a  gentleman  from 
Northumberland  had  promised  to  send  him  30?. 
for  the  Society,  and  to  subscribe  four  guineas 
annually." 

"  At  this  meeting  at  Northampton  two  other 
friends  subscribed,  and  paid  two  guineas  apiece, 
two  more  one  guinea  each,  and  another  half  a 
guinea,  making  six  guineas  and  a  half  in  all. 
And  such  members  as  were  present  of  the  first 
subscribers,  paid  their  subscriptions  into  the 
hands  of  the  treasurer;  who  proposed  to  put 
the  sum  now  received  into  the  hands  of  a 
banker,  who  will  pay  interest  for  the  same." 
— Bapt.  Mis.  Sac.  No.  I.  p.  5. 

In  their  first  proceedings  they  are  a  good  deal 
guided  by  Brother  Thomas,  who  has  been  in 
Bengal  before,  and  who  lays  before  the  Society 
an  history  of  his  life  and  adventures,  from 
which  we  make  the  following  extract: — 

"  On  my  arrival  in  Calcutta,  I  sought  for  re- 
ligious people,  but  found  none.  At  last,  how 
was  I  rejoiced  to  hear  that  a  very  religious 
man  was  coming  to  dine  with  me  at  a  house  in 
Calcutta  ;  a  man  who  would  not  omit  his  closet 
hours,  of  a  morning  or  evening,  at  sea  or  on  land, 
for  all  the  world.  I  concealed  my  impatience 
as  well  as  I  could,  till  the  joyful  moment  came : 
and  a  moment  it  was,  for  I  soon  heard  him  take 
the  Lord's  name  in  vain,  and  it  was  like  a  cold 
dagger,  with  which  I  received  repeated  stabs 
in  the  course  of  half  an  hour's  conversation; 
and  he  was  ready  to  kick  me  when  I  spoke  of 
some  things  commonly  believed  by  other  hypo- 
crites, concerning  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and 
with  fury  put  an  end  to  our  conversation,  by 
saying  I  was  a  mad  enthusiast,  to  suppose  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  any  thing  to  do  in  the  creation 
of  the  world,  who  was  born  only  seventeen 
hundred  years  ago.  When  I  returned,  he  went 
home  in  the  same  ship,  and  I  found  him  a 
strict  observer  of  devotional  hours,  but  an 
enemy  to  all  religion,  and  horribly  loose,  vain, 
and  intemperate  in  his  life  and  conversation. 

"After  this  /  advertised  for  a  Christian;  and 
that  I  may  not  be  misunderstood,  I  shall  sub- 
join a  copy  of  the  advertisement,  from  the 
Indian  Gazette  of  November  1,  1783,  which 
now  lies  before  me." — Bapt.  Mis.  Soc.  No.  I.  p. 
14,  15. 

Brother  Thomas  relates  the  Conversion  of  an 
Hindoo  on  the  Malabar  Coast  to  the  Society. 
"A  certain  man,  on  the  Malabar  coast,  had 
inquired  of  various  devotees  and  priests,  how- 
he  might  make  atonement  for  his  sins;  and  at 
last  he  was  directed  to  drive  iron  spikes,  suf- 
ficiently blunted,  through  his  sandals,  and  oa 
these  spikes  he  was  to  place  his  naked  feet, 
and  walk  (if  I  mistake  not)  250  coss,  that  i3 
about  480  miles.  If,  through  loss  of  blood,  or 
weakness  of  body,  he  was  obliged  to  halt,  he 
might  wait  for  healing  and  strength.  He  un- 
dertook the  journey;  and  while  he  halted  under 
a  large  shady  tree  where  the  gospel  was  some- 
times preached,  one  of  the  missionaries  came, 
and  preached  in  his  hearing  from  these  words, 
The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 
While  he  was  preaching,  the  man  rose  up, 
threw  off  his  torturing  sandals,  and  cried  out 
aloud,  '  This  is  what  I  want!'" — Bapt.  Mis.  Soc 
No.  I.  p.  29. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


On  June  13,  1793,  the  missionaries  set  sail, 
carrying  with  them  letters  to  three  supposed 
converts  of  Brother  Thomas,  Parbotee,  Ram 
Ram  Boshoo,  and  Mohun  Chund.  Upon  their 
arrival  in  India,  they  found,  to  their  inexpres- 
sible mortification,  that  Ram  Ram  had  relapsed 
into  paganism:  and  we  shall  present  our 
readers  with  a  picture  of  the  present  and 
worldly  misery  to  which  an  Hindoo  is  subject- 
ed, who  becomes  a  convert  to  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. Everybody  knows  that  the  population 
of  Hindostan  is  divided  into  castes,  or  classes 
of  persons ;  and  that  when  a  man  loses  his 
caste,  he  is  shunned  by  his  wife,  children, 
friends,  and  relations;  that  it  is  considered  as 
an  abomination  to  lodge  or  eat  with  him ;  and 
that  he  is  a  wanderer  and  an  outcast  upon  the 
earth.  Caste  can  be  lost  by  a  variety  of  means, 
and  the  Protestant  missionaries  have  always 
made  the  loss  of  it  a  previous  requisite  to  ad- 
mission into  the  Christian  church. 

"On  our  arrival  at  Calcutta,  we  found  poor 
Ram  Boshoo  waiting  for  us:  but,  to  our  great 
grief,  he  has  been  bowing  down  to  idols  again. 
"When  Mr.  T.  left  India,  he  went  from  place  to 
place ;  but,  forsaken  by  the  Hindoos,  and  ne- 
glected by  the  Europeans,  he  was  seized  with 
a  flux  and  fever.  In  this  state,  he  says,  'I  had 
nothing  to  support  me  or  my  family ;  a  relation 
oflered  to  save  me  from  perishing  for  want  of 
necessaries,  on  condition  of  my  bowing  to  the 
idol ;  I  knew  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Chris- 
tians worshipped  idols  ;  I  thought  they  might 
be  commanded  to  honour  images  in  some  part 
of  the  Bible  which  I  had  not  seen  ;  I  hesitated, 
and  complied;  but  I  love  Christianity  still.'" 
—Bapl.  Mis.  Soc.  Vol.  I.  p.  64,  65. 

"Jav.  8,  1794.  We  thought  to  write  to  you 
long  before  this,  but  our  hearts  have  been  bur- 
thened  with  cares  and  sorrows.  It  was  very 
afflicting  to  hear  of  Ram  Boshoo's  great  perse- 
cution and  fall.  Deserted  by  Englishmen,  and 
persecuted  by  his  own  countrymen,  he  was 
nigh  unto  death.  The  natives  gathered  in 
bodies,  and  threw  dust  in  the  air  as  he  passed 
along  the  streets  in  Calcutta.  At  last  one  of 
his  relations  offered  him  an  asylum  on  condi- 
tion of  his  bowine  down  to  their  idols." — Bapt. 
Mis.  Soc.  Vol.1,  p.^78. 

Brother  Carey's  Piety  at  Sea. 
"  Brother  Carey,  while  very  sea-sick,  and 
leaning  over  the  ship  to  relieve  his  stomach 
from  that  very  oppressive  complaint,  said  his 
mind  was  even  then  filled  with  consolation  in 
contemplating  the  wonderful  goodness  of  God." 
—Ibid.  p.  76. 

Extracts  from  Brother  Carey^s  and  Brother  Tho- 
mas's Journals,  at  sea  and  by  land. 
'  «  1793.  Jwie  16.  Lord's  Day.  A  little  recovered 
from  my  sickness ;  met  for  prayer  and  exhorta- 
tion in  my  cabin  ;  had  a  dispute  with  a  French 
deist." — Ibid.  p.  15S. 

" 30.  Lord's  Day.     A  pleasant  and  pro- 

■fitable  day:  our  congregation  composed  of  ten 
persons." — Ibid.  p.  159. 

"  July  7.  Another  pleasant  and  profitable 
Lord's  day;  our  congregation  increased  with 
one.  Had  much  sweet  enjoyment  with  God." — 
Jhid. 


"  1794.  Jan.  26.  Lord's  Day.  Found  much 
pleasure  in  reading  Edwards'  Sermon  on  the  Jus- 
tice of  God  in  the  damnation  of  Sinners." — 76.  p.  165. 

"  Jpril  6.  Had  some  sweetness  to-day,  espe- 
cially in  reading  Edwards'  Sermon." — Ibid.  p. 
171. 

"  June  8.  This  evening  reached  Bowlea, 
where  we  lay  to  for  the  Sabbath.  Felt  thankful 
that  God  had  preserved  us,  and  wondered  at 
his  regard  for  sp  mean  a  creature.  I  was  un- 
able to  wrestle  with  God  in  prayer  for  many  of 
my  dear  friends  in  England." — Ibid.  p.  179. 

" 16.     This   day  I  preached   twice   at 

Malda,  where  Mr.  Thomas  met  me.  Had  much 
enjoyment ;  and  though  our  congregation  did 
not  exceed  sixteen,  yet  the  pleasure  I  felt  in 
having  my  tongue  once  more  set  at  liberty,  I 
can  hardly  describe.  Was  enabled  to  be  faith- 
ful, and  felt  a  sweet  affection  for  immortal 
souls."— Ibid.  p.  180. 

"  1796.  Feb.  6.  I  am  now  in  my  study;  and 
oh,  it  is  a  sweet  place,  because  of  the  presence 
of  God  with  the  vilest  of  men.  It  is  at  the  top 
of  the  house;  I  have  but  one  window  in  it." — 
Ibid.  p.  295. 

"The  work  to  which  God  has  set  his  hand 
will  infallibly  prosper.  Christ  has  begun  to 
bombard  this  strong  and  ancient  fortress,  and 
will  assuredly  carry  it." — Bapt.  Hiss.  Vol.  I.  p. 
328. 

"  More  missionaries  I  think  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  support  of  the  interest.  Should  any 
natives  join  us,  they  would  become  outcast  im- 
mediately, and  must  be  consequently  supported 
by  us.  The  missionaries  on  the  coast  are  to 
this  day  obliged  to  provide  for  those  who  join 
them,  as  I  learn  from  a  letter  sent  to  brother 
Thomas  by  a  son  of  one  of  the  missionaries." 
—Ibid.  p.  334. 

In  the  last  extract  our  readers  will  perceive 
a  new  difficulty  attendant  upon  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  the  East.  The  convert  must 
not  only  be  subjected  to  degradation,  but  his 
degradation  is  so  complete,  and  his  means  of 
providing  for  himself  so  entirely  destroyed, 
that  he  must  be  fed  by  his  instructor.  The 
slightest  success  in  Hindostan  would  eat  up 
the  revenues  of  the  East  India  Company. 

Three  years  after  their  arrival  these  zealous 
and  most  active  missionaries  give  the  follow- 
ing account  of  their  success. 

"  I  bless  God,  our  prospect  is  considerably 
brightened  up,  and  our  hopes  are  more  en- 
larged than  at  any  period  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  mission,  owing  to  very  pleasing 
appearances  of  the  gospel  having  been  made 
effectual  to  four  poor  labouring  Mussulmen, 
who  have  been  setting  their  faces  towards  Zion 
ever  since  the  month  of  August  Jast.  I  hope 
their  baptism  will  not  be  much  longer  deferred ; 
and  that  might  encourage  Mohun  Chund,  Par- 
boltee,  and  Cassi  Naut  (who  last  year  appeared 
to  set  out  in  the  ways  of  God),  to  declare  for 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  an  open  profession 
of  their  faith  in  him.  Seven  of  the  natives,  ive 
hope,  are  indeed  converted." — Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  I. 
p.  345,  346. 

Effects  of  Preaching  to  an  Hindoo  Congregation-. 

"I  then  told  them,  that  if  they  could  not  tell 

me,  I  would  tell  them;  and  that  God,  who  had 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


63 


permitted  the  Hindoos  to  sink  into  a  sea  of 
darkness,  had  at  length  commiserated  them; 
and  sent  me  and  my  colleagues  to  preach  life 
to  them.  I  then  told  them  of  Christ,  his  death, 
his  person,  his  love,  his  being  the  surety  of 
sinners,  his  power  to  save,  &c.,  and  exhorted 
them  earnestly  and  affectionately  to  come  to 
him.  Effects  were  various ;  one  man  came 
before  I  had  well  done,  and  wanted  to  sell 
stockings  to  me." — Bapt.  Miss,  Vol.  I.  p.  357. 

Extracts  from  Journals. 

"After  worship,  I  received  notice  that  the 
printing-press  was  just  arrived  at  the  Ghat  from 
Calcutta.  Retired,  and  thanked  God  for  fur- 
nishing us  with  a  press." — Ibid.  p.  469. 

Success  in  the  Sixth  Year. 
"  We  lament  that  several  who  did  run  well 
are  now  hindered.  We  have  faint  hopes  of  a 
few,  and  pretty  strong  hopes  of  one  or  two ;  but 
if  I  say  more,  it  must  either  be  a  dull  recital 
of  our  journeying  to  one  place  or  another  to 
preach  the  gospel,  or  something  else  relating 
to  ourselves,  of  which  I  ought  to  be  the  last  to 
STpeak."— Ibid.  p.  488. 

Extracts  from  Mr.  Ward's  Journal,  a  kew 
Anabaptist  Missionaut  sent  out  in  1799. 

Mr.  Ward  admires  the  Captain. 
"Several  of  our  friends  who  have  been  sick 
begin  to  look  up.  This  evening  we  had  a  most 
precious  hour  at  prayer.  Captain  Wickes  read 
from  the  12th  verse  of  the  33d  of  Exodus,  and 
then  joined  in  prayer.  Our  hearts  were  all 
warmed.  We  shook  hands  with  our  dear 
captain,  and,  in  design,  clasped  him  to  our 
bosoms." — Ibid.  Vol.  II.  p.  2. 

Mr.  Ward  is  frightened  by  a  Privateer. 
"June  11.  Held  our  conference  this  evening. 
A  vessel  is  still  pursuing  us,  which  the  Cap- 
tain believes  to  be  a  Frenchman.  I  feel  some 
alarm  :  considerable  alarm.  Oh  Lord,  be  thou 
our  defender!  the  vessel  seems  to  gain  upon 
us.  (Quarter  past  eleven  at  night.)  There  is 
no  doubt  of  the  vessel  being  a  French  priva- 
teer: when  v.'e  changed  our  tack,  she  changed 
hers.  We  have,  since  dark,  changed  into  our 
old  course,  so  that  possibly  we  shall  lose  her. 
Brethren  G.  and  B.  have  engaged  in  prayer: 
we  have  read  Luther's  psalm,  and  our  minds 
are  pretty  well  composed.  Our  guns  are  all 
loaded,  and  the  captain  seems  very  low.  All 
hands  are  at  the  guns,  and  the  matches  are 
lighted.  I  go  to  the  end  of  the  ship.  I  can 
just  see  the  vessel,  though  it  is  very  foggy.  A 
ball  whizzes  over  my  head,  and  makes  me 
tremble.  I  go  down,  and  go  to  prayer  with  our 
iviends."— Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  IL  p.  3,  4. 

Mr.  Ward  feels  a  regard  for  the  Sailors. 
"  July  12.  I  never  felt  so  much  for  any  men 
as  for  our  sailors;  a  tenderness  which  could 
weep  over  them.  Oh,  Jesus  !  let  thy  blood 
cover  some  of  them  !  A  sweet  prayer  meeting. 
Verily  God  is  here." — Ibid.  p.  7. 

Mr.  Ward  sees  an  American  Vessel,  and  longs  to 
preach  to  the  Sailors. 
"Sept.  27.  An  American  vessel  is  along-side, 


and  the  captain  is  speaking  to  their  captaia 
through  his  trumpet.  How  pleasant  to  talk  to 
a  friend !  I  have  been  looking  at  them  through 
the  glass  ;  the  sailors  sit  i^  a  group,  and  are 
making  their  observations  upon  us.  I  long  to 
go  and  preach  to  them." — Ibid.  p.  1 1 . 

feelings  of  the  Natives  upon  heaj-ing  their  Religion 
attacked. 

"  1800.  Feb.  25.  Brother  C.  had  some  con- 
versation with  one  of  the  Mussulmen,  who 
asked,  upon  his  denying  the  divine  mission  of 
Mahommed,  what  was  to  become  of  Mussul- 
men and  Hindoos  !  Brother  C.  expressed  his 
fears  that  they  would  all  be  lost.  The  man 
seemed  as  if  he  would  have  torn  him  to 
pieces." — Ibid.  p.  51. 

"  Mar.  30.  The  people  seem  quite  anxious 
to  get  the  hymns  which  we  give  away.  The 
Brahmins  are  rather  uneasy.  The  Governor 
advised  his  Brahmins  to  send  their  children  to 
learn  English.  They  replied,  that  we  seemed 
to  take  pains  to  make  the  natives  Christians; 
and  they  were  afraid  that,  their  children  being 
of  tender  age,  would  make  them  a  more  easy 
conquest." — Ibid.  p.  158. 

"■j]pril""i.  Lord's  Day.  One  Brahmin  said, 
he  had  no  occasion  for  a  hymn,  for  ihey  were 
all  over  the  country.  He  could  go  into  any 
house  and  read  one." — Ibid.  p.  61. 

"  May  9.  Brother  Fountain  was  this  even- 
ing at  Buddabarry.  At  the  close,  the  Brahmins 
having  collected  a  number  of  boys,  they  set  up 
a  great  shout,  and  followed  the  brethren  out  of 
the  village  with  noise  and  shoutings." — Ibid. 

"May  16.  Brother  Carey  and  I  were  at  Bud- 
dabarry this  evening.  No  sooner  had  we  be- 
gun, than  a  Brahmin  went  round  to  all  the  rest 
that  were  present,  and  endeavoured  to  pull 
them  away." — Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  II.  p.  62. 

" 30.    This  evening  at  Buddabarry,  the 

man  mentioned  in  my  journal  of  March  14th 
insulted  Brother  Carey.  He  asked  why  we 
came ;  and  said,  if  we  could  employ  the  natives 
as  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  &c.  it  would  be 
very  well;  but  that  they  did  not  iva^it  our  holi- 
ness. In  exact  conformity  with  this  sentiment, 
our  Brahmin  told  Brother  Thomas  when  here, 
that  he  did  not  want  the  favour  of  God." — Ibid. 
p.  63. 

^' June  22.  Lord's  Day.  A  Brahmin  has  been 
several  times  to  disturb  the  children,  and  to 
curse  Jesus  Christ !  Another  Brahmin  com- 
plained to  Brother  Carey  that,  by  our  school 
and  printing,  we  were  now  teaching  the  gospel 
to  their  children  from  their  infancy." — Ibid. 
p.  65. 

"  Jime  29.  Lord's  Day.  This  evening  a 
Brahmin  went  round  amongst  the  people  who 
were  collected  to  hear  Brother  Carey,  to  per- 
suade them  not  to  accept  of  our  papers.  Thus 
'  darkness  struggles  with  the  light.'  " — Ibid.  p. 
66. 

"It  was  deemed  advisable  to  print  2000 
copies  of  the  New  Testament,  and  also  500 
additional  copies  of  Matthew,  for  immediate 
distribution;  to  which  are  annexed  some  of 
the  most  remarkable  prophecies  in  the  Old 
Testament  respecting  Christ.  These  are  now 
distributing,  together  with  copies  of  several 
evangelical  hymns,   and  a  very  earnest  aj\d 

£2 


64 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pertinent  address  to  the  natives,  respecting  the 
gospel.  Ii  was  written  by  Ram  Boshoo,  and 
contains  a  hundred  lines  in  Bengalee  verse. 
We  hear  that  these  papers  are  read  with  much 
attention,  and  that  apprehensions  are  rising  in 
the  minds  of  some  of  the  Brahmins  whereunto 
these  things  may  grow." — Ibid.  p.  69. 

"  We  have  printed  several  small  pieces  in 
Bengalee,  which  have  had  a  large  circulation." 
—Ibid.  p.  77. 

Mr.  Fountain^  gratitude  to  Hervcy. 

"  When  I  was  about  eighteen  or  nineteen 
years  of  age,  Hervey's  Meditations  fell  into  my 
hands.  Till  then  I  had  read  nothing  but  my 
Bible  and  the  prayer  book.  This  ushered  me 
as  it  were  into  a  new  world !  It  expanded  my 
mind,  and  excited  a  thirst  after  knowledge: 
and  this  was  not  all ;  I  derived  spiritual  as 
well  as  intellectual  advantages  from  it.  I  shall 
bless  God  for  this  book  while  I  live  upon  earth, 
and  ivhcn  I  get  to  heaven,  I  will  thank  dear  Hcrvey 
himself."— Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  II.  p.  90. 

Hatred  of  the  Natives  to  the  Gospel. 

"Jan.  27.  The  inveterate  hatred  that  the 
Brahmins  every  where  show  to  the  gospel,  and 
the  very  name  of  Jesus,  in  which  they  are 
joined  by  many  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort, 
requires  no  common  degree  of  self-possession, 
caution,  and  prudence.  The  seeming  failure 
of  some  we  hoped  well  of  is  a  source  of  con- 
siderable anxiety  and  grief." — Ibid.  p.  110. 

"Aug.  31.  Lord's  Day.  We  have  the  honour 
of  printing  the  first  book  that  was  ever  printed 
in  Bengalee  ;  and  this  is  the  first  piece  in  which 
Brahmins  have  been  opposed,  perhaps  for  thou- 
sands of  j'ears.  All  their  books  are  filled  with 
accounts  to  establish  Brahminism,  and  raise 
Brahmins  to  the  seat  of  God.  Hence  they  are 
believed  to  be  inferior  gods.  All  the  waters 
of  salvation  in  the  country  are  supposed  to 
meet  in  the  foot  of  a  Brahmin.  It  is  reckoned 
they  have  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell,  and 
have  power  over  sickness  and  health,  life  and 
death.  0  pray  that  Brahminism  may  come 
Jio\vn]"—Ibid.  p.  111. 

"  Oct.  3.  Brother  Marshman  having  directed 
the  children  in  the  Bengalee  school  to  write 
out  a  piece  written  by  Brother  Fountain  (a 
kind  of  catechism),  the  schoolmaster  reported 
yesterday  that  all  the  boys  would  leave  the 
school  rather  than  write  it;  that  it  was  de- 
signed to  make  them  lose  caste,  and  make  them 
Fcringas ;  that  is,  persons  who  have  descen-ded 
from  those  who  were  formerly  converted  by 
the  papists,  and  who  are  to  this  day  held  in 
the  greatest  contempt  by  the  Hindoos.  From 
this  you  may  gather  how  much  contempt  a 
converted  native  would  meet  with." — Ibid.  p. 
113,  114. 

«  Oct.  26.  Lord's  Day.  Bharratt  told  Brother 
Carey  to-day  what  the  people  talked  among 
themselves — '  Formerly,'  say  they,  <  here  were 
no  white  people  amongst  us.  Now  the  English 
have  taken  the  country,  and  it  is  getting  full 
of  whites.  Now  also  the  white  man's  shaster 
is  publishing.  Is  it  not  going  to  be  fulfilled 
which  is  written  in  our  shasters,  that  all  shall 
be  of  one  caste ;  and  will  not  this  caste  be  the 
gospel?'  "—Ibid.  p.  115. 


"Nov.  7.  He  also  attempted  repeatedly  to 
introduce  Christ  and  him  crucified;  but  they 
would  immediately  manifest  the  utmost  dislike 
of  the  very  name  of  him.  Nay,  in  their  turn 
they  commended  Creeshnoo,  and  invited  Bro- 
ther C.  to  believe  in  him." — Ibid.  p.  118. 

"  Dec.  23.  This  forenoon  Gokool  came  to 
tell  us  that  Kristno  and  his  whole  family  were 
in  confinement !  Astonishing  news  !  It  seems 
the  whole  neighbourhood,  as  soon  as  it  was 
noised  abroad  that  these  people  had  lost  caste, 
was  in  an  uproar.  It  is  said  that  two  thou- 
sand people  were  assembled  pouring  their 
anathemas  on  these  new  converts." — Bapt. 
Miss.  Vol.  II.  p.  125. 

"/a«.  12.  The  Brahmins  and  the  young 
people  show  every  degree  of  contempt ;  and 
the  name  of  Christ  is  become  a  by-word,  like 
the  name  methodist  in  England  formerly." — Ibid. 
p.  130. 

"  Sept.  25.     I  then  took  occasion  to  tell  them  - 
that  the  Brahmins  only  wanted  their  money, 
and  cared  nothing  about  their  salvation.    To 
this  they  readily  assented." — Ibid.  p.  134. 

"  Nov.  23.  Lord's  Day.  Went  with  Brother 
Carey  to  the  new  pagoda,  at  the  upper  end  of 
the  town.  About  ten  Brahmins  attended.  They 
behaved  in  the  most  scoffing  and  blasphemous 
manner,  treating  the  name  of  Christ  with  the 
greatest  scorn  :  nor  did  they  discontinue  their 
ridicule  while  Brother  Carey  prayed  with  them. 
No  name  amongst  men  seems  so  offensive  to 
them  as  that  of  our  adorable  Redeemer  !" — 
Ibid.  p.  138. 

"  Dec.  24;.  The  Governor  had  the  goodness 
to  call  on  us  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  de- 
sired us  to  secure  the  girl,  at  least  within  our 
walls,  for  a  few  days,  as  he  was  persuaded  the 
people  round  the  country  were  so  exasperated 
at  Kristno's  embracing  the  gospel,  that  he  could 
not  answer  for  their  safety.  A  number  of  the 
mob  might  come  from  twenty  miles  distant  in 
the  night,  and  murder  them  all,  without  the  per- 
petrators being  discovered.  He  believed,  that 
had  they  obtained  the  girl,  they  would  have 
murdered  her  before  the  morning,  and  thought 
they  had  been  doing  God  service !" — Ibid.  p. 
143,  144. 

"  Jan.  30.  After  speaking  about  ten  minutes, 
a  rude  fellow  began  to  be  very  abusive,  and, 
with  the  help  of  a  few  boys,  raised  such  a  cla- 
mour that  nothing  could  be  heard.  At  length, 
seeing  no  hope  of  their  becoming  quiet,  I  re- 
tired to  the  other  part  of  the  town.  They  fol- 
lowed, hallooing,  and  crying,  '  Hurree  boll!' 
(an  exclamation  in  honour  of  Veeshno).  They 
at  last  began  to  pelt  me  with  stones  and  dirt. 
One  of  the  men,  who  knew  the  house  to  which 
Brother  Carey  was  gone,  advised  me  to  accom- 
pany him  thither,  saying,  that  these  people 
would  not  hear  our  words.  Going  with  him,  I 
met  Brother  C.  We  were  not  a  little  pleased 
that  the  devil  had  begun  to  bestir  himself,  in- 
ferring from  hence  that  he  suspected  danger." 
—Ibid.  p.  148,  149. 

Feelings  of  an  Hindoo  Boy  upon  the  eve  of  Con- 
version. 

"  Nov.  19.  One  of  the  boys  of  the  school, 
called  Benjamin,  is  under  considerable  con- 
cern •  indeed  there  is  a  general  stir  amongst 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


55 


are  children,  which  affords  us  great  encourage- 
ment. The  following  are  some  of  the  expres- 
sions used  in  pra3^er  by  poor  Benjamin: — 

"'Oh  Lord,  the  day  of  judgment  is  coming: 
the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars  will  all  fall  down. 
Oh,  what  shall  I  do  in  the  day  of  judgment ! 
Thou  wilt  break  me  to  pieces,  [literal.]  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  so  good  as  to  die  for  us 
poor  souls  :  Lord,  keep  us  all  this  day !  Oh 
hell!  gnashing,  and  beating,  and  beating  !  One 
hour  weeping,  another  gnashing !  We  shall 
stay  there  for  ever!  I  am  going  to  hell  I  am 
going  to  hell!  O  Lord,  give  me  a  new  heart; 
give  me  a  new  heart ;  and  wash  away  all  my 
sins !  Give  me  a  new  heart,  that  I  may  praise 
Him,  that  1  may  obey  Him,  that  I  may  speak 
the  truth,  that  I  may  never  do  evil  things  !  Oh, 
I  have  many  times  sinned  against  thee,  many 
times  broken  thy  commandments,  oh,  many 
times ;  and  what  shall  I  do  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment !"'—Bap^  Miss.  Vol.  n.  p.  162,  163. 

Marm  of  the  Natives  at  the  yreaclUng  of  the  Gos- 
pel. 

"From  several  parts  of  Calcutta  he  hears 
of  people's  attention  being  excited  hy  reading 
the  papers  which  we  have  scattered  among 
them.  Many  begin  to  wonder  that  they  never 
heard  these  things  before,  since  the  English 
have  been  so  long  in  the  country." — Ibid.  p.  223. 

"  Many  of  the  natives  have  expressed  their 
astonishment  at  seeing  the  converted  Hindoos 
sit  and  eat  with  Europeans.  It  is  what  they 
thought  would  never  come  to  pass.  The  priests 
are  much  alarmed  for  their  tottering  fabric,  and 
rack  their  inventions  to  prop  it  up.  They  do 
not  like  the  institution  of  the  college  in  Cal- 
cutta, and  that  their  sacred  shasters  should  be 
explored  by  the  unhallowed  eyes  of  Euro- 
peans."—/I'nt/.  p.  233. 

"  Indeed,  by  the  distribution  of  many  copies 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  of  some  thousands  of 
small  tracts,  a  spirit  of  inquiry  has  been  ex- 
cited to  a  degree  unknown  at  any  former 
period."— 76irf.  p.  236. 

"As  he  and  Kristno  Avalked  through  the 
street,  the  natives  cried  out,  '  What  will  this 
joiner  do  1  (meaning  Kristno.)  Will  he  de- 
stroy the  caste  of  us  all  1  Is  this  Brahmin 
going  to  be  a  Feringa  V  " — Ibid.  p.  245. 


jlccount  of  success   in    1802. 
Mission. 


-Tenth  year  of  the 


"Wherever  we  have  gone  we  have  uni- 
formly found,  that  so  long  as  people  did  not  un- 
derstand the  report  of  our  message,  they  appeared  to 
listen;  but  the  moment  they  understood  something  of 
it,  they  either  became  indifferent,  or  began  to  ridi- 
cule. This  in  geyieral  lias  been  our  reception." — 
Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  L  p.  273. 

Hatred  of  the  Natives. 

"  Sept.  27.  This  forenoon  three  of  the  peo- 
ple arrived  from  Ponchetalokpool,who  seemed 
very  happy  to  see  us.  They  inform  us  that 
the  Brahmins  had  raised  a  great  persecution 
against  them;  and  when  they  set  out  on  their 
journey  hither,  the  mob  assembled  to  hiss 
them  away.  After  Brother  Marshman  had 
left  that  part  of  the  country,  they  hung  him  in 
effigy,  and  some  of  the  printed  papers  which 
he  had  distributed  amongst  them." — Ibid.  p.  314. 


Difficulty  which  the  Mission  experiences  from  not 
being  able  to  get  Converts  shaved, 
"  Several  persons  there  seemed  willing  to  be 
baptized  ;  but  if  they  should,  the  village  barber, 
forsooth,  will  not  shave  them  !  When  a  na- 
tive loses  his  caste,  or  becomes  unclean,  his 
barber  and  his  priest  will  not  come  near  him; 
and  as  they  are  accustomed  to  shave  the  head 
nearly  all  over,  and  cannot  well  perform  this 
business  themselves,  it  becomes  a  serious  in- 
convenience."— Ibid.  p.  372. 

Hatred  of  the  Natives. 
"jlpr.  24.  Lord's  Day.  Brother  Chamberlain 
preached  at  home,  and  Ward  at  Calcutta ;  Bro- 
ther Carey  was  amongst  the  brethren,  and 
preached  at  night.  Kristno  Prisaud,  Ram  Ro- 
teen  and  others,  were  at  Buddabatty,  where  they 
met  with  violent  opposition.  They  were  set 
upon  as  Feringas,  as  destroyers  of  the  caste, 
as  having  eaten  fowls,  eggs,  &c.  As  they  at- 
tempted to  return,  the  mob  began  to  beat  them, 
putting  their  hands  on  the  back  of  their  necks, 
and  pushing  them  forward  ;  and  one  man,  even 
a  civil  ofhcer,  grazed  the  point  of  a  spear 
against  the  body  of  Kristno  Prisaud.  When 
they  saw  that  they  could  not  make  our  friends 
angry  by  such  treatment,  they  said.  You  salla; 
you  will  not  be  angr3%  will  you  ?  They  then  in- 
sulted them  again,  threw  cow-dung  mixed  in 
gonga  water  at  them;  talked  of  making  them 
a  necklaoe  of  old  shoes ;  beat  Neeloo  with 
Ram  Roteen's  shoe,  &c.;  and  declared  that  if 
they  ever  came  again,  they  would  make  an  end 
of  ihem."—Bapt^  Miss.  Vol.  II.  p.  378. 
Apian  for  promring  an  order  from  Government  to 
shave  the  Converts. 
« After  concluding  with  prayer,  Bhorud 
Ghose,  Sookur,  and  Torribot  Bichess,  took  me 
into  the  field,  and  told  me  that  their  minds 
were  quite  decided ;  there  was  no  necessity  for 
exhorting  them.  There  was  only  one  thing 
that  kept  them  from  being  baptized  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Losing  caste  in  a  large  town 
like  Serampore,  was  a  very  different  thing  from 
losing  caste  in  their  village.  If  they  declared 
themselves  Christians,  the  barber  of  their  vil- 
lage would  no  longer  shave  them ;  and,  without 
shaving  their  heads  and  their  beards,  they 
could  not  live.  If  an  order  could  be  obtained 
from  the  magistrate  of  the  district  for  the  bar- 
ber to  shave  Christians  as  well  as  others,  they 
would  be  immediately  baptized." — Ibid.  p.  397. 

We  meet  in  these  proceedings  with  the  ac- 
count of  two  Hindoos  who  had  set  up  as  gods, 
Dulul  and  Ram  Dass.  The  missionaries,  con- 
ceiving this  schism  from  the  religion  of  the 
Hindoos  to  be  a  very  favourable  opening  for 
them,  wait  upon  the  two  deities.  With  Dulol, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  very  shrewd  fellow, 
they  are  utterly  unsuccessful ;  and  the  follow- 
ing is  an  extract  from  the  account  of  their  con- 
ference with  Ram  Dass  : — 

"After  much  altercation,  I  told  him  he  might 
put  the  matter  out  of  all  doubt  as  to  himself; 
he  had  only  to  come  as  a  poor,  repenting,  sup- 
pliant sinner,  and  he  would  be  saved,  whatever 
became  of  others.  To  this  he  gave  no  other 
answer  than  a  smile  of  contempt.  I  then  ask 
ed  him  in  what  way  the  sins  of  these  his  fol 


S6 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


lowers  would  be  removed ;  urging  it  as  a  mat- 
ter of  the  last  importance,  as  he  knew  that 
they  were  all  sinners,  and  must  stand  before 
the  righteous  bar  of  God  1  After  much  eva- 
sion, he  replied  that  he  had  fire  in  his  belly, 
which  would  destroy  the  sins  of  all  his  follow- 
ers."—i?ajji.  Miss.  Vol.  II.  p.  401. 

jl  Brahmin  Converted. 

"Dec.  11.  Lord's  day.  A  Brahmin  came  from 
Nuddea.  After  talkmg  with  him  about  the  gos- 
pel, which  he  said  he  was  very  willing  to  em- 
brace, we  sent  him  to  Kristno's.  He  ate  with 
them  without  hesitation,  but  discovered  such  a 
thirst  for  Bengalee  rum,  as  gave  them  a  dis- 
gust." 

'^Dec.  13.  This  morning  the  Brahnin  decamped 
suddenly." — Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  II.  p.  424. 
Extent  of  Printing. 

«  Sept.  12.  We  are  building  an  addition  to  our 
printing  office,  where  we  employ  seventeen 
printers  and  five  book-binders.  The  Brahmin 
from  near  Bootan  gives  some  hope  that  he  has 
received  the  truth  in  love." — Ibid.  p.  483 

"  The  news  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the  church 
at  Serampore,  seems  to  have  gone  much  fur- 
ther than  I  expected ;  it  appears  to  be  known 
to  a  few  in  most  villages." — Ibid.  p.  487. 

Hatred  to  the  Gospel. 
"  The  caste  (says  Mr.  W.)  is  the  great  mill- 
stone round  the  necks  of  these  people.  Roteen 
■wants  shaving  ;  but  the  barber  here  will  not  do 
it.  He  is  run  away  lest  he  should  be  compel- 
led. He  says  he  will  not  shave  Yesoo  Kreest's 
people  !  "—Ibid.  p.  493, 

Success  greater  by  importimity  in  prayer. 

"  With  respect  to  their  success,  there  are  seve- 
ral particulars  attending  it  worthy  of  notice. 
One  is,  that  it  ivas  preceded  by  a  spirit  of  importu- 
nate prayer.  The  brethren  had  all  along  com- 
mitted their  cause  to  God;  but  in  the  autumn 
of  1800,  they  had  a  special  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  for  a  blessing  on  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sion. At  these  assemblies,  Mr.  Thomas,  who 
was  then  present  on  a  visit,  seems  to  have  been 
more  than  usually  strengthened  to  wrestle  for 
a  blessing;  and  writing  to  a  friend  in  America, 
he  speaks  of 'the  holy  unction  appearing  on 
all  the  missionaries,  especially  of  late  ;  and  of 
times  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  being  solemn,  frequent  and  lasting.'  In 
connecting  these  things,  we  cannot  but  remem- 
ber that  previous  to  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  days  of  Pentecost,  the  disciples 
'  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  sup- 
plication.' "—Bapt.  Miss.  Pref.  Vol.  III.  p.  vii. 

What  this  success  is,  we  shall  see  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract: 

"  The  whole  number  baptized  in  Bengal  since 
the  year  1795,  is  forty-eight.  Over  many  of 
these  we  rejoice  with  great  joy ;  for  others  we 
tremble ;  and  over  some  we  are  compelled  to 
weep." — Bapl.  Sliss.  Vol.  III.  p.  21,  22. 

Hatred  to  the  Gospel. 
«  Jpril  2.  This  morning,  several  of  our  chief 
printing  servaats  presented  a  petition,  desiring 
they  might  have  some  relief,  as  they  were  com- 
pelled, in  our  Bengalee  worship,  to  hear  so 
many  blasphemies  against  their  gods !    Brother 


Carey  and  I  had  a  strong  contention  with  them 
in  the  printing-office,  and  invited  them  to  argue 
the  point  with  Petumber,  as  his  sermon  had 
given  them  offence;  but  they  declined  it; 
though  we  told  them  that  they  were  ten,  and 
he  was  only  one;  that  they  were  Brahmins, 
and  he  was  only  a  sooder !" — Ibid.  p.  36. 

"The  enmity  against  the  gospel  and  its  pro- 
fessors is  universal.  One  of  our  baptized 
Hindoos  wanted  to  rent  a  house :  after  going 
out  two  or  three  days,  and  wandering  all  the 
town  over,  he  at  last  persuaded  a  woman  to  let 
him  have  a  house :  but  though  she  was  herself 
a  Feringa,  yet  when  she  heard  that  he  was  a 
Brahmin  who  had  become  a  Christian,  she  in- 
sulted him,  and  drove  him  away  :  so  that  we 
are  indeed  made  the  ofTscouring  of  all  things." 
—Ibid.  p.  38. 

"I  was  sitting  among  our  native  brethren,  at 
the  Bengalee  school,  hearing  them  read  and 
explain  a  portion  of  the  word  in  turn,  when  au 
aged,  gray-headed  Brahmin,  well-dressed,  came 
in ;  and  standing  before  me,  said,  with  joined 
hands,  and  a  supplicating  tone  of  voice,  'Sa- 
hib !  I  am  come  to  ask  an  alms."  Beginning 
to  weep,  he  repeated  these  words  hastily ;  '  I  am 
come  to  ask ...  an  alms.'  He  continued  standing, 
with  his  hands  in  a  supplicating  posture,  weep- 
ing. I  desired  him  to  say  what  alms ;  and  told 
him,  that  by  his  looks,  it  did  not  seem  as  if  he 
wanted  any  relief.  At  length,  being  pressed, 
he  asked  me  to  give  him  his  son,  pointing  with 
his  hand  into  the  midst  of  our  native  brethren. 
I  asked  him  which  v/as  his  son  ]  He  pointed 
to  a  young  Brahmin,  named  Soroop;  and  set- 
ting up  a  plaintive  cry,  said,  that  was  his  son. 
We  tried  to  comfort  him,  and  at  last  prevailed 
upon  him  to  come  and  sit  down  upon  the  ve- 
randa. Here  he  began  to  weep  again ;  and 
said  that  the  young  man's  mother  was  dying 
with  grief." — Bapt.  Miss.  Vol.  III.  p.  43. 

"  This  evening  Buxoo,  a  brother,  who  is 
servant  with  us,  and  Soroop,  went  to  a  market 
in  the  neighbourhood,  where  they  were  disco- 
vered to  be  Yesoo  Khreestare  Loke  (Jesus  Christ's 
people).  The  whole  market  was  in  a  hubbub: 
they  clapped  their  hands,  and  threw  dust  at 
them.  Buxoo  was  changing  a  rupee  for  cow- 
ries, when  the  disturbance  began ;  and  in  the 
scuffle,  the  man  ran  away  with  the  rupee  with- 
out giving  the  cowries." — Ibid.  p.  55. 

"iVw.  24.  This  day  Hawnye  and  Ram 
Khunt  returned  from  their  village.  They  re- 
late that  our  brother  Fotick,  who  lives  in  the 
same  village,  was  lately  seized  by  the  chief  Ben- 
galee man  there ;  dragged  from  his  house  ;  his 
face,  eyes  and  ears  clogged  with  cow-dung — 
his  hands  tied — and  in  this  state  confined  seve- 
ral hours.  They  also  tore  to  pieces  all  the 
papers,  and  the  copy  of  the  Testament,  which 
they  found  in  Fotick's  house.  A  relation  of 
these  persecutors  being  dead,  they  did  not  mo- 
lest Hawnye  and  Ram  Khunt;  but  the  towns- 
folk would  not  hear  about  the  gospel:  they 
only  insulted  them  for  becoming  Christians." 
—Ibid.  p.  57. 

"  Cutwa  on  the  Ganges,  Sept.  3,  1804.  This  place 
is  about  seventy  miles  from  Serampore,  by  the 
Hoogley  river.  Here  I  procured  a  spot  of 
ground,  perhaps  about  two  acres,  pleasantly 
situated  by  two  tanks,  and  a  fine  grove  of  man- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


57 


go  trees,  at  a  small  distance  from  the  town.  It 
was  with  difficulty  I  procured  a  spot.  I  was 
forced  to  leave  one,  after  I  had  made  a  begin- 
ning, through  the  violent  opposition  of  the 
people.  Coming  to  this,  opposition  ceased; 
and  therefore  I  called  itREHOBOTa;  for  Jehovah 
hath  made  room  for  us.  Here  I  have  raised  a 
spacious  bungalo." — Ibid.  p.  59. 

It  would  perhaps  be  more  prudent  to  leave 
the  question  of  sending  missions  to  India  to  the 
effect  of  these  extracts,  which  appear  to  us  to  be 
quite  decisive,  both  as  to  the  danger  of  insurrec- 
tion from  the  prosecution  of  the  scheme,  t)je  ut- 
ter unfitness  of  the  persons  employed  in  it,  and 
Ihe  complete  hopelessness  of  the  attempt  while 
pursued  under  such  circumstances  as  now  ex- 
-st.  But,  as  the  Evangelical  party  who  have 
got  possession  of  our  eastern  empire  have 
brought  forward  a  great  deal  of  argument  upon 
the  question,  it  may  be  necessary  to  make  it 
some  sort  of  reply. 

We  admit  it  to  be  the  general  duty  of  Chris- 
tian people  to  disseminate  their  religion  among 
the  pagan  nations  who  are  subjected  to  their 
empire.  It  is  true  they  have  not  the  aid  of 
miracles;  but  it  is  their  duty  to  attempt  such 
conversion  by  the  earnest  and  abundant  em- 
ployment of  the  best  human  means  in  their 
power.  We  believe  that  we  are  in  possession 
of  a  revealed  religion  ;  that  we  are  exclusively 
in  possession  of  a  revealed  religion  ;  and  thai 
the  possession  of  that  religion  can  alone  confer 
immortality,  and  best  confer  present  happiness. 
This  religion,  too,  teaches  us  the  duty  of  general 
benevolence :  and  how,  under  such  a  system,  the 
conversion  of  heathens  can  be  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference, we  profess  not  to  be  able  to  understand. 

So  much  for  the  general  rule  : — now  for  the 
exceptions. 

No  man  (not  an  Anabaptist)  will,  we  pre- 
sume, contend  that  it  is  our  duty  to  preach  the 
natives  into  an  insurrection,  or  to  lay  before 
them,  so  fully  and  emphatically,  the  scheme  of 
the  gospel,  as  to  make  them  rise  up  in  the  dead 
of  the  night  and  shoot  their  instructors  through 
the  head.  If  conversion  be  the  greatest  of  all 
objects,  the  possession  of  the  country  to  be 
converted  is  the  only  mean,  in  this  instance, 
by  which  that  conversion  can  be  accomplished ; 
for  we  have  no  right  to  look  for  a  miraculous 
conversion  of  the  Hindoos  ;  and  it  would  be 
little  short  of  a  miracle,  if  General  Oud'mot  was 
to  display  the  same  spirit  as  the  serious  part 
of  the  Directors  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Even  for  missionary  purposes,  therefore,  the 
utmost  discretion  is  necessary;  and  if  we  wish 
to  teach  the  natives  a  better  religion,  we  must 
take  care  to  do  it  in  a  manner  which  will  not 
inspire  them  with  a  passion  for  political  change, 
or  we  shall  inevitably  lose  our  disciples  alto- 
gether. To  us  it  appears  quite  clear,  from  the 
extracts  before  us,  that  neither  Hindoo  nor  Ma- 
homedan  is  at  all  indifferent  to  the  attacks 
made  upon  his  religion  ;  the  arrogance  and 
the  irritability  of  the  Mahomedan  are  univer- 
sally acknowledged;  and  we  put  it  to  our  read- 
ers, whether  the  Brahmins  seem  in  these  ex- 
tracts to  show  the  smallest  disposition  to  behold 
the  encroachments  upon  their  religion  with 
passiveness  and  unconcern.  A  missionary 
who  converted  only  a  few  of  the  refuse  of  so- 
8 


ciety,  might  live  for  ever  in  peace  in  India,  and 
receive  his  salary  from  his  fanatical  masters 
for  pompous  predictions  of  universal  conver- 
sion, transmitted  by  the  ships  of  the  season ; 
but,  if  he  had  any  marked  success  among  the 
natives,  it  could  not  fail  to  excite  much  more 
dangerous  specimens  of  jealousy  and  discon- 
tent than  those  which  we  have  extracted  from 
the  Anabaptist  Journal.  How  is  it  in  human 
nature  that  a  Brahmin  should  be  indifferent  to 
encroachments  upon  his  religion  1  His  repu- 
tation, his  dignity,  and  in  great  measure  his 
wealth,  depend  upon  the  preservation  of  the 
present  superstitions  ;  and  why  is  it  to  be  sup- 
posed that  motives  which  are  so  powerful  with 
all  other  human  beings,  are  inoperative  with 
him  alone  1  If  the  Brahmins,  however,  are 
disposed  to  excite  a  rebellion  in  support  of  their 
own  influence,  no  man,  who  knows  any  thing 
of  India,  can  doubt  that  they  have  it  in  their 
power  to  effect  it. 

It  is  in  vain  to  say,  that  these  attempts  to 
diffuse  Christianity  do  not  originate  from  the 
government  in  India.  The  omnipotence  of 
government  in  the  East  is  well  known  to  the 
natives.  If  government  does  not  prohibit,  it 
tolerates ;  if  it  tolerates  the  conversion  of  the 
natives,  the  suspicion  may  be  easily  formed 
that  it  encourages  that  conversion.  If  the 
Brahmins  do  not  believe  this  themselves,  they 
may  easily  persuade  the  common  people  that 
such  is  the  fact ;  nor  are  there  wanting,  besides 
the  activity  of  these  new  missionaries,  many 
other  circumstances  to  corroborate  such  a  ru- 
mor. Under  the  auspices  of  the  College  at 
Fort  William,  the  Scriptures  are  in  a  course 
of  translation  mto  the  languages  of  almost  the 
whole  continent  of  Oriental  India,  and  we  per- 
ceive, that  in  aid  of  this  object  the  Bible  So- 
ciety has  voted  a  very  magnificent  subscription. 
The  three  principal  chaplains  of  our  Indian 
settlements  are  (as  might  be  expected)  of  prin- 
ciples exactly  corresponding  with  the  enthusi- 
asm of  their  employers  at  home ;  and  their 
zeal  upon  the  subject  of  religion  has  shone 
and  burnt  with  the  most  exemplary  fury.  These 
circumstances,  if  they  do  not  really  impose 
upon  the  minds  of  the  leading  natives,  may 
give  them  a  very  powerful  handle  for  misre- 
presenting the  intentions  of  government  to  the 
lower  orders. 

We  see  from  the  massacre  of  Vellore,  what 
a  powerful  engine  attachment  to  religion  may 
be  rendered  in  Hindostan.  The  rumors  might 
all  have  been  false ;  but  that  event  shows  they 
were  tremendously  powerful  when  excited. 
The  object,  therefore,  is  not  only  not  to  do  any 
thing  violent  and  unjust  upon  subjects  of  re- 
ligion, but  not  to  give  any  stronger  colour  to 
jealous  and  disaffected  natives  for  misrepie 
senting  your  intentions. 

All  these  observations  have  tenfold  forct; 
when  applied  to  an  empire  which  rests  so  en- 
tirely upon  opinion.  If  physical  force  could 
be  called  in  to  stop  the  progress  of  error,  we 
could  afford  to  be  misrepresented  for  a  season ; 
but  30,000  white  men  living  in  the  midst  of 
70  million  sable  subjects,  must  be  always  m 
the  right,  or  at  least  never  represented  as 
grossly  in  the  wrong.  Attention  to  the  preju- 
dices of  the  subject  is  wise  in  all  governments, 


58 


WORKS  OF  THE  KEV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


but  quite  indispensable  in  a  government  con- 
stituted as  our  empire  in  India  is  constituted; 
where  an  uninterrupted  series  of  dexterous 
conduct  is  not  only  necessary  to  our  prosperity, 
but  to  our  existence. 

'J'hese  reasonings  are  entitled  to  a  little  more 
consideration,  at  a  period  when  the  French 
threaten  our  existence  in  India  by  open  force, 
and  by  every  species  of  intrigue  with  the 
native  powers.  In  all  governments,  every 
thing  takes  its  tone  from  the  head ;  fanaticism 
has  got  into  the  government  at  home  ;  fanati- 
cism will  lead  to  promotion  abroad.  The 
civil  servant  in  India  will  not  only  not  dare  to 
exercise  his  own  judgment,  in  checking  the 
indiscretions  of  ignorant  missionaries  ;  but  he 
will  strive  to  recommend  himself  to  his  holy 
masters  in  Leadenhall  Street,  by  imitating  Bro- 
ther Cran  and  Brother  Ringletaube,  and  by 
every  species  of  fanatical  excess.  Methodism 
at  home  is  no  unprofitable  game  to  play.  In 
the  East  it  will  soon  be  the  infallible  road  to 
promotion.  This  is  the  great  evil ;  if  the  man- 
agement was  in  the  hands  of  men  who  were  as 
discreet  and  wise  in  their  devotion  as  they  are 
in  matters  of  temporal  welfare,  the  desire  of 
putting  an  end  to  missions  might  be  premature 
and  indecorous.  But  the  misfortune  is,  the 
men  who  wield  the  instrument,  ought  not,  in 
common  sense  and  propriety,  to  be  trusted  with 
it  for  a  single  instant.  Upon  this  subject,  they 
are  quite  insane  and  ungovernable ;  they  would 
deliberately,  piously,  and  conscientiously  ex- 
pose our  whole  Eastern  empire  to  destruction, 
for  the  sake  of  converting  half  a  dozen  Brah- 
mins, who,  after  stufnng  themselves  with  rum 
and  rice,  and  borrowing  money  from  the  mis- 
sionaries, would  run  away  and  cover  the  gospel 
and  its  possessors  with  every  species  of  im- 
pious ridicule  and  abuse. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  to  us  hardly  pos- 
sible to  push  the  business  of  proselytism  in 
India  to  any  length  without  incurring  the 
utmost  risk  of  losing  our  empire.  The  danger 
is  more  tremendous,  because  it  may  be  so  sud- 
den ;  religious  fears  are  very  probable  causes 
of  disaffection  in  the  troops  ;  if  the  troops  are 
generally  disaffected,  our  Indian  empire  may  be 
lost  to  us  as  suddenly  as  a  frigate  or  a  fort ; 
and  that  empire  is  governed  by  men  who,  we 
are  very  much  afraid,  would  feel  proud  to  lose 
it  in  such  a  cause. 

"But  I  think  it  my  duty  to  make  a  solemn 
appeal  to  all  who  still  retain  the  fear  of  God, 
and  who  admit  that  religion  and  the  course  of 
conduct  which  it  prescribes  are  not  to  be  ban- 
ished from  the  affairs  of  nations — now  when 
the  political  sky,  so  long  overcast,  has  become 
more  lowering  and  black  than  ever — whether 
this  is  a  period  for  augmenting  the  weight  of 
our  national  sins  and  provocations,  by  an  ex- 
clusive TOLEtiATioN  of  idolatry  ;  a  crime  which, 
unless  the  Bible  be  a  forgery,  has  actually 
drawn  forth  the  heaviest  denunciations  of  ven- 
geance, and  the  most  fearful  inflictions  of 
Divine  displeasure." — Considerations,  ^-c,  p.  98. 

Can  it  be  credited  that  this  is  an  extract  from 

a  pamphlet  generally  supposed  to  be  written  by 

a  noble  Lord  at  the  Board  of  Control,  from 

ffp  official  interference    the  public  might 


have  expected  a  corrective  to  the  pious  temer- 
ity of  others  1 

The  other  leaders  of  the  party,  indeed,  make 
at  present  great  professions  of  toleration,  and 
express  the  strongest  abhorence  of  using  vio- 
lence to  the  natives.  This  does  very  well  for 
a  beginning;  but  we  have  little  confidence  in 
such  declarations.  We  believe  their  fingers 
itch  to  be  at  the  stone  and  clay  gods  of  the 
Hindoos  ;  and  that,  in  common  with  the  noble 
Controller,  they  attribute  a  great  part  of  our 
national  calamities  to  these  ugly  images  of 
deities  on  the  one  side  of  the  world.  We  again 
repeat,  that  upon  such  subjects,  the  best  and 
ablest  men,  if  once  tinged  by  fanaticism,  are 
not  to  be  trusted  for  a  single  moment. 

"idhj,  Another  reason  for  giving  up  the  task 
of  conversion,  is  the  want  of  success.  In 
India,  religion  extends  its  empire  over  the 
minutest  actions  of  life.  It  is  not  merely  a  law 
for  moral  conduct,  and  for  occasional  worship; 
but  it  dictates  to  a  man  his  trade,  his  dress,  his 
food,  and  his  whole  behaviour.  His  religion 
also  punishes  a  violation  of  its  exactions,  not 
by  eternal  and  future  punishments,  but  by  pre- 
sent infamj".  If  an  Hindoo  is  irreligious,  or, 
in  other  words,  if  he  loses  his  caste,  he  is 
deserted  by  father,  mother,  wife,  child,  and  kin- 
dred, and  becomes  instantly  a  solitary  wan- 
derer upon  the  earth ;  to  touch  him,  to  receive 
him,  to  eat  with  him,  is  a  pollution  producing  a 
similar  loss  of  caste ;  and  the  state  of  such  a 
degraded  man  is  worse  than  death  itself.  To 
these  evils  an  Hindoo  must  expose  himself 
before  he  becomes  a  Christian  ;  and  this  diffi- 
culty must  a  missionary  overcome,  before  he 
can  expect  the  smallest  success  ;  a  difficulty 
which,  it  is  quite  clear,  they  themselves,  after 
a  short  residence  in  India,  consider  to  be  insu- 
perable. 

As  a  proof  of  the  tenacious  manner,  in 
which  the  Hindoos  cling  to  their  religious 
prejudices,  we  shall  state  two  or  three  very 
short  anecdotes,  to  which  any  person  who  has 
resided  in  India  might  easily  produce  many 
parallels. 

"In  the  year  1766,  the  late  Lord  Clive  and 
Mr.  Verelst  employed  the  whole  influence  of 
Government  to  restore  a  Hindoo  to  his  caste, 
who  had  forfeited  it,  not  by  any  neglect  of  his 
own,  but  by  having  been  compelled,  by  a  most 
unpardonable  act  of  violence,  to  swallow  a 
drop  of  cow  broth.  The  Brahmins,  from  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  were  very 
anxious  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  Govern- 
ment ;  the  principal  men  among  them  met  once 
at  Kishnagur,  and  once  at  Calcutta;  but  after 
consultations,  and  an  examination  of  their 
most  ancient  records,  they  declared  to  Lord 
Clive,  that  as  there  was  no  precedent  to  justify 
the  act,  they  found  it  impossible  to  restore  the 
unfortunate  man  to  his  caste,  and  he  died  soon 
after  of  a  broken  heart." — Scott  Waring^s  Pre- 
face, p.  Ivi. 

It  is  the  custom  of  the  Hindoos  to  expose 
dying  people  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ganges. 
There  is  something  peculiarly  holy  in  that 
river;  and  it  soothes  the  agonies  of  death  to 
look  upon  its  waters  in  the  last  moments.  A 
party  of  English  were  coming  down  in  a  boat, 
and  perceived  upon  the  bank  a  pious  Hindoo, 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


59 


m  a  state  of  the  last  imbecility — about  to  be 
drowned  by  the  rising  of  the  tide,  after  the 
most  approved  and  orthodox  manner  of  their 
religion.  They  had  the  curiosity  to  land;  and 
as  they  perceived  some  more  signs  of  life  than 
were  at  first  apparent,  a  young  Englishman 
poured  down  his  throat  the  greatest  part  of  a 
bottle  of  lavender  water,  which  he  happened 
to  have  in  his  pocket.  The  effects  of  such  a 
stimulus,  applied  to  a  stomach  accustomed  to 
nothing  stronger  than  water,  were  instantane- 
ous and  powerful.  The  Hindoo  revived  suffi- 
ciently to  admit  of  his  being  conveyed  to  the 
boat,  was  carried  to  Calcutta,  and  perfectly  re- 
covered. He  had  drunk,  however,  in  the  com- 
pany of  Europeans  ; — no  matter  whether  vo- 
luntary or  involuntary, — the  offence  was  com- 
mitted: he  lost  caste,  was  turned  away  from 
his  home,  and  avoided,  of  course,  by  every  re- 
lation and  friend.  The  poor  man  came  before 
the  police,  making  the  bitterest  complaints  upon 
being  restored  to  life ;  and  for  three  years  the 
burden  of  supporting  him  fell  upon  the  mis- 
taken Samaritan  who  had  rescued  him  from 
death.  During  that  period,  scarcely  a  day 
elapsed  in  which  the  degraded  resurgent  did 
not  appear  before  the  European,  and  curse 
him  with  the  bitterest  curses — as  the  cause  of 
all  his  misery  and  desolation.  At  the  end  of 
that  period  he  fell  ill.  and  of  course  was  not 
again  thwarted  in  his  passion  for  dying.  The 
writer  of  this  article  vouches  for  the  truth  of 
this  anecdote ;  and  many  persons  who  were  at 
Calcutta  at  the  time  must  have  a  distinct  recol- 
lection of  the  fact,  which  excited  a  great  deal 
of  conversation  and  amusement,  mingled  with 
compassion. 

It  is  this  institution  of  castes  which  has  pre- 
served India  in  the  same  state  in  which  it  ex- 
isted in  the  days  of  Alexander;  and  which 
would  leave  it  without  the  slightest  change  in 
habits  and  manners,  if  we  were  to  abandon  the 
country  to-morrow.  We  are  astonished  to  ob- 
serve the  late  resident  in  Bengal  speaking  of  the 
fifteen  millions  of  Mahomedans  in  India  as 
converts  from  the  Hindoos;  an  opinion,  in 
support  of  which  he  does  not  offer  the  shadow 
of  an  argument,  except  by  asking,  whether  the 
Mahomedans  have  the  Tartar  face  1  and  if  not, 
how  they  can  be  the  descendants  of  the  first 
conquerors  of  India]  Probably  not  altogether. 
But  does  this  writer  imagine,  that  the  Mahome- 
dan  empire  could  exist  in  Hindostan  for  700 
years  without  the  intrusion  of  Persians,  Ara- 
bians, and  every  species  of  Mnssulmen  adven- 
turers from  every  part  of  the  East,  which  had 
embraced  the  religion  of  Mahomed  1  And  let 
them  come  from  what  quarter  they  would, 
could  they  ally  themselves  to  Hindoo  women 
without  producing  in  their  descendants  an  ap- 
proximation to  the  Hindoo  features!  Dr. 
Robertson,  who  has  investigated  this  subject 
with  the  greatest  care,  and  looked  into  all  the 
authorities,  is  expressly  of  an  opposite  opinion  ; 
and  considers  the  Mussulman  inhabitants  of 
Hindostan  to  be  merely  the  descendants  of 
Mahomedan  adventurers,  and  not  converts 
from  the  Hindoo  faith. 

"The  armies"  (says  Orme)  "which  made 
the  first  conquests  for  the  heads  of  the  respect- 
ive dynasties,  or  for  other  invaders,  left  behind 


them  numbers  of  Mahomedans,  who,  seduced 
by  a  finer  climate,  and  a  richer  country,  forgot 
their  own. 

"  The  Mahomedan  princes  of  India  naturally 
gave  a  preference  to  the  service  of  men  of 
their  own  religion,  who,  from  whatever  country 
they  came,  were  of  a  more  vigorous  constitu- 
tion than  the  stoutest  of  the  subjected  nation. 
This  preference  has  continually  encouraged 
adventurers  from  Tartary,  Persia,  and  Arabia, 
to  seek  their  foi'tunes  under  a  government  from 
which  they  were  sure  of  receiving  greater  en- 
couragement than  they  could  expect  at  home. 
From  these  origins,  time  has  formed  in  India  a 
mighty  nation  of  near  ten  millions  of  Mahome- 
dans."— Orme's  Indostan,  I.  p.  24. 

Precisely  similar  to  this  is  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Robertson,  Note  xl. — Indian  Disquisition. 

As  to  the  religion  of  the  Ceylonese,  from 
which  the  Bengal  resident  would  infer  the  faci- 
lity of  making  converts  of  the  Hindoos,  it  is  to 
be  observed,  that  the  religion  of  Boudhou,  in 
ancient  times,  extended  from  the  north  of  Tar- 
tary to  Ceylon,  from  the  Indus  to  Siam,  and  (it 
Foe  and  Boudhou  are  the  same  persons)  over 
China.  That  of  the  two  religions  of  Boudhou 
and  Brama,  the  one  was  the  parent  of  the  other, 
there  can  be  very  little  doubt;  but  the  compa- 
rative antiquity  of  the  two  is  so  very  disputed 
a  point,  that  it  is  quite  unfair  to  state  the  case 
of  the  Ceylonese  as  an  instance  of  conversion 
from  the  Hindoo  religion  to  any  other:  and 
even  if  the  religion  of  Braml  is  the  most  an- 
cient of  the  two,  it  is  still  to  be  proved,  that  the 
Ceylonese  professed  that  religion  before  they 
changed  it  for  their  present  faith.  In  point  of 
fact,  however,  the  boasted  Christianity  of  the 
Ceylonese  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  the 
missionaries  themselves,  to  be  little  better  than 
nominal.  The  following  extract  from  one  of 
their  own  communications,  dated  Columbo, 
1805,  will  set  this  matter  in  its  true  light: — 

"The  elders,  deacons,  and  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Dutch  congregation,  came  to  see  us, 
and  we  paid  them  a  visit  in  return,  and  made  a 
little  inquiry  concerning  the  state  of  the  church 
on  this  island,  which  is,  in  one  word,  miserable  ! 
One  hundred  thousand  of  those  who  are  called 
Christians  (because  they  are  baptized)  need 
not  go  back  to  heathenism,  for  they  never  have 
been  any  thing  else  but  heathens,  worshippers  of 
Budda:  they  have  been  induced,  for  worldly 
reasons,  to  be  baptized.  0  Lord  have  mercy 
on  the  poor  inhabitants  of  this  populous  island!" 
—  Trans.  Miss.  Soc.  II.  265. 

What  success  the  Syrian  Christians  had  in 
making  converts  ;  in  what  degree  they  have 
gained  their  numbers  by  victories  over  the 
native  superstition,  or  lost  their  original  num- 
bers by  the  idolatrous  examples  to  which  for 
so  many  centuries  they  have  been  exposed;  are 
points  wrapt  up  in  so  much  obscurity,  that  no 
kind  of  inference,  as  to  the  facility  of  convert- 
ing the  natives,  can  be  drawn  from  them.  Their 
present  number  is  supposed  to  be  about 
150,000. 

It  would  be  of  no  use  to  quote  the  example 
of  Japan  and  China,  even  if  the  progress  of  the 
faith  in  these  empires  had  been  much  greater 
than  it  is.  We  do  not  say  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
vert the   Japanese,  or  the  Chinese ;    but  the 


60 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Hindoos.  We  are  not  saying  it  is  difficult  to 
convert  human  creatures ;  but  difficult  to  con- 
vert human  creatures  with  such  institutions. 
To  mention  the  example  of  other  nations  who 
have  them  not,  is  to  pass  over  the  material  ob- 
jection, and  to  answer  others  which  are  merely 
imaginary,  and  have  never  been  made. 

^dly,  The  duty  of  convension  is  less  plain, 
and  less  imperious,  when  conversion  exposes 
the  convert  to  great  present  misery.  An  Afri- 
can or  an  Otaheite  proselyte  might  not  perhaps 
be  less  honoured  by  his  countrymen  if  he  be- 
came a  Christian;  an  Hindoo  is  instantly  sub- 
jected to  the  most  perfect  degradation.  A 
Qhangs  of  faith  might  increase  the  immediate 
happiness  of  any  other  individual;  it  annihi- 
lates for  ever  all  the  human  comforts  which  an 
Hindoo  enjoys.  The  eternal  happiness  which 
you  proffijr  him,  is  therefore  less  attractive  to 
him  than  to  any  other  heathen,  from  the  life  of 
misery  by  which  he  purchases  it. 

Nothing  is  more  precarious  than  our  empire 
in  India.  Suppose  we  were  to  be  driven  out 
of  it  to-morrow,  and  to  leave  behind  us  twenty 
thousand  converted  Hindoos,  it  is  most  proba- 
ble they  would  relapse  into  heathenism;  but 
their  original  station  in  society  could  not  be 
regained.  The  duty  of  making  converts, 
therefore,  among  such  a  people,  as  it  arises 
from  the  general  duty  of  benevolence,  is  less 
strong  than  it  would  be  in  many  other  cases ; 
because,  situated  as  we  are,  it  is  quite  certain 
we  shall  expose  them  to  a  great  deal  of  misery, 
and  not  quite  certain  we  shall  do  them  any 
future  good. 

4//i/y,  Conversion  is  no  duty  at  all,  if  it  mere- 
ly destroys  the  old  religion,  without  really  and 
effectually  teaching  the  new  one.  Brother 
Ringletaube  may  write  home  that  he  makes  a 
Christian,  when,  in  reality,  he  ought  only  to 
state  that  he  has  destroyed  an  Hindoo.  Foolish 
and  imperfect  as  the  religion  of  an  Hindoo  is. 
It  is  at  least  some  restraint  upon  the  intemper- 
ance of  human  passions.  It  is  better  a  Brah- 
min should  be  respected,  than  that  nobody 
should  be  respected.  An  Hindoo  had  better 
believe  that  a  deity  with  an  hundred  legs  and 
arms,  will  reward  and  punish  him  hereafter, 
than  that  he  is  not  to  be  punished  at  all.  Now, 
when  you  have  destroyed  the  faith  of  an  Hin- 
doo, are  you  quite  sure  that  you  will  graft  upon 
his  mind  fresh  principles  of  action,  and  make 
him  any  more  than  a  nominal  Christian? 

You  have  30,000  Europeans  in  India,  and 
60  millions  of  other  subjects.  If  proselytism 
were  to  go  on  as  rapidly  as  the  most  visionarj^ 
Anabaptist  could  dream  or  desire,  in  what  man- 
ner are  these  people  to  be  taught  the  genuine 
truths  and  practices  of  Christianity!  Where 
are  the  clergy  to  come  from  1  Who  is  to  de- 
fray the  expense  of  the  establishment  1  and 
who  can  foresee  the  immense  and  perilous  dif- 
ficulties of  bending  the  laws,  manners,  and  in- 
stitutions of  a  country  to  the  dictates  of  a  new 
religion  1  If  it  were  easy  to  persuade  the  Hin- 
doos that  their  own  religion  was  folly,  it  would 
be  indefinitely  difficult  effectually  to  teach  them 
any  other.  They  would  tumble  their  own  idols 
into  the  river,  and  you  would  build  them  no 
churches :  you  would  destroy  all  their  present 
motives  for  doing  right  and  avoiding  wrong, 


without  being  able  to  fix  upon  their  minds  the 
more  sublime  motives  by  which  you  profess  to 
be  actuated.  What  a  missionary  will  do  here- 
after with  the  heart  of  a  convert,  is  a  matter  of 
doubt  and  speculation.  He  is  quite  certain, 
however,  that  he  must  accustom  the  man  to  see 
himself  considered  infamous;  and  good  prin- 
ciples can  hardly  be  exposed  to  a  ruder  shock. 
Whoever  has  seen  much  of  Hindoo  Christians 
must  have  perceived,  that  the  man  who  bears 
that  name  is  very  commonly  nothing  more  than 
a  drunken  reprobate,  who  conceives  himself 
at  liberty  to  eat  and  drink  anything  he  pleases, 
and  annexes  hardly  any  other  meaning  to  the 
name  of  Christianity.  Such  sort  of  converts 
may  swell  the  list  of  names,  and  gratify  the 
puerile  pride  of  a  missionary  ;  but  what  real, 
discreet  Christian  can  wish  to  see  such  Chris- 
tianity prevail?  But  it  will  be  urged,  if  the 
present  converts  should  become  worse  Hindoos, 
and  very  indifferent  Christians,  still  the  next 
generation  will  do  better;  and  by  degrees,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  half  a  century,  or  a  century, 
true  Christianity  may  prevail.  We  may  apply 
to  such  sort  of  Jacobin  converters  what  Mr. 
Burke  said  of  the  Jacobin  politicians  in  his 
time, — "To  such  men  a  whole  generation  of 
human  beings  are  of  no  more  consequence  than 
a  frog  in  an  air-pump."  For  the  distant  pros- 
pect of  doing  what  most  probably  after  all, 
they  will  never  be  able  to  effect,  there  is  no  de- 
gree of  present  misery  and  horror  to  which 
they  will  not  expose  the  subjects  of  their  expe- 
riment. 

As  the  duty  of  making  proselytes  springs 
from  the  duty  of  benevolence,  there  is  a  priority 
of  choice  in  conversion.  The  greatest  zeal 
should  plainly  be  directed  to  the  most  desperate 
misery  and  ignorance.  Now,  in  comparison  to 
many  other  nations  who  are  equally  ignorant 
of  the  truths  of  Christianity,  the  Hindoos  are  a 
civilized  and  a  moral  people.  That  they  have 
remained  in  the  sa'me  state  for  so  many  centu- 
ries, is  at  once  a  proof  that  the  institutions 
which  established  that  state  could  not  be  highly 
unfavourable  to  human  happiness.  After  all 
that  has  been  said  of  the  vices  of  the  Hindoos, 
we  believe  that  an  Hindoo  is  more  mild  and 
sober  than  most  Europeans,  and  as  honest  and 
chaste.  In  astronomy  the  Hindoos  have  cer- 
tainly made  very  high  advances ; — some,  and 
notan  unimportant  progress  in  many  sciences. 
As  manufacturers,  they  are  extremely  in- 
genious— and  as  agriculturists,  industrious. 
Christianity  would  improve  them ;  (whom 
would  it  not  improve  ?)  but  if  Christianity  can- 
not be  extended  to  all,  there  are  many  ether  na- 
tions who  want  it  more.* 

The  Hindoos  have  some  very  savage  cus- 
toms, which  it  would  be  desirable  to  abolish. 
Some  swing  on  hooks,  some  run  knives  through 
their  hands,  and  widows  burn  themselves  to 
death  :  but  these  follies  (even  the  last)  are  quite 
voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  sufferers.  We  dis- 
like all  misery,  voluntary  or  involuntary  ;  but 
the  difference  between  the  torments  which  a 
man  chooses,  and  those  which  he  endures  from 

*  We  are  here,  of  course,  arg;uing  the  question  only 
in  a  worldly  point  of  view.  This  is  one  point  of  view 
in  which  it  must  be  placed,  though  certainly  the  lowest 
and  least  important. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


€1 


the  choice  of  others,  is  very  great.  It  is  a  con- 
siderable wretchedness  that  men  and  women 
should  be  shut  up  in  religious  houses;  but  it  is 
only  an  object  of  legislative  interference,  when 
such  incarceration  is  compulsory.  Monasteries 
and  nunneries  with  us  would  be  harmless  in- 
stitutions ;  because  the  moment  a  devotee  found 
he  had  acted  like  a  fool,  he  might  avail  himself 
of  the  discovery  and  run  away  ;  and  so  may  an 
Hindoo,  if  he  repents  of  his  resolution  of  run- 
ning hooks  into  his  flesh. 

The  duties  of  conversion  appear  to  be  of  less 
importance,  when  it  is  impossible  to  procure 
proper  persons  to  undertake  them,  and  when 
such  religious  embassies,  in  consequence,  de- 
volve upon  the  lowest  of  the  people.  Who 
wishes  to  see  scrofula  and  atheism  cured  by  a 
single  sermon  in  Bengal  1  who  wishes  to  see 
Ihe  religious  hoy  riding  at  anchor  in  the  Hoogly 
river?  or  shoals  of  jumpers  exhibiting  their 
nimble  piety  before  the  learned  Brahmins  of 
Benares  1  This  madness  is  disgusting  and 
dangerous  enough  at  home: — Why  are  we  to 
send  out  little  detachments  of  maniacs  to  spread 
over  the  fine  regions  of  the  world  the  most  un- 
just and  contemptible  opinion  of  the  gospel  T 
The  wise  and  rational  part  of  the  Christian 
ministry  find  they  have  enough  to  do  at  home 
to  combat  with  passions  unfavourable  to  human 
happiness,  and  to  make  men  act  up  to  their 
professions.  But  if  a  tinker  is  a  devout  man, 
he  infallibly  sets  off  for  the  East.  Let  any 
man  read  the  Anabaptist  missions  : — can  he  do 
so  without  deeming  such  men  pernicious  and 
extravagant  in  their  own  country, — and  with- 
out feeling  that  they  are  benefiting  us  much 
more  by  their  absence,  than  the  Hindoos  by 
their  advice  1 

It  is  somewhat  strange,  in  a  duty  which  is 
stated  by  one  party  to  be  so  clear  and  so  indis- 
pensable, that  no  man  of  moderation  and  good 
sense  can  be  found  to  perform  it.  And  if  no 
other  instruments  remain  but  visionary  enthu- 
siasts, some  doubt  may  be  honestly  raised 
whether  it  is  not  better  to  drop  the  scheme  en- 
tirely. 

Shortly  stated,  then,  our  argument  is  this  : — 
We  see  not  the  slightest  prospect  of  success  ; — 
we  see  much  danger  in  making  the  attempt; — 
and  we  doubt  if  the  conversion  of  the  Hindoos 
would  ever  be  more  than  nominal.  If  it  is 
a  duty  of  general  benevolence  to  convert  the 
Heathen,  it  is  less  a  duty  to  convert  the  Hin- 
doos than  any  other  people,  because  they  are 
already  highly  civilized,  and  because  you  must 
infallibly  subject  them  to  infamy  and  present 
degradation.  The  instruments  employed  for 
these  purpo«5es  are  calculated  to  bring  ridicule 
and  disgrace  upon  the  gospel ;  and  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  those  at  home,  whom  we  consider  as 
their  patrons,  we  have  not  the  smallest  reli- 
ance ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  we  are  convinced 
they  would  behold  the  loss  of  our  Indian  em- 
pire, not  with  the  humility  of  men  convinced  of 
erroneous  views  and  projects,  but  with  the 
pride,  the  exultation,  and  the  alacrity  of  martyrs. 
Of  the  books  which  have  handled  this  sub- 
ject on  either  side,  we  have  little  to  say.  Ma- 
jor Scott  Waring's  book  is  the  best  against  the 
Missions  ;  but  he  wants  arrangement  and  pru- 


dence. The  late  resident  writes  well ;  but  is 
miserably  fanatical  towards  the  conclusion. 
Mr.  Cunningham  has  been  diligent  in  looking 
into  books  upon  the  subject :  and  though  an 
evangelical  gentleman,  is  not  imcharitable  to 
those  who  differ  from  him  in  opinion.  There 
is  a  passage  in  the  publication  of  his  reverend 
brother,  Mr.  Owen,  which,  had  we  been  less 
accustomed  than  we  have  been  of  late  to  this 
kind  of  writing,  would  appear  to  be  quite  in- 
credible. 

"I  have  not  pointed  out  the  comparative  in- 
difference, upon  Mr.  Twining's  principles,  be- 
tween one  religion  and  another,  to  the  welfare 
of  a  people  ;  nor  the  impossibility,  on  those 
principles,  of  India  being  Christianized  by  any 
human  means,  so  long  as  it  shall  remain  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Company;  nor  the  allerna- 
live  to  which  Providence  is  by  consequence  reduced, 
of  either  giving  up  that  country  to  everlasting  su- 
perstition, or  of  ivorking  some  miracle  in  order  to 
accomplish  its  conversion." — Owen's  Address,  p.  28. 

This  is  really  beyond  any  thing  we  ever  re- 
member to  have  read.  The  hoy,  the  cock-fight, 
and  the  religious  newspaper,  are  pure  reason 
when  compared  to  it.  The  idea  of  reducing 
Providence  to  an  alternative  ! !  and,  by  a  motion 
at  the  India  House,  carried  by  ballot !  We 
would  not  insinuate,  in  the  most  distant  man- 
ner, that  Mr.  Owen  is  not  a  gentleman  of  the 
most  sincere  piety;  but  the  misfortune  is,  all 
extra  superfine  persons  accustom  themselves  to 
a  familiar  phraseology  upon  the  most  sacred 
subjects,  which  is  quite  shocking  to  the  com- 
mon and  inferior  orders  of  Christians.  Provi- 
dence reduced  to  an  alternative  !  !  !  !  !  Let  it  be 
remembered,  this  phrase  comes  from  a  member 
of  a  religious  party,  who  are  loud  in  their  com- 
plaints of  being  confounded  with  enthusiasts 
and  fanatics. 

We  cannot  conclude  without  the  most  pointed 
reprobation  of  the  low  mischief  of  the  Christian 
Observer ;  a  publication  which  appears  to  have 
no  other  method  of  discussing  a  question  fairly 
open  to  discussion,  than  that  of  accusing  their 
antagonists  of  infidelity.  No  art  can  be  more 
unmanly,  or,  if  its  consequences  are  foreseen, 
more  wicked.  If  this  publication  had  been  the 
work  of  a  single  individual,  we  might  have 
passed  it  over  in  silent  disgust;  but  as  it  is 
looked  upon  as  the  organ  of  a  great  political 
religious  party  in  this  country,  we  think  it  right 
to  notice  the  very  unworthy  manner  in  which 
they  are  attempting  to  extend  their  influence. 
For  ourselves,  if  there  were  a  fair  prospect  of 
carrying  the  gospel  into  regions  where  it  was 
before  unknown, — if  such  a  project  did  not 
expose  the  best  possessions  of  the  country 
to  extreme  danger,  and  if  it  was  in  the  hands  of 
men  who  were  discreet,  as  well  as  devout,  we 
should  consider  it  to  be  a  scheme  of  true  piety, 
benevolence,  and  wisdom  :  but  the  baseness  and 
malignity  of  fanaticism  shall  never  prevent  us 
from  attacking  its  arrogance,  its  ignorance,  and 
its  activity.  For  what  vice  can  be  more  tre- 
mendous than  that  which,  while  it  wears  the 
outward  appearance  of  religion,  destroys  the 
happiness  of  man,  and  dishonours  the  name  of 
Godi 


fi» 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


CATHOLICS.* 


[Edinburgh   Review,    1808.] 


The  various  publications  which  have  issued 
from  the  press  in  favour  of  religious  liberty, 
fiave  now  nearly  silenced  the  arguments  of 
Iheir  opponents;  and,  teaching  sense  to  some, 
and  inspiring  others  with  shame,  have  left 
those  only  on  the  field  who  can  neither  learn 
nor  blush. 

But,  though  the  argument  is  given  up,  and  the 
justice  of  the  Catholic  cause  admitted,  it  seems 
to  be  generally  conceived,  that  their  case,  at 
present,  is  utterly  hopeless  ;  and  that,  to  advo- 
cate it  any  longer,  will  only  irritate  the  op- 
pressed, without  producing  any  change  of 
opinion  in  those  by  whose  influence  and  autho- 
rity that  oppression  is  continued.  To  this 
opinion,  unfortunately  too  prevalent,  we  have 
many  reasons  for  not  subscribing. 

We  do  not  understand  what  is  meant  in  this 
country  by  the  notion,  that  a  measure,  of  con- 
summate wisdom  and  imperious  necessity,  is 
to  be  deferred  for  any  time,  or  to  depend  upon 
any  contingency.  Whenever  it  can  be  made 
clear  to  the  understanding  of  the  great  mass 
of  enlightened  people,  that  any  system  of  poli- 
tical conduct  is  necessary  to  the  public  welfare, 
every  obstacle  (as  it  ought)  will  be  swept  away 
before  it;  and  as  we  conceive  it  to  be  by  no 
means  improbable,  that  the  country  may,  ere 
long,  be  placed  in  a  situation  where  its  safety 
or  ruin  will  depend  upon  its  conduct  towards 
the  Catholics,  we  sincerely  believe  we  are 
doing  our  duty  in  throwing  every  possible  light 
on  this  momentous  question.  Neither  do  Ave 
understand  where  this  passive  submission  to 
ignorance  and  error  is  to  end.  Is  it  confined 
lo  religion  1  or  does  it  extend  to  war  and  peace, 
as  well  as  religion  1  Would  it  be  tolerated,  if 
any  man  were  to  say,  "  Abstain  from  all  argu- 
ments in  favour  of  peace ;  the  court  have 
resolved  upon  eternal  war;  and,  as  you  cannot 
have  peace,  to  what  purpose  urge  the  necessity 
of  it?"  We  answer, — that  courts  must  be  pre- 
sumed to  be  open  to  the  influence  of  reason  ; 
or,  if  they  were  not,  to  the  influence  of  pru- 
dence and  discretion,  when  they  perceive  the 
public  opinion  to  be  loudly  and  clearly  against 
them.  To  lie  by  in  timid  and  indolent  silence, 
— to  suppose  an  inflexibility,  in  which  no  court 
ever  could,  under  pressing  circumstances,  per- 
severe— and  to  neglect  a  regular  and  vigorous 
appeal  to  public  opinion,  is  to  give  up  all 
chance  of  doing  good,  and  to  abandon  the 
only  instrument  by  which  the  few  are  ever 
prevented  from  ruining  the  many. 

It  is  folly  to  talk  of  any  other  ultimatum  in 
government  than  perfect  justice  to  the  fair 
claims  of  the  subject.  The  concessions  to  the 
Irish  Catholics  in  1792  were  to  be  the  ne  plus 
ultra.     Every  engine  was  set  on  foot  to  induce 


*  History  of  the  Pennl  La7cs  against  the  Irish  Catho- 
lics, from  the  Treaty  nf  Limerick  to  the  Union.  By 
Henry  PuriiuU   Esq.  M  P. 


the  grand  juries  in  Ireland  to  petition  against 
further  concessions;  and,  in  six  months  after- 
wards, government  were  compelled  to  intro- 
duce, themselves,  those  further  relaxations  of 
the  penal  code,  of  which  they  had  just  before 
assured  the  Catholics  they  must  abandon  all 
hope.  Such  is  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that 
a  few  interested  and  ignorant  individuals  can 
postpone,  at  their  pleasure  and  caprice,  the 
happiness  of  millions. 

As  to  the  feeling  of  irritation  with  which 
such  continued  discussion  may  inspire  the 
Irish  Catholics,  we  are  convinced  that  no  opi- 
nion could  be  so  prejudicial  to  the  cordial 
union  which  we  hope  may  always  subsist  be- 
tween the  two  countries,  as  that  all  the  efforts 
of  the  Irish  were  unavailing, — that  argument 
was  hopeless, — that  their  case  was  prejudged 
with  a  sullen  inflexibility  which  circumstances 
could  not  influence,  pity  soften,  or  reason  sub- 
due. 

We  are  by  no  means  convinced,  that  the 
decorous  silence  recommended  upon  the  Ca- 
tholic question  would  be  rewarded  by  those 
future  concessions,  of  which  many  persons 
appear  to  be  so  certain.  We  have  a  strange 
incredulity  where  persecution  is  to  be  abo- 
lished, and  any  class  of  men  restored  to  their 
indisputable  rights.  When  we  see  it  done,  we 
will  believe  it.  Till  it  is  done,  we  shall  always 
consider  it  to  be  highly  improbable — much  too 
improbable — to  justify  the  smallest  relaxation 
in  the  Catholics  themselves,  or  in  those  who 
are  well-wishers  to  their  cause.  When  the 
fanciful  period  at  present  assigned  for  the 
emancipation  arrives,  new  scruples  may  arise 
— fresh  forbearance  be  called  for — and  the  ope- 
rations of  common  sense  be  deferred  for  an- 
other generation.  Toleration  never  had  a 
present  tense,  nor  taxation  a  future  one.  The 
answer  which  Paul  received  from  Felix,  he 
owed  to  the  subject  on  which  he  spoke.  When 
justice  and  righteousness  were  his  theme, 
Felix  told  him  to  go  away,  and  he  would  hear 
him  some  other  time.  All  men  who  have 
spoken  to  courts  upon  such  disagreeable  topics, 
have  received  the  same  answer.  Felix,  how- 
ever, trembled  when  he  gave  it ;  but  his  fear 
was  ill-directed.  He  trembled  at  the  subject — 
he  ought  to  have  trembled  at  the  delay. 

Little  or  nothing  is  to  be  expected  from  the 
shame  of  deferring  what  it  is  so  wicked  and  per- 
ilous to  defer.  Profligacy  in  taking  office  is  so 
extreme,  that  we  have  no  doubt  public  men  may 
be  found,  who,  for  half  a  century,  would  postpone 
all  remedies  for  a  pestilence,  if  the  preservation 
of  their  places  depended  upon  the  propagation 
of  the  virus.  To  us,  such  kind  of  conduct 
conveys  no  other  action  than  that  of  sordid 
avaricious  impudence  : — it  puts  to  sale  the  best 
interests  of  the  country  for  some  improvement 
in  the  wines  and  meats  and  carriages  which  a 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


man  uses, — and  encourages  a  new  political 
morality  which  may  always  postpone  any  other 
great  measure — and  every  other  great  measure 
as  well  as  the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics. 

We  terminate  this  apologetical  preamble 
with  expressing  the  most  earnest  hope  that  the 
Catholics  will  not,  from  any  notion  that  their 
cause  is  effectually  carried,  relax  in  any  one 
constitutional  effort  necessary  to  their  purpose. 
Their  cause  is  the  cause  of  common  sense 
and  justice  ; — the  safety  of  England  and  of  the 
world  may  depend  upon  it.  It  rests  upon  the 
soundest  principles;  leads  to  the  most  import- 
ant consequences ;  and  therefore  cannot  be  too 
frequently  brought  before  the  notice  of  the 
public. 

The  book  before  us  is  written  by  Mr.  Henry 
Parnell,  the  brother  of  Mr.  William  Parnell, 
author  of  the  Historical  Apology,  reviewed  in 
one  of  our  late  numbers ;  and  it  contains  a 
very  well  written  history  of  the  penal  laws  en- 
acted against  the  Irish  Catholics,  from  the 
peace  of  Limerick,  in  the  reign  of  King 
William,  to  the  late  Union.  Of  these  we  shall 
present  a  very  short,  and,  we  hope  even  to 
loungers,  a  readable  abstract. 

The  war  carried  on  in  Ireland  against  King 
William  cannot  deserve  the  name  of  a  re- 
bellion :  it  was  a  struggle  for  their  lawful 
Prince,  whom  they  had  sworn  to  maintain; 
and  whose  zeal  for  the  Catholic  religion,  what- 
ever effect  it  might  have  produced  in  England, 
could  not  by  them  be  considered  as  a  crime. 
This  war  was  terminated  by  the  surrender  of 
Limerick,  upon  conditions  by  which  the  Catho- 
lics hoped,  and  very  rationally  hoped,  to  secure 
to  themselves  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  re- 
ligion in  future,  and  an  exemption  from  all 
those  civil  penalties  and  incapacities  which  the 
reigning  creed  is  so  fond  of  heaping  upon  its 
subjugated  rivals. 

By  the  various  articles  of  this  treaty,  they 
are  to  enjoy  such  privileges  in  the  exercise  of 
their  religion,  as  they  did  enjoy  in  the  time  of 
Charles  11. :  and  the  King  promises  upon  the 
meeting  of  Parliament,  "  to  endeavor  to  pro- 
cure for  them  such  further  security  in  that  par- 
ticular, as  may  preserve  them /rom  any  disturb- 
ance on  account  of  their  said  religion."  They 
are  to  be  restored  to  their  estates,  privileges, 
and  immunities,  as  they  enjoyed  them  in  the 
time  of  Charless  II.  The  gentlemen  are  to  be 
allowed  to  carry  arms ;  and  no  other  oath  is  to 
be  tendered  to  the  Catholics  who  submit  to 
King  William  than  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
These  and  other  articles,  Kitig  William  ratifies 
for  himself,  his  heirs  and  successors,  as  far  as  in 
him  lies ;  and  confirms  the  same,  and  every  other 
clause  and  matter  therein  contained. 

These  articles  were  signed  by  the  English 
general  on  the  3d  of^i^tober,  1691;  and  dif- 
fused comfort,  confidence,  and  tranquillity 
among  the  Catholics.  On  the  22d  of  October, 
the  English  Parliament  excluded  Catholics 
from  the  Irish  Houses  of  Lords  and  Commons, 
by  compelling  them  to  take  the  oaths  of  su- 
premacy before  admission. 

In  1695,  the  Catholics  were  deprived  of  all 
means  of  educating  their  children,  at  home  or 
abroad,  and  of  the  privilege  of  being  guardians 
to   their  own   or  to   other  persons'  children. 


Then  all  the  Catholics  were  disarmed, — and 
then  all  the  priests  banished,  ^fier  this  (proba- 
bly by  way  of  joke),  an  act  was  passed  to  con- 
firm the  treaty  of  Limerick, — the  great  and 
glorious  King  William  totally  forgetting  the 
contract  he  had  entered  into  of  recommending 
the  religious  liberties  of  the  Catholics  to  the 
attention  of  Parliament. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1704,  it  was  enacted, 
that  any  son  of  a  Catholic  who  would  turn 
Protestant,  should  succeed  to  the  family  estate, 
which  from  that  moment  could  no  longer  be 
sold,  or  charged  with  debt  and  legacy.  On  the 
same  day.  Popish  fathers  were  debarred,  by  a 
penalty  of  500/.,  from  being  guardians  to  their 
own  children.  If  the  child,  however  young, 
declared  himself  a  Protestant,  he  was  to  be 
delivered  immediately  to  the  custody  of  some 
Protestant  relation.  No  Protestant  to  marry  a 
Papist.  No  Papist  to  purchase  land,  or  take  a 
lease  of  land  for  more  than  thirty-one  years. 
If  the  profits  of  the  lands  so  leased  by  the 
Catholics  amounted  to  above  a  certain  rate 
settled  by  the  act, — farm  to  belong  to  the  first 
Protestant  who  made  the  discovery.  No  Papist  to 
be  in  a  line  of  entail;  but  the  estate  to  pass  on 
to  the  next  Protestant  heir,  as  if  the  Papist  were 
dead.  If  a  Papist  dies  intestate,  and  no  Pro- 
testant heir  can  be  found,  property  to  be  equally 
divided  among  all  the  sons ;  or,  if  he  has  none, 
among  all  the  daughters.  By  the  16th  clause 
of  this  bill,  no  Papist  to  hold  any  office  civil  or 
military.  Not  to  dwell  in  Limerick  or  Gal  way, 
except  on  certain  conditions.  Not  to  vote  at 
elections.    Not  to  hold  advowsons. 

In  1709,  Papists  were  prevented  from  hold- 
ing  an  annuity  for  life.  If  any  son  of  a  Papist 
chose  to  turn  Protestant,  and  enrol  the  certifi- 
cate of  his  conversion  in  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, that  court  is  empowered  to  compel  his 
father  to  state  the  value  of  his  property  upon 
oath,  and  to  make  out  of  that  property  a  com- 
petent allowance  to  the  son,  at  their  own  dis- 
cretion, not  only  for  his  present  maintenance, 
but  for  his  future  portion  after  the  death  of  his 
father.  An  increase  of  jointure  to  be  enjoyed 
by  Papist  wives  upon  their  conversion.  Papists 
keeping  schools  to  be  prosecuted  as  convicts. 
Popish  priests  who  are  converted,  to  receive 
30/.  per  annum. 

Rewards  are  given  by  the  same  act  for  the 
discovery  of  the  Popish  clergy ; — 50/.  for  dis- 
covering a  Popish  bishop  ;  20/.  for  a  common 
Popish  clergyman ;  10/.  for  a  Popish  usher  I 
Two  justices  of  the  peace  can  compel  any 
Papist  above  eighteen  years  of  age  to  disclose 
every  particular  which  has  come  to  his  know- 
ledge respecting  Popish  priests,  celebration  of 
mass,  or  Papist  schools.  Imprisonment  for  a 
year  if  he  refuses  to  answer.  Nobody  can 
hold  property  in  trust  for  a  Catholic.  Juries, 
in  all  trials  growing  out  of  these  statutes,  to 
be  Protestants.  No  Papist  to  take  more  than, 
two  apprentices,  except  in  the  linen  trade.  All 
the  Catholic  clergy  to  give  in  their  names  and 
places  of  abode  at  the  quarter-sessions,  and  to 
keep  no  curates.  Catholics  not  to  serve  on 
grand  juries.  In  any  trial  upon  statutes  for 
strengthening  the  Protestant  interest,  a  Papist 
juror  may  be  peremptorily  challenged. 
In  the   next  reign,  Popish   horses  were  at- 


64 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tached,  and  allowed  to  be  seized  for  the  militia. 
Papists  cannot  be  either  high  or  petty  consta- 
bles. No  Papists  to  vote  at  elections.  Papists 
in  towns  to  provide  Protestant  watchmen ; — 
and  not  to  vote  at  vestries. 

In  the  reign  of  George  II.,  Papists  were  pro- 
hibited from  being  barristers.  Barristers  and 
solicitors  marrying  Papists,  considered  to  be 
Papists,  and  subjected  to  all  penalties  as  such. 
Persons  robbed  by  privateers,  during  a  war 
with  a  Popish  prince,  to  be  indemnified  by 
grand  jury  presentments,  and  the  money  to  be 
levied  on  the  Catholics  only.  No  Papist  to 
marry  a  Protestant; — any  priest  celebrating 
such  a  marriage  to  be  hanged. 

During  all  this  time  there  was  not  the  slight- 
est rebellion  in  Ireland. 

In  1715  and  1745,  while  Scotland  and  the 
north  of  England  were  up  in  arms,  not  a  man 
stirred  in  Ireland  ;  yet  the  spirit  of  persecution 
against  the  Catholics  continued  till  the  18th  of 
his  present  Majesty,  and  then  gradually  gave 
way  to  the  increase  of  knowledge,  the  huma- 
nity of  our  Sovereign,  the  abilities  of  Mr. 
Grattan,  the  weakness  of  England  struggling 
in  America,  and  the  dread  inspired  by  the 
French  revolution. 

Such  is  the  rapid  outline  of  a  code  of  laws 
which  reflects  indelible  disgrace  upon  the  Eng- 
lish character,  and  explains  but  too  clearly 
the  cause  of  that  hatred  in  which  the  English 
name  has  been  so  long  held  in  Ireland.  It 
would  require  centuries  to  efface  such  an  im- 
pression ;  and  yet,  when  we  find  it  fresh,  and 
operating  at  the  end  of  a  few  years,  we  explain 
the  fact  by  every  cause  which  can  degrade  the 
Irish,  and  by  none  which  can  remind  us  of  our 
own  scandalous  policy.  With  the  folly  and 
the  horror  of  such  a  code  before  our  eyes, — 
with  the  conviction  of  recent  and  domestic 
history,  that  mankind  are  not  to  be  lashed  and 
chaimed  out  of  their  faith, — we  are  striving  to 
teaze  and  worry  them  into  a  better  theology. 


Heavy  oppression  is  removed ;  light  insults 
and  provocations  are  retained;  the  scourge 
does  not  fall  upon  their  shoulders,  but  it  sounds 
in  their  ears.  And  this  is  the  conduct  we  are 
pursuing,  when  it  is  still  a  great  doubt  whether 
this  country  alone  may  not  be  opposed  to  the 
united  efl^orts  of  the  whole  of  Europe.  It  is 
really  difficult  to  ascertain  which  is  the  most 
utterly  destitute  of  common  sense, — the  capri- 
cious and  arbitrary  stop  we  have  made  in  our 
concessions  to  the  Catholics,  or  the  precise 
period  we  have  chosen  for  this  grand  effort  of 
obstinate  folly. 

In  whatsoever  manner  the  contest  now  in 
agitation  on  the  Continent  may  terminate,  its 
relation  to  the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics 
will  be  very  striking.  If  the  Spaniards  succeed 
in  establishing  their  own  liberties,  and  in  res- 
cuing Europe  from  the  tyranny  under  which  it 
at  present  labours,  it  will  still  be  contended, 
within  the  walls  of  our  own  Parliament,  that 
the  Catholics  cannot  fulfil  the  duties  of  social 
life.  Venal  politicians  will  still  argue  that  the 
time  is  not  yet  come.  Sacred  and  lay  syco- 
phants will  still  lavish  upon  the  Catholic  faith 
their  well-paid  abuse,  and  England  still  pas- 
sively submit  to  such  a  disgraceful  spectacle 
of  ingratitude  and  injustice.  If,  on  the  con- 
trary (as  may  probably  be  the  case),  the  Spa- 
niards fall  before  the  numbers  and  military 
skill  of  the  French,  then  are  we  left  alone  in 
the  world,  without  another  ray  of  hope ;  and 
compelled  to  employ  against  internal  disaffec- 
tion that  force  which,  exalted  to  its  utmost  en- 
ergy, would  in  all  probability  prove  but  barely 
equal  to  the  external  danger  by  which  we 
should  be  surrounded.  Whence  comes  it  that 
these  things  are  universally  admitted  to  be 
true,  but  looked  upon  in  servile  silence  by  a 
country  hitherto  accustomed  to  make  great 
efl^orts  for  its  prosperity,  safety  and  indepen- 
dence 1 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


65 


METHODISM; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1809.] 


Ik  routing  out  a  nest  of  consecrated  cobblers, 
and  iu  bringing  to  light  such  a  perilous  heap 
of  trash  as  we  were  obliged  to  work  through, 
in  our  articles  upon  the  Methodists  and  Mis- 
sionaries, we  are  generally  conceived  to  have 
rendered  an  useful  service  to  the  cause  of  ra- 
tional religion.  Every  one,  however,  at  ail 
acquainted  with  the  true  character  of  Method- 
ism, must  have  known  the  extent  of  the  abuse 
and  misrepresentation  to  which  we  exposed 
ourselves  in  such  a  service.  AH  this  obloquy, 
however,  we  were  very  willing  to  encounter, 
from  our  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  expos- 
ing and  correcting  the  growing  evil  of  fanati- 
cism. In  spite  of  all  misrepresentation,  we 
have  ever  been,  and  ever  shall  be,  the  sincere 
friends  of  sober  and  rational  Christianity.  We 
are  quite  ready,  if  any  fair  opportunity  occur, 
to  defend  it,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  from  the 
tiger-spring  of  infidelity ;  and  we  are  quite  de- 
termined, if  we  can  prevent  such  an  evil,  that 
it  shall  not  be  eaten  up  by  the  nasty  and  nu- 
merous vermin  of  Methodism.  For  this  pur- 
pose, we  shall  proceed  to  make  a  few  short 
remarks  upon  the  sacred  and  silly  gentleman 
before  us, — not,  certainly,  because  we  feel  any 
sort  of  anxiety  as  to  the  effect  of  his  strictures 
on  our  own  credit  or  reputation,  but  because 
his  direct  and  articulate  defence  of  the  princi- 
ples and  practices  which  we  have  condemned, 
affords  us  the  fairest  opportunity  of  exposing, 
still  more  clearly,  both  the  extravagance  and 
the  danger  of  these  popular  sectaries. 

These  very  impudent  people  have  one  ruling 
canon,  which  pervades  every  thing  they  say 
and  do.  Whoever  is  unfriendly  to  Methodism,  is 
an  infidel  and  an  atheist.  This  reasonable  and 
amiable  maxim,  repeated,  in  every  form  of 
dulness,  and  varied  in  every  attitude  of  malig- 
nity, is  the  sum  and  substance  of  Mr.  Styles's 
pamphlet.  Whoever  wishes  to  rescue  religion 
from  the  hands  of  didactic  artisans, — whoever 
prefers  a  respectable  clergyman  for  his  teacher 
to  a  delirious  mechanic, — whoever  wishes  to 
keep  the  intervals  between  churches  and  luna- 
tic asylums  as  wide  as  possible, — all  such  men, 
in  the  estimation  of  Mr.  Styles,  are  nothing 
better  than  open  or  concealed  enemies  of 
Christianity.  His  catechism  is  very  simple. 
In  what  hoy  do  you  navigate  1  By  what  shoe- 
maker or  carpenter  are  you  instructed  1  What 
miracles  have  you  to  relate  1  Do  you  think  it 
sinful  to  reduce  Providence  to  an  alternative,  &c. 
&c.  &c.  Now,  if  we  were  to  content  ourselves 
with  using  to  Mr.  Styles,  while  he  is  dealing 
about  his  imputations  of  infidelity,  the  un- 
courtly  language  which  is  sometimes  applied 
to   those  who  are  little  curious  about  truth 

*  Strictures  on  two  Critiques  in  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
on  the  Subject  of  Methodism  and  Missions  ;  Kith  Remarks 
on  the  Influence  of  Reviews,  in  general,  on  Morals  and 
Happiness.     By  JoHM  Styles.    8vo.    London,  1809. 

u 


or  falsehood,  what  Methodist  would  think  the 
worse  of  him  for  such  an  attack?  Who  is 
there  among  them  that  would  not  glory  to  lie 
for  the  tabernacle  1  who  that  would  not  believe 
he  was  pleasing  his  Maker,  by  sacrificing 
truth,  Justice  and  common  sense,  to  the  inte- 
rests of  his  own  little  chapel,  and  his  own  de- 
ranged instructor  ?  Something  more  than  con- 
tradiction or  confutation,  therefore,  is  necessary 
to  discredit  those  charitable  dogmatists,  and  to 
diminish  their  pernicious  influence; — and  the 
first  accusation  against  us  is,  that  we  have 
endeavoured  to  add  ridicule  to  reasoning. 

We  are  a  good  deal  amused,  indeed,  with  the 
extreme  disrelish  which  Mr.  John  Styles  ex- 
hibits to  the  humour  and  pleasantry  with  which 
he  admits  the  Methodists  to  have  been  attacked: 
but  Mr.  John  Styles  should  remember,  that  it 
is  not  the  practice  with  destroyers  of  vermin 
to  allow  the  little  victims  a  veto  upon  the  wea- 
pons used  against  them.  If  this  were  other- 
wise, we  should  have  one  set  of  vermin  banish- 
ing small-tooth  combs;  another  protesting 
against  mouse-traps ;  a  third  prohibiting  the 
finger  and  thumb;  a  fourth  exclaiming  against 
the  intolerable  infamy  of  using  soap  and  wa- 
ter. It  is  impossible,  however,  to  listen  to  such 
pleas.  They  must  all  be  caught,  killed  and 
cracked,  in  the  manner,  and  by  the  instruments 
which  are  found  most  efficacious  to  their  de- 
struction ;  and  the  more  they  cry  out,  the 
greater  plainly  is  the  skill  used  against  them. 
We  are  convinced  a  little  laughter  will  do 
them  more  harm  than  all  the  arguments  in  the 
world.  Such  men  as  the  author  before  us 
cannot  understand  when  they  are  out-argued; 
but  he  has  given  us  a  specimen,  from  his  irri- 
tability, that  he  fully  comprehends  when  he 
has  become  the  object  of  universal  contempt 
and  derision.  We  agree  with  him,  that  ridi- 
cule is  not  exactly  the  weapon  to  be  used  in 
matters  of  religion ;  but  the  use  of  it  is  ex- 
cusable, when  there  is  no  other  which  can 
make  fools  tremble.  Besides,  he  should  re- 
member the  particular  sort  of  ridicule  we  have 
used,  which  is  nothing  more  than  accurate 
quotation  from  the  Methodists  themselves.  It 
is  true,  that  this  is  the  most  severe  and  cutting 
ridicule  to  which  we  could  have  had  recourse; 
but,  whose  fault  is  thati 

Nothing  can  be  more  disingenuous  than  the 
attacks  Mr.  Styles  has  made  upon  us  for  our 
use  of  Scripture  language.  Light  and  grace 
are  certainly  terms  of  Scripture.  It  is  not  to 
the  words  themselves  that  any  ridicule  can 
ever  attach.  It  is  from  the  preposterous  ap- 
plication of  those  words,  in  the  mouths  of  the 
most  arrogant  and  ignorant  of  human  beings; 
— it  is  from  their  use  in  the  most  trivial,  low 
and  familiar  scenes  of  life ; — it  is  from  the 
illiterate  and  ungramraatical  prelacy  of  Mr. 
John  Styles,  that  any  tinge  of  ridicule  ever  is 
f2 


66 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


or  ever  can  be  imparted  to  the  sacred  language 
of  Scripture. 

We  admit  also,  with  this  gentleman,  that  it 
would  certainly  evince  the  most  vulgar  and 
contracted  heart,  to  ridicule  any  religious 
opinions,  methodistical  or  otherwise,  because 
they  were  the  opinions  of  the  poor,  and  were 
conveyed  in  the  language  of  the  poor.  But 
are  we  to  respect  the  poor,  when  they  wish  to 
step  out  of  their  province,  and  become  the 
teachers  of  the  land] — when  men,  whose  pro- 
per "  talk  is  of  bullocks,  pretend  to  have  wis- 
dom and  understanding,"  is  it  not  lawful  to  tell 
them  they  have  none?  An  ironmonger  is  a 
very  respectable  man,  so  long  as  he  is  merely 
an  ironmonger, — an  admirable  man  if  he  is  a 
religious  ironmonger ;  but  a  great  blockhead 
if  he  sets  up  for  a  bishop  or  a  dean,  and  lec- 
tures upon  theology.  It  is  not  the  poor  we 
have  attacked, — but  the  writing  poor,  the  pub- 
lishing poor, — the  limited  arrogance  which 
mistakes  its' own  trumpery  sect  for  the  world: 
nor  have  we  attacked  them  for  want  of  talent, 
but  for  want  of  modesty,  want  of  sense,  and 
want  of  true  rational  religion, — for  every  fault 
which  Mr.  John  Styles  defends  and  exemplifies. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  reduce  the  drunken 
declamations  of  Methodism  to  a  point,  to  grasp 
the  wriggling  lubricity  of  these  cunning  ani- 
mals, and  to  fix  them  in  o'ne  position.  We 
have  said,  in  our  review  of  the  Methodists,  that 
^it  is  extremely  wrong  to  suppose  that  Provi- 
dence interferes  with  special  and  extraordinary 
judgments  on  every  trifling  occasion  of  life  : 
that  to  represent  an  innkeeper  killed  for  pre- 
venting a  Methodist  meeting,  or  loud  claps  of 
thunder  rattling  along  the  heavens,  merely  to 
hint  to  Mr.  Scott  that  he  was  not  to  preach  at 
a  particular  tabernacle  in  Oxford-road,  appear- 
ed to  us  to  be  blasphemous  and  mischievous 
nonsense.  With  great  events,  which  change 
the  destiny  of  mankind,  we  might  suppose 
such  interference,  the  discovery  of  which, 
upon  every  trifling  occasion,  we  considered  to 
be  pregnant  with  very  mischievous  conse- 
quences. To  all  which  Mr.  Styles  replies, 
that,  with  Providence,  nothing  is  great,  or  no- 
thing little, — nothing  diflicult,  or  nothing  easy; 
that  a  worm  and  a  whale  are  equal  in  the  esti- 
mation of  a  Supreme  Being.  I3ut  did  any  hu- 
man being  but  a  Methodist,  and  a  third  or 
fourth  rate  Methodist,  ever  make  such  a  reply 
to  such  an  argument  1  We  are  not  talking  of 
what  is  great  or  important  to  Providence,  but 
to  us.  The  creation  of  a  worm  or  a  whale,  a 
Newton  or  a  Styles,  are  tasks  equally  easy  to 
Omnipotence.  But  are  they,  in  their  results, 
equally  important  to  us  1  The  lightning  may 
as  easily  strike  the  head  of  the  French  empe- 
ror, as  of  an  innocent  cottager;  but  we  are 
surely  neither  impious  nor  obscure,  when  we 
say,  that  one  would  be  an  important  interfer- 
ence of  Providence,  and  the  other  compara- 
tively not  so.  But  it  is  a  loss  of  time  to  reply 
to  such  trash ;  it  presents  no  stimulus  of  diffi- 
culty to  us,  nor  would  it  offer  any  of  novelty  to 
our  readers. 

To  our  attack  upon  the  melancholy  ten- 
dency of  Methodism,  Mr.  Styles  replies,  "  that 
a  man  must  have  studied  in  the  schools  of  Hume, 
ioliairc,  and  Koizebue,  who  can  plead  in  be- 


half of  the  theatre ;  that,  at  fashionable  ball- 
rooms and  assemblies,  seduction  is  drawn  out 
to  a  system ;  that  dancing  excites  the  fever  of 
the  passions,  and  raises  a  delirium  too  often 
fatal  to  innocence  and  peace  ;  and  that,  for  the 
poor,  instead  of  the  common  rough  amuse- 
ments to  which  they  are  now  addicted,  there 
remain  the  simple  beauties  of  nature,  the 
gay  colours,  and  scented  perfumes  of  the 
earth."  These  are  the  blessings  which  the 
common  people  have  to  expect  from  their 
Methodistical  instructors.  They  are  pilfered 
of  all  their  money, — shut  out  from  all  their 
dances  and  country  wakes, — and  are  then  sent 
pennyless  into  the  fields,  to  gaze  on  the  clouds, 
and  to  smell  dandelions  ! 

Against  the  orthodox  clergy  of  all  descrip- 
tions, our  sour  devotee  proclaims,  as  was  to 
have  been  expected,  the  most  implacable  war, 
— declaring  that,  "  in  one  century,  they  would 
have  ohliterated  all  the  remaining  practical  reli- 
gion in  the  church,  had  it  not  been  for  this  new 
sect,  everywhere  spoken  against."  Undoubtedly, 
the  distinction  of  mankmd  into  godly  and  un- 
godly— if  by  godly  is  really  meant  those  who 
apply  religion  to  the  extinction  of  bad  pas- 
sions— would  be  highly  desirable.  But  when, 
by  that  word,  is  only  intended  a  sect  more  de- 
sirous of  possessing  the  appellation  than  of 
deserving  it, — when,  under  that  term,  are  com- 
prehended thousands  of  canting  hypocrites 
and  raving  enthusiasts — men  despicable  from 
their  ignorance,  and  formidable  from  their 
madness, — the  distinction  may  hereafter  prove 
to  be  truly  terrific ;  and  a  dynasty  of  fools  may 
again  sweep  away  both  church  and  state  in. 
one  hideous  ruin.  There  may  be,  at  present, 
some  very  respectable  men  at  the  head  of 
these  maniacs,  who  would  insanify  them  with 
some  degree  of  pnidence,  and  keep  them  only 
half  mad,  if  they  could.  But  this  won't  do ; 
Bedlam  will  break  loose,  and  overpower  its 
keepers.  If  the  preacher  sees  visions,  and 
has  visitations,  the  clerk  will  come  next,  and 
then  the  congregation ;  every  man  will  be  his 
own  prophet,  and  dream  dreams  for  himself: 
the  competition  in  extravagance  will  be  hot 
and  lively,  and  the  whole  island  a  receptacle 
for  incurables.  There  is,  at  this  moment,  a 
man  in  London  who  prays  for  what  garments 
he  wants,  and  finds  them  next  morning  in  his 
room,  tight  and  fitting.  This  man,  as  might 
be  expected,  gains  between  two  and  three 
thousand  a  year  from  the  common  people,  by 
preaching.  Anna,  the  prophetess,  encamps  in 
the  woods  of  America,  with  thirteen  or  four- 
teen thousand  followers,  and  has  visits  every 
night  from  the  prophet  Elijah.  Joanna  South- 
cote  raises  the  dead,  &c.  &c.  Mr.  Styles  will 
call  us  atheists,  and  disciples  of  the  French 
school,  for  what  we  are  about  to  say;  but  it  is 
our  decided  opinion,  that  there  is  some  fraud 
in  the  prophetic  visit ;  and  it  is  but  too  pro- 
bable, that  the  clothes  are  merely  human,  and 
the  man  measured  for  them  in  the  common 
way.  When  such  blasphemous  deceptions 
are  practised  upon  mankind,  how  can  remon- 
strance be  misplaced,  or  exposure  mischiev- 
ous 1  If  the  choice  rested  with  us,  we  should 
say, — give  us  back  our  wolves  again, — restore 
our  Danish  invaders, — curse  us  with  any  evil 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


67 


but  the  evil  of  a  canting,  deluded,  and  Metho- 
distical  populace.  Wherever  Methodism  ex- 
tends its  baneful  influence,  the  character  of 
the  English  people  is  constantly  changed  by- 
it.  Boldness  and  rough  honesty  ai-e  broken 
down  into  meanness,  prevarication,  and  fraud. 

While  Mr.  Styles  is  so  severe  upon  the  in- 
dolence of  the  Church,  he  should  recollect 
that  his  Methodis'ts  are  the  ex-party ;  that  it  is 
not  in  human  nature,  that  any  persons  Avho 
quietly  possess  power  can  be  as  active  as 
those  who  are  pursuing  it.  The  fair  way  to 
state  the  merit  of  the  two  parties  is,  to  esti- 
mate what  the  exertions  of  the  lachrymal  and 
suspirious  clergy  would  be,  if  they  stepped 
into  the  endowments  of  their  competitors. 
The  moment  they  ceased  to  be  paid  by  the 
groan, — the  instant  that  Easter  offerings  no 
longer  depended  upon  jumping  and  convul- 
sions,— Mr.  Styles  may  assure  himself,  that 
the  character  of  his  darling  preachers  would 
be  totally  changed ;  their  bodies  would  become 
quiet,  and  their  minds  reasonable. 

It  is  not  true,  as  this  bad  writer  is  perpe- 
tually saying,  that  the  world  hates  piety.  That 
modest  and  unobtrusive  piety  which  fills  the 
heart  with  all  human  charities,  and  makes  a 
man  gentle  to  others,  and  severe  to  himself,  is 
an  object  of  universal  love  and  veneration. 
But  mankind  hate  the  lust  of  power  when  it 
is  veiled  under  the  garb  of  piety ; — they  hate 
canting  and  hypocrisy ; — they  hate  advertisers 
and  quacks  and  piety ; — they  do  not  choose  to 
be  insulted  ;-^they  love  to  tear  folly  and  im- 
prudence from  that  altar  which  shottld  only 
be  a  sanctuary  for  the  wretched  and  the  good. 

Having  concluded  his  defence  of  Method- 
ism, this  fanatical  writer  opens  upon  us  his 
Missionary  battery,  firing  away  with  the  most 
incessant  fury,  and  calling  names,  all  the  time, 
as  loud  as  lungs  accustomed  to  the  eloquence 
of  the  tub  usually  vociferate.  In  speaking 
of  the  cruelties  which  their  religion  entails 
upon  the  Hindoos,  Mr.  St3ies  is  peculiarly 
severe  upon  us  for  not  being  more  shocked  at 
their  piercing  their  limbs  with  kimes.  This  is 
rather  an  unfair  mode  of  alarming  his  readers 
with  the  idea  of  some  unknown  instrument. 
He  represents  himself  as  having  paid  consi- 
derable attention  to  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  Hindoos ;  and,  therefore,  the  peculiar 
stress  he  lays  upon  this  instrument  is  na- 
turally calculated  to  produce,  in  the  minds  of 
the  humane,  a  great  degree  of  mysterious 
terror.  A  drawing  of  the  kbne  was  impe- 
riously called  for;  and  the  want  of  it  is  a 
subtle  evasion,  for  which  Mr.  Styles  is  fairly 
accountable.  As  he  has  been  silent  on  this 
subject,  il  is  for  us  to  explain  the  plan  and 
nature  of  this  terrible  and  unknown  piece  of 
mechanism.  A  kime,  then,  is  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  false  print  in  the  Edinburgh 
Review  for  a  knife ,-  and  from  this  blunder  of 
the  printer  has  Mr.  Styles  manufactured  this 
Dsedalean  instrument  of  torture,  called  a 
kime !  We  were  at  first  nearly  persuaded 
by  his  arguments  against  kimes ; — we  grew 
frightened  ; — we  stated  to  ourselves  the  hor- 
ror of  not  sending  missionaries  to  a  nation 
which  used  kimes  ,• — we  were  struck  with  the 
nice  and  accurate  information  of  the  Taber- 


nacle upon  this  important  subject: — ^but  we 
looked  in  the  errata,  and  found  Mr.  Styles  to 
be  always  Mr.  Styles, — always  cut  off  from 
every  hope  of  mercy,  and  remaining  for  ever 
himself. 

Mr.  Styles  is  right  in  saying  we  have  abo- 
lished many  practices  of  the  Hindoos  since 
the  establishment  of  our  empire  ;  but  then  we 
have  always  consulted  the  Brahmins,  whether 
or  not  such  practices  were  conformable  to 
their  religion ;  and  it  is  upon  the  authority  of 
their  condemnation  that  we  have  proceeded 
to  abolition. 

To  the  whole  of  Mr.  Styles's  observations 
upon  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into 
India,  we  have  one  short  answer : — it  is  not 
Christianity  which  is  introduced  there,  but 
the  debased  mummery  and  nonsense  of  Metho- 
dists, which  has  little  more  to  do  with  the 
Christian  religion  than  it  has  to  do  with  tha 
religion  of  China.  We  would  as  soon  con- 
sent that  Brodum  and  Solomon  should  carry 
the  medical  art  of  Europe  into  India,  as  that 
Mr.  Styles  and  his  Anabaptists  should  give  to 
the  Eastern  World  their  notions  of  our  reli- 
gion. We  send  men  of  the  highest  character 
for  the  administration  of  justice  and  the  re- 
gulation of  trade, — nay,  we  take  great  pains 
to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  natives  the 
highest  ideas  of  our  arts  and  manufactures, 
by  laying  before  them  the  finest  specimens  of 
our  skill  and  ingenuity, — why,  then,  are  com- 
mon sense  and  decency  to  be  forgotten  in  re- 
ligion alone  1  and  so  foolish  a  set  of  men 
allowed  to  engage  themselves  in  this  occupa- 
tion, that  the  natives  almost  instinctively  duck 
and  pelt  them]  But  the  missionaries,  M^e  are 
told,  have  mastered  the  languages  of  the  East. 
They  may  also,  for  aught  we  know,  in  the 
same  time,  have  learnt  perspective,  astrono' 
my,  or  any  thing  else.  What  is  all  this  to  us  1 
Our  charge  is,  that  they  want  sense,  conduct, 
and  sound  religion ;  and  that,  if  they  are  not 
watched,  the  throat  of  every  European  in 
India  will  be  cut : — the  answer  to  which  is, 
that  their  progress  in  languages  is  truly  asto 
nishing !  If  they  expose  us  to  eminent  peril, 
what  matters  it  if  they  have  every  virtue 
under  heaven  1  We  are  rot  writing  disserta 
tions  upon  the  intellect  of  Brother  Carey,  bu* 
stating  his  character  so  far  as  it  concerns  us 
and  caring  for  it  no  further.  But  these  pious 
gentlemen  care  nothing  about  the  loss  of  the 
country.  The  plan,  it  seems,  is  this : — We 
are  to  educate  India  in  Christianity,  as  a  pa- 
rent does  his  child ;  and,  when  it  is  perfect  in 
its  catechism,  then  to  pack  up,  qujt  it  entirely, 
and  leave  it  to  its  own  management.  This  is 
the  evangelical  project  for  separating  a  colony 
from  the  parent  country.  They  see  nothing 
of  the  bloodshed,  and  massacres,  and  devasta- 
tions, nor  of  the  speeches  in  parliament,  squan- 
dered millions,  fruitless  expeditions,  jobs  and 
pensions,  with  which  the  loss  of  our  Indian 
possessions  would  necessarily  be  accompa- 
nied ;  nor  will  they  see  that  these  consequences 
could  arise  from  the  attempt,  and  not  from  the 
completion,  of  their  scheme  of  conversion. 
We  should  be  swept  from  the  peninsula  by  Pa- 
gan zealo  ts;  and  should  lose,among  other  things, 
all  chance  of  ever  really  converting  them. 


68 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


What  is  the  use,  too,  of  telling  us  what  these 
men  endure  1  Suffering  is  not  a  merit,  but 
only  useful  suffering.  Prove  to  us  that  they 
are  fit  men,  doing  a  fit  thing,  and  we  are  ready 
to  praise  the  missionaries ;  but  it  gives  us  no 
pleasure  to  hear  that  a  man  has  walked  a 
thousand  miles  with  peas  in  his  shoes,  unless 
we  know  why,  and  wherefore,  and  to  what 
good  purpose  he  has  done  it. 

But  these  men,  it  is  urged,  foolish  and  ex- 
travagant as  they  are,  maybe  very  useful  pre- 
cursors of  the  established  clergy.  This  is 
much  as  if  a  regular  physician  should  send  a 
quack  doctor  before  him,  and  say,  do  you  go 
and  look  after  this  disease  for  a  day  or  two, 
and  ply  the  patient  well  with  your  nostrums, 
and  then  I  will  step  in  and  complete  the  cure; 
a  more  notable  expedient  we  have  seldom 
heard  of.  Its  patrons  forget  that  these  self- 
ordained  ministers,  with  Mr.  John  Styles  at 
their  head,  abominate  the  established  clergy 
ten  thousand  times  more  than  they  do  Pagans, 
who  cut  themselves  with  cruel  kimes.  The 
efforts  of  these  precursors  would  be  directed 
with  infinitely  more  zeal  to  make  the  Hindoos 
disbelieve  in  bishops,  than  to  make  them  be- 
lieve in  Christ.  The  darling  passion  in  the 
soul  of  every  missionary  is,  not  to  teach  the 
great  leading  truths  of  the  Christian  faith,  but 
to  enforce  the  little  paltry  modification  and 
distinction  which  he  first  taught  from  his  own 
tub.  And  then  what  a  way  of  teaching  Chris- 
tianity is  this !  There  are  five  sects,  if  not  six, 
now  employed  as  missionaries,  every  one  in- 
structing the  Hindoos  in  their  own  particular 
method  of  interpreting  the  Scriptures ;  and, 
when  these  have  completely  succeeded,  the 
Church  of  England  is  to  step  in,  and  convert 
them  all  over  again  to  its  own  doctrines. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  very  fine  varnish  of  proba- 
bility over  this  ingenious  and  plausible  scheme. 
Mr.  John  Styles,  however,  would  much  rather 
see  a  kime  in  the  flesh  of  an  Hindoo  than  the 
hand  of  a  bishop  on  his  head. 

The  missionaries  complain  of  intolerance. 
A  weasel  might  as  well  complain  of  intoler- 
ance when  he  is  throttled  for  sucking  eggs. 
Toleration  for  their  own  opinions, — toleration 
for  their  domestic  worship,  for  their  private 
groans  and  convulsions,  they  possess  in  the 
fullest  extent;  but  who  ever  heard  of  tolera- 
tion for  intolerance"!  Who  ever  before  heard 
men  cry  out  that  they  were  persecuted,  be- 
cause they  might  not  insult  the  religion,  shock 
the  feelings,  irritate  the  passions  of  their  fel- 
low-creatures, and  throw  a  whole  colony  into 
bloodshed  and  confusion?  We  did  not  say 
that  a  man  was  not  an  object  of  pity  who 
tormented  himself  from  a  sense  of  duty,  but 
that  he  was  not  so  great  an  object  of  pity  as 
one  equally  tormented  by  the  tyranny  of  an- 
other, and  without  any  sense  of  duty  to  sup- 
port him.  Let  Mr.  Styles  first  inflict  forty 
lashes  upon  himself,  then  let  him  allow  an 
Edinburgh  Reviewer  to  give  him  forty  more, — 
he  will  find  no  comparison  between  the  two 
fleigellations. 

These  men  talk  of  the  loss  of  our  posses- 
sions in  India,  as  if  it  made  the  argument 
against  them  only  more  or  less  strong ;  where- 
as, in  our  estimation,  it  makes  the  argument 


against  them  conclusive,  and  shuts  up  the 
case.  Two  men  possess  a  cow,  and  they  quar- 
rel violently  how  they  shall  manage  this  cow. 
They  will  surely  both  of  them  (if  they  have  a 
particle  of  common  sense)  agree,  that  there  is 
an  absolute  necessity  for  preventing  the  cow 
from  running  away.  It  is  not  only  the  loss 
of  India  that  is  in  question, — but  how  will  it 
be  losti  By  the  massacre  of  ten  or  twenty 
thousand  English,  by  the  blood  of  our  sons 
and  brothers,  who  have  been  toiling  so  many 
years  to  return  to  their  native  country.  But 
what  is  all  this  to  a  ferocious  Methodist  1 
What  care  brothers  Barrel  and  Ringleiub  for 
us  and  our  colonies'? 

If  it  were  possible  to  invent  a  method  by 
which  a  few  men  sent  from  a  distant  country 
could  hold  such  masses  of  people  as  the  Hin- 
doos in  subjection,  that  method  would  be  the 
institution  of  castes.  There  is  no  institution 
which  can  so  effectually  curb  the  ambition  of  . 
genius,  reconcile  the  individual  more  com- 
pletely to  his  station,  and  reduce  the  varieties 
of  human  character  to  such  a  state  of  insipid 
and  monotonous  tameness ;  and  yet  the  re- 
ligion which  destroys  castes  is  said  to  render 
our  empire  in  India  more  certain  !  It  may  be 
our  duty  to  make  the  Hindoos  Christians,— 
that  is  another  argument :  but,  that  we  shall 
by  so  doing  strengthen  our  empire,  we  utterly 
deny.  What  signifies  identity  of  religion  to  a 
question  of  this  kind?  Diversity  of  bodily 
colour  and  of  language  would  soon  overpower 
this  consideration.  Make  the  Hindoos  enter- 
prising, active,  and  reasonable  as  yourselves, 
— destroy  the  eternal  track  in  which  they  have 
moved  for  ages — and,  in  a  moment,  they  would 
sweep  you  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  Let  us 
ask,  too,  if  the  Bible  is  universally  diffused  in 
Hindostan,  what  must  be  the  astonishment 
of  the  natives  to  find  that  we  are  forbidden  to 
rob,  murder,  and  steal ; — we  who,  in  fifty  years, 
have  extended  our  empire  from  a  few  acres 
about  Madras  over  the  whole  peninsula,  and 
sixty  millions  of  people,  and  exemplified  in 
our  public  conduct  every  crime  of  which  hu- 
man nature  is  capable.  What  matchless  im- 
pudence to  follow  up  such  practice  with  such 
precepts!  If  we  have  common  prudence,  let 
us  keep  the  gospel  at  home,  and  tell  them  that 
Machiavel  is  our  prophet,  and  the  god  of  the 
Manicheans  our  god. 

There  is  nothing  which  disgusts  us  more 
than  the  familiarity  which  these  impious  cox- 
combs affect  with  the  ways  and  designs  of  Pro- 
vidence. Every  man,  now-a-days,  is  an  Amo8 
or  a  Malachi.  One  rushes  out  of  his  chambers, 
and  tells  us  we  are  beaten  by  the  French,  be- 
cause we  do  not  abolish  the  slave  trade.  An- 
other assures  us,  that  we  have  no  chance  of 
victory  till  India  is  evangelized.  The  new 
Christians  are  now  come  to  speak  of  the  ways 
of  their  Creator  with  as  much  confidence  as 
they  would  of  the  plans  of  an  earthly  ruler. 
We  remember  when  the  ways  of  God  to  man 
were  gazed  upon  with  trembling  humility, — 
when  they  were  called  inscrutable, — when 
piety  looked  to  another  scene  of  existence  for 
the  true  explanation  of  this  ambiguous  and 
distressing  world.  We  were  taught  in  our 
childhood  that  this  was  true  religion;  but  it 


WORKS    OF    THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


69 


turns  out  now  to  be  nothing  but  atheism  and 
infidelity.  If  any  thing  could  surprise  us  from 
the  pen  of  a  Methodist,  we  should  be  truly  sur- 
prised at  the  very  irreligious  and  presump- 
tuous answer  which  Mr.  Styles  makes  to  some 
of  our  arguments.  Our  title  to  one  of  the  an- 
ecdotes from  the  Methodist  Magazine  is  as 
follows: — "A  sinner  punished — a  Bee  the  in- 
strument;"  to  which  Mr.  Styles  replies,  that  we 
might  as  well  ridicule  the  Scriptures,  by  re- 
lating their  contents  in  the  same  ludicrous 
manner.  An  interference  with  respect  to  a  tra- 
velling Jew;  blindness  the  consequence.  Acts, 
the  ninth  chapter,  and  first  nine  verses.  The 
account  ofPauVs  conversion,  S(c.  S(c.  S(c.  page  38. 
But  does  Mr.  Styles  forget  that  the  one  is  a 
shameless  falsehood,  introduced  to  sell  a  two- 
penny book,  and  the  other  a  miracle  recorded 
by  inspired  writers]  In  the  same  manner, 
when  we  express  our  surprise  that  sixty  mil- 
lions of  Hindoos  should  be  converted  by  four 
men  and  sixteen  guineas,  he  asks,  what  would 
have  become  of  Christianity  if  the  twelve 
Apostles  had  argued  in  the  same  wayl  It  is 
impossible  to  make  this  infatuated  gentleman 
understand  that  the  lies  of  the  Evangelical 
Magazine  are  not  the  miracles  of  Scripture; 
and  that  the  Baptist  Missionaries  are  not  the 
Apostles.  He  seriously  expects  that  we  should 
speak  of  Brother  Carey  as  we  would  speak  of 
St.  Paul;  and  treat  with  an  equal  respect  the 
miracles  of  the  Magazine  and  the  Gospel. 

Mr.  Styles  knows  very  well  that  we  have 
never  said,  because  a  nation  has  present  hap- 
piness, that  it  can  therefore  dispense  with  im- 
mortal happiness ;  but  we  have  said  that,  where 
of  two  nations  both  cannot  be  made  Christians, 
it  is  more  the  duty  of  a  missionary  to  convert 
the  one,  which  is  exposed  to  every  evil  of  bar- 
barism, than  the  other  possessing  every  bless- 
ing of  civilization.  Our  argument  is  merely 
comparative :  Mr.  Styles  must  have  known  it 
to  be  so: — but  who  does  not  love  the  Taber- 
nacle better  than  truth?  When  the  tenacity 
of  the  Hindoos  on  the  subject  of  their  religion 
is  adduced  as  a  reason  against  the  success  of 
the  missions,  the  friends  of  this  understanding 
are  always  fond  of  reminding  us  how  patiently 
the  Hindoos  submitted  to  the  religious  perse- 
cutions and  butchery  of  Tippoo.  The  infer- 
ence from  such  citations  is  truly  alarming. 
It  is  the  imperious  duty  of  Government  to 
watch  some  of  these  men  most  narrowly. — 
There  is  nothing  of  which  they  are  not  capa- 
ble. And  what,  after  all,  did  Tippoo  effect  in 
the  way  of  conversion  ?  How  many  Mahome- 
dans  did  he  make  I  There  was  all  the  car- 
nage of  Medea's  Kettle,  and  none  of  the  trans- 
formation. He  deprived  multitudes  of  Hindoos 
of  their  caste,  indeed;  and  cut  them  off  from 
all  the  benefits  of  their  religion.    That  he  did, 


and  we  may  do,  by  violence;  but,  did  he  make 
Mahomedansi — or  shall  we  make  Christians? 
This,  however,  it  seems,  is  a  matter  of  plea- 
santry. To  make  a  poor  Hindoo  hateful  to 
himself  and  his  kindred,  and  to  fix  a  curse 
upon  him  to  the  end  of  his  da)^s ! — we  have  no 
doubt  but  that  this  is  very  entertaining;  and 
particularly  to  the  friends  of  toleration.  But 
our  ideas  of  comedy  have  been  formed  in 
another  school.  We  are  dull  enough  to  think, 
too,  that  it  is  more  innocent  to  exile  pigs  than 
to  oficnd  conscience,  and  destroy  human  hap- 
piness. The  scheme  of  baptizing  with  beef 
broth  is  about  as  brutal  and  preposterous  as 
the  assertion  that  you  may  vilify  the  gods  and 
priests  of  the  Hindoos  with  safety,  provided 
you  do  not  meddle  with  their  turbans  and 
toupees,  (which  are  cherished  solely  on  a 
principle  of  religion,)  is  silly  and  contemptible. 
After  all,  if  the  Mahomedan  did  persecute  the 
Hindoo  with  impunity,  is  that  any  precedent 
of  safety  to  a  government  that  offends  every 
feeling  both  of  Mahomedan  and  Hindoo  at  the 
same  time  ?  You  have  a  tiger  and  a  buffalo 
in  the  same  enclosure;  and  the  tiger  drives 
the  buffalo  before  him ; — is  it  therefore  prudent 
in  you  to  do  that  which  will  irritate  them  both, 
and  bring  their  united  strength  upon  3'ou? 

In  answer  to  the  low  malignity  of  this  au- 
thor, we  have  only  to  reply,  that  we  are,  as  we 
always  have  been,  sincere  friends  to  the  con- 
version of  the  Hindoos.  We  admit  the  Hin- 
doo religion  to  be  full  of  follies,  and  full  of 
enormities; — we  think  conversion  a  great 
duty;  and  should  think,  if  it  could  be  effected,  a 
great  blessing;  but  our  opinion  of  the  mis- 
sionaries and  of  their  employer  is  such,  that 
we  most  firmly  believe,  in  less  than  twenty 
years,  for  the  conversion  of  a  few  degraded 
wretches,  who  would  be  neither  Methodists 
nor  Hindoos,  they  would  infallibly  produce  the 
massacre  of  every  European  in  India;*  the 
loss  of  our  settlements;  and,  consequently,  of 
the  chance  of  that  slow,  solid,  and  temperate 
introduction  of  Christianity,  which  the  supe- 
riority of  the  European  character  may  ulti- 
mately effect  in  the  Eastern  world.  The  Board 
of  Control  (all  Atheists,  and  disciples  of  Vol- 
taire, of  course)  are  so  entirely  of  our  way  of 
thinking,  that  the  most  peremptory  orders  have 
been  issued  to  send  all  the  missionaries  home 
upon  the  slightest  appearance  of  disturbance. 
Those  who  have  sons  and  brothers  in  India 
may  now  sleep  in  peace.  Upon  the  transmis- 
sion of  this  order,  Mr.  Styles  is  said  to  have 
destroyed  himself  with  a  kime. 


♦  Every  opponent  saj-s  of  Major  Scott's  book,  "What 
a  dangerous  book  !  the  arrival  of  it  at  Calcutta  may 
throw  the  whole  Indian  empire  into  confusion  ;"  and  yet 
these  are  the  people  whose  religious  prejudices  may  be 
insulted  with  impunity. 


70 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH, 


HANNAH  MOEE.* 


[Edinburgh  E.eview,  1809.] 


This  book  is  written,  or  supposed  to  be  writ- 
ten, (for  we  would  speak  timidly  of  the  mys- 
teries of  superior  beino^s,)  by  the  celebrated 
Mrs.  Hannah  More!  We  shall  probably  give 
great  offence  by  such  indiscretion;  but  still  we 
must  be  excused  for  treating  it  as  a  book 
merely  human, — an  uninspired  production, — 
the  result  of  mortality  left  to  itself,  and  de- 
pending on  its  own  limited  resources.  In  tak- 
ing up  the  subject  in  this  point  of  view,  we  so- 
lemnly disclaim  the  slightest  intention  of  in- 
dulging in  any  indecorous  levity,  or  of  wound- 
ing the  religious  feelings  of  a  large  class  of  very 
respectable  persons.  It  is  the  only  method  in 
which  we  can  possibly  make  this  work  a  pro- 
per object  of  criticism.  We  have  the  strong- 
est possible  doubts  of  the  attributes  usually 
ascribed  to  this  authoress;  and  we  think  it 
more  simple  and  manly  to  say  so  at  once,  than 
to  admit  nominallj^  superlunary  claims,  which, 
in  the  progress  of  our  remarks,  we  should  vir- 
tually deny. 

Coelebs  wants  a  wife :  and,  after  the  death 
of  his  father,  quits  his  estate  in  Northumber- 
land to  see  the  world,  and  to  seek  for  one  of 
its  best  productions,  a  woman,  who  may  add 
materially  to  the  happiness  of  his  future  life. 
His  first  journey  is  to  London,  where,  in  the 
midst  of  the  gay  society  of  the  metropolis,  of 
course,  he  does  not  find  a  wife ;  and  his  next 
journey  is  to  the  famih^  of  Mr.  Stanley,  the 
head  of  the  Methodists,  a  serious  people,  where, 
of  course,  he  does  find  a  wife.  The  exaltation, 
therefore,  of  what  the  authoress  deems  to  be 
the  religious,  and  the  depreciation  of  what  she 
considers  to  be  the  worldly  character,  and  the 
influence  of  both  upon  matrimonial  happiness, 
form  the  subject  of  this  novel, — rather  of  this 
dramatic  sermon. 

The  machinery  upon  which  the  discourse  is 
suspended  is  of  the  slightest  and  most  inarti- 
ficial texture,  bearing  every  mark  of  haste,  and 
possessing  not  the  slightest  claim  to  merit. 
Events  there  are  none;  and  scarcely  a  charac- 
ter of  any  interest.  The  book  is  intended  to 
convey  religious  advice;  and  no  more  labour 
appears  to  have  been  bestowed  upon  the  story, 
than  was  merely  sufficient  to  throw  it  out  of 
the  dry,  didactic  form.  Lucilla  is  totally  un- 
interesting; so  is  Mr.  Stanley ;  Dr.  Barlow  still 
worse;  and  Ccelebs  a  mere  clod  or  dolt.  Sir 
John  and  Lady  Belfield  are  rather  more  inte- 
resting— and  for  a  very  obvious  reason:  they 
have  some  faults ;  they  put  us  in  mind  of  men 
and  women ;  they  seem  to  belong  to  one  com- 
mon nature  with  ourselves.  As  we  read,  we 
seem  to  think  we  might  act  as  such  people 
act,  and  therefore  we  attend;  whereas  imita- 


*  Cmlebs  in  Search  nf  a  If'ife  ;  cowprehendiv ff  Ohserva- 
tions  on  Dnmesfic  Habits  and  Manners,  Religion  and  Mo- 
rals.   2  vols.  London,  1809. 


tion  is  hopeless  in  the  more  perfect  characters 
which  Mrs.  More  has  set  before  us;  and 
therefore  they  inspire  us  with  very  little  inte- 
rest. 

There  are  books,  however,  of  all  kinds ;  and 
those  may  not  be  unwisely  planned  which  set 
before  us  very  pure  models.  They  are  less 
probable,  and  therefore  less  amusing,  than  or- 
dinary stories;  but  they  are  more  amusing 
than  plain,  unfabled  precept.  Sir  Charles 
Grandison  is  less  agreeable  than  Tom  Jones; 
but  it  is  more  agreeable  than  Sherlock  and 
Tillotson;  and  teaches  religion  and  morality 
to  many  who  would  not  seek  it  in  the  produc- 
tions of  these  professional  writers. 

But,  making  every  allowance  for  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  task  which  Mrs.  More  has  pre- 
scribed to  herself,  the  book  abounds  with  marks 
of  negligence  and  want  of  skill ;  with  repre- 
sentations of  life  and  manners  which  are  either 
false  or  trite. 

Temples  to  friendship  and  virtue  must  be 
totally  laid  aside,  for  many  years  to  come,  in 
novels.  Mr.  Lane,  of  the  Minerva  Press,  has 
given  them  up  long  since ;  and  we  were  quite 
surprised  to  find  such  a  writer  as  Mrs.  More 
busied  in  moral  brick  and  mortar.  Such  an 
idea,  at  first,  was  merely  juvenile;  the  second 
time,  a  little  nauseous;  but  the  ten  thousandth 
time  it  is  quite  intolerable.  Coelebs,  upon  hfs 
first  arrival  in  London,  dines  out, — meets  with 
a  bad  dinner, — supposes  the  cause  of  that  bad 
dinner  to  be  the  erudition  of  the  ladies  of  the 
house, — talks  to  them  upon  learned  subjects, 
and  finds  them  as  dull  and  ignorant  as  if  they 
had  piqued  themselves  upon  all  the  mj^steries 
of  housewifery.  We  humbly  submit  to  Mrs. 
More,  that  this  is  not  humorous,  but  strained 
and  unnatural.  Philippics  against  frugivo- 
rous  children  after  dinner  are  too  common. 
Lady  Melbury  has  been  introduced  into  every 
novel  for  these  four  years  last  past.  Peace  to 
her  ashes  ! 

The  characters  in  this  novel  Avhich  evince 
the  greatest  skill  are  unquestionably  those  of 
Mrs.  Ranby  and  her  daughters.  There  are 
some  scenes  in  this  part  of  the  book  extremely 
well  painted,  and  which  evince  that  Mrs.  More 
could  amuse,  in  no  common  degree,  if  amuse- 
ment was  her  object. 

"  At  tea  I  found  the  young  ladies  took  no 
more  interest  in  the  conversation  than  they 
had  done  at  dinner,  but  sat  whispering  and 
laughing,  and  netting  white  silk  gloves,  till 
they  were  summoned  to  the  harpsichord. 
Despairing  of  getting  on  with  them  in  com 
pany,  I  proposed  a  walk  in  the  garden.  I  now 
found  them  as  willing  to  talk  as  destitute  of 
any  thing  to  say.  Their  conversation  was 
vapid  and  frivolous.  They  laid  great  stress 
on  small  things.  They  seemed  to  have  no 
shades  in  their  understanding,  but  used  the 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


71 


strongest  terms  for  the  commonest  occasions  ; 
and  admiration  was  excited  by  things  hardly 
worthy  to  command  attention.  They  were 
extremely  glad  and  extremely  sorry  on  sub- 
jects not  calculated  to  excite  affections  of 
any  kind.  They  were  animated  about  trifles, 
and  indifferent  on  things  of  importance.  They 
were,  I  must  confess,  frank  and  good-na- 
tured ;  but  it  was  evident  that,  as  they  were 
too  open  to  have  any  thing  to  conceal,  so 
they  were  too  uninformed  to  have  any  thing 
to  produce ;  and  I  was  resolved  not  to  risk 
my  happiness  with  a  woman  who  could  not 
contribute  her  full  share  towards  spending 
a  wet  winter  cheerfully  in  the  country." — (I. 
54,  55.) 

This  trait  of  character  appears  to  us  to  be 
very  good.  The  following  passage  is  still 
better. 

"In  the  evening,  Mrs.  Ranby  was  lamenting 
in  general,  in  rather  customary  terms,  her  oAvn 
exceeding  sinfulness.  Mr.  Ranby  said,  '  You 
accuse  yourself  rather  too  heavily,  my  dear ; 
you  have  sins  to  be  sure.'  '  And  pray  what 
sins  have  I,  Mr.  Ranb)'-  V  said  she,  turning  upon 
him  with  so  much  quickness  that  the  poor 
man  started.  'Nay,'  said  he,  meekly,  'I  did 
not  mean  to  offend  you;  so  far  from  it,  that, 
hearing  you  condemn  yourself  so  grievously, 
I   intended  to   comfort  you,  and  to   say  that, 

except  a  few  faults '     'And  pray  what 

faults  ]'  interrupted  she,  continuing  to  speak, 
however,  lest  he  should  catch  an  interval  to 
tell  them.  '  I  defy  you,  Mr.  Ranby,  to  produce 
one.'  '  My  dear,'  replied  he,  '  as  you  charged 
yourself  with  all,  I  thought  it  would  be  letting 
you  off  cheaply,  by  naming  onl)'  two  or  three, 

such  as '     Here,  fearing  matters  would 

go  too  far,  I  interposed ;  and,  softening  things 
as  much  as  I  could  for  the  ladj^  said,  'I  con- 
ceived that  Mr.  Ranb}''  meant,  that  though  she 

partook  of  the  general  corruption '  Here 

Ranby,  interrupting  me  with  more  spirit  than 
I  thought  he  possessed,  said,  '  General  corrup- 
tion, sir,  must  be  the  source  of  particular  cor- 
ruption. I  did  not  mean  that  my  wife  was 
worse  than  other  women.' — '  Worse,  Mr. 
Ranby,  worse  V  cried  she.  Ranby,  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  not  minding  her,  went  on, 
'  As  she  is  always  insisting  that  the  whole 
species  is  corrupt,  she  cannot  help  allowing 
that  she  herself  has  not  quite  escaped  the  infec- 
tion. Now,  to  be  a  sinner  in  the  gross,  and  a 
saint  in  the  detail — that  is,  to  have  all  sins, 
and  no  faults — is  a  thing  I  do  not  quite  com- 
prehend.' 

"  After  he  had  left  the  room,  which  he  did 
as  the  shortest  way  of  allaying  the  storm,  she, 
apologizing  for  him,  said,  'he  was  a  well- 
meaning  man,  and  acted  up  to  the  little  light 
he  had ;'  but  added,  '  that  he  was  unacquainted 
with  religious  feelings,  and  knew  little  of  the 
nature  of  conversion.' 

"  Mrs.  Ranby,  I  found,  seems  to  consider 
Christianity  as  a  kind  of  free-masonry;  and 
therefore  thinks  it  superfluous  to  speak  on 
serious  subjects  to  any  but  the  initiated.  If 
they  do  not  return  the  sign,  she  gives  them  up 
as  blind  and  dead.  She  thinks  she  can  only 
make   herself  intelligible  to  those   to  whom 


certain  peculiar  phrases  are  familiar:  and 
though  her  friends  maj^  be  correct,  devout,  and 
both  doctrinally  and  practically  pious ;  )^et,  if 
they  cannot  catch  a  certain  mystic  meaning, — 
if  there  is  not  a  sympathy  of  intelligence 
between  her  and  them, — if  they  do  not  fully 
conceive  of  impressions,  and  cannot  respond 
to  mysterious  communications,  she  holds  them 
unworthy  of  intercourse  with  her.  She  does 
not  so  much  insist  on  high  moral  excellence 
as  the  criterion  of  their  worth,  as  on  their 
own  account  of  their  internal  feelings." — (I. 
60—63.) 

The  great  object  kept  in  view,  throughout 
the  whole  of  this  introduction,  is  the  enlbrce- 
ment  of  religious  principle,  and  the  condemna- 
tion of  a  life  lavished  in  dissipation  and 
fashionable  amusement.  In  the  pursuit  of  this 
object,  it  appears  to  us  that  Mrs.  More  is  much 
too  severe  upon  the  ordinary  amusements  of 
mankind,  many  of  which  she  does  not  object 
to  in  this  or  that  degree,  but  altogether. 
Coelebs  and  Lucilla,  her  optinms  and  optima^ 
never  dance,  and  never  go  to  the  play.  They 
not  only  stay  away  from  the  comedies  of 
Congreve  and  Farquhar,  for  which  they  may 
easily  enough  be  forgiven ;  but  they  never  go 
to  see  Mrs.  Siddons  in  the  Gamester,  or  in 
Jane  Shore.  The  finest  exhibition  of  talent, 
and  the  most  beautiful  moral  lessons,  are  in- 
terdicted at  the  theatre.  There  is  something 
in  the  word  Playhouse  which  seems  so  closely 
connected,  in  the  minds  of  these  people,  with 
sin  and  Satan, — that  it  stands  in  their  vocabu- 
lary for  every  species  of  abomination.  And 
yet  why?  Where  is  every  feeling  more  roused 
in  favour  of  virttie  than  at  a  good  play  ] 
Where  is  goodness  so  feelingly,  so  enthusias- 
tically learnt  1  What  so  solemn  as  to  see  the 
excellent  passions  of  the  human  heart  called 
forth  by  a  great  actor,  animated  by  a  great  poet  1 
To  hear  Siddons  repeat  what  Shakspeare  wrote  1 
To  behold  the  child  and  his  mother — the  noble 
and  the  poor  artisan — the  monarch  and  his 
subjects — all  ages  and  all  ranks  convulsed 
with  one  common  passion — wrung  with  one 
common  anguish,  and,  with  loud  sobs  and 
cries-,  doing  involuntary  homage  to  the  God 
that  made  their  hearts  !  What  wretched  infa- 
tuation to  interdict  such  amusements  as  these  ! 
What  a  blessing  that  mankind  can  be  allured 
from  sensual  gratification,  and  find  relaxation 
and  pleasure  in  such  pursuits  !  Bttt  the  excel- 
lent Mr.  Stanley  is  uniformly  paltry  and  nar- 
row,— always  trembling  at  the  idea  of  being 
entertained,  and  thinking  no  Christian  safe 
who  is  not  dull.  As  to  the  spectacles  of  im- 
propriety which  are  sometimes  witnessed  in 
parts  of  the  theatre,  such  reasons  apply,  in  a 
much  stronger  degree,  to  not  driving  along  the 
Strand,  or  any  of  the  great  public  streets  of 
London,  after  dark ;  and,  if  the  virtue  of  well- 
educated  young  persons  is  made  of  such  very 
frail  materials,  their  best  resource  is  a  nun 
nery  at  once.  It  is  a  very  bad  rule,  however, 
never  to  quit  the  house  for  fear  of  catching 
cold. 

Mrs.  More  practically  extends  the  same 
doctrine  to  cards  and  assemblies.  No  cards 
— because  cards  are  employed  in  gaming;  no 
assemblies — because  many  dissipated  persons 


72 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pass  their  lives  in  assemblies.  Carry  this  but 
a  little  further,  and  we  must  say,  no  wine — 
because  of  drunkenness ;  no  meat — because 
of  gluttony ;  no  use,  that  there  may  be  no 
abuse !  The  fact  is,  that  Mr.  Stanley  wants, 
not  only  to  be  religious,  but  to  be  at  the  head 
of  the  religious.  These  little  abstinences  are 
the  cockades  by  which  the  party  are  known, — 
the  rallying  points  for  the  evangelical  faction. 
So  natural  is  the  love  of  power,  that  it  some- 
times becomes  the  influencing  motive  with  the 
sincere  advocates  of  that  blessed  religion 
whose  very  characteristic  excellence  is  the 
humility  which  it  inculcates. 

We  observe  that  Mrs.  More,  in  one  part  of 
her  work,  falls  into  the  common  error  about 
dress.  She  first  blames  ladies  for  exposing 
their  persons  in  the  present  style  of  dress,  and 
then  says,  if  they  knew  their  own  interest, — if 
they  were  aware  how  much  more  alluring 
they  were  to  men  when  their  charms  are  less 
displayed,  they  would  make  the  desired  altera- 
tion from  motives  merely  selfish. 

"  Oh  !  if  women  in  general  knew  what  was 
their  real  interest,  if  they  could  guess  with 
Avhat  a  charm  even  the  appearance  of  modesty 
invests  its  possessor,  they  would  dress  deco- 
rously from  mere  self-love,  if  not  from  prin- 
ciple. The  designing  would  assume  modesty 
as  an  artifice ;  the  coquette  would  adopt  it  as 
an  allurement;  the  pure  as  her  appropriate 
attraction ;  and  the  voluptuous  as  the  most 
infallible  art  of  seduction." — (I.  189.) 

If  there  is  any  truth  in  this  passage,  nudity 
becomes  a  virtue ;  and  no  decent  woman,  for 
the  future,  can  be  seen  in  garments. 

We  have  a  few  more  of  Mrs.  More's  opinions 
to  notice. — It  is  not  fair  to  attack  the  religion 
of  the  times,  because,  in  large  and  indiscri- 
minate parties,  religion  does  not  become  the 
subject  of  conversation.  Conversation  must 
and  ought  to  grow  out  of  materials  on  which 
men  can  agree,  not  upon  subjects  which  try 
the  passions.  But  this  good  lady  Avants  to  see 
men  chatting  together  upon  the  Pelagian 
heresy — to  hear,  in  the  afternoon,  the  theolo- 
gical rumours  of  the  day — and  to  glean  pole- 
mical tittle-tattle  at  a  tea-table  rout.  All  the 
disciples  of  this  school  uniformly  fall  into  the 
same  mistake.  They  are  perpetually  calling 
upon  their  votaries  for  religious  thoughts  and 
religious  conversation  in  every  thing ;  inviting 


them  to  ride,  walk,  row,  wrestle,  and  dine  out 
religiously ; — forgetting  that  the  being  to  whom 
this  impossible  purity  is  recommended,  is  a 
being  compelled  to  scramble  for  his  existence 
and  support  for  ten  hours  out  of  the  sixteen  he 
is  awake ; — forgetting  that  he  must  dig,  beg, 
read,  think,  move,  pay,  receive,  praise,  scold, 
command,  and  obey; — forgetting,  also,  that  if 
men  conversed  as  often  upon  religious  subjects 
as  they  do  upon  the  ordinaiy  occurrences  of 
the  world,  they  would  converse  upon  them 
with  the  same  familiarity  and  want  of  respect, 
— that  religion  would  then  produce  feelings  not 
more  solemn  or  exalted  than  any  other  topics 
which  constitute  at  present  the  common  furni» 
ture  of  human  understandings. 

We  are  glad  to  find  in  this  work  some  strong 
compliments  to  the  efficacy  of  works, — some 
distinct  admissions  that  it  is  necessary  to  be 
honest  and  just,  before  we  can  be  considered 
as  religious.  Such  sort  of  concessions  are 
very  gratifying  to  us ;  but  how  will  they  be 
received  by  the  children  of  the  Tabernacle  1 
It  is  quite  clear,  indeed,  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  work,  that  an  apologetical  explanation 
of  certain  religious  opinions  is  intended;  and 
there  is  a  considerable  abatement  of  that  tone 
of  insolence  with  which  the  improved  Chris- 
tians are  apt  lo  treat  the  bungling  specimens 
of  piety  to  be  met  with  in  the  more  ancient 
churches. 

So  much  for  the  extravagances  of  this  lady. 
— With  equal  sincerity,  and  with  greater  plea- 
sure, we  bear  testimony  to  her  talents,  her  good 
sense,  and  her  real  piety.  There  occur  every 
now  and  then,  in  her  productions,  very  original, 
and  very  profound  observations.  Her  advice 
is  very  often  characterized  by  the  most  amiable 
good  sense,  and  conveyed  in  the  most  brilliant 
and  inviting  style.  If,  instead  of  belonging  to 
a  trumpery  faction,  she  had  only  watched  over 
those  great  points  of  religion  in  which  the 
hearts  of  every  sect  of  Christians  are  interest- 
ed, she  would  have  been  one  of  the  most  useful 
and  valuable  writers  of  her  day.  As  it  is, 
every  man  would  wish  his  wife  and  his  children 
to  read  Coelebs  ,• — watching  himself  its  effects ; 
— separating  the  piety  from  the  puerility ; — 
and  showing  that  it  is  very  possible  to  be  a 
good  Christian,  without  degrading  the  human 
understanding  to  the  trash  and  folly  of  Me- 
thodism. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


73 


PROFESSIONAL  EDUCATION/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1809.] 


There  ar«"  two  questions  to  be  asked  respect- 
ing every  new  publication.  Is  it  worth  buying  1 
Is  it  worth  borrowing  ■?  and  we  would  advise 
our  readers  to  weigh  diligently  the  importance 
of  these  interrogations,  before  they  take  any 
decided  step  as  to  this  work  of  Mr.  Edgeworth ; 
the  more  especially  as  the  name  carries  with 
it  considerable  authority,  and  seems,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  unwary,  almost  to  include 
the  idea  of  purchase.  For  our  own  part,  we 
would  rather  decline  giving  a  direct  answer  to 
these  questions;  and  shall  content  ourselves 
for  the  present  with  making  a  few  such  slight 
observations  as  may  enable  the  sagacious  to 
conjecture  what  our  direct  answer  would  be 
were  we  compelled  to  be  more  explicit. 

One  great  and  signal  praise  we  think  to  be 
the  eminent  due  of  Mr.  Edgeworth:  in  a  cant- 
ing age,  he  does  not  cant; — at  a  period  when 
hypocrisy  and  fanaticism  will  almost  certainly 
insure  the  success  of  any  publication,  he  has 
constantly  disdained  to  have  recourse  to  any 
such  arts  ; — without  ever  having  been  accused 
of  disloyalty  or  irreligion,  he  is  not  always 
harping  upon  Church  and  King,  in  order  to 
catch  at  a  little  popularity,  and  sell  his  books ; — 
he  is  manly,  independent,  liberal — and  main- 
tains enlightened  opinions  with  discretion  and 
honesty.  There  is  also  in  this  work  of  Mr. 
Edgeworth  an  agreeable  diffusion  of  anecdote 
and  example,  such  as  a  man  acquires  who 
reads  with  a  view  to  talking  or  writing.  With 
these  merits,  we  cannot  say  that  Mr.  Edgeworth 
is  either  very  new,  very  profound,  or  very  apt 
to  be  right  in  his  opinion.  He  is  active,  enter- 
prising, and  unprejudiced;  but  we  have  not 
been  very  much  instructed  by  what  he  has 
written,  or  always  satisfied  that  he  has  got  to 
the  bottom  of  his  subject. 

On  one  subject,  however,  we  cordially  agree 
with  this  gentleman  ;  and  return  him  our  thanks 
for  the  courage  with  which  he  has  combated 
the  excessive  abuse  of  classical  learning  in 
England.  It  is  a  subject  upon  which  we  have 
long  wished  for  an  opportunity  of  saying 
something;  and  one  which  we  consider  to  be 
of  the  very  highest  importance. 

"The  principal  defect,"  says  Mr. Edgeworth, 
"in  the  present  system  of  our  great  schools  is, 
that  they  devote  too  large  a  portion  of  time  to 
Latin  and  Greek.  It  is  true,  that  the  attainment 
of  classical  literature  is  highly  desirable  ;  but 
it  should  not,  or  rather  it  need  not,  be  the  ex- 
clusive object  of  boys  during  eight  or  nine 
years. 

"  Much  less  time,  judiciously  managed,  would 
give  them  an  acquaintance  with  the  classics 
sufficient  for  all  useful  purposes,  and  would 
make  them  as  good  scholars  as  gentlemen  or 


♦  Essays  on  Profesiional  Education.     By  R.  I,.  Edog- 
WOBTH,  Esq.,  F.  R.  S.,  &c.     London,  1809. 
10 


professional  men  need  to  be.  It  is  not  requi- 
site that  every  man  should  make  Latin  or 
Greek  verses ;  therefore,  a  knowledge  of  pro- 
sody beyond  the  structure  of  hexameter  and 
pentameter  verses,  is  as  worthless  an  acquisi- 
tion as  any  which  folly  or  fashion  has  intro- 
duced amongst  the  higher  classes  of  mankind. 
It  must  indeed  be  acknowledged  that  there  are 
some  rare  exceptions  ;  but  even  party  prejudice 
would  allow,  that  the  persons  alluded  to  must 
have  risen  to  eminence  though  they  had  never 
written  sapphics  or  iambics.  Though  precep» 
tors,  parents,  and  the  public  in  general,  may  be 
convinced  of  the  absurdity  of  making  boys 
spend  so  much  of  life  in  learning  what  can  be 
of  no  use  to  them  ;  such  are  the  difficulties  of 
making  any  change  in  the  ancient  rules  of 
great  establishments,  that  masters  themselves, 
however  reasonable,  dare  not,  and  cannot  make 
sudden  alterations. 

"The  only  remedies  that  can  be  suggested 
might  be,  perhaps,  to  take  those  boys,  who  are 
not  intended  for  professions  in  which  deep 
scholarship  is  necessary,  away  from  school 
before  they  reach  the  highest  classes,  where 
prosody  and  Greek  and  Latin  verses  are 
required. 

"In  the  college  of  Dublin,  where  an  admira- 
ble course  of  instruction  has  been  long  esta- 
blished, where  this  course  is  superintended  by 
men  of  acknowledged  learning  and  abilities, 
and  pursued  by  students  of  uncommon  in- 
dustry, such  is  the  force  of  example,  and  such 
the  fear  of  appearing  inferior  in  trifles  to  En- 
glish universities,  that  much  pains  have  been 
lately  taken  to  introduce  the  practice  of  writ- 
ing Greek  and  Latin  verses,  and  much  solici- 
tude has  been  shown  about  the  prosody  of  the 
learnfd  languages,  without  any  attention  being 
paid  to  the  prosody  of  our  own. 

"  Boarding-houses  for  the  scholars  at  Eton 
and  Westminster,  which  are  at  present  mere 
lodging  houses,  might  be  kept  by  private  tutors, 
who  might,  during  the  hours  when  the  boys 
were  not  in  their  public  classes,  assist  them  in 
acquiring  general  literature,  or  such  know- 
ledge as  might  be  advantageous  for  their  re- 
spective professions. 

"New  schools,  that  are  not  restricted  to  any 
established  routine,  should  give  a  fair  trial  to 
experiments  in  education,  which  afford  a  ra- 
tional prospect  of  success.  If  nothing  can  be 
altered  in  the  old  schools,  leave  them  as  they 
are.  Destroy  nothing — injure  none — but  let 
the  public  try  whether  they  cannot  have  some- 
thing better.  If  the  experiment  do  not  suc- 
ceed, the  public  will  be  convinced  that  they 
ought  to  acquiesce  in  the  established  methods 
of  instruction,  and  parents  will  send  their 
children  to  the  ancient  seminaries  with  in- 
creased confidence." — (p.  47 — 49.) 

We  are  well  aware  that  nothing  very  new 
G 


74 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


can  remain  to  be  said  upon  a  topic  so  often 
debated.  The  complaints  we  have  to  make 
are  at  least  as  old  as  the  time  of  Locke  and 
Dr.  Samuel  Clarke;  and  the  evil  which  is  the 
subject  of  these  complaints  has  certainly 
rather  increased  than  diminished  since  the 
period  of  those  two  great  men.  An  hundred 
years,  to  be  sure,  is  a  very  little  time  for  the 
duration  of  a  national  error;  and  it  is  so  far 
from  being  reasonable  to  look  for  its  decay  at 
so  short  a  date,  that  it  can  hardly  be  expected, 
within  such  limits,  to  have  displayed  the  full 
bloom  of  its  imbecility. 

There  are  several  feelings  to  which  attention 
must  be  paid,  before  the  question  of  classical 
learning  can  be  fairly  and  temperately  dis- 
cussed. 

We  are  apt,,  in  the  first  place,  to  remember 
the  immense  benefits  which  the  study  of  the 
classics  once  conferred  on  mankind ;  and  to 
feel  for  those  models  on  which  the  taste  of 
Europe  has  been  formed,  something  like  senti- 
ments of  gratitude  and  obligation.  This  is  all 
well  enough,  so  long  as  it  continues  to  be  a 
mere  feeling;  but,  as  soon  as  it  interferes  with 
action,  it  nourishes  dangerous  prejudices  about 
education.  Nothing  will  do  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge  but  the  blackest  ingratitude;  the 
moment  we  have  got  up  the  ladder  we  must 
kick  it  down ; — as  soon  as  we  have  passed 
over  the  bridge,  we  must  let  it  rot; — when  we 
have  got  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  ancients, 
we  must  look  over  their  heads.  The  man  who 
forgets  the  friends  of  his  childhood  in  real  life, 
is  base:  but  he  who  clings  to  the  props  of  his 
childhood  in  literature,  must  be  content  to  re- 
main as  ignorant  as  he  was  when  a  child.  His 
business  is  to  forget,  disown,  and  deny — to 
think  himself  above  every  thing  which  has 
been  of  use  to  him  in  tinoe  past — and  to  culti- 
vate that  exclusively  from  which  he  expects 
future  advantage  :  in  short,  to  do  every  thing 
for  the  advancement  of  his  knowledge  which 
it  would  be  infamous  to  do  for  the  advancement 
of  his  fortune.  If  mankind  still  derive  advan- 
tage from  classical  literature  proportionate  to 
the  labour  they  bestow  upon  it,  let  their  labour 
and  their  study  proceed ;  but  the  moment  we 
cease  to  read  Latin  and  Greek  for  the  solid 
utility  we  derive  from  them,  it  would  be  a  very 
romantic  application  of  human  talents  to  do  so 
from  any  feeling  of  gratitude,  and  recollection 
of  past  service. 

To  almost  every  Englishman  up  to  the  age 
of  three  or  four  and  twenty,  classical  learning 
has  been  the  great  object  of  existence  ;  and  no 
man  is  very  apt  to  suspect,  or  very  much 
pleased  to  hear,  that  what  he  has  done  for  so 
long  a  time  was  not  worth  doing.  His  clas- 
sical literature,  too,  reminds  every  man  of  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood,  and  brings  to  his  fancy 
several  of  the  most  pleasing  associations 
which  we  are  capable  of  forming.  A  certain 
iort  of  vanity,  also,  very  naturally  grows 
among  men  occupied  in  a  common  pursuit. 
Classical  quotations  are  the  watchwords  of 
scholars,  by  which  they  distinguish  each  other 
from  the  ignorant  and  illiterate;  and  Greek 
and  Latin  are  insensibly  become  almost  the 
only  test  of  a  cultivated  mind. 

Some  men  through  indolence,  others  through 


ignorance,  and  most  through  necessity,  submit 
to  the  established  education  of  the  times ;  and 
seek  for  their  children  that  species  of  distinc- 
tion which  happens,  at  the  period  iu  which 
they  live,  to  be  stamped  with  the  approbation 
of  mankind.  This  mere  question  of  conve- 
nience every  parent  must  determine  for  him- 
self. A  poor  man,  who  has  his  fortune  to 
gain,  must  be  a  quibbling  theologian,  or  a 
classical  pedant,  as  fashion  dictates ;  and  he 
must  vary  his  error  with  the  error  of  the  times. 
But  it  would  be  much  more  fortunate  for  man- 
kind, if  the  public  opinion,  which  regulates 
the  pursuits  of  individuals,  were  more  wise 
and  enlightened  than  it  at  present  is. 

All  these  considerations  make  it  extremely 
difficult  to  procure  a  candid  hearing  on  this 
question;  and  to  refer  this  branch  of  educa- 
tion to  the  only  proper  criterion  of  every 
branch  of  education — its  utility  in  future  life. 

There  are  two  questions  which  grow  out  of - 
this  subject:  1st,  How  far  is  any  sort  of  clas- 
sical education  useful  1  2d,  How  far  is  that 
particular  classical  education  adopted  in  this 
country  useful  1 

Latin  and  Greek  are,  in  the  first  place,  use- 
ful, as  they  inure  children  to  intellectual  diffi- 
culties, and  make  the  life  of  a  young  student 
what  it  ought  to  be,  a  life  of  considerable 
labour.  We  do  not,  of  course,  mean  to  con- 
fine this  praise  exclusively  to  the  study  of 
Latin  and  Greek;  or  to  suppose  that  other 
difficulties  might  not  be  found  which  it  would 
be  useful  to  overcome :  but  though  Latin  and 
Greek  have  this  merit  in  common  with  many 
arts  and  sciences,  still  they  have  it ;  and,  if 
they  do  nothing  else,  they  at  least  secure  a 
solid  and  vigorous  application  at  a  period  of 
life  which  materially  influences  all  other  pe- 
riods. 

To  go  through  the  grammar  of  one  language 
thoroughly  is  of  great  use  for  the  mastery  of 
every  other  grammar;  because  there  obtains, 
through  all  languages,  a  certain  analogy  to 
each  other  in  their  grammatical  construction. 
Latin  and  Greek  have  now  mixed  themselves 
etymologically  with  all  the  languages  of  mo- 
dern Europe — and  with  none  more  than  our 
own ;  so  that  it  is  necessary  to  read  these  two 
tongues  for  other  objects  than  themselves. 

The  two  ancient  languages  are,  as  mere  in- 
ventions— as  pieces  of  mechanism — incompa- 
rably more  beautiful  than  any  of  the  modern 
languages  of  Europe  :  their  mode  of  signifying 
time  and  case  by  terminations,  instead  of  aux- 
iliary verbs  and  participles,  would  of  itself 
stamp  their  superiority.  Add  to  this,  the  co- 
piousness of  the  Greek  language,  with  the 
fancy,  majesty,  and  harmony  of  its  com- 
pounds ;  and  tliere  are  quite  sufficient  reasons 
why  the  classics  should  be  studied  for  the 
beauties  of  language.  Compared  to  them, 
merely  as  vehicles  of  thought  and  passion, 
all  modern  languages  are  dull,  ill-contrived, 
and  barbarous. 

That  a  great  part  of  the  Scriptures  has 
come  down  to  us  in  the  Greek  language,  is  of 
itself  a  reason,  if  all  others  were  wanting,  why 
education  should  be  planned  so  as  to  produce 
a  supply  of  Greek  scholars. 

The  cultivation  of  style  is  very  justly  made 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


75 


a  part  of  education.  Every  thing  which  is 
written  is  meant  either  to  please  or  to  instruct. 
The  second  object  it  is  difficult  to  efTect,  with- 
out attending  to  the  first;  and  the  cultivation 
of  style  is  the  acquisition  of  those  rules  and 
literary  habits  which  sagacity  anticipates,  or 
experience  shows  to  be  the  most  effectual 
means  of  pleasing.  Those  works  are  the  best 
which  have  longest  stood  the  test  of  time,  and 
pleased  the  greatest  numbers  of  exercised 
minds.  Whatever,  therefore,  our  conjectures 
ma)''  be,  we  cannot  be  so  sure  that  the  best 
modern  writers  can  aflbrd  us  as  good  models 
as  the  ancients ; — we  cannot  be  certain  that 
they  will  live  through  the  revolutions  of  the 
world,  and  continue  to  please  in  every  climate 
— under  every  species  of  government — through 
every  stage  of  civilization.  The  moderns 
have  been  well  taught  by  their  masters ;  but 
the  time  is  hardly  yet  come  when  the  necessity 
for  such  instruction  no  longer  exists.  We 
may  still  borrow  descriptive  power  from  Ta- 
citus ;  dignified  perspicuity  from  Livy ;  simpli- 
city from  Cassar ;  and  from  Homer  some  por- 
tion of  that  light  and  heat  which,  dispersed 
into  ten  thousand  channels,  has  filled  the  world 
with  bright  images  and  illustrious  thoughts. 
Let  the  cultivator  of  modern  literature  addict 
himself  to  the  purest  models  of  taste  which 
France,  Italy,  and  England  could  supply,  he 
might  still  learn  from  Virgil  to  be  majestic, 
and  from  Tibullus  to  be  tender;  he  might  not 
j'et  look  upon  the  face  of  nature  as  Theocritus 
.saw  it;  nor  might  he  reach  those  springs  of 
pathos  with  which  Euripides  softened  the 
hearts  of  his  audience.  In  short,  it  appears  to 
us,  that  there  are  so  many  excellent  reasons 
why  a  certain  number  of  scholars  should  be 
kept  up  in  this  and  in  every  civilized  country, 
that  we  should  consider  every  system  of  edu- 
cation from  which  classical  education  was 
excluded,  as  radically  erroneous  and  com- 
pletely absurd. 

That  vast  advantages,  then,  may  be  derived 
from  classical  learning,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
The  advantages  which  are  derived  from  clas- 
sical learning  by  the  English  manner  of  teach- 
ing, involve  another  and  a  very  different  ques- 
tion ;  and  we  will  venture  to  say,  that  there  never 
was  a  more  complete  instance  in  any  country 
of  such  extravagant  and  overacted  attachment 
to  any  branch  of  knowledge  as  that  which  ob- 
tains in  this  country  with  regard  to  classical 
knowledge.  A  young  Englishman  goes  to 
school  at  six  or  seven  years  old;  and  he  re- 
mains in  a  course  of  education  till  twenty-three 
or  twenty-four  years  of  age.  In  all  that  time, 
his  sole  and  exclusive  occupation  is  learning 
Latin  and  Greek  :*  he  has  scarcely  a  notion 
that  there  is  any  other  kind  of  excellence;  and 
the  great  system  of  facts  with  which  he  is  the 
most  perfectly  acquainted,  are  the  intrigues  of 
the  heathen  gods  :  with  whom  Pan  slept  1 — 
with  whom  Jupiter? — whom  Apollo  ravished? 
These  facts  the  English  youth  get  by  heart  the 
moment  they  quit  the  nursery;  and  are  most 
sedulously  and  industriousl}'  instructed  in 
them  till  the  best  and  most  active  part  of  life 

*  Unless  he  goes  to  the  University  of  Cambridge ;  and 
then  classics  occui)y  him  entirely  for  about  ten  years; 
and  divide  him  with  mathematics  for  four  or  five  more. 


is  passed  away.  Now,  this  long  career  of 
classical  learning,  we  may,  if  we  please,  de- 
nominate a  foundation;  but  it  is  a  foundation 
so  far  above  ground,  that  there  is  absolutely 
no  room  to  put  any  thing  upon  it.  If  you 
occupy  a  man  with  one  thing  till  he  is  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  you  have  exhausted  all  his 
leisure  time:  he  is  called  into  the  world,  and 
compelled  to  act;  or  is  surrounded  with  plea- 
sures, and  thinks  and  reads  no  more.  If  you  have 
neglected  to  put  other  things  in  him,  they  will 
never  get  in  afterwards ; — if  you  have  fed  him 
only  with  words,  he  will  remain  a  narrow  and 
limited  being  to  the  end  of  his  existence. 

The  bias  given  to  men's  minds  is  so  strong, 
that  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  meet  with 
Englishmen,  whom,  but  for  their  gray  hairs 
and  wrinkles,  we  might  easily  mistake  for 
schoolboys.  Their  talk  is  of  Latin  verses; 
and  It  is  quite  clear,  if  men's  ages  are  to  be 
dated  from  the  state  of  their  mental  progress, 
that  such  men  are  eighteen  years  of  age,  and 
not  a  day  older.  Their  minds  have  been  so 
completely  possessed  by  exaggerated  notions 
of  classical  learning,  that  they  have  not  been 
able,  in  the  great  school  of  the  world,  to  form 
any  other  notion  of  real  greatness.  Attend, 
too,  to  the  public  feelings — look  to  all  the  terms 
of  applause.  A  learned  man  ! — a  scholar  ! — a 
man  of  erudition !  Upon  whom  are  these  epi- 
thets of  approbation  bestowed?  Are  they 
given  to  men  acquainted  with  the  science  of 
government?  thoroughly  masters  of  the  geo- 
graphical and  commercial  relations  of  Europe  ? 
to  men  who  know  the  properties  of  bodies,  and 
their  action  upon  each  other  ?  No  :  this  is  not 
learning:  it  is  chemistry,  or  political  economy 
—not  learning.  The  distinguishing  abstract 
term,  the  epithet  of  Scholar,  is  reserved  for 
him  who  writes  on  the  CEolic  reduplication, 
and  is  familiar  with  the  Sylburgian  method  of 
arranging  defectives  in  a.  and  /ui.  The  picture 
which  a  young  Englishman,  addicted  to  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge,  draws — his  beau  ideal  of 
human  nature — his  top  and  consummation  of 
man's  powers — is  a  knowledge  of  the  Greek 
language.  His  object  is  not  to  reason,  to 
imaginfe,  or  to  invent;  but  to  conjugate,  de- 
cline, and  derive.  The  situations  of  imagina- 
ry glory  which  he  draws  for  himself,  are  the 
detection  of  an  anapeest  in  the  wrong  place,  or 
the  restoration  of  a  dative  case  which  Cranzius 
had  passed  over,  and  the  never-dying  Ernesti 
failed  to  observe.  If  a  young  classic  of  this 
kind  were  to  meet  the  greatest  chemist  or  the 
greatest  mechanician,  or  the  most  profound 
political  economist  of  his  time,  in  compaiiy 
with  the  greatest  Greek  scholar,  would  the 
slightest  comparison  between  them  ever  come 
across  his  mind? — would  he  ever  dream  that 
such  men  as  Adam  Smith  and  Lavoisier  were 
equal  in  dignity  of  understanding  to,  or  of  the 
same  utility  as,  Bentley  and  Heyne  ?  We  are 
inclined  to  think,  that  the  feeling  excited  would 
be  a  good  deal  like  that  which  was  expressed 
by  Dr.  George  about  the  praises  of  the  great 
King  of  Prussia,  who  entertained  considerable 
doubts  whether  the  king,  with  all  his  victories, 
knew  how  to  conjugate  a  Greek  verb  in  jui. 

Another  misfortune  of  classical  learning,  as 
taught  in  England,  is,  that  scholars  have  come, 


76 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


in  process  of  time,  and  from  the  effects  of  asso- 
cialion,  to  love  the  instrument  better  than  the 
end ; — not  the  luxury  which  the  difficulty  en- 
closes, but  the  difficulty; — not  the  filbert,  but 
the  shell ; — not  what  may  be  read  in  Greek, 
but  Greek  itself.  It  is  not  so  much  the  man 
who  has  mastered  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients, 
that  is  valued,  as  he  who  displays  his  know- 
ledge of  the  vehicle  in  which  that  wisdom  is 
conveyed.  The  glory  is  to  show  I  am  a  scho- 
lar. The  good  sense  and  ingenuity  I  may  gain 
by  my  acquaintance  with  ancient  authors  is 
matter  of  opinion  ;  but  if  I  bestow  an  immen- 
sity of  pains  upon  a  point  of  accent  or  quan- 
tity, this  is  something  positive  ;  I  establish  my 
pretensions  to  the  name  of  scholar,  and  gain 
the  credit  of  learning,  while  I  sacrifice  all  its 
utility. 

Another  evil  in  the  present  system  of  classi- 
cal education  is  the  extraordinary  perfection 
which  is  aimed  at  in  teaching  those  languages; 
a  needless  perfection;  an  accuracy  which  is 
sought  for  in  nothing  else.  There  are  few 
boys  who  remain  to  the  age  of  eighteen  or 
nineteen  at  a  public  school,  without  making 
above  ten  thousand  Latin  verses  ; — a  greater 
number  than  is  contained  in  the  jEneid:  and 
after  he  has  made  this  quantity  of  verses  in  a 
dead  language,  unless  the  poet  should  happen 
to  be  a  very  weak  man  indeed,  he  never  makes 
another  as  long  as  he  lives.  It  may  be  urged, 
and  it  is  urged,  that  this  is  of  use  in  teaching 
the  delicacies  of  the  language.  No  doubt  it 
is  of  use  for  this  purpose,  if  we  put  out  of 
view  the  immense  time  and  trouble  sacrificed 
in  gaining  these  little  delicacies.  It  would  be 
of  use  that  we  should  go  on  till  fifty  years  of 
age  making  Latin  verses,  if  the  price  of  a 
whole  life  were  not  too  much  to  pay  for  it. 
We  effect  our  object ;  but  we  do  it  at  the  price 
of  something  greater  than  our  object.  And 
whence  comes  it,  that  the  expenditure  of  life 
and  labour  is  totally  put  out  of  the  calculation, 
when  Latin  and  Greek  are  to  be  attained?  In 
every  other  occupation,  the  question  is  fairly 
stated  between  the  attainment,  and  the  time 
employed  in  the  pursuit; — but,  in  classical 
learning,  it  seems  to  be  sufficient  if  the  least 
possible  good  is  gained  by  the  greatest  possible 
exertion  ;  if  the  end  is  any  thing,  and  the  means 
every  thing.  It  is  of  some  importance  to  speak 
and  write  French;  and  innumerable  delicacies 
would  be  gained  by  writing  ten  thousand 
French  verses  :  but  it  makes  no  part  of  our 
education  to  write  French  poetry.  It  is  of 
some  importance  that  there  should  be  good 
botanists  ;  but  no  botanist  can  repeat,  by  heart, 
the  names  of  all  the  plants  in  the  known 
world  ;  nor  is  any  astronomer  acquainted  with 
the  appellation  and  magnitude  of  every  star  in 
the  map  of  the  heavens.  The  only  department 
of  human  knowledge  in  which  there  can  be  no 
excess,  no  arithmetic,  no  balance  of  profit  and 
loss,  is  classical  learning. 

The  prodigious  honour  in  which  Latin  verses 
are  held  at  public  schools,  is  surely  the  most 
absurd  of  all  absurd  distinctions.  You  rest  all 
reputation  upon  doing  that  which  is  a  natural 
gift,  and  which  no  labour  can  attain.  If  a  lad 
won't  learn  the  words  of  a  language,  his  de- 
gradation  in  the  school  is  a  very  natural  pun- 


ishment for  his  disobedience,  or  his  indolence; 
but  it  would  be  as  reasonable  to  expect  that  all 
boys  should  be  witty,  or  beautiful,  as  that  they 
should  be  poets.  In  either  case,  it  would  be 
to  make  an  accidental,  unattainable,  and  not  a 
very  important  gift  of  nature,  the  only,  or  the 
principal,  test  of  merit.  This  is  the  reason 
why  boys,  who  make  a  very  considerable 
figure  at  school,  so  very  often  make  no  figure 
in  the  world ; — and  why  other  lads,  who  are 
passed  over  without  notice,  turn  out  to  be  va- 
luable, important  men.  The  test  established  in 
the  world  is  widely  different  from  that  esta- 
blished in  a  place  which  is  presumed  to  be  a 
preparation  for  the  world ;  and  the  head  of  a 
public  school,  who  is  a  perfect  miracle  to  his 
contemporaries,  finds  himself  shrink  into  ab- 
solute insignificance,  because  he  has  nothing 
else  to  command  respect  or  regard,  but  a  talent 
for  fugitive  poetry  in  a  dead  language. 

The  present  state  of  classical  education  cul- 
tivates the  imagination  a  great  deal  too  much, 
and  other  habits  of  mind  a  great  deal  too  little: 
and  trains  up  many  young  men  in  a  style  of 
elegant  imbecility,  utterly  unworthy  of  the 
talents  with  which  nature  has  endowed  them. 
It  may  be  said,  there  are  profound  investiga- 
tions, and  subjects  quite  powerful  enough  for 
any  understanding,  to  be  met  with  in  classical 
literature.  So  there  are;  but  no  man  likes  to 
add  the  difficulties  of  a  language  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  a  subject;  and  to  study  metaphysics, 
morals,  and  politics  in  Greek,  when  the  Greek 
alone  is  study  enough  without  them.  In  all 
foreign  languages,  the  most  popular  works  are 
works  of  imagination.  Even  in  the  French 
language,  which  we  know  so  well,  for  one 
serious  work  which  has  any  currency  in  this 
country,  we  have  twenty  which  are  mere  works 
of  imagination.  This  is  still  more  true  in 
classical  literature;  because  what  their  poets 
and  orators  have  left  us,  is  of  infinitely  greater 
value  than  the  remains  of  their  philosophy ; 
for,  as  society  advances,  men  think  more  ac- 
curately and  deeply,  and  imagine  more  tamely; 
works  of  reasoning  advance,  and  works  of 
fancy  decay.  So  that  the  matter  of  fact  is,  that 
a  classical  scholar  of  twenty-three  or  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  is  a  man  principally  conver- 
sant with  the  works  of  imagination.  His  feel- 
ings are  quick,  his  fancy  lively,  and  his  taste 
good.  Talents  for  speculation  and  original 
inquiry  he  has  none  ;  nor  has  he  formed  the 
invaluable  habit  of  pushing  things  up  to  their 
first  principles,  or  of  collecting  dry  and  un- 
amusing  facts  as  the  materials  of  reasoning. 
All  the  solid  and  masculine  parts  of  his  under- 
standing are  left  wholly  without  cultivation  ; 
he  hates  the  pain  of  thinking,  and  suspects 
every  man  whose  boldness  and  originality  call 
upon  him  to  defend  his  opinions  and  prove  his 
assertions. 

A  very  curious  argument  is  sometimes  em- 
ployed in  justification  of  the  learned  minutiae 
to  which  all  young  men  are  doomed,  whatever 
be  their  propensities  in  future  life.  What  are 
you  to  do  with  a  young  man  up  to  the  age  of  se- 
venteen? Just  as  if  there  was  such  a  want  of 
difficulties  to  overcome,  and  of  important 
tastes  to  inspire,  that  from  the  mere  necessity 
of  doing  something,  and  the  impossibility  of 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


77 


doing  any  thing  else,  you  were  driven  to  the 
expedient  of  metre  and  poetry; — as  if  a  young 
man  within  that  period  might  not  acquire  the 
modern  languages,  modern  history,  experimen- 
tal philosophy,  geography,  chronology,  and  a 
considerable  share  of  mathematics  ; — as  if  the 
memory  of  things  was  not  more  agreeable 
and  more  profitable  than  the  memory  of  words. 

The  great  objection  is,  that  we  are  not  mak- 
ing the  most  of  human  life,  when  we  consti- 
tute such  an  extensive,  and  such  minute  clas- 
sical erudition,  an  indispensable  article  in 
education.  Up  to  a  certain  point  we  would 
educate  every  young  man  in  Latin  and  Greek; 
but  to  a  point  far  short  of  that  to  which  this 
species  of  education  is  now  carried.  After- 
wards, we  would  grant  to  classical  erudition  as 
high  honours  as  to  every  other  department  of 
knowledge,  but  not  higher.  We  would  place 
it  upon  a  footing  with  many  other  objects  of 
study ;  but  allow  it  no  superiority.  Good 
scholars  would  be  as  certainly  produced  by 
these  means  as  good  chemists,  astronomers, 
and  mathematicians  are  now  produced,  with- 
out any  direct  provision  whatsoever  for  their 
production.  Why  are  we  to  trust  to  the  diver- 
sity of  human  tastes,  and  the  varieties  of  human 
ambition  in  every  thing  else,  and  distrust  it  in 
classics  alone  1  The  passion  for  language  is 
just  as  strong  as  any  other  literary  passion. 
There  are  very  good  Persian  and  Arabic 
scholars  in  this  country.  Large  heaps  of  trash 
have  been  dug  up  from  Sanscrit  ruins.  We 
have  seen,  in  our  own  times,  a  clergyman  of 
the  University  of  Oxford  complimenting  their 
majesties  in  Coptic  and  Syrophcenician  verses ; 
and  yet  we  doubt  whether  there  will  be  a  suffi- 
cient avidity  in  literary  men  to  get  at  the  beau- 
ties of  the  finest  writers  which  the  world  has 
yet  seen ;  and  though  the  Bagvat  Ghceta  has 
(as  can  be  proved)  met  with  human  beings  to 
translate,  and  other  human  beings  to  read  it, 
we  think  that,  in  order  to  secure  an  attention 
to  Homer  and  Virgil,  we  must  catch  up  every 
man — whether  he  is  to  be  a  clergyman  or  a 
duke, — begin  with  him  at  six  years  of  age,  and 
never  quit  him  till  he  is  twenty;  making  him 
conjugate  and  decline  for  life  and  death ;  and 
so  teaching  him  to  estimate  his  progress  in 
real  wisdom  as  he  can  scan  the  verses  of  the 
Greek  tragedians. 

The  English  clergy,  in  whose  hands  educa- 
tion entirely  rests,  bring  up  the  first  young 
men  of  the  country  as  if  they  were  all  to  keep 
grammar  schools  in  little  country  towns ;  and 
a  nobleman,  upon  whose  knowledge  and  libe- 
rality the  honour  and  welfare  of  his  country 
may  depend,  is  diligently  worried,  for  half 
his  life,  with  the  small  pedantry  of  longs  and 
shorts.  There  is  a  timid  and  absurd  appre- 
hension, on  the  part  of  ecclesiastical  tutors, 
of  letting  out  the  minds  of  youth  upon  difficult 
and  important  subjects.  They  fancy  that  men- 
tal exertion  must  end  in  religious  scepticism; 
and,  to  preserve  the  principles  of  their  pupils, 
they  confine  them  to  the  safe  and  elegant  im- 
becility of  classical  learning.  A  genuine  Ox- 
ford tutor  would  shudder  to  hear  his  young 
men  disputing  upon  moral  and  political  truth, 
forming  and  pulling  down  theories,  and  indulg- 
ing in  all  the  boldness  of  youthful  discussion. 


He  would  augur  nothing  from  it  but  impiety  to 
God  and  treason  to  kings.  And  yet,  who  vili- 
fies both  more  than  the  holy  poltroon  who  care- 
fully averts  from  them  the  searching  eye  of 
reason,  and  who  knows  no  better  method  of 
teaching  the  highest  duties,  than  by  extirpating 
the  finest  qualities  and  habits  of  the  mind  1 
If  our  religion  is  a  fable,  the  sooner  it  is  ex- 
ploded the  better.  If  our  government  is  bad, 
it  should  be  amended.  But  we  have  no  doubt 
of  the  truth  of  the  one,  or  of  the  excellence  of 
the  other;  and  are  convinced  that  both  will  be 
placed  on  a  firmer  basis  in  proportion  as  the 
minds  of  men  are  more  trained  to  the  investi- 
gation of  truth.  At  present,  we  act  with  the 
minds  of  our  young  men  as  the  Dutch  did  with 
their  exuberant  spices.  An  infinite  quantity  of 
talent  is  annually  destroyed  in  the  universities 
of  England  by  the  miserable  jealousy  and  lit- 
tleness of  ecclesiastical  instructors.  It  is  ia 
vain  to  say  we  have  produced  great  men  under 
this  system.  We  have  produced  great  men 
under  all  systems.  Every  Englishman  must 
pass  half  his  life  in  learning  Latin  and  Greek  ; 
and  classical  learning  is  supposed  to  have  pro- 
duced the  talents  which  it  has  not  been  able  to 
extinguish.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  prevent 
great  men  from  rising  up  under  any  system  of 
education,  however  bad.  Teach  men  demono- 
logy  or  astrology,  and  you  will  still  have  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  original  genius,  in  spite  of  these 
or  any  other  branches  of  ignorance  and  folly. 

There  is  a  delusive  sort  of  splendour  in  a 
vast  body  of  men  pursuing  one  object,  and 
thoroughly  obtaining  it ;  and  yet,  though  it  is 
very  splendid,  it  is  far  from  being  useful. 
Classical  literature  is  the  great  object  at  Ox- 
ford. Many  minds  so  employed  have  produced 
many  works  and  much  fame  in  that  depart- 
ment; but  if  all  liberal  arts  and  sciences  use- 
ful to  human  life  had  been  taught  there, — ifi 
some  have  dedicated  themselves  to  chemistry, 
some  to  mathematics,  some  to  experimental 
philosophy, — and  if  every  attainment  had  been 
honoured  in  the  mixed  ratio  of  its  difficulty 
and  utility, — the  system  of  such  an  University 
would  have  been  much  more  valuable,  but  the 
splentiour  of  its  name  something  less. 

When  an  University  has  been  doing  useless 
things  for  a  long  time,  it  appears  at  first  de- 
grading to  them  to  be  useful.  A  set  of  lectures 
upon  political  economy  would  be  discouraged 
in  Oxford,*  probably  despised,  probably  not 
permitted.  To  discuss  the  inclosure  of  com- 
mons, and  to  dwell  upon  imports  and  exports, 
— to  come  so  near  to  common  life,  would  seem 
to  be  undignified  and  contemptible.  In  the 
same  manner,  the  Parr,  or  the  Bentley  of  his 
day,  would  be  scandalized  in  an  University  to 
be  put  on  a  level  with  the  discoverer  of  a  neu 
tral  salt;  and  yet,  what  other  measure  is  there 
of  dignity  in  intellectual  labour,  but  usefulness 
and  difficulty  1  And  what  ought  the  term  Uni- 
versity to  mean,  but  a  place  where  every 
science  is  taught  which  is  liberal,  and  at  the 
same  time  useful  to  mankind"?  Nothing 
would  so  much  tend  to  bring  classical  litera- 
ture within  proper  bounds,  as  a  steady  and 
invariable  appeal  to  these  tests  in  our  appre- 


*  Tbey  have  since  been  established. 
g2 


78 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


ciation  of  all  human  knowledge.  The  puffed 
up  pedant  Avould  collapse  into  his  proper  size, 
and  the  maker  of  verses,  and  the  rememberer 
of  words,  would  soon  assume  that  station  which 
is  the  lot  of  those  who  go  up  unbidden  to  the 
upper  places  of  the  feast. 

We  should  be  sorry  if  what  we  have  said 
should  appear  too  contemptuous  towards  clas- 
sical learning,  which  we  most  sincerely  hope 
will  alwa3's  be  held  in  great  honour  in  this 
country,  though  we  certainly  do  not  wish 
to  it  that  exclusive  honour  Miiich  it  at  pre- 
sent enjoys.  A  great  classical  scholar  is  an 
ornament,  and  an  important  acquisition  to 
nis  country;  but,  in  a  place  of  education,  we 
would  give  to  all  knowledge  an  equal  chance 
for  distinction ;  and  would  trust  to  the  varieties 
of  human  disposition  that  every  science  worth 
cultivation  would  be  cultivated.  Looking  al- 
ways to  real  utility  as  our  guide,  we  should 
.see,  with  equal  pleasure,  a  studious  and  inqui- 
sitive mind  arranging  the  productions  of  na- 
ture, investigating  the  qualities  of  bodies,  or 
mastering  the  dithculties  of  the  learned  lan- 
guages. We  should  not  care  whether  he  were 
chemist,  naturalist,  or  scholar;  because  we 
know  it  to  be  as  necessary  that  matter  should 
be  studied,  and  subdued  to  the  use  of  man,  as 
that  taste  should  be  gratified,  and  imagination 
inflamed. 

In  those  who  were  destined  for  the  church, 
we  would  undoubtedly  encourage  classical 
learning  more  than  in  any  other  body  of  men ; 
but  if  we  had  to  do  with  a  young  man  going 
out  into  public  life,  we  would  exhort  him  to 
contemn,  or  at  least  not  to  affect,  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  great  scholar,  but  to  educate  himself 
for  the  offices  of  civil  life.  He  should  learn 
what  the  constitution  of  his  country  really  was, 
— how  it  had  grown  into  its  present  state, — the 
perils  that  had  threatened  it, — the  malignity 
that  had  attacked  it, — the  courage  that  had 
fought  for  it,  and  the  wisdom  that  had  made  it 
great.  We  would  bring  strongly  before  his 
mind  the  characters  of  those  Englishmen  who 
have  been  the  steady  friends  of  the  public  hap- 
piness ;  and  by  their  examples,  would  breathe 
into  him  a  pure  public  taste  which  should  keep 


him  untainted  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  politi- 
cal fortune.  We  would  teach  him  to  burst 
through  the  well  paid,  and  the  pernicious  cant 
of  indiscriminate  loyalty ;  and  to  know  his 
sovereign  only  as  he  discharged  those  duties, 
and  displayed  those  qualities,  for  which  the 
blood  and  the  treasure  of  his  people  are  con- 
fided to  his  hands.  We  should  deem  it  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  his  attention  was  di- 
rected to  the  true  principles  of  legislation, — 
what  effect  laws  can  produce  upon  opinions, 
and  opinions  upon  laws, — what  subjects  are  fit 
for  legislative  interference,  and  when  men 
may  be  left  to  the  management  of  their  own 
interests.  The  mischief  occasioned  by  bad 
laws,  and  the  2:)erplexity  which  arises  from 
numerous  laws, — the  causes  of  national  wealth, 
— the  relations  of  foreign  trade, — the  encou- 
ragement of  manufactures  and  agriculture, — 
the  fictitious  wealth  occasioned  by  paper  cre- 
dit,— the  laws  of  population, — the  management 
of  poverty  and  mendicity, — the  use  and  abuse 
of  monopoly, —  the  theory  of  taxation, — the 
consequences  of  the  public  debt.  These  are 
some  of  the  subjects,  and  some  of  the  branches 
of  civil  education  to  which  we  would  turn  the 
minds  of  future  judges,  future  senators,  and 
future  noblemen.  After  the  first  period  of  life 
had  been  given  up  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
classics,  and  the  reasoning  powers  were  now 
beginning  to  evolve  themselves,  these  are  some 
of  the  propensities  in  study  which  we  would 
endeavour  to  inspire.  Great  knowledge,  at 
such  a  period  of  life,  we  could  not  convey ; 
but  we  might  fix  a  decided  taste  for  its  acqui- 
sition, and  a  strong  disposition  to  respect  it  in 
others.  The  formation  of  some  great  scholars 
we  should  certainly  prevent,  and  hinder  many 
from  learning  what,  in  a  few  years,  they  would 
necessarily  forget ;  but  this  loss  would  be  well 
repaid, — if  we  could  show  the  future  rulers  of 
the  country  that  thought  and  labour  which  it 
requires  to  make  a  nation  happy, — or  if  we 
could  inspire  them  with  that  love  of  public- 
virtue,  which,  after  religion,  we  most  solemnly 
believe  to  be  the  brightest  ornament  of  the 
mind  of  man. 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


m 


FEM/\1E  EDUCATION.* 


Edinbukgh  Review,  1810. 


Mr.  Broadhurst  is  a  very  good  sort  of  a 
man,  who  has  not  written  a  very  bad  book  upon 
a  very  important  subject.  His  object  (a  very 
laudable  one)  is  to  recommend  a  better  system 
of  female  education  than  at  present  prevails  in 
this  countr}' — to  turn  the  attention  of  women 
from  the  trifling  pursuits  to  Mdiich  they  are  now 
condemned — and  to  cultivate  faculties  which, 
under  the  actual  system  of  management,  might 
almost  as  well  not  exist.  To  the  examination 
of  his  ideas  upon  these  points,  we  shall  very 
cheerfully  give  up  a  portion  of  our  time  and  at- 
tention. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  of  the  original 
difference  of  capacity  between  men  and  wo- 
men; as  if  women  were  more  quick,  and  men 
more  judicious — as  if  women  were  more  re- 
markable for  delicacy  of  association,  and  men 
for  stronger  powers  of  attention.  All  this,  we 
confess,  appears  to  us  very  fanciful.  That  there 
is  a  diflerence  in  the  understandings  of  the  men 
and  the  women  we  every  day  meet  with,  every 
body,  we  suppose,  must  perceive ;  but  there  is 
none  surely  which  may  not  be  accounted  for 
by  the  difference  of  circumstances  in  M'liich 
they  have  been  placed,  without  referring  to  any 
conjectural  difference  of  original  conformation 
of  mind.  As  long  as  boys  and  girls  run  about 
in  the  dirt,  and  trundle  hoops  together,  they  are 
both  precisely  alike.  If  you  catch  up  one  half 
of  these  creatures,  and  train  them  to  a  particu- 
lar set  of  actions  and  opinions,  and  the  other 
half  to  a  perfectly  opposite  set,  of  course  their 
understandings  will  differ,  as  one  or  the  other 
sort  of  occupations  has  called  this  or  that  ta- 
lent into  action.  There  is  surely  no  occasion 
to  go  into  any  deeper  or  more  abstruse  reason- 
ing, in  order  to  explain  so  very  simple  a  phe- 
nomenon. Taking  it,  then,  for  granted,  that 
nature  has  been  as  bountiful  of  understanding 
to  one  sex  as  the  other,  it  is  incumbent  on  us 
to  consider  what  are  the  principal  objections 
commonly  made  against  the  communication  of 
a  greater  share  of  knowledge  to  women  than 
commonly  falls  to  their  lot  at  present :  for  though 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  women  should  learn 
all  that  men  learn,  the  immense  disparity  which 
now  exists  between  their  knowledge  we  should 
hardly  think  could  admit  of  any  rational  de- 
fence. It  is  not  easy  to  imagine  that  there  can 
be  any  just  cause  why  a  woman  of  forty  should 
be  mors  ignorant  than  a  boy  of  twelve  years  of 
age.  If  there  ha  any  good  at  all  in  female  ig- 
norance, this  (to  use  a  very  colloquial  phrase) 
is  surely  too  much  of  a  good  thing. 

Something  in  this  question  must  depend,  no 
doubt,  upon  the  leisure  which  either  sex  en- 
joys for  the  cultivation  of  their  understand- 
ings:— and  we  cannot  help  thinking,  that  wo- 
men have  fully  as  much,  if  not  more,  idle  time 
upon  their  hands  than  men.  Women  are  ex- 
cluded  from   all    the    serious   business    of  the 


♦  Advice  to  Young  Ladies  on  the  Improvement  of  the 
Mind.    By  Tho.mas  Broadhubst.    8vo.   London,  1808. 


world ;  men  are  lawyers,  physicians,  clergy- 
men, apothecaries,  and  justices  of  the  peace — • 
sources  of  exertion  which  consume  a  greal  deal 
more  time  than  producing  and  suckling  child- 
ren ;  so  that,  if  the  thing  is  a  thing  that  ought 
to  be  done — if  the  attainments  of  literature  are 
objects  really  worthy  the  attention  of  females, 
they  cannot  plead  the  want  of  leisure  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  indolence  and  neglect.  The  lawyer 
who  passes  his  day  in  exasperating  the  bicker- 
ings of  Roe  and  Doe,  is  certainly  as  much  en- 
gaged as  his  lady  who  has  the  whole  of  the 
morning  before  lier  to  correct  the  children  and 
pay  the  bills.  The  apothecary,  who  rushes 
from  an  act  of  phlebotomy  in  the  western  parts 
of  the  town  to  insinuate  a  bolus  in  the  east,  is 
surely  as  completely  absorbed  as  that  fortunate 
female  who  is  darning  the  garment,  or  prepar- 
ing the  repast  of  lier  ^sculapius  at  home; 
and,  in  every  degree  and  situation  cf  life,  it 
seems  that  men  must  necessarily  be  exposed  to 
more  serious  demands  upon  their  time  and  at- 
tention than  can  possibly  be  the  case  with  re- 
spect to  the  other  sex.  We  are  speaking  al- 
ways of  the  fair  demands  which  ought  to  be 
made  upon  the  time  and  attention  of  women  j 
for,  as  the  matter  now  stands,  the  time  of  wo- 
men is  considered  as  worth  nothing  at  all. 
Daughters  are  kept  to  occupations  in  sewing, 
patching,  mantua-making,  and  mending,  by 
which  it  is  impossible  they  can  earn  tenjience 
a  day.  The  intellectual  improvement  of  wo- 
men is  considered  to  be  of  such  subordinate 
importance,  that  twenty  pounds  paid  for  needle- 
work would  give  to  a  whole  family  leisure  to 
acquire  a  fund  of  real  knowledge.  They  are 
kept  with  nimble  fingers  and  vacant  under- 
standings till  tiie  season  for  improvement  is  ut- 
terly passed  way,  and  all  chance  of  forming 
more  important  habits  completely  lost.  We 
do  not  therefore  say  that  women  have  more 
leisure  than  men,  if  it  be  necessary  that  they 
should  lead  the  life  of  artisans ;  but  we  make 
this  assertion  only  upon  the  supposition,  that  it 
is  of  some  importance  women  should  be  in- 
structed; and  that  many  ordinary  occupations, 
for  which  a  little  money  will  find  a  better  substi- 
tute, should  be  sacrificed  to  this  consideration. 
We  bar,  in  this  discussion,  any  objection 
^vhich  proceeds  from  the  mere  novelty  of  teach  • 
ing  women  more  than  they  are  already  taught. 
It  may  be  useless  that  their  education  should 
be  improved,  or  it  may  be  pernicious  ;  and 
these  are  the  fair  grounds  on  which  the  ques- 
tion may  be  argued.  But  those  who  cannot 
bring  their  minds  to  consider  such  an  unusual 
extension  of  knowledge,  without  connecting 
with  it  some  sensation  of  the  ludicrous,  should 
remember  that,  in  the  progress  from  absolute 
ignorance,  there  is  a  period  when  cultivation  of 
mind  is  new  to  every  raidc  and  description  of 
persons.  A  century  ago,  who  would  have  be- 
lieved that  country  gentlemen  could  be  brought 
to  read  and  spell  with  the  ease  and  accuracy 
which  we  now  so  frequently  remark, — or  sup- 
posed that  they  could  be  carried  up  even  to  th^ 


80 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


elements  of  ancient  and  modern  history?  No- 
thing is  more  common,  or  more  stupid,  than  to 
take  the  actual  lor  the  possible — to  believe  that 
all  which  is,  is  all  which  can  be ;  first  to  laugh 
at  every  proposed  deviation  from  practice  as 
impossible — then,  when  it  is  carried  into  effect, 
to  be  astonished  that  it  did  not  take  place 
before. 

It  is  said,  that  the  effect  of  knowledge  is  to 
make  women  pedantic  and  affected ;  and  that 
nothing  can  be  more  offensive  than  to  see  a 
woman  stepping  out  of  the  natural  modesty  of 
her  sex  to  make  an  ostentatious  display  of  her 
literary  attainments.  This  may  be  true  enough  ; 
but  the  answer  is  so  trite  and  obvious,  that  we 
are  almost  ashamed  to  make  it.  All  affectation 
and  display  proceed  from  the  supposition  of 
possessing  something  better  than  the  rest  of 
the  world  possesses.  Nobody  is  vain  of  pos- 
sessing two  legs  and  two  arms ; — because  that 
is  the  precise  quantity  of  either  sort  of  limb 
which  every  body  possesses.  Who  ever  heard 
a  lady  boast  that  she  understood  French? — for 
no  other  reason,  that  we  know  of,  but  because 
every  body  in  these  days  does  understand 
French;  and  though  there  may  be'  some  dis- 
grace in  being  ignorant  of  that  language,  there 
i3  little  or  no  merit  in  its  acquisition.  Diffuse 
knowledge  generally  among  women,  and  you 
will  at  once  cure  the  conceit  which  knowledge 
occasions  while  it  is  rare.  Vanity  and  conceit 
we  shall  of  course  witness  in  men  and  women 
as  long  as  the  world  endures :  but  by  multiply- 
ing the  attainments  upon  which  these  feelings 
are  founded,  you  increase  the  difficulty  of  in- 
dulging them,  and  render  them  much  more  to- 
lerable, by  making  them  the  proofs  of  a  much 
higher  merit.  When  learning  ceases  to  be  un- 
common among  women,  learned  women  will 
cease  to  be  affected. 

A  great  many  of  the  lesser  and  more  obscure 
duties  of  life  necessarily  devolve  upon  the  fe- 
male sex.  The  arrangement  of  all  household 
matters,  and  the  care  of  children  in  their  early 
infancy,  must  of  course  depend  upon  them. 
Now,  there  is  a  very  general  notion,  that  the 
moment  you  put  the  education  of  women  upon 
a  better  footing  than  it  is  at  present,  at  that  mo- 
ment there  will  be  an  end  of  all  domestic  econo- 
my, and  that,  if  you  once  suffer  women  to  eat 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  the  rest  of  the  family 
will  very  soon  be  reduced  to  the  same  kind  of 
aerial  and  unsatisfactory  diet.  These,  and  all 
such  opinions,  are  referable  to  one  great  and 
common  cause  of  error ;  that  man  does  every 
thing,  and  that  nature  does  nothing ;  and  that 
every  thing  we  see  is  referable  to  positive  insti- 
tution rather  than  to  original  feeling.  Can  any 
thing,  for  example,  be  more  perfectly  absurd 
than  to  suppose  that  the  care  and  perpetual  so- 
licitude which  a  mother  feels  for  her  children, 
depends  upon  her  ignorance  of  Greek  and  ma- 
thematics ;  and  that  she  would  desert  an  infant 
for  a  quadratic  equation?  We  seem  to  ima- 
gine that  we  can  break  in  pieces  the  solemn 
institution  of  nature,  by  the  little  laws  of  a 
boarding-school ;  and  that  the  existence  of  the 
human  race  depends  upon  teachine:  women  a 
a  little  more  or  a  little  less; — that  Cimmerian 
ignorance  can  aid  paternal  affection,  or  the  cir- 
cle of  arts  and  sciences  produce  its  destruction. 
in  the  same  manner,  we  forget  the  principles 
upon  which  the  love  of  order,  arrangement, 
and  all  the  arts  of  economy  depend.  They  de- 
pend   rot    upon   ignorance    nor   idleness ;  but 


upon  the  poverty,  confusion,  and  ruin  which 
would  ensue  for  neglecting  them.  Add  to 
these  principles,  the  love  of  what  is  beautiful 
and  magnificent,  and  the  vanity  of  display ; — 
and  there  can  surely  be  no  reasonable  doubt 
but  that  the  order  and  economy  of  private  life 
is  amply  secured  from  the  perilous  inroads  of 
knowledge. 

Wo  would  fain  know,  too,  if  knowledge  is  to 
produce  such  baneful  effects  upon  the  materia, 
and  the  household  virtues,  why  this  influence 
has  not  already  been  felt?  Women  are  much 
better  educated  now  than  they  were  a  century 
ago ;  but  they  are  by  no  means  less  remarka- 
ble for  attention  to  the  arrangements  of  their 
household,  or  less  inclined  to  discharge  the  of- 
fices of  parental  affection.  It  would  be  very 
easy  to  show,  that  the  same  objection  has  been 
made  at  all  times  to  every  improvement  in  the 
education  of  both  sexes,  and  all  ranks — and 
been  as  uniformly  and  completely  refuted  by 
experience.  A  great  part  of  the  objections 
made  to  the  education  of  women,  are  rathei 
objections  made  to  human  nature  than  to  the 
female  sex :  for  it  is  surely  true,  that  knowledge, 
where  it  produces  any  bad  effects  at  all,  does  as 
much  mischief  to  one  sex  as  to  the  other, — 
and  gives  birth  to  fully  as  much  arrogance,  in- 
attention to  common  affairs,  and  eccentricity 
among  men,  as  it  does  among  women.  But  it 
by  no  means  follows,  that  you  get  rid  of  vanity 
and  self-conceit  because  you  get  rid  of  learn- 
ing. Self-complacency  can  never  want  an  ex- 
cuse; and  the  best  way  to  make  it  more  tolera- 
ble, and  more  useful,  is  to  give  to  it  as  high  and 
as  dignified  an  object  as  possible.  But  at  all 
events  it  is  unfair  to  bring  forward  against  a 
part  of  the  world  an  objection  which  is  equally 
powerful  against  the  whole.  When  foolish  wo- 
men think  they  have  any  distinction,  they  are 
apt  to  be  proud  of  it ;  so  are  foolish  men.  But 
we  appeal  to  any  one  who  has  lived  with  culti- 
vated persons  of  either  sex,  whether  he  has  not 
witnessed  as  much  pedantry,  as  much  wrong- 
headedness,  as  much  arrogance,  and  certainly 
a  great  deal  more  rudeness,  produced  by  learn- 
ing in  men,  than  in  women;  therefore,  we 
should  make  the  accusation  general — or  dis- 
miss it  altogether;  though,  with  respect  to  pe- 
dantry, the  learned  are  certaiidy  a  little  unfortu- 
nate, that  so  very  emphatic  a  word,  which  is 
occasionally  applicable  to  all  men  embarked 
eagerly  in  any  pursuit,  should  be  reserved  ex- 
clusively for  them:  for,  as  pedantry  is  an  osten- 
tatious obtrusion  of  knowledge,  in  which  those 
Who  hear  us  cannot  sympathize,  it  is  a  fault  of 
which  soldiers,  sailors,  sportsmen,  gamesters, 
cultivators,  and  all  men  engaged  in  a  particular 
occupation,  are  quite  as  guilty  as  scholars;  but 
thay  have  the  good  fortune  to  have  the  vice 
only  of  pedantry, — while  scholars  have  both  the 
vice  and  the  name  for  it  too. 

Some  persons  are  apt  to  contrast  the  acquisi- 
tion of  important  knowledge  with  what  they 
call  simple  pleasures ;  and  deem  it  more  be- 
coming that  a  woman  should  educate  flowers, 
make  friendships  with  birds,  and  pick  up  plants, 
than  enter  into  more  difficult  and  fatiguing 
studies.  If  a  woman  has  no  taste  and  genius 
for  higher  occupation,  let  her  engage  in  these 
to  be  sure  rather  than  remain  destitute  of  any 
pursuit.  But  why  are  we  necessarily  to  doom 
a  girl,  whatever  be  her  taste  or  her  capacity,  to 
one  unvaried  line  of  petty  and  frivolous  occu- 
pation'    If  she  is  full  of  strong  sense  and  ele- 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


SI 


vated  curiosity,  can  there  be  any  reai3on  why 
she  should  be  dihued  and  enfeebled  down  to  a 
mere  culler  of  simples;  and  fancier  of  birds? — 
why  books  of  history  and  reasoning  are  to  be 
torn  out  of  her  hand,  and  why  she  is  to  be  sent, 
like  a  butterfly,  to  hover  over  the  idle  flowers  j 
of  the  field?  Such  amusements  are  innocent 
to  those  whom  they  can  occupy;  but  they  are 
not  innocent  to  those  who  have  too  powerful 
understandings  to  be  occupied  by  them.  Light 
broths  and  i'ruits  are  innocent  food  only  to 
weak  or  to  infant  stomachs  ;  but  they  are  poison 
to  that  organ  in  its  perfect  and  mature  state. 
But  the  great  charm  appears  to  be  in  the  word 
simplicity — simple  pleasure  !  If  by  a  simple 
pleasure  is  meant  an  innocent  pleasure,  the  ob- 
servation is  best  answered  by  showing,  that 
the  pleasure  which  results  from  the  acquisition 
of  important  knowledge  is  quite  as  innocent  as 
any  pleasure  whatever :  but  if  by  a  simple 
pleasure  is  meant  one,  the  cause  of  which  can 
be  easily  analyzed,  or  which  does  not  last  long, 
or  which  in  itself  is  very  faint,  then  simple  plea- 
sures seein  to  be  very  nearly  synonymous  with 
small  pleasures ;  and  if  the  simplicity  were  to 
be  a  little  increased,  the  pleasure  would  vanish 
altogether. 

As  it  is  impossible  that  every  man  should 
have  industry  or  activity  sufficiently  to  avail 
himself  of  the  advantages  of  education,  it  is 
natural  that  men  who  are  ignorant  themselves, 
should  view,  with  some  degree  of  jealousy  and 
alarm,  any  proposal  for  improving  the  education 
of  women.  But  such  men  may  depend  upon 
it,  however  the  system  of  female  education 
may  be  exalted,  that  there  will  never  be  want- 
ing a  due  proportion  of  failures ;  and  that  after 
parents,  guardians,  and  preceptors  have  done 
all  in  their  power  to  make  every  body  wise, 
there  will  still  be  a  plentiful  supply  of  women 
who  have  taken  special  care  to  remain  other- 
wise ;  and  they  may  rest  assured,  if  the  utter 
extinction  of  ignorance  and  folly  is  the  evil 
they  dread,  that  their  interests  will  always  be 
effectually  protected,  in  spite  of  every  exertion 
to  the  contrary. 

We  must  in  candour  allow  that  those  women 
who  begin  will  have  something  more  to  over- 
come than  may  probably  hereafter  be  the  case. 
We  cannot  deny  the  jealousy  which  exists 
among  pompous  and  foolish  men  respecting  the 
education  of  women.  There  is  a  class  of  pe- 
dants who  would  be  cut  short  in  the  estimation 
of  the  world  a  whole  cubit  if  it  were  generally 
known  that  a  young  lady  of  eighteen  could  be 
taught  to  decline  the  tenses  of  the  middle  voice, 
or  acquaint  herself  with  the  iEolic  varieties  of 
that  celebrated  language.  Then  women  have, 
of  course,  all  ignorant  men  for  enemies  to  their 
instruction,  who  being  bound  (as  they  think.) 
in  point  of  sex,  to  know  more,  are  not  well 
pleased,  in  point  of  fact,  to  know  less.  But, 
among  men  of  sense  and  liberal  politeness,  a 
woman  who  has  successfully  cultivated  her 
mind,  without  diminishing  the  gentleness  and 
propriety  of  her  manners,  is  always  sure  to  meet 
with  a  respect  and  attention  bordering  upon  en- 
thusiasm. 

There  is  in  either  sex  a  strong  and  perma- 
nent disposition  to  appear  agreeable  to  the 
other  :  and  this  is  the  fair  answer  to  those  who 
are  fond  of  supposing,  that  an  higher  degree  of 
knowledge  would  make  women  rather  tlie  rivals 
than  the  companions  of  men.  Presupposing 
such  a  desire  to  please,  it  seems  much  more 
11 


probable,  that  a  common  pursuit  should  be  a 
fresh  source  of  interest  than  a  cause  of  conten- 
tion. Indeed,  to  suppose  that  any  mode  of  edu- 
cation can  create  a  general  jealousy  and  rivalry 
between  the  sexes,  is  so  very  ridiculous,  that  it 
requires  only  to  be  stated  in  order  to  be  refuted. 
The  same  desire  of  pleasing  secures  all  that  de- 
licacy and  reserve  which  are  of  such  inestima- 
ble value  to  women.  We  are  quite  astonished, 
in  hearing  men  converse  on  such  subjects,  to 
find  them  attributing  such  beautiful  effects  to 
ignorance.  It  would  appear,  from  the  tenour 
of  such  objections,  that  ignorance  had  been  the 
great  civilizer  of  the  world.  Women  are  deli- 
cate and  refined  only  because  they  are  igno- 
rant ; — they  manage  their  household,  only  be- 
cause they  are  ignorant ; — they  attend  to  their 
children,  only  because  they  know  no  better. 
Now,  we  must  really  confess,  we  have  all  our 
lives  been  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  the  value 
of  ignorance.  We  have  always  attributed  the 
modesty  and  the  refined  manners  of  women,  to 
their  being  well  taught  in  moral  and  religious 
duty, — to  the  hazardous  situation  in  which  they 
are  placed, — to  that  perpetual  vigilance  which  it 
is  their  duty  to  exercise  over  thought,  word,  and 
action, — and  to  that  cultivation  of  the  mild  vir- 
tues, which  those  who  cultivate  the  stern  and 
magnanimous  virtues  expect  at  their  hands. 
After  all,  let  it  be  remembered,  we  are  not  say- 
ing there  are  no  objections  to  the  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  the  female  sex.  We  would 
not  hazard  such  a  proposition  respecting  any- 
thing; but  we  are  saying,  that,  upon  the  whole, 
it  is  the  best  method  of  employing  time;  and 
that  there  are  fewer  objections  to  it  than  to  any 
other  method.  There  are,  perhaps,  50,000  fe- 
males in  Great  Britain  who  are  exempted  by 
circumstances  from  all  necessary  labour:  but 
every  human  being  must  do  something  with 
their  existence  ;  and  the  pursuit  of  knowledge 
is,  upon  the  whole,  the  most  innocent,  the  most 
dignified,  and  the  most  useful  method  of  filling 
up  that  idleness,  of  which  there  is  always  sc 
large  a  portion  in  nations  far  advanced  in  civil 
ization.  Let  any  man  reflect,  too,  upon  the  soli 
tary  situation  in  which  women  are  placed, — 
the  ill  treatment  to  which  they  are  sometimes 
exposed,  and  which  they  must  endure  in  silence, 
and  without  the  power  of  complaining, — and 
he  must  feel  convinced  that  the  happiness  of  a 
wornan  will  be  materially  increased  in  propor- 
tion as  education  has  given  to  her  the  habit  and 
the  means  of  drawing  her  resources  from  her- 
self. 

There  are  a  few  common  phrases  in  circula- 
tion, respecting  the  duties  of  women,  to  which 
we  wish  to  pay  some  degree  of  attention,  be- 
cause they  are  rather  inimical  to  those  opinions 
which  we  have  advanced  on  this  subject.  In- 
deed, independently  of  this,  there  is  nothing 
which  requires  more  vigilance  than  the  current 
phrases  of  the  day,  of  which  there  are  always 
some  resorted  to  in  every  dispute,  and  from  the 
sovereign  authority  of  which  it  is  often  vain  to 
make  any  appeal.  '•  The  true  theatre  for  a  wo- 
man is  the  sick-chamber ;" — '•  Nothing  so  ho- 
nourable to  a  woman  as  not  to  be  spoken  of  at 
all."  These  two  phrases,  the  delight  o^  Noodle- 
dom.  are  grown  into  common-places  upon  the 
subject;  and  are  not  unfrequently  employird  tw 
extinguish  that  love  of  knowledge  in  women, 
which,  in  our  humble  opinion,  it  is  of  so  much 
importance  to  cherish.  Nothing,  certainly,  is  so 
ornamental  and  delightful  in  women  as  the  bt.- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


nevolent  affections;  but  time  cannot  be  filled 
up,  and  life  employetl,  with  high  and  impas- 
sioned virtues.  Some  of  these  feelings  are  of 
rare  occurrence — all  of  short  duration — or  na- 
ture would  sink  under  them.  A  scene  of  dis- 
tress and  anguish  is  an  occasion  where  the 
finest  qualities  of  the  female  mind  may  be  dis- 
played; but  it  is  a  monstrous  exaggeration  to 
tell  women  that  they  are  born  only  for  scenes 
of  distress  and  anguish.  Nurse  father,  mother, 
sister,  and  brother,  if  they  want  it; — it  would 
be  a  violation  of  the  plainest  duties  to  neglect 
them.  But,  when  we  are  talking  of  the  com- 
mon occupations  of  life,  do  not  let  us  mistake 
the  accidents  for  the  occupations; — when  we 
are  arguing  how  the  twenty-three  hours  of  the 
day  are  to  be  filled  up,  it  is  idle  to  tell  us  of 
those  feelings  and  agitations  above  the  level  of 
common  existence,  which  may  employ  the  re- 
maining hour.  Compassion,  and  every  other 
virtue,  are  the  great  objects  we  all  ought  to 
have  in  view  ;  but  no  man  (and  no  woman)  can 
fill  up  the  twenty-four  hours  by  acts  of  virtue. 
But  one  is  a  lawyer,  and  the  other  a  plough- 
man, and  the  third  a  merchant ;  and  then,  acts 
of  goodness,  and  intervals  of  compassion  and 
fine  feeling,  are  scattered  up  and  down  the 
common  occupations  of  life.  We  know  women 
are  to  be  compassionate ;  but  they  cannot  be 
compassionate  from  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing till  twelve  at  night : — and  what  are  they  to 
do  in  the  interval?  This  is  the  only  question 
we  have  been  putting  all  along,  and  is  all  that 
can  be  meant  by  literary  education. 

Then,  again,  as  to  the  notoriety  which  is  in- 
curred by  literature. — The  cultivation  of  know- 
ledge is  a  very  distinct  thing  from  its  publica- 
tion ;  nor  does  it  follow  that  a  woman  is  to  be- 
come an  author  merely  because  she  has  talent 
enough  for  it.  We  do  not  wish  a  lady  to  write 
books, — to  defend  and  reply, — to  squabble  about 
the  tomb  of  Achilles,  or  the  plain  of  Troy, — any 
more  than  we  wish  her  to  dance  at  the  opera, 
to  play  at  a  public  concert,  or  to  put  pictures 
in  the  exhibition,  because  she  has  learned  music, 
dancing  and  drawing.  The  great  use  of  her 
knowledge  will  be  that  it  contributes  to  her 
private  happiness.  She  may  make  it  public : 
but  it  is  not  the  principal  object  which  the 
friends  of  female  education  have  in  view. 
Among  men,  the  few  who  write  bear  no  com- 
parison to  the  many  who  read.  We  hear  most 
of  the  former,  indeed,  because  they  are,  in  ge- 
neral, the  most  ostentatious  part  of  literary 
men  ;  but  there  are  innumerable  persons  who, 
without  ever  laying  themselves  before  the  pub- 
lic, have  made  use  of  literature  to  add  to  the 
strength  of  their  understandings,  and  to  improve 
the  happiness  of  their  lives.  After  all,  it  may 
be  an  evil  for  ladies  to  be  talked  of:  but  we 
really  think  those  ladies  who  are  talked  of  only 
as  Mrs.  Marcet,  Mrs.  Somerville,  and  Miss  Mar- 
tineau  are  talked  of,  may  bear  their  misfortunes 
with  a  very  great  degree  of  Christian  patience. 

Their  exemption  from  all  the  necessary  busi- 
ness of  life  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  motives 
for  the  improvement  of  education  in  women. 
Lawyers  and  phys^i^ians  have  in  their  profes- 
sions a  constant  motive  to  exertion  ;  if  you  ne- 
glect their  education,  they  must  in  a  certain 
degree  educate  themselves  by  their  commerce 
with  the  world  :  they  must  learn  caution,  accu- 
racy, and  judgment,  because  they  must  incur 
responsibility.  But  if  you  neglect  to  educate 
•  the  niiml  of  a  woman,  by  the  speculative  diffi- 


culties which  occur  in  literature,  it  can  never  he 
educated  at  all :  if  you  do  not  effectually  rouse 
it  by  education,  it  must  remain  for  ever  languid. 
Uneducated  men  may  escape  intellectual  degra- 
dation ;  uneducated  women  cannot.  They  have 
nothing  to  do  ;  and  if  they  come  untaught  from 
the  schools  of  education,  they  will  never  be  in- 
structed in  the  school  of  events. 

Women  have  not  their  livelihood  to  gain  by 
knowledge  ;  and  that  is  one  motive  for  relaxing 
all  those  efforts  which  are  made  in  the  educa- 
tion of  men.  They  certainly  have  not ;  but 
they  have  happiness  to  gain,  to  which  know- 
ledije  leads  as  probably  as  it  does  to  profit ; 
and  that  is  a  reason  against  mistaken  indul- 
gence. Besides,  we  conceive  the  labour  and 
fatigue  of  accomplishments  to  be  quite  equal  to 
the  labour  and  fatigue  of  knowledge ;  and  that 
it  takes  quite  as  many  years  to  be  charming  aa 
it  does  to  be  learned. 

Another  dilTerence  of  the  sexes  is,  that  women 
are  attended  to,  and  men  attend.  All  acts  of 
courtesy  and  politeness  originate  from  the  onff 
sex,  and  are  received  by  the  other.  We  can 
see  no  sort  of  reason,  in  this  diversity  of  condi- 
tion, for  giving  to  women  a  trifling  and  insig- 
nificant education  ;  but  we  see  in  it  a  very  pow- 
erful reason  for  strengthening  their  judgment, 
and  inspiring  them  with  the  habit  of  employing 
time  usefully.  We  admit  many  striking  differ- 
ences in  the  situation  of  the  two  sexes,  and 
many  striking  diflerences  of  understanding,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  different  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed  :  but  there  is  not  a  single 
diflerence  of  this  kind  which  does  not  afford  a 
new  argument  for  making  the  education  of  wo- 
men better  than  it  is.  They  have  nothing  se- 
rious to  do  ; — is  that  a  reason  why  they  should 
be  brought  up  to  do  nothing  but  what  is  tri- 
fling? They  are  exposed  to  greater  dangers  ;— 
is  that  a  reason  why  their  faculties  are  to  be 
purposely  and  industriously  weakened  1  They 
are  to  form  the  characters  of  future  men ; — is 
that  a  cause  why  their  own  characters  are  to 
be  broken  and  frittered  down  as  they  now  are  ? 
In  short,  there  is  not  a  single  trait  in  that  diver- 
sity of  circumstances,  in  which  the  two  sexes 
are  placed,  that  does  not  decidedly  prove  the 
magnitude  of  the  error  we  commit  in  neglect- 
ing (as  we  do  neglect)  the  education  of 
women. 

If  the  objections  against  the  better  education 
of  women  could  be  overruled,  one  of  the  great 
advantages  that  would  ensue  would  be  the  ex- 
tinction of  innumerable  follies.  A  decided  and 
prevailing  taste  for  one  or  another  mode  of 
education  there  must  be.  A  century  past,  it 
was  for  housewifery — now  it  is  for  accomplish- 
ments. The  object  now  is,  to  make  women 
artists, — to  give  them  an  excellence  in  drawing, 
music,  painting  and  dancing, — of  which,  per- 
sons who  make  these  pursuits  the  occupation 
of  their  lives,  and  derive  from  them  their  sub- 
sistence, need  not  be  ashamed.  Now,  one  great 
evil  of  this  is,  that  it  does  not  last.  If  the  whole 
of  life  were  an  Olympic  game, — if  we  could  go 
on  feasting  and  dancing  to  the  end, — this  might 
do ;  but  it  is  in  truth  merely  a  provision  for  the 
little  interval  between  coming  into  life,  and  set- 
tling in  it;  while  it  leaves  a  long  and  dreary 
expanse  behind,  devoid  both  of  dignity  and 
cheerfulness.  No  mother,  no  woman  who  has 
passed  over  the  few  first  years  of  life,  sings,  or 
dances,  or  draws,  or  plays  upon  musical  instru- 
ments.    These  are  merely  means  for  displaying 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


83 


the  grace  and  vivacity  of  youth,  which  every 
woman  gives  up,  as  she  gives  up  the  dress  and 
manners  of  eighteen:  she  has  no  wisli  to  retain 
tliem ,  or,  if  she  lias,  she  is  driven  out  of  them 
by  diameter  and  derision.  The  system  of  fe- 
male education,  as  it  now  stands,  aims  only  at 
embellishing  a  few  years  of  life,  which  are  in 
themselves  so  full  of  grace  and  happiness,  that 
they  hardly  want  it ;  and  then  leaves  the  rest  of 
existence  a  miserable  prey  to  idle  insignificance. 
No  woman  of  understanding  and  reflection  can 
possibly  conceive  she  is  duing  justice  to  her 
children  by  such  kind  of  education.  The  object 
is,  to  give  to  children  resources  that  will  en- 
dure as  long  as  life  endures, — habits  that  time 
will  ameliorate,  not  destroy, — occupations  that 
will  render  sickness  tolerable,  solitude  pleasant, 
age  venerable,  life  more  dignified  and  useful, 
and  therefore  death  less  terrible  :  and  the  com- 
pensation which  is  otfered  for  the  omission  of 
all  this,  is  a  short-lived  blaze, — a  little  tempo- 
rary elfect,  which  has  no  other  consequence 
than  to  deprive  the  remainder  of  life  of  all 
taste  and  relish.  There  niay  be  women  who 
have  a  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  and  who 
evince  a  decided  talent  for  drawing,  or  for 
music.  In  that  case,  there  can  be  no  objection 
to  the  cultivation  of  these  arts  ;  but  the  error  is, 
to  make  such  things  the  grand  and  universal 
object, — to  insist  upon  it  that  every  woman  is 
to  sing,  and  draw,  and  dance — with  nature,  or 
against  nature, — to  bind  her  apprentice  to  some 
accomplishment,  and  if  she  cannot  succeed  in 
oil  or  water-colours,  to  prefer  gilding,  varnish- 
ing, burnishing,  box-making,  to  real  solid  im- 
provement in  taste,  knowledge,  and  under- 
standing. 

A  great  deal  is  said  in  fiivour  of  the  social 
nature  of  the  fine  arts.  Music  gives  pleasure 
to  others.  Drawing  is  an  art,  the  amusement 
of  which  does  not  centre  in  him  who  exercises 
it,  liut  it  is  diffused  among  the  rest  of  the  world. 
This  is  true ;  but  there  is  nothing,  after  all,  so 
social  as  a  cultivated  mind.  We  do  not  mean 
to  speak  slightingly  of  the  fine  arts,  or  to  depre- 
ciate the  good  humour  with  which  they  are  some- 
times exhibited;  but  we  appeal  to  any  man, 
whether  a  little  spirited  and  sensible  conversa- 
tion— displaying,  modestly,  useful  acquirements 
— and  evincing  rational  curiosity,  is  not  well 
worth  the  highest  exertions  of  musical  or  gra- 
phical skill.  A  woman  of  accomplishments 
may  entertain  those  who  have  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  her  for  half  an  hour  with  great  brillian- 
cy ;  but  a  mind  full  of  ideas,  and  with  that  elas- 
tic spring  which  the  love  of  knowledge  only  can 
convey,  is  a  perpetual  source  of  exhilaration 
and  amusement  to  all  that  come  within  its  reach ; 
— not  collecting  its  force  into  single  and  insu- 
lated achievements,  like  the  effort  made  in  the 
fine  arts — but  diffusing,  equally  over  the  whole 
of  existence,  a  calm  pleasure — better  loved  as 
it  is  longer  felt — and  suitable  to  every  variety 
and  every  period  of  life.  Therefore,  instead  of 
hanging  the  understanding  of  a  woman  upon 
walls,  or  hearing  it  vibrate  upon  strings, — in- 
stead of  seeing  it  in  clouds,  or  hearing  it  in  the 
wind,  we  would  make  it  the  first  spring  and  or- 
nament of  society,  by  enriching  it  with  attain- 
ments upon  which  alone  such  power  depends. 

If  the  education  of  women  were  improved, 
the  education  of  men  would  be  improved  also. 
Let  any  one  consider  (in  order  to  bring  the 
matter  more  home  by  an  individual  instance) 
of  what  immense  importance  to   society  it  is, 


whether  a  nobleman  of  first-rate  fortune  and 
distinction  is  well  or  ill  brought  up ; — what  a 
taste  and  fashion  he  may  inspire  for  private  and 
for  political  vice  ! — and  what  misery  and  mis- 
chief he  may  produce  to  the  thousand  human 
beings  who  are  dependent  on  him  !  A  country 
contains  no  such  curse  within  its  bosom.  Youth, 
wealth,  high  rank,  and  vice,  form  a  combina- 
tion which  baffles  all  remonstrance  and  beats 
down  all  opposition.  A  man  of  high  rank  who 
combines  these  qualifications  for  corruption,  is 
almost  the  master  of  the  manners  of  the  age, 
and  has  the  public  happiness  within  his  grasp. 
But  the  most  beautiful  possession  which  a  coun- 
try can  have  is  a  noble  and  rich  man,  who  loves 
virtue  and  knowledge  ; — who  without  being 
feeble  or  fanatical  is  pious — and  who  without 
being  factious  is  firm  and  independent ; — who, 
in  his  political  life,  is  an  equitable  mediator  be- 
tween king  and  people ;  and  in  his  civil  life,  a 
firm  promoter  of  all  which  can  shed  a  lustre 
upon  his  country,  or  promote  the  peace  and  or- 
der of  the  world.  But  if  these  objects  are  of 
the  importance  which  we  attribute  to  them, 
the  education  of  women  must  be  important,  as 
the  formation  of  character  for  the  first  seven  or 
eight  years  of  life  seems  to  depend  almost  en- 
tirely upon  them.  It  is  certainly  in  the  power 
of  a  sensible  and  well-educated  mother  to  in- 
spire, within  that  period,  such  tastes  and  pro- 
pensities as  shall  nearly  decide  the  destiny  of 
the  future  man  ;  and  this  is  done,  not  only  by 
the  intentional  exertions  of  the  mother,  but  by 
the  gradual  and  insensible  imitation  of  the  child; 
for  there  is  something  extremely  contagious  in 
greatness  and  rectitude  of  thinking,  even  at 
that  age  ;  and  the  character  of  the  mother  with 
whom  he  passes  his  early  infancy,  is  always  an 
event  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  child. 
A  merely  accomplished  woman  cannot  infuse 
her  tastes  into  the  minds  of  her  sons  ;  and,  if 
she  could,  nothing  could  be  more  unfortunate 
than  her  success.  Besides,  when  her  accom- 
plishments are  given  up,  she  has  nothing  left 
for  it  but  to  amuse  herself  in  the  best  way  she 
can;  and,  becoming  entirely  frivolous,  either 
declines  altogether  the  fatigue  of  attending  to 
her  children,  or,  attending  to  them,  has  neither 
talents  nor  knowledge  to  succeed;  and,  there- 
fore, here  is  a  plain  and  fair  answer  to  those 
who  ask  so  triumphantly,  why  should  a  woman 
dedicate  herself  to  this  branch  of  knowledge  ? 
or  why  should  she  be  attached  to  such  science? 
— Because,  by  having  gained  information  on 
these  points,  she  may  inspire  her  son  with  valu- 
able tastes,  which  may  abide  by  him  through 
life,  and  carry  him  up  to  all  the  sublimities  of 
knowledge  ;  because  she  cannot  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  a  great  character,  if  she  is  absorbed  in 
frivolous  amusements,  nor  inspire  her  child  with 
noble  desires,  when  a  long  course  of  trifling 
has  destroyed  the  little  talents  which  were  left 
by  a  bad  education. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  a  coiuitry,  that 
there  should  be  as  many  understandings  as  pos- 
sible actively  employed  within  it.  Mankind 
are  much  happier  for  the  discovery  of  barome- 
ters, thermometers,  steam-engines,  and  all  fho 
innumerable  inventions  in  the  arts  and  sciences. 
We  are  every  day  and  every  hour  reaping  the 
benefit  of  such  talent  and  ingenuity.  The  same 
observation  is  true  of  such  works  as  those  of 
Dryden,  Pope,  Milton  and  Shakspeare.  Man- 
kind are  much  happier  that  such  individuals 
have  lived  and  written ;  they  add  every  day  to 


S4 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


the  stock  of  public  enjoyment — and  perpetually 
gladden  and  embellish  life.  Now,  the  number 
ol'  those  who  exercise  tlieir  understandings  to 
any  good  purpose,  is  exactly  in  proportion  to 
those  who  exercise  it  at  all ;  but,  as  the  matter 
stands  at  present,  half  the  talent  in  the  universe 
runs  to  waste,  and  is  totally  unprofitable.  It 
would  have  been  almost  as  well  for  the  world, 
hitherto,  that  women,  instead  of  possessing  the 
capacities  they  do  at  present,  should  have  been 
born  wholly  destitute  of  wit,  genius,  and  every 
other  attribute  of  mind,  of  wliich  men  make  so 
eminent  a  use :  and  the  ideas  of  use  and  pos- 
session are  so  united  together,  that,  because  it 
has  been  the  custom  in  almost  all  countries  to 
give  to  women  a  diflerent  and  a  ^vorse  educa- 
fion  than  to  men,  the  notion  has  obtained  that 
they  do  not  possess  faculties  which  they  do 
not  cultivate.  Just  as,  in  breaking  up  a  com- 
mon, it  is  sometimes  very  difficult  to  make  the 
poor  believe  it  will  carry  corn,  merely  because 
they  have  been  hitherto  accustomed  to  see  it 
produce  nothing  but  weeds  and  grass — they 
very  naturally  mistake  present  condition  for 
general  nature.  So  completely  have  the  talents 
of  women  been  kept  down,  that  there  is  scarcely 
a  single  work,  either  of  reason  or  imagination, 
written  by  a  woman,  which  is  in  gerieral  cir- 
culation either  in  the  English,  French,  or  Ita- 
lian literature; — scarcely  one  that  has  crept 
even  into  the  ranks  of  our  minor  poets. 

If  the  possession  of  excellent  talents  is  not  a 
conclusive  reason  why  they  shoidd  be  im- 
proved, it  at  least  amounts  to  a  very  strong 
presumption;  and,  if  it  can  be  shown  that  wo- 
men may  be  trained  to  reason  and  imagine  as 
well  as  men,  the  strongest  reasons  are  certainly 
necessary  to  show  us  why  we  should  not  avail 
ourselves  of  such  rich  gifts  of  nature  ;  and  we 
have  a  right  to  call  for  a  clear  statement  of  those 
perils  which  make  it  necessary  that  such  talents 
should  be  totally  extinguished,  or,  at  most, 
very  partially  drawn  out.  The  burthen  of 
proof  does  not  lie  with  those  who  say,  increase 
the  quanity  of  talent  in  any  country  as  much 
as  possible — for  such  a  proposition  is  in  con- 
formity with  every  man's  feelings:  but  it  lies 
with  those  who  say,  take  care  to  keep  that  un- 
derstanding weak  and  trifling,  which  nature 
Las  made  capable  of  becoming  strong  and 
powerful.  The  paradox  is  with  them,  not  with 
us.  In  all  human  reasoning,  knowledge  must 
be  taken  for  a  good,  till  it  can  be  shown  to  be 
an  evil.  But  now,  nature  makes  to  us  rich  and 
magnificent  presents;  and  we  say  to  her — 
You  are  too  luxuriant  and  mimificent — we 
must  keep  you  under,  and  prune  you  ; — we 
have  talents  enough  in  the  other  half  of  the 
creation ; — and,  if  you  will  not  stupefy  and  en- 
feeble the  mind  of  women  to  our  hands,  we 
ourselves  must  expose  them  to  a  narcotic  pro- 
cess, and  educate  away  that  fatal  redundance 
with  which  the  world  is  afflicted,  and  the  order 
of  sublunary  things  deranged. 

One  of  the  greatest  pleasures  of  life  is  con- 
versation ; — and  the  pleasures  of  conversation 
are  of  course  enhanced  by  every  increase  of 
knowledge  :  not  that  we  should  meet  together 
to  talk  of  alkalies  and  angles,  or  to  add  to  oiu' 
Slock  of  history  and  philology — though  a  little 
of  these  things  is  no  bad  ingredient  in  conver- 
sation ;  but  let  the  subject  be  what  it  may,  there 
is  always  a  prodigious  difference  between  the 
conversation  of  those  virho  have  been  well  edu- 
','ated  and  of  those  who  have  not  enjoyed  this 


advantage.  Education  gives  fecundity  of 
thought,  copiousness  of  illustration,  quickness, 
vigour,  fancy,  words,  images  and  illustrations  ; 
— it  decorates  every  common  thing,  and  gives 
the  power  of  trifling  without  being  undignified 
and  absurb.  The  subjects  themselves  may  not 
be  wanted,  upon  which  the  talents  of  an  edu- 
cated man  have  been  exercised ;  but  there  is 
always  a  demand  for  those  talents  which  his 
education  has  rendered  strong  and  qinck. 
Now,  really,  nothing  can  be  further  from  our 
intention  than  to  say  any  thing  rude  and  un- 
pleasant ;  but  we  must  be  excused  for  observing, 
that  it  is  not  now  a  very  common  thing  to  be 
interested  by  the  variety  and  extent  of  female 
knowledge,  but  it  is  a  very  common  thing  to 
lament,  that  the  finest  faculties  in  the  world 
have  been  confined  to  trifles  utterly  unworthy 
of  their  richness  and  their  strength. 

The  pursuit  of  knowledge  is  the  most  inno- 
cent and  interesting  occupation  which  can  be 
given  to  the  female  sex ;  nor  can  there  be  a 
better  method  of  checking  a  spirit  of  dissipation " 
than  by  diffusing  a  taste  for  literature.  The 
true  way  to  attack  vice,  is  by  setting  up  some- 
thing else  against  it.  Give  to  women,  in  early 
youth,  something  to  acquire,  of  sufficient  in- 
terest and  importance  to  command  the  appli- 
cation of  their  mature  faculties,  and  to  excite 
their  perseverance  in  future  life; — teach  them 
that  happiness  is  to  be  derived  from  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge,  as  weU  as  the  gratification 
of  vanity:  and  you  will  raise  up  a  much  more 
formidable  barrier  against  dissipation  than  a 
host  of  invectives  and  exhortations  can  supply. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  an  unfortunate 
man  gets  drunk  with  very  bad  wine, — not  to 
gratify  his  palate,  but  to  forget  his  cares:  he 
does  not  set  any  value  on  what  he  receives, 
but  on  account  of  what  it  exclxules; — it  keeps  out 
something  worse  than  itself  Now,  though  it 
were  denied  that  the  acquisition  of  serious 
knowledge  is  of  itself  important  to  a  woman, 
still  it  prevents  a  taste  for  silly  and  pernicious 
works  of  imagination  :  it  keeps  away  the  horrid 
trash  of  novels;  and,  in  lieu  of  that  eagerness 
for  emotion  and  adventure  which  books  of  that 
sort  inspire,  promotes  a  calm  and  steady  tem- 
perament of  mind. 

A  man  who  deserves  such  a  piece  of  good 
fortune,  may  generally  find  an  excellent  com- 
panion for  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life ,  but 
it  is  not  so  easy  to  find  a  companion  for  his  un- 
derstanding, who  has  similar  pursuits  with 
himself,  or  who  can  comprehend  the  pleasure 
he  derives  from  them.  We  really  can  see  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  be  otherwise ;  nor 
comprehend  how  the  pleasures  of  domestic  life 
can  be  promoted  by  diminishing  the  number 
of  subjects  in  which  persons  vidio  are  to  spend 
their  lives  together  take  a  common  interest. 

One  of  the  most  agreeable  consequences  of 
knowledge  is  the  respect  and  importance  w^hich 
it  communicates  to  old  age.     Men  rise  in  cha- 
racter often  as  they   increase  in  years ; — they 
are  venerable  from  what  they  have  acquired, 
and  pleasing  from  what  they  can  impart.     If 
they  outlive  their  faculties,  the  mere  frame  it- 
self is  respected  for  what  it  once  contained  ;  but 
women   (such  is  their  unfortunate  style  of  edu- 
cation) hazard  every  thing  upon  one  cast  of  the 
die; — when  youth  is  gone,  all  is  gone.     No  hu 
man  creature  gives  his  admiration  for  nothing 
either  the  eye  must  be  charmed,  or  the  under 
standing  gratified.    A  woman  must  talk  wisely 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


85 


or  look  well.  Every  human  being  must  put 
up  with  the  coldest  civility,  who  has  neither 
the  charms  of  youth  nor  the  wisdom  of  age. 
Neither  is  there  tlie  slightest  commiseration  for 
decayed  accomplishments ; — no  man  mourns 
over  the  fragments  of  a  dancer,  or  drops  a  tear 
on  the  relics  of  musical  skill.  They  are  flowers 
destined  to  perish;  but  the  decay  of  great 
talents  is  always  the  subject  of  solemn  pity; 
and,  even  when  their  last  memorial  is  over, 
their  ruins  and  vestiges  are  regarded  with  pious 
afiection. 

There  is  no  connexion  between  the  igno- 
rance in  which  women  are  kept,  and  the  pre- 
servation of  moral  and  religious  principle;  and 
yet  certainly  there  is,  in  the  minds  of  some 
timid  and  respectable  persons,  a  vague,  indefi- 
nite dread  of  knowledge,  as  if  it  were  capable 
of  producing  these  effects.  It  might  also  be 
supposed,  from  the  dread  which  the  propagation 
of  knowledge  has  excited,  that  there  was  some 
great  secret  w^hich  was  to  be  kept  in  impene- 
trable obscurity, — that  all  moral  rules  were  a 
species  of  delusion  and  imposttxre.  the  detection 
of  which,  by  the  improvement  of  the  under- 
standing, would  be  attended  with  the  most  fatal 
consequences  to  all.  and  particularly  to  women. 
If  we  could  possibly  understand  what  these 
great  secrets  were,  we  might  perhaps  be  dis- 
posed to  concur  in  their  preservation;  but  be- 
lieving that  all  the  salutary  rules  which  are 
imposed  on  women  are  the  result  of  true  wis- 
dom, and  productive  of  the  greatest  happiness, 
we  cannot  understand  how  they  are  to  become 
less  sensible  of  this  truth  in  proportion  as  their 
power  of  discovering  truth  in  general  is  in- 
creased, and  the  habit  of  viewing  questions 
with  accuracy  and  comprehension  established 
by  education.  There  are  men.  indeed,  who  are 
always  exclaiming  against  every  species  of 
power,  because  it  is  connected  with  danger : 
their  dread  of  abuses  is  so  much  stronger  than 
their  admiration  of  uses,  that  they  would  cheer- 
fully give  up  the  use  of  fire,  gunpowder,  and 
printing,  to  be  freed  from  robbers,  incendiaries, 
and  libels.  It  is  trtie,  that  every  increase  of 
knowledge  may  possibly  render  depravity  more 
depraved,  as  well  as  it  may  increase  the  strength 
of  virtue.  It  is  in  itself  only  power;  and  its 
value  depends  on  its  applicalion.  But,  trust  to 
the  natural  love  of  good  where  there  is  no  temp- 
tation to  be  bad — it  operates  no  where  more 
forcibly  than  in  education.  No  man,  whether 
he  be  tutor,  guardian,  or  friend,  ever  contents 
himself  w^ith  infusing  the  mere  ability  to  ac- 
quire; but  giving  the  power,  he  gives  with  it  a 
taste  ibr  the  wise  and  rational  exercise  of  that 


power ;  so  that  an  educated  person  is  not  only 
one  with  stronger  and  better  faculties  than 
others,  but  with  a  more  useful  propensity — a 
disposition  better  cultivated — and  associations 
of  a  higher  and  more  important  class. 

In  short,  and  to  recapitulate  the  main  points 
upon  which  we  have  insisted : — Why  the  dis- 
proportion in  knowledge  between  the  two 
sexes  should  be  so  great,  when  the  inequality 
in  natural  talents  is  so  small;  or  why  the  un- 
derstanding of  women  should  be  lavished  upon 
trifles,  when  nature  has  made  it  capable  of 
higher  and  better  things,  we  profess  ourselves 
not  able  to  understand.  The  affectation  charged 
upon  female  knowledge  is  best  cured  by  making 
that  knowledge  more  general:  and  the  economy 
devolved  upon  women  is  best  secured  by  the 
ruin,  disgrace,  and  inconvenience  which  pro- 
ceeds from  neglecting  it.  For  the  care  of  child- 
ren, nature  has  made  a  direct  and  powerful 
provision ;  and  the  gentleness  and  elegance  of 
women  is  the  natural  consequence  of  that  de- 
sire to  please,  which  is  productive  of  the  greatest 
part  of  civilization  and  refinement,  and  which 
rests  upon  a  foundation  too  deep  to  be  shaken 
by  any  such  modifications  in  education  as  we 
have  proposed.  If  you  educate  women  to  at- 
tend to  dignified  and  important  subjects,  you 
are  multiplying  beyond  measure  the  chances 
of  human  improvement,  by  preparing  and  me- 
dicating those  early  impressions,  which  always 
come  from  the  mother ;  and  which,  in  a  great 
majority  of  instances,  are  quite  decisive  of 
character  and  genius.  Nor  is  it  only  in  the 
business  of  education  that  women  would  influ- 
ence the  destiny  of  men.  If  women  knew  more, 
men  must  learn  more — for  ignorance  would 
then  be  shameful — and  it  would  become  the 
fashion  to  be  instructed.  The  instruction  of 
women  improves  the  stock  of  national  talents, 
and  employs  more  minds  for  the  instruction 
and  amusement  of  the  world  ; — it  increases  the 
pleasures  of  society,  by  multiplying  the  topics 
upon  which  the  two  sexes  take  a  common  in- 
terest; and  makes  marriage  an  intercourse  of 
understanding  as  well  as  of  affection,  by  giving 
dignity  and  importance  to  the  female  character. 
The  education  of  women  favours  public  mo- 
rals ;  it  provides  for  every  season  of  life,  as  well 
as  for  the  brightest  and  the  best :  and  leaves  a 
woman  when  she  is  stricken  by  the  hand  of 
tim'e,  not  as  she  now  is,  destitute  of  every  thing, 
and  neglected  by  all;  but  with  the  full  power 
and  the  splendid  attractions  of  knowledge, — 
difl'using  the  elegant  pleasures  of  polite  litera- 
ture, and  receiving  the  just  homage  of  leatued 
and  accomplished  men. 


H 


86 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.* 

(Edinburgh  Review,  1810.) 


There  is  a  set  of  well-dressed,  prosperous 
gentlemen,  who  assemble  daily  at  Mr.  Hatch- 
ard's  shop ; — clean,  civil  personages,  well  in 
with  people  in  power, — delighted  with  every 
existing  institution — and  almost  with  every  ex- 
isting circumstance  :  and,  every  now  and  then, 
one  of  these  personages  writes  a  little  book; — 
and  the  rest  praise  that  little  book — expecting 
to  be  praised,  in  their  turn,  for  their  own  little 
books  : — and  of  these  little  books,  thus  written 
by  these  clean,  civil  personages,  so  expecting  to 
be  praised,  the  pamphlet  before  us  appears  to 
be  one. 

The  subject  of  it  is  the  advantage  of  public 
schools  ;  and  the  author,  very  creditably  to  him- 
self, ridicules  the  absurd  clamour,  first  set  on  foot 
by  Dr.  Rennel,  of  the  irreligious  tendency  of 
public  schools :  he  then  proceeds  to  an  investiga- 
tion of  the  effects  which  public  schools  may 
produce  upon  the  moral  character;  and  here 
the  subject  becomes  more  diflicult,  and  the 
pamphlet  worse. 

In  arguing  any  large  or  general  question,  it 
is  of  infinite  importance  to  attend  to  the  first 
feelings  which  the  mention  of  the  topic  has  a 
tendency  to  excite;  and  the  name  of  a  public 
school  brings  -with,  it  immediately  the  idea  of 
brilliant  classical  attainments:  but,  upon  the 
importance  of  these  sttuiies,  we  are  not  now 
offering  any  opinion.  The  only  points  for  con- 
sideration are,  whether  boys  are  put  in  the  way 
of  becoming  good  and  wise  men  by  these 
schools  ;  and  whether  they  actually  gather  there 
those  attainments  which  it  pleases  mankind, 
for  the  time  being,  to  consider  as  valuable,  and 
to  decorate  by  the  name  of  learning. 

By  a  public  school,  we  mean  any  endowed 
place  of  education,  of  old  standing,  to  which 
the  sons  of  gentlemen  resort  in  considerable 
numbers,  and  wliere  they  continue  to  reside, 
from  eight  or  nine,  to  eighteen  years  of  age. 
We  do  not  give  this  as  a  definition  which  would 
have  satisfied  Porphyry  or  Duns-Scotus,  but  as 
one  sufficiently  accurate  for  our  purpose.  The 
characteristic  features  of  these  schools  are,  their 
antiquity,  the  numbers,  and  the  ages  of  the 
young  people  who  are  educated  at  them.  We 
beg  leave,  however,  to  premise,  that  we  have 
not  the  slightest  intention  of  insinuating  any 
thing  to  the  disparagement  of  the  present  dis- 
cipline or  present  rulers  of  these  schools,  as 
compared  with  other  times  and  other  men :  we 
have  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt  that  they  are 
as  ably  governed  at  this  as  they  have  been  at 
any  preceding  period.  Whatever  objections  we 
may  have  to  these  institutions,  they  are  to 
faults,  not  depending  on  present  administration, 
but  upon  original  construction. f 

At  a  public  school  (for  such  is  the  system  es- 


*  Remarks  on  the  System  of  Education  in  Public 
Scliools.     bvo.     llatcliiird.     London,  1609. 

■}■  A  public  school  is  thouilil  to  be  tlie  best  cure  for 
the  insolence  of  youthful  aristocracy.  This  insolence, 
however,  is  not  a  little  increased  by  the  homasre  of  mas- 
)ers,  and  would  soon  meet  with  its  natural  check  in  the 


tablished  by  immemorial  custom) ,  every  boy  is. 
alternately  tyrant  and  slave.  The  power  which 
the  elder  part  of  these  communities  exercises 
over  the  younger  is  exeedingly  great — very  dif- 
ficult to  be  controlled — and  accompanied,  not 
unfrequently,  with  cruelty  and  caprice.  It  is 
the  common  law  of  the  place,  that  the  young 
should  be  implicitly  obedient  to  the  elder  boys  ; 
and  this  obedience  resernbles  more  the  submis- 
sion of  a  slave  to  his  master,  or  of  a  sailor  to 
his  captain,  than  the  common  and  natural  de- 
ference which  would  always  be  shown  by  one 
boy  to  another  a  few  years  older  than  himself. 
Now,  this  system  we  cannot  help  considering  as  ' 
an  evil, — because  it  infiicts  upon  boys,  for  two  or 
three  years  of  their  lives,  many  painful  hardships, 
and  much  unpleasant  servitude.  These  sufl'er- 
ings  might  perhaps  be  of  some  use  in  military 
schools  ;  but,  to  give  a  boy  the  habit  of  enduring 
privations  to  which  he  will  never  again  be  called 
upon  to  submit — to  inure  him  to  pains  which 
he  will  never  again  feel — and  to  subject  him  to 
the  privation  of  comforts  with  which  he  will 
always  in  future  abound — is  surely  not  a  very 
useful  and  valuable  severity  in  education.  It 
is  not  the  life  in  miniature  which  he  is  to  lead 
hereafter — nor  does  it  bear  any  relation  to  it : — 
he  will  never  again  be  subjected  to  so  much  in- 
solence and  caprice ;  nor  ever,  in  all  human 
probability,  be  called  upon  to  make  so  many  sa- 
crifices. The  servile  obedience  which  it  teaches 
might  be  useful  to  a  menial  domestic;  or  the 
haiaits  of  enterprise  which  it  encourages  prove 
of  importance  to  a  military  partisan;  but  we 
cannot  see  what  bearing  it  has  upon  the  calm, 
regular,  civil  life,  which  the  sons  of  gentlemen, 
destined  to  opulent  idleness,  or  to  any  of  the 
three  learned  professions,  are  destined  to  lead. 
Such  a  system  makes  many  boys  very  misera- 
ble ;  and  produces  those  bad  effects  upon  the 
temper  and  disposition,  which  unjust  sufiering 
always  does  produce; — but  what  good  it  does 
we  are  much  at  a  loss  to  conceive.  Reasonable 
obedience  is  extremely  useful  in  forming  the 
disposition.  Submission  to  tyranny  lays  the 
foundation  of  hatred,  suspicion,  cunning,  and  a 
variety  of  odious  passions.  We  are  convinced 
that  those  young  people  will  turn  out  to  be  the 
best  men,  who  have  been  guarded  most  effec- 
tually in  their  childhood,  from  every  species  of 
useless  vexation ;  and  experienced,  in  the 
greatest  degree,  the  blessings  of  a  wise  and 
rational  indulgence.  But  even  if  these  eflects 
upon  future  character  are  not  produced,  still 
four  or  five  years  in  childhood  make  a  very 
considerable  period  of  human  existence  ;  and  it 
is  by  no  means  a  trifling  consideration  whether 
they  are  passed  happily  or  unhappily.  The 
wretchedness  of  school  tyranny  is  trifling 
enough  to  a  man  who  only  contemplates  it  in 


world.  There  can  be  no  occasion  to  brinsr  five  hun- 
dred boys  together  to  teach  to  a  young  noblemen  that 
proper  demeanour  which  he  would  learn  so  much  better 
from  the  first  English  gentleman  whom  he  might  thintt 
proper  to  insult. 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH, 


87 


ease  of  body  and  tranquillity  of  mind,  through 
the  medium  of  twenty  intervening  years ;  but 
it  is  quite  as  real,  and  quite  as  acute,  while  it 
lasts,  as  any  of  the  sutlerinss  of  mature  life : 
and  the  utility  of  these  sutferings,  or  the  price 
paid  in  compensation  for  them,  should  be  clear- 
ly made  out  to  a  conscientious  parent  before  he 
consents  to  expose  his  children  to  them. 

This  system  also  gives  to  the  elder  boys  an 
absurd  and  pernicious  opinion  of  their  own 
importance,  which  is  often  with  difficulty  ef- 
faced by  a  considerable  commerce  with  the 
world.  The  head  of  a  public  school  is  gene- 
rally a  very  conceited  young  man,  utterly  igno- 
rant of  his  own  dimensions,  and  losing  all  that 
habit  of  conciliation  towards  others,  and  that 
anxiety  for  self-improvement,  which  result  from 
the  natural  modesty  of  youth.  Nor  is  this  con- 
ceit very  easily  and  speedily  gotten  rid  of; — we 
have  seen  (if  we  mistake  not)  public  school 
importance  lasting  through  the  half  of  after 
life,  strutting  in  lawn,  swelling  in  ermine,  and 
displaying  itself,  both  ridiculously  and  offen- 
sively, in  the  haunts  and  business  of  bearded 
men. 

There  is  a  manliness  in  the  athletic  exercises 
of  public  schools  which  is  as  seductive  to  the 
imagination  as  it  is  utterly  imimportant  in  it- 
self. Of  what  importance  is  it  in  after  life 
whether  a  boy  can  play  well  or  ill  at  cricket ; 
or  row  a  boat  with  the  skill  and  precision  of  a 
waterman?  If  our  young  lords  and  esquires 
were  hereafter  to  wrestle  together  in  public,  or 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Bar  to  exhibit  Olympic 
games  in  Hilary  Term,  the  glory  attached  to 
these  exercises  at  public  schools  would  be  ra- 
tional and  important.  But  of  what  use  is  the 
body  of  an  athlete,  when  we  have  good  laws 
over  our  heads. — or  when  a  pistol,  a  postchaise, 
or  a  porter,  can  be  hired  for  a  few  shillings  ? 
A  gentleman  does  nothing  but  ride  or  vi'alk ; 
and  yet  such  a  ridiculous  stress  is  laid  upon  the 
manliness  of  the  exercises  customary  at  public 
schools — exercises  in  ^vhich  the  greatest  block- 
heads commonly  excel  the  most — which  often 
render  habits  of  idleness  inveterate — and  often 
lead  to  foolish  expense  and  dissipation  at  a 
more  advanced  period  of  life. 

One  of  the  supposed  advantages  of  a  public 
school  is  the  greater  knowledge  of  the  \vorld 
which  a  boy  is  considered  to  derive  from  those 
situations;  but  if,  by  a  knowledge  of  the  world, 
is  meant  a  knowledge  of  the  forms  and  man- 
ners which  are  found  to  be  the  most  pleasing 
and  useful  in  the  world,  a  boy  from  a  public 
school  is  almost  always  extremely  deficient  in 
these  particulars ;  and  his  sister,  who  has  re- 
mained at  home  at  the  apron-strings  of  her 
mother,  is  very  much  his  superior  in  the  science 
of  manners.  It  is  probably  true,  that  a  boy  at 
a  public  school  has  made  more  observation  on 
human  character,  because  he  has  had  more  op- 
r)ortunities  of  observing  than  have  been  en- 
joyed by  young  persons  educated  either  at 
home  or  at  private  schools :  but  this  little  ad- 
vance gained  at  a  public  school  is  so  soon  over- 
taken at  college  or  in  the  world,  that,  to  have 
made  it,  is  of  the  least  possible  consequence, 
and  utterly  underserving  of  any  risk  incurred 
in  the  acquisition.  Is  it  any  injury  to  a  man 
of  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  of  ao'e — to  a  learned 
Serjeant  or  venerable  dean — that  at  eighteen 
they  did  not  know  so  much  of  the  world  as 
some  other  boys  of  the  same  standing?  They 
liave  probably  escaped  the  arrogant  character  ^ 


so  often  attendant  upon  this  trifling  superiority ; 
nor  is  there  much  chance  that  they  have  ever 
fallen  into  the  common  and  youthful  error  of 
mistaking  a  premature  initiation  into  vice  for 
a  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  mankind ;  and,  in 
addition  to  these  salutary  exemptions,  a  winter 
in  London  brings  it  all  to  a  level ;  and  ofl'ers  to 
every  novice  the  advantages  which  are  sup- 
posed to  be  derived  from  this  precocity  of  con- 
fidence and  polish. 

According  to  the  general  prejudice  in  favour 
of  public  schools,  it  would  be  thovight  quite  as 
absurd  and  superfluous  to  enumerate  the  illus- 
trious characters  who  have  been  bred  at  our 
three  great  seminaries  of  this  description,  as  it 
would  be  to  descant  upon  the  illustrious  cha- 
racters who  have  passed  in  and  out  of  London 
over  our  three  great  bridges.  Almost  every  con- 
spicuous person  is  supposed  to  have  been  edu- 
cated at  public  schools;  and  there  are  scarcely 
any  means  (as  it  is  imagined)  of  making  art 
actual  comparison;  and  yet,  great  as  the  rage 
is,  and  long  has  been,  for  public  schools,  it  is 
very  remarkable,  that  the  most  eminent  men  in 
every  art  and  science  have  not  been  educated 
in  public  schools  ;  and  this  is  true,  even  if  we 
include,  in  the  term  of  public  schools,  not  only 
Eton,  Winchester,  and  Westminster,  but  the 
Charter-House,  St.  Paul's  School,  Merchant 
Tailors',  Rugby,  and  every  school  in  England, 
at  all  conducted  upon  the  plan  of  the  three  first. 
The  great  schools  of  Scotland  we  do  not  call 
public  schools;  because,  in  these,  the  mixture 
of  domestic  life  gives  to  them  a  widely  diflerent 
character.  Spenser,  Pope,  Shakspeare,  Butler, 
Rochester,  Spratt,  Parnell,  Garth,  Congreve, 
Gay,  Swift,  Thomson,  Shenstone,  Akenside, 
Goldsmith,  Samuel  Johnson,  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  Ben  Jonson,  Sir  Philip  Sydney,  Savage, 
Arbuthnot,  and  Burns,  among  the  poets,  were 
not  educated  in  the  system  of  English  schools. 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Maclaurin,  Wallis,  Hamstead, 
Saunderson,  Simpson,  and  Napier,  among  men 
of  science,  were  not  educated  in  public  schools. 

The  three  best  historians  that  the  English 
language  has  produced,  Clarendon,  Hume,  and 
Robertson,  were  not  educated  at  public  schools. 
Public  schools  have  done  little  in  England  for 
the  fine  arts — as  in  the  examples  of  Inigo  Jones, 
Vanbrufjh,  Reynolds,  Gainsborough,  Garrick, 
&c.  The  great  medical  writers  and  discoverers 
in  Great  Britain,  Harvey,  Cheselden,  Hunter, 
Jenner,  Meade,  Brown,  and  CuUen,  were  not 
educated  at  public  schools.  Of  the  great  writers 
on  morals  and  metaphysics,  it  was  not  the  sys- 
tem of  public  schools  which  produced  Bacon, 
Shaftesbury,  Hobbes,  Berkeley,  Butler,  Hume, 
Hartley,  or  Dugald  Stewart.  The  greatest  dis- 
coverers in  chemistry  have  not  been  brought 
up  at  public  schools  ; — we  mean  Dr.  Priestley, 
Dr.  Black,  and  Mr.  Davy.  The  only  English- 
men who  have  evinced  a  remarkable  genius,  in 
modern  times,  for  the  art  of  war, — the  Duke  of 
Marlborough,  Lord  Peterborough,  General 
Wolfe,  and  Lord  Clive,  were  all  trained  in  pri- 
vate schools.  So  were  Lord  Coke,  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  and  Lord  Chancellor  Hardwicke,  and 
Chief  Justice  Holt,  among  the  lawyers.  So 
also,  among  statesmen,  were  Lord  Burleigh. 
Walsingham,  the  Earl  of  Straflbrd,  Thurlue, 
Cromwell,  Hampden,  Lord  Clarendon,  Sir  VVal 
ter  Raleigh,  Sydney,  Russel,  Sir  W.  Temple, 
Lord  Somers,  Burke,  Sheridan,  Pitt.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  list,  we  must  not  forge'  the  names 
of  such  eminent  scholars  and  men  of  letters,  ag 


88 


WORKS   OF   THE  REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Cndworth,  Chillingworth,  Tillotson,  Archbishop 
King,  Seidell,  Conyers,  Middleton,  Bentley,  Sir 
Thomas  More,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  Bishops  Sher- 
lock and  Wilkins,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Isaac  Hooker, 
Bishops  Usher,  Stillingtieet,  and  Spelman,  Dr. 
Samuel  Clarke,  Bishop  Hoadley,  and  Dr.  Lard- 
ner.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten,  in  this  examina- 
tion, that  none  of  the  conspicuous  writers  upon 
political  economy  which  this  country  has  as 
yet  produced,  have  been  brought  up  in  public 
schools.  If  it  be  urged  that  public  schools  have 
only  assumed  their  present  character  within 
this  last  century,  or  half  century,  and  that  what 
are  now  called  public  schools  partook,  before 
this  period,  of  the  natitre  of  private  schools, 
there  must  then  be  added  to  our  lists  the  names 
of  Milton,  Dryden,  Addison,  &c.,  &c. :  and  it 
will  follow,  that  the  English  have  done  almost 
all  that  they  have  done  in  the  arts  and  sciences, 
■without  the  aid  of  that  system  of  education  to 
which  they  are  now  so  much  attached.  Ample 
as  this  catalogue  of  celebrated  names  already 
is,  it  would  be  easy  to  double  it ;  yet,  as  it 
stands,  it  is  obviously  sufficient  to  show  that 
great  eminence  may  be  attained  in  any  line  of 
fame  without  the  aid  of  public  schools.  Some 
more  striking  inferences  might  perhaps  be 
drawn  from  it;  but  we  content  ourselves  with 
the  simple  fact. 

The  most  important  peculiarity  in  the  consti- 
tution of  a  public  school  is  its  numbers,  which 
art  so  great,  that  a  close  inspection  of  the  mas- 
ter into  the  studies  and  conduct  of  each  indi- 
vidual is  quite  impossible.  We  must  be  al- 
lowed to  doubt,  w^hether  such  an  arrangement 
is  favourable  either  to  literature  or  morals. 

Upon  this  system,  a  boy  is  left  almost  entirel}' 
to  himself,  to  impress  upon  his  own  mind,  as 
well  as  he  can,  the  distant  advantages  of  know- 
ledge, and  to  withstand,  from  his  own  innate 
resolution,  the  examples  and  the  seductions  of 
idleness.  A  firm  character  survives  this  brave 
neglect;  and  very  exalted  talents  may  some- 
times remedy  it  by  subsequent  diligence  :  but 
schools  are  not  made  for  a  few  youths  of  pre- 
eminent talents,  and  strong  characters;  such 
prizes  can,  of  course,  be  drawn  but  by  a  very 
few  parents.  The  best  school  is  that  which  is 
best  accommodated  to  the  greatest  variety  of 
characters,  and  which  embraces  the  greatest 
number  of  cases.  It  cannot  be  the  main  ob- 
ject of  education  to  render  the  splendid  more 
splendid,  and  to  lavish  care  upon  those  who 
would  almost  thrive  without  any  care  at  all. 
A  public  school  does  this  effectually ;  but  it 
commonly  leaves  the  idle  almost  as  idle,  and  the 
dull  almost  as  dull  as  it  found  them.  It  dis- 
dains the  tedious  cultivation  of  those  middling 
talents  of  which  only  the  great  mass  of  human 
beings  are  possessed.  When  a  strong  desire  of 
improvement  exists,  it  is  encouraged,  but  no 
pains  are  taken  to  inspire  it.  A  boy  is  cast  in 
among  five  or  six  hundred  other  boys,  and  is 
left  to  form  his  own  character ; — if  his  love  of 
knowledge  survives  this  severe  trial,  it,  in  gene- 
ral, carries  him  very  far:  and,  upon  the  same 
principle,  a  savage,  who  grows  up  to  manhood, 
's,  in  general,  well  made,  and  free  from  all 
bodily  defects;  not  because  the  severities  of 
such  a  state  are  favourable  to  animal  life,  but 
because  they  are  so  much  the  reverse,  that 
none  but  the  strongest  can  survive  them.  A 
few  boys  are  incorrigibly  idle,  and  a  few  incor- 
rigibly eager  for  knowledge  ;  but  the  great  mass 
aie  in  a  state  of  doubt  and  fluctuation ;  and  they 


come  to  school  for  the  express  purpose,  not  of 
being  left  to  themselves — for  that  could  be  done 
any  where — but  that  their  wavering  tastes  and 
propensities  should  be  decided  by  the  interven- 
tion of  a  master.  In  a  forest,  or  public  school 
for  oaks  and  elms,  the  trees  are  left  to  them- 
selves ;  the  strong  plants  live,  and  the  weak 
ones  die  :  the  towering  oak  that  remains  is  ad- 
mired; the  saplings  that  perish  around  it  are 
cast  into  the  flames  and  forgotten.  But  it  is 
not  surely  to  the  vegetable  struggle  of  a  forest, 
or  the  hasty  glance  of  a  forester,  that  a  bota- 
nist would  commit  a  favourite  plant;  he  would 
naturally  seek  for  it  a  situation  of  less  hazard, 
and  a  cultivator  whose  limited  occupations 
would  enable  him  to  give  to  it  a  reasonable 
share  of  his  time  and  attention.  The  very  mean- 
ing of  education  seems  to  us  to  be,  that  the  old 
sliould  teach  the  young,  and  the  wise  direct  the 
weak;  that  a  man  who  professes  to  instruct, 
should  get  among  his  pupils,  study  their  cha- 
racters, gain  their  aflections,  and  form  their  in- 
clinations and  aversions.  In  a  public  school, 
the  numbers  render  this  impossible ;  it  is  im- 
possible that  sufficient  time  should  be  found  for 
this  useful  and  aifectionate  interference.  Boys, 
therefore,  are  left  to  their  own  crude  concep- 
tions and  ill-formed  propensities;  and  this  ne- 
glect is  called  a  spirited  and  manly  education. 

In  by  far  the  greatest  number  of  cases,  we 
cannot  think  public  schools  favourable  to  the 
cultivation  of  knowledge  ;  and  we  have  equally 
strong  doubts  if  they  be  so  to  the  cultivation  of 
morals, — though  we  admit,  that,  upon  this  point, 
the  most  striking  arguments  have  been  pro- 
duced in  their  favour. 

It  is  contended  by  the  friends  to  public  schools, 
that  every  person,  before  he  comes  to  man's 
estate,  must  run  through  a  certain  career  of  dis- 
sipation ;  and  that  if  that  career  is,  by  the  means 
ol'a  private  education,  deferred  to  a  more  ad- 
vanced period  of  life,  it  will  only  be  begun 
with  greater  eagerness,  and  pursued  into  more 
blameable  excess.  The  time  must,  of  course, 
come  when  every  man  must  be  his  own  master ; 
when  his  conduct  can  be  no  longer  regulated 
by  the  watchful  superintendence  of  another, 
but  must  be  guided  by  his  own  discretion. 
Emancipation  must  come  at  last;  and  we  ad- 
mit, that  the  object  to  be  aimed  at  is,  that  such 
emancipation  should  be  gradual,  and  not  pre- 
mature. Upon  this  very  invidious  point  of  the 
discussion,  we  rather  wish  to  avoid  offering'  anjr 
opinion.  The  manners  of  great  schools  vary 
considerably  from  time  to  time  ;  and  what  may 
have  been  true  many  years  ago,  is  very  possi- 
bly not  true  at  the  present  period.  In  this  in- 
stance, every  parent  must  be  governed  by  his 
own  observations  and  means  of  information. 
If  the  license  which  prevails  at  public  schools 
is  only  a  fair  increase  of  liberty,  proportionate 
to  advancing  age,  and  caltulated  to  prevent 
the  bad  effects  of  a  sudden  transition  from  tute- 
lary thraldom  to  perfect  self-government,  it  is 
certainly  a  good  rather  than  an  evil.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  there  exists  in  these  places  of  educa- 
tion a  system  of  premature  debauchery,  and  if 
they  only  prevent  men  from  being  corrupted 
by  the  world,  by  corrupting  them  before  their 
entry  into  the  world,  they  can  then  only  be 
looked  upon  as  evils  of  the  greatest  magni- 
tude, however  they  may  be  sanctioned  by  opi- 
nion, or  rendered  familiar  to  us  by  habit. 

The  vital  and  essential  part  of  a  school  is  the 
master;  but,  at  a  public  school,  no  boy,  or,  ai 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


89 


the  best,  only  a  very  few,  can  see  enough  of 
him  to  derive  any  considerable  benefit  from 
his  character,  manners,  and  information.  It  is 
certainly  of  eminent  use,  particularly  to  a  young 
man  of  rank,  that  he  should  have  lived  among 
boys;  but  it  is  only  so  when  they  are  all  mo- 
derately watched  by  some  superior  understand- 
ing. The  morality  of  boys  is  generally  very  im- 
perfect; their  notions  of  honour  extremely  mis- 
taken ;  and  their  objects  of  ambition  frequently 
very  absurd.  The  probability  then  is,  that  the 
kind  of  discipline  they  exercise  over  each  other 
will  produce  (when  left  to  itself)  a  great  deal  of 
mischief;  and  yet  this  is  the  discipline  to  which 
every  child  at  a  public  school  is  not  only  ne- 
cessarily exposed,  but  principally  confined. 
Our  objection  (we  again  repeat)  is  not  to  the 
interference  of  boys  in  the  formation  of  the 
character  of  boys;  their  character,  we  are  per- 
suaded, will  be  very  imperfectly  formed  without 
their  assistance ;  but  our  objection  is  to  that 
almost  exclusive  agency  which  they  exercise 
in  public  schools. 

After  having  said  so  much  in  opposition  to 
the  general  prejudice  in  favour  of  public  schools, 
we  may  be  expected  to  state  what  species  of 
school  we  think  preferable  to  them  ;  for  if  pub- 
Uc  schools,  with  all  their  disadvantages,  are 
the  best  that  can  actually  be  found,  or  easily 
attained,  the  objections  tq  them  are  certainly 
made  to  very  little  purpose. 

We  have  no  hesitation,  however,  in  saying, 
that  that  education  seems  to  us  to  be  the  best 
which  mingles  a  domestic  with  a  school  life; 
and  which  gives  to  a  youth  the  advantage 
which  is  to  be  derived  from  the  learning  of  a 
master,  and  the  emulation  which  results  from 
the  society  of  other  boys,  together  with  the 
afieclionate  vigilance  w^hich  he  must  experience 
in  the  house  of  his  parents.  But  where  this 
species  of  education,  from  peculiarity  of  circum- 


stances or  situation,  is  not  attainable,  v/e  are 
disposed  to  thhik  a  society  of  twenty  or  thirty 
boys,  under  the  guidance  of  a  learned  man, 
and,  above  all,  of  a  man  of  good  sense,  to  be  a 
seminary  the  best  adapted  for  the  education  of 
youth.  The  numbers  are  sufficient  to  excite  a 
considerable  degree  of  emulation,  to  give  to  a 
boy  some  insight  into  the  diversities  of  the 
human  character,  and  to  subject  him  to  the  ob- 
servation and  control  of  his  superiors.  It  by  no 
means  follows,  that  a  judicious  man  sliould  al- 
ways interfere  with  his  authority  and  advice  be- 
cause he  has  always  the  means  ;  he  may  con- 
nive at  many  things  which  he  cannot  approve, 
and  suffer  some  little  failures  to  proceed  to  a 
certain  extent,  which,  if  indulged  in  wider 
limits,  would  be  attended  with  irretrievable 
mischief:  he  will  be  aware,  that  his  object  is  to 
fit  his  pupil  for  the  world ;  that  constant  con- 
trol is  a  very  bad  preparation  for  complete 
emancipation  from  all  control;  that  it  is  not 
bad  policy  to  expose  a  young  man,  under  the 
eye  of  superior  wisdom,  to  some  of  those  dan- 
gers which  will  assail  him  hereafter  in  greater 
number,  and  in  greater  strength — when  he  has 
only  his  own  resources  to  depend  upon.  A 
private  education,  conducted  upon  these  prin- 
ciples, is  not  calculated  to  gratify  quickly  the 
vanity  of  a  parent  who  is  blest  with  a  child  of 
strong  character  and  pre-eminent  abilities:  to 
be  the  first  scholar  of  an  obscure  master,  at  an 
obscure  place,  is  no  very  splendid  distinction ; 
nor  does  it  afford  that  opportunity,  of  which  so 
many  parents  are  desirous,  of  forming  great 
connexions  for  their  children :  but  if  the  ob- 
ject be,  to  induce  the  young  to  love  knowledge 
and  virtue,  we  are  inclined  to  suspect,  that,  for 
the  average  of  human  talents  and  characters, 
these  are  the  situations  in  which  such  tastes 
will  be  the  most  effectually  formed. 


12 


h2 


90 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


TOLEIRATION.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1811.] 


If  a  prudent  man  sees  a  child  playing  with  a 
porcelain  cup  of  great  value,  he  takes  the  ves- 
sel out  of  his  hand,  pats  him  on  the  head,  tells 
him  his  mamma  will  be  sorry  if  it  is  broken, 
and  genily  cheats  him  into  the  use  of  some  less 
precious  substitute.  Why  will  Lord  Sidmouth 
meddle  with  the  Toleration  Act,  when  there  are 
so  many  other  subjects  in  which  his  abilities 
might  be  so  eminently  useful — when  enclosure 
bills  are  drawn  up  with  such  scandalous  negli- 
gence— turnpike  roads  so  shamefully  neglected 
— and  public  conveyances  illegitimately  loaded 
in  the  face  of  day,  and  in  defiance  of  the  wisest 
legislative  provisions]  We  confess  our  trepi- 
dation at  seeing  the  Toleration  Act  in  the  hands 
of  Lord  Sidmouth ;  and  should  be  very  glad  if 
it  were  fairly  back  in  the  statute  book,  and  the 
sedulity  of  this  well-meaning  nobleman  diverted 
into  another  channel. 

The  alarm  and  suspicion  of  the  Dissenters 
upon  these  measures  are  wise  and  rational. 
They  are  right  to  consider  the  Toleration  Act 
as  their  palladium ;  and  they  may  be  certain 
that  in  this  country  there  is  always  a  strong 
party  ready,  not  only  to  prevent  the  further  ex- 
tension of  tolerant  principles,  but  to  abridge  (if 
they  dared)  their  present  operation  within  the 
narrowest  limits.  Whoever  makes  this  at- 
tempt, will  be  sure  to  make  it  under  professions 
of  the  most  earnest  regard  for  mildness  and 
toleration,  and  with  the  strongest  declarations 
of  respect  for  King  William,  the  Revolution, 
and  the  principles  which  seated  the  House  of 
Brunswick  on  the  throne  of  these  realms; — 
and  then  will  follow  the  clauses  for  whipping 
Dissenters,  imprisoning  preachers,  and  sub- 
jecting them  to  rigid  qualifications,  &c,  &c. 
&c.  The  infringement  on  the  militia  acts  is  a 
mere  pretence.  The  real  object  is  to  diminish 
the  number  of  Dissenters  from  the  Church  of 
England,  by  abridging  the  liberties  and  privi- 
leges they  now  possess.  This  is  the  project 
which  we  shall  examine,  for  we  sincerely  be- 
lieve it  to  be  the  project  in  agitation.  The 
mode  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  attack  the  Dis- 
senters is,  first,  by  exacting  greater  qualifica- 
tions in  their  teachers  :  next,  by  preventing  the 
interchange  or  itinerancy  of  preachers,  and 
fixing  them  to  one  spot. 

It  can  never,  we  presume,  be  intended  to 
subject  dissenting  ministers  to  any  kind  of  the- 
ological examination.  A  teacher  examined  in 
doctrinal  opinions,  by  another  teacher  who  dif- 
fers from  him,  is  so  very  absurd  a  project,  that 
we  entirely  acquit  Lord  Sidmouth  of  any  in- 
tention of  this  sort.  We  rather  presume  his 
lordship  to  mean,  that  a  man  who  professes  to 
teach  his  fellow  creatures,  should  at  least  have 


*  Hints  on  Toleration,  in  Five  Essays,  ^c.  suggested  for 
the  consideration  of  Lord  Viscount  Sid  mouth,  and  the  Dis- 
senters.    By  riiilagatliarclies.    London.    1810. 


made  some  progress  in  human  learning; — 
that  he  should  not  be  wholly  without  educa- 
tion ; — that  he  should  be  able  at  least  to  read 
and  write.  If  the  test  is  of  this  very  ordinary 
nature,  it  can  scarcely  exclude  many  teachers 
of  religion ;  and  it  was  hardly  worth  while,  for 
the  very  insignificant  diminution  of  numbers 
which  this  must  occasion  to  the  dissenting 
clergy,  to  have  raised  all  the  alarm  which  this 
attack  upon  the  Toleration  Act  has  occasioned. 
But,  without  any  reference  to  the  magnitude 
of  the  effects,  is  the  principle  right  ?  or.  What 
is  the  meaning  of  religious  toleration  1  That 
a  man  should  hold,  without  pain  or  penalty, 
any  religious  opinions, — and  choose  for  his 
instruction,  in  the  business  of  salvation,  any 
guide  whom  he  pleases ; — care  being  taken 
that  the  teacher  and  the  doctrine  injure  neither 
the  policy  nor  the  morals  of  the  country.  We 
maintain  that  perfect  religious  toleration  ap- 
plies as  much  to  the  teacher  as  the  thing 
taught;  and  that  it  is  quite  as  intolerant  to 
make  a  man  hear  Thomas,  who  wants  to  hear 
John,  as  it  would  be  to  make  a  man  profess 
Arminian,  who  wished  to  profess  Calvinistical 
principles.  What  right  has  any  government  to 
dictate  to  any  man  who  shall  guide  him  to 
heaven,  any  more  than  it  has  to  persecute  the 
religious  tenets  by  which  he  hopes  to  arrive 
there  1  You  believe  that  the  heretic  professes 
doctrines  utterly  incompatible  with  the  true 
spirit  of  the  gospel ; — first  you  burnt  him  for 
this, — then  you  whipt  him,  then  you  fined 
him, — then  you  put  him  in  prison.  All  this 
did  no  good ; — and,  for  these  hundred  years 
last  past,  you  have  let  him  alone.  The  heresy 
is  now  firmly  protected  by  law  ; — and  you  know 
it  must  be  preached : — What  matters  it  then, 
who  preaches  if?  If  the  evil  must  be  commu- 
nicated, the  organ  and  instrument  through 
which  it  is  communicated  cannot  be  of  much 
consequence.  It  is  true,  this  kind  of  persecu- 
tion against  persons,  has  not  been  quite. so 
much  tried  as  the  other  against  doctrines ;  but 
the  folly  and  inexpediency  of  it  rest  precisely 
upon  the  same  grounds. 

Would  it  not  be  a  singular  thing  if  the  friends 
of  the  Church  of  England  were  to  make  the 
most  strenuous  efforts  to  render  their  enemies 
eloquent  and  learned  1 — and  to  found  places  of 
education  for  Dissenters  1  But,  if  their  learn- 
ing would  not  be  a  good,  why  is  their  ignorance 
an  evill — unless  it  be  necessarily  supposed, 
that  all  increase  of  learning  must  bring  men 
over  to  the  Church  of  England;  in  which  sup- 
position, the  Scottish  and  Catholic  universities, 
and  the  college  at  Hackney,  would  hardly  ac- 
quiesce. Ignorance  surely  matures  and  quick- 
ens the  progress,  by  insuring  the  dissolution 
of  absurdity.  Rational  and  learned  Dissenters 
I  remain  : — religious  mobs,  under  some  ignorant 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


91 


fanatic  of  the  day,  become  foolish  overmuch, — 
dissolve,  and  return  to  the  Church.  The  Uni- 
tarian, who  reads  and  writes  gets  some  sort  of 
discipline,  and  returns  no  more. 

What  connection  is  there  (as  Lord  Sid- 
mouth's  plan  assumes)  between  the  zeal  and 
piety  required  for  religious  instruction  and  the 
cornmon  attainments  of  literature!  But,  if 
knowledge  and  education  are  required  for  re- 
ligious instruction,  why  be  content  with  the 
common  elements  of  learning  1  why  not  require 
higher  attainments  in  dissenting  candidates  for 
orders;  and  examine  them  in  the  languages 
in  which  the  books  of  their  religion  are  con- 
veyed 1 

A  dissenting  minister  of  vulgar  aspect  and 
homely  appearance,  declares  that  he  entered 
into  that  holy  office  because  he  felt  a  call; — 
and  a  clergyman  of  the  Establishment  smiles 
at  him  for  the  declaration.  But  it  should  be 
remembered,  that  no  minister  of  the  Establish- 
ment is  admitted  into  orders,  before  he  has  been 
expressly  interrogated  by  the  bishop  whether 
he  feels  himself  called  to  that  sacred  office. 
The  doctrine  of  calling,  or  inward  feeling,  is 
quite  orthodox  in  the  English  Church; — and, 
in  arguing  this  subject  in  Parliament,  it  will 
hardly  be  contended,  that  the  Episcopalian  only 
is  the  judge  when  that  call  is  genuine,  and 
when  it  is  only  imaginar)% 

The  attempt  at  making  the  dissenting  clergy 
stationary,  and  persecuting  their  circulation, 
appears  to  us  quite  as  unjust  and  inexpedient 
as  the  other  measure  of  qualifications.  It  ap- 
pears a  gross  inconsistency  to  say — "I  admit 
that  what  you  are  doing  is  legal, — but  you  must 
not  do  it  thoroughly  and  effectually.  I  allow 
you  to  propagate  your  heresy, — but  I  object  to 
all  means  of  propagating  it  which  appear  to 
be  useful  and  effective."  If  there  are  any  other 
grounds  upon  which  the  circulation  of  the  dis- 
senting clergy  is  objected  to,  let  these  grounds 
be  stated  and  examined;  but  to  object  to  their 
circulation  merely  because  it  is  the  best  method 
of  effecting  the  object  which  you  allow  them  to 
effect,  does  appear  to  be  rather  unnatural  and 
inconsistent. 

It  is  persumed,  in  this  argument,  that  the 
only  reason  urged  for  the  prevention  of  itiner- 
ant preachers  is  the  increase  of  heresy ;  for, 
if  heresy  is  not  increased  by  it,  it  must  be  im- 
material to  the  feelings  of  Lord  Sidmouth,  and 
of  the  imperial  Parliament,  whether  Mr.  Shuf- 
flebottom  preaches  at  Bungay,  and  Mr.  Ringle- 
tub  at  Ipswich ;  or  whether  an  artful  vicissitude 
is  adopted,  a'nd  the  order  of  insane  predication 
reversed. 

But,  supposing  all  this  new  interference  to 
be  just,  what  good  will  it  do?  You  find  a  dis- 
senting preacher,  whom  you  have  prohibited, 
still  continuing  to  preach, — or  preaching  at 
Ealing  when  he  ought  to  preach  at  Acton  ; — 
his  number  is  taken,  and  the  next  morning  he 
is  summoned.  Is  it  believed  that  this  descrip- 
tion of  persons  can  be  put  down  by  fine  and 
imprisonment  1  His  fine  is  paid  for  him ;  and 
he  returns  from  imprisonment  ten  times  as 
much  sought  after  and  as  popular  as  he  was 
before.  This  is  a  receipt  for  making  a  stupid 
preacher  popular,  and  a  popular  preacher  more 
popular,  but  can  have  no  possible  tendency  to 


prevent  the  mischief  against  which  it  is  level- 
ed. It  is  precisely  the  old  history  of  perse- 
cution against  opinions  turned  into  a  perse- 
cution against  persons.  The  prisons  will  be 
filled, — the  enemies  of  the  Church  made  ene- 
mies of  the  .state  also, — and  the  Methodists 
rendered  ten  times  more  actively  mad  than 
they  are  at  present.  This  is  the  direct  and 
obvious  tendency  of  Lord  Sidmouth's  plan. 

Nothing  dies  so  hard  and  rallies  so  often  as 
intolerance.  The  fires  are  put  out,  and  no  liv- 
ing nostril  has  scented  the  nidor  of  a  human 
creature  roasted  for  faith  ; — then,  after  this,  the 
prison  doors  were  got  open,  and  the  chains 
knocked  off;  and  now  Lord  Sidmouth  only 
begs  that  men  who  disagree  with  him  in  re- 
ligious opinions  may  be  deprived  of  all  civil 
offices  and  not  be  allowed  to  hear  the  preachers 
they  like  best.  Chains  and  whips  he  would 
not  hear  of;  but  these  mild  gratifications  of 
his  bill  every  orthodox  mind  is  surely  entitled 
to.  The  hardship  would  indeed  be  great  if  a 
churchman  were  deprived  of  the  amusement 
of  putting  a  dissenting  parson  in  prison.  We 
are  convinced  Lord  Sidmouth  is  a  very  amia- 
ble and  well-intentioned  man :  his  error  is  not 
the  error  of  his  heart,  but  of  his  time,  above 
which  few  men  ever  rise.  It  is  the  error  of 
some  four  or  five  hundred  thousand  English 
gentlemen  of  decent  education  and  worthy 
characters,  who  conscientiously  believe  thai 
they  are  punishing,  and  continuing  incapaci- 
ties, for  the  good  of  the  state;  while  they  are, 
in  fact  (though  without  knowing  it),  only  grati- 
fying that  insolence,  hatred,  and  revenge,  which 
all  human  beings  are  unfortunately  so  ready  to 
feel  against  those  who  will  not  conform  to  their 
own  sentiments. 

But,  instead  of  making  the  dissenting  church- 
es less  popular,  why  not  make  the  English 
church  more  popular,  and  raise  the  English 
clergy  to  the  privileges  of  the  Dissenters  1  In 
any  parish  of  England,  any  layman,  or  clergy- 
man,  by  paying  sixpence,  can  open  a  place  of 
worship, — provided  it  be  not  the  worship  of  the 
Church  of  England.  If  he  wishes  to  attack  the 
doctrines  of  the  bishop  or  the  incumbent,  he  is 
not  compelled  to  ask  the  consent  of  any  person ; 
but  if,  by  any  evil  chance,  he  should  be  per- 
suaded of  the  truth  of  those  doctrines,  and  build 
a  chapel  or  mount  a  pulpit  to  support  them,  he 
is  instantly  put  in  the  spiritual  court;  for  the 
regular  incumbent,  who  has  a  legal  monopoly 
of  this  doctrine,  does  not  choose  to  suffer  any 
interloper;  and  without  his  consent,  it  is  ille- 
gal to  preach  the  doctrines  of  the  church  within 
his  precincts.*    Now  this  appears  to  us  a  great 


*  Tt  might  be  supposed  that  the  eeneral  interests  of 
the  Church  would  outweigh  the  particular  interests  of 
the  rector;  and  that  any  clergyman  would  be  glad  to 
see  places  of  worship  opened  within  his  parish  for  the 
doctrines  of  the  Established  Church.  The  fact,  how- 
ever, is  directly  the  reverse.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to 
obtain  permission  from  tlie  established  clergyman  of  the 
parish  to  open  a  chapel  there  ;  and,  when  it  is  granted, 
it  is  granted  upon  very  hard  and  interested  conditions. 
The  parishes  of  St.  George — of  St.  James — of  Mary-le- 
bone — and  of  St.  Anne's,  in  London — may,  in  the  parish 
churches,  cliapels  of  ease,  and  mercenary  chapels,  con- 
tain, perhaps,  one-hundredth  part  of  their  Episcopalian 
inhabitants.  Let  the  rectors,  lay  and  clerical,  meet 
together,  and  give  notice  that  any  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  approved  by  the  bishop,  may  preach 
there ;  and  we  will  venture  to  say,  that  places  of  wor- 


92 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


and  manifest  absurdity,  and  a  disadvantage 
against  iVie  Established  Church  which  very  few 
establishments  could  bear.  The  persons  who 
preach  and  who  build  chapels,  or  for  whom 
chapels  are  built,  among  the  Dissenters,  are 
active  clever  persons,  with  considerable  talents 
for  that  kind  of  employment.  These  talents 
have,  with  them,  their  free  and  unbounded 
scope;  while  in  the  English  Church  they  are 
wholly  extinguished  and  destroyed.  Till  this 
evil  is  corrected,  the  Church  contends  with  fear- 
ful odds  against  its  opponents.  On  the  one 
side,  any  man  who  can  command  the  attention 
of  a  congregation — to  whom  nature  has  given 
the  animal  and  intellectual  qualifications  of  a 
preacher — such  a  man  is  the  member  of  every 
corporation; — all  impediments  are  removed; — 
there  is  not  a  single  position  in  Great  Britain 
which  he  may  not  take,  provided  he  is  hostile 
to  the  Established  Church.  In  the  other  case, 
if  the  English  Church  were  to  breed  up  a  Mas- 
sillon  or  a  Bourdaloue,  he  finds  every  place 
occupied,  and  every  where  a  regular  and  re- 
spectable clergyman  ready  to  put  him  in  the 
spiritual  court,  if  he  attracts,  within  his  pre- 
cincts, any  attention  to  the  doctrines  and  wor- 
ship of  the  Established  Church. 

The  necessity  of  having  the  bishop's  consent 
would  prevent  any  improper  person  from 
preaching.  That  consent  should  be  withheld, 
not  capriciously,  but  for  good  and  lawful  cause 
to  be  assigned. 

The  profits  of  an  incumbent  proceed  from 
fixed  or  voluntary  contributions.  The  fixed 
could  not  be  affected ;  and  the  voluntary  ought 
to  vary  according  to  the  exertions  of  the  in- 
cumbent and  the  good  will  of  the  parishioners  ; 
but,  if  this  is  wrong,  pecuniary  compensation 
might  be  made  (at  the  discretion  of  the  ordina- 
ry) from  the  supernumerary  to  the  regular  cler- 
gyman.* 

Such  a  plan,  it  is  true,  would  make  the 
Church  of  England  more  popular  in  its  nature  ; 
and  it  ought  to  be  made  more  popular,  or  it 
will  not  endure  for  another  half  century.  There 
are  two  methods ;  the  Church  must  be  made 
more  popular  or  the  Dissenters  less  so.  To 
effect  the  latter  object  by  force  and  restriction 
is  unjust  and  impossible.  The  only  remedy 
seems  to  be,  to  grant  to  the  Church  the  same 
privileges  which  are  enjoyed  by  the  Dissenters, 
and  to  excite,  in  one  party,  that  competition  of 
talent  which  is  of  such  palpable  advantage  to 
the  other. 

A  remedy  suggested  by  some  well-wishers  to 
the  Church,  is  the  appointment  of  men  to  bene- 


ship  capable  of  containing  20,000'persons  would  be  built 
within  ten  years.  But,  in  these  cases,  the  interest  of 
the  rector  and'of  the  Establishment  is  not  the  same.  A 
chapel  belonging  to  the  Swedenborgians,  or  Methodists 
of  the  New  .Jerusalem,  was  oflered.  two  or  three  years 
since,  in  London,  to  a  clergyman  of  the  Establishment. 
The  proprietor  was  tired  of  his  irrational  tenants,  and 
wished  for  better  doctrine.  The  rector  (since  a  digni- 
tary), with  every  possible  compliment  to  the  fitness  of 
the  person  in  question,  positively  refusedJthe  applica- 
tion ;  and  the  church  remains  in  the  hands  of  Metho- 
dists. No  particular  blame  is  intended,  by  this  anec- 
dote, against  the  individual  rector.  He  acted  as  many 
have  done  before  and  since;  but  the  incumbent  clergy- 
man ought  to  possess  no  such  power.  It  is  his  interest, 
but  not  the  interest  of  the  Establishment. 

*  All  this  has  been  since  placed  on  a  better  footing. 


fices  who  have  talents  for  advancing  the  inter- 
ests of  religion;  but,  till  each  particular  patron 
can  be  persuaded  to  care  more  for  the  general 
good  of  the  Church  than  for  the  particular  good 
of  the  person  whom  he  patronizes,  little  expec- 
tation of  improvement  can  be  derived  from  this 
quarter. 

The  competition  between  the  Established 
clergy,  to  which  this  method  would  give  birth, 
would  throw  the  incumbent  in  the  back-ground 
only  when  he  was  unfit  to  stand  forward, — im- 
moral, negligent,  or  stupid.  His  income  would 
still  remain;  and,  if  his  influence  were  super- 
seded by  a  man  of  better  qualities  and  attain- 
ments, the  general  good  of  the  Establishment 
would  be  consulted  by  the  change.  The  bene- 
ficed  clergyman  would  always  come  to  the 
contest  with  great  advantages  ;  and  his  defici- 
encies must  be  very  great  indeed,  if  he  lost  the 
esteem  of  his  parishioners.  But  the  contest 
would  rarely  or  never  take  place,  where  the 
friends  of  the  Establishment  were  not  numer- 
ous enough  for  all.  At  present,  the  selfish 
incumbent,  who  cannot  accommodate  the  fif- 
tieth part  of  his  parishioners,  is  determined  that 
no  one  else  shall  do  it  for  him.  It  is  in  such 
situations  that  the  benefit  to  the  Establishment 
would  be  greatest,  and  the  injury  to  the  ap- 
pointed minister  none  at  all. 

We  beg  of  men  of  sense  to  reflect,  that  the 
question  is  not  whether  they  wish  the  English 
Church  to  stand  as  it  now  is,  but  whether  the 
English  Church  can  stand  as  it  now  is ;  and 
whether  the  moderate  activity  here  recom- 
inended  is  not  the  minimum  of  exertion  neces- 
sary for  its  preservation.  At  the  same  time, 
we  hope  nobody  will  rate  our  sagacity  so  very 
low  as  to  imagine  we  have  much  hope  that  any 
measure  of  the  kind  will  ever  be  adopted.  Ml 
estahlishmoits  die  of  dignity.  They  are  too  proud 
to  think  themselves  ill,  and  to  take  a  little 
physic. 

To  show  that  we  have  not  misstated  the  ob- 
stinacy or  the  conscience  of  sectaries,  and  the 
spirit  with  which  they  will  meet  the  regulations 
of  Lord  Sidmouth,  we  will  lay  before  our 
readers  the  sentiments  of  Philagatharches — a 
stern  subacid  Dissenter. 

"I  shall  not  here  enter  into  a  comprehensive 
discussion  of  the  nature  of  a  call  to  the  minis- 
terial office;  but  deduce  my  proposition  from  a 
sentiment  admitted  equally  by  conformists  and 
nonconformists.  It  is  essential  to  the  nature 
of  a  call  to  preach  '  that  a  man  be  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry :'  and,  if  the  Spirit  of  God  operate  power- 
fully upon  his  heart  to  contrain  him  to  appear 
as  a  public  teacher  of  religion,  who  shall  com- 
mand him  to  desist]  We  have  seen  that  the 
sanction  of  the  magistrate  can  give  no  autho- 
rity to  preach  the  gospel ;  and  if  he  were  to 
forbid  our  exertions,  we  must  persist  in  the 
work  ;  we  dare  not  relinquish  a  task  that  God 
has  required  us  to  perform ;  we  cannot  keep 
our  consciences  in  peace,  if  our  lips  are  closed 
in  silence,  while  the  Holy  Ghost  is  moving  our 
hearts  to  proclaim  the  tidings  of  salvation: — 
'Yea>  woe  is  unto  me,'  saith  St.  Paul,  <  if  I 
preach  not  the  gospel.'  Thus,  when  the  Jewish 
priests  had  taken  Peter  and  John  into  custody, 
and  after  examining  them  concerning  their  doc 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


93 


trine, '  commanded  them  not  to  speak  at  all, 
nor  to  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus,'  these  apos- 
tolical champions  of  the  cross  undauntedly 
replied,  'Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God 
to  hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge 
ye :  for  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which 
we  have  seen  and  heard.'  Thus,  also,  in  our 
day,  when  the  Holy  Ghost  excites  a  man  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  his  fellow  sinners,  his 
message  is  sanctioned  by  an  authority  which  is 
'far  above  all  principality  and  power;'  and, 
consequently,  neither  needs  the  approbation  of 
subordinate  rulers,  nor  admits  of  revocation  by 
their  countermanding  edicts. 

"3dly.  He  who  receives  a  license  should  not 
expect  to  derive  from  it  a  testimony  of  qualifi- 
cation to  preach. 

"It  would  be  grossly  absurd  to  seek  a  testi- 
mony of  this  description  from  any  single  indi- 
vidual, even  though  he  were  an  experienced 
veteran  in  the  service  of  Christ;  for  aH  are 
fallible;  and, under  some  unfavourable  prepos- 
session, even  the  wisest  or  the  best  of  men 
might  give  an  erroneous  decision  upon  the 
case.  But  this  observation  will  gain  additional 
force  when  we  suppose  the  power  of  judging 

transferred  to  the  person  of  the  magistrate 

We  cannot  presume  that  a  civil  ruler  tmder- 
stands  as  much  of  theology  as  a  minister  of 
the  gospel.  His  necessary  duties  prevent  him 
from  critically  investigating  questions  upon 
divinity;  and  confine  his  attention  to  that  par- 
ticular department  which  society  has  deputed 
him  to  occupy  ;  and  hence  to  expect  at  his 
hands  a  testimony  of  qualification  to  preach 
would  be  almost  as  ludicrous  as  to  require  an 
obscure  country  curate  to  fill  the  office  of  Lord 
Chancellor. 

"  But  again— admitting  that  a  magistrate 
who  is  nominated  by  the  sovereign  to  issue 
forth  licenses  to  dissenting  ministers,  is  com- 
petent to  the  task  of  judging  of  their  natural 
and  acquired  abilities,  it  must  still  remain  a 
doubtful  question  whether  they  are  moved  to 
preach  by  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
for  it  is  the  prerogative  of  God  alone  to  '  search 
the  heart  and  try  ihe  reins'  of  the  children  of 
men.  Consequently,  after  every  effort  of  the 
ruling  powers  to  assume  to  themselves  the 
right  of  judging  whether  a  man  be  or  be  not 
qualified  to  preach,  the  most  essential  property 
of  the  call  must  remain  to  be  determined  by 
the  conscience  of  the  individual. 

"It  is  further  worthy  of  observation  that  the 
talents  of  a  preacher  may  be  acceptable  to 
many  persons,  if  not  to  him  who  issues  the 
license.  The  taste  of  a  person  thus  high  in 
office  may  be  too  refined  to  derive  gratification 
from  any  but  the  most  learned,  intelligent,  and 
accomplished  preachers.  Yet,  as  the  gospel 
is  sent  to  the  poor  as  well  as  to  the  rich,  per- 
haps hundreds  of  preachers  may  be  highly 
acceptable,  much  esteemed,  and  eminently 
useful  in  their  respective  circles,  who  would 
be  despised  as  men  of  mean  attainments  by 
one  whose  mind  is  well  stored  with  literature, 
and  cultivated  by  science.  From  these  re- 
marks, I  infer,  that  a  man's  own  judgment 
must  be  the  criterion,  in  determining  what  line 
of  conduct  to  pursue  before  he  begins  to 
preach ;  and  the  opinion  of  the  people  to  whom 


he  ministers  must  determine  whether  it  be 
desirable  that  he  should  continue  to  fill  their 
pulpit."— (168— 173.) 

The  sentiments  of  Philagatharches  are  ex- 
pressed still  more  strongly  in  a  subsequent 
passage. 

"  Here  a  question  may  arise — what  line  of 
conduct  conscientious  ministers  ought  to  pur- 
sue, if  laws  were  to  be  enacted,  forbidding 
either  all  dissenting  ministers  to  preach,  or 
only  lay  preachers ;  or  forbidding  to  preach 
in  an  unlicensed  place ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  refusing  to  license  persons  and  places, 
except  under  such  security  as  the  property 
of  the  parties  would  not  meet,  or  under  limi- 
tations to  which  their  consciences  could  not 
accede.  What  has  been  advanced  ought  to 
outweigh  every  consideration  of  temporal 
interest;  and  if  the  evil  genius  of  persecu- 
tion were  to  appear  again,  I  pray  God  that 
we  might  all  be  faithful  to  Him  who  hath  called 
us  to  preach  the  gospel.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, let  us  continue  to  preach  :  if  fined,  let 
us  pa)'  the  penalty,  and  persevere  in  preach- 
ing; and,  when  unable  to  pay  the  fine,  or 
deeming  it  impolitic  so  to  do,  let  us  submit  to 
go  quietly  to  prison,  but  with  the  resolution 
still  to  preach  upon  the  first  opportunity,  and, 
if  possible,  to  collect  a  church  even  within 
the  precincts  of  the  gaol.  He  who,  by  these 
zealous  exertions,  becomes  the  honoured  in- 
strument of  converting  one  sinner  unto  God, 
will  find  that  single  seal  to  his  ministerial  la- 
bours an  ample  compensation  for  all  his  suf- 
ferings. In  this  manner  the  venerable  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles  both  avowed  and  proved  his 
sincere  attachment  to  the  cause  in  which  he 
had  embarked  : — '  The  Holy  Ghost  witn^sseth, 
in  every  city,  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide 
me.  But  none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither 
count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might 
finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 
which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to 
testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.' 

"In  the  early  ages  of  Christianity  martyr- 
dom v/as  considered  an  eminent  honour ;  and 
many  of  the  primitive  Christians  thrust  them- 
selves upon  the  notice  of  their  heathen  per- 
secutors, that  they  might  be  brought  to  suffer 
in  the  cause  of  that  Redeemer  whom  they 
ardently  loved.  In  the  present  day  Christians 
in  general  incline  to  estimate  such  rash  ardour 
as  a  species  of  enthusiasm,  and  feel  no  dispo- 
sition to  court  the  horrors  of  persecution  ;  yet, 
if  such  dark  and  tremendous  days  were  to 
return  in  this  age  of  the  world,  ministers 
should  retain  their  stations ;  they  should  be 
true  to  their  charge ;  they  should  continue 
their  ministrations,  each  man  in  his  sphere, 
shining  with  all  the  lustre  of  genuine  godli- 
ness, to  dispel  the  gloom  in  which  the  nation 
would  then  be  enveloped.  If  this  line  of  con- 
duct were  to  be  adopted,  and  acted  upon  with 
decision,  the  cause  of  piety,  of  nonconformity, 
and  of  itinerant  preaching,  must  eventually 
triumph.  All  the  gaols  in  the  country  would 
speedily  be  filled :  those  houses  of  correction 
which  were  erected  for  the  chastisement  of  the 
vicious  in  the  community,  would  be  replen- 
ished with  thousands  of  the  most  pious,  active, 
and  useful  men  in  the  kingdom,  whose  cha- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


racters  are  held  in  general  esteem.  But  the 
ultimate  result  of  such  despotic  proceedings  is 
beyond  the  ken  of  human  prescience  : — pro- 
bably, appeals  to  the  public  and  the  legislature 
would  teem  from  the  press,  and,  under  such 
circumstances,  might  diffuse  a  revolutionary 
spirit  throughout  the  country."— (239— 243.) 

We  quote  these  opinions  at  length,  not  be- 
cause they  are  the  opinions  of  Philagatharches, 
but  because  we  are  confident  that  they  are  the 
opinions  of  ten  thousand  hot-headed  fanatics, 
and  that  they  would  firmly  and  conscientiously 
be  acted  upon. 

Philagatharches  is  an  instance  (not  uncom- 
mon, we  are  sorry  to  say,  even  among  the  most 
rational  of  the  Protestant  Dissenters)  of  a  love 
of  toleration  combined  with  a  love  of  persecu- 
tion. He  is  a  Dissenter,  and  earnestly  demands 
religious  liberty  for  that  body  of  men  ;  but  as 
for  the  Catholics,  he  would  not  only  continue 
their  present  disabilities,  but  load  them  with 
every  new  one  that  could  be  conceived.    He 


expressly  says  that  an  Atheist  or  a  Deist  may 
be  allowed  to  propagate  their  doctrines,  but 
not  a  Catholic ;  and  then  proceeds  with  all  the 
customary  trash  against  that  sect  which  nine 
schoolboys  out  of  ten  now  know  how  to  refute. 
So  it  is  with  Philagatharches ; — so  it  is  with 
weak  men  in  every  sect.  It  has  ever  been  our 
object,  and  (in  spite  of  misrepresentation  and 
abuse)  ever  shall  be  our  object,  to  put  down 
this  spirit — to  protect  the  true  interests,  and  to 
diffuse  the  true  spirit,  of  toleration.  To  a  M'ell- 
supported  national  Establishment,  effectually 
discharging  its  duties,  we  are  very  sincere 
friends.  If  any  man,  after  he  has  paid  his 
contribution  to  this  great  security  for  the  exist- 
ence of  religion  in  any  shape,  chooses  to  adopt 
a  religion  of  his  own,  that  man  should  be  per- 
mitted to  do  so  without  let,  molestation,  or  dis- 
qualification for  any  of  the  offices  of  life.  We 
apologize  to  men  of  sense  for  sentiments  so 
trite ;  and  patiently  endure  the  anger  which 
they  will  excite  among  those  with  whom  they 
will  pass  for  original. 


WORKS    OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


m 


CHAELES  pox; 

[Edinburgh  Revie-w,  1811.] 


Thottgh  Mr.  Fox's  history  was,  of  course, 
as  muuh  open  to  animadversion  and  rebuke 
as  any  other  book,  the  task,  we  think,  would 
have  become  any  other  person  better  than  Mr. 
Rose.  The  whole  of  Mr.  Fox's  life  was  spent 
in  opposing  the  profligacy  and  exposing  the 
ignorance  of  his  own  court.  In  the  first  half 
of  his  political  career,  while  Lord  North  was 
losing  America,  and  in  the  latter  half,  while 
Mr.  Pitt  was  ruining  Europe,  the  creatures  of 
the  government  were  eternally  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  this  discerning,  dauntless,  and  most 
powerful  speaker.  Folly  and  corruption  never 
had  a  more  terrible  enemy  in  the  English 
House  of  Commons — one  whom  it  was  so  im- 
possible to  bribe,  so  hopeless  to  elude,  and  so 
dithcult  to  answer.  Now  it  so  happened  that, 
during  the  whole  of  this  period,  tlie  historical 
critic  of  Mr.  Fox  was  employed  in  subordinate 
olfices  of  government; — that  the  detail  of  taxes 
passed  through  his  hands  ; — that  he  amassed 
a  large  fortune  by  those  occupations ; — and 
that,  both  in  the  measures  which  he  support- 
ed, and  in  the  friends  from  whose  patronage 
he  received  his  emoluments,  he  was  complete- 
ly and  perpetually  opposed  to  Mr.  Fox. 

Again,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  very 
great  people  have  very  long  memories  for  the 
injuries  which  they  receive,  or  which  they 
think  they  receive.  No  speculation  was  so 
good,  therefore,  as  to  vilify  the  memory  of 
Mr.  Fox, — nothing  so  delicious  as  to  lower 
him  in  the  public  estimation, — no  service  so 
likely  to  be  well  rewarded — so  eminently  grate- 
ful to  those  of  whose  favour  Mr.  Rose  had  so 
often  tasted  the  sweets,  and  of  the  value  of 
whose  patronage  he  must,  from  long  experi- 
ence, have  been  so  thoroughly  aware. 

We  are  almost  inclined  to  think  that  we 
might  at  one  time  have  worked  ourselves  up 
to  suspect  Mr.  Rose  of  being  actuated  by  some 
of  these  motives  : — not  because  we  have  any 
reason  to  think  worse  of  that  gentleman  than 
of  most  of  his  political  associates,  but  merely 
because  it  seemed  to  us  so  very  probable  that 
he  should  have  been  so  influenced.  Our  sus- 
picions, however,  were  entirely  removed  by 
the  frequency  and  violence  of  his  own  pro- 
testations. He  vows  so  solemnly  that  he  has 
no  bad  motive  in  writing  his  critique,  that  we 
find  it  impossible  to  withhold  our  belief  in  his 
purity.  But  Mr.  Rose  does  not  trust  to  his 
protestations  alone.  He  is  not  satisfied  with 
assurances  that  he  did  not  write  this  book 
from  any  bad  motive,  but  he  informs  us  that 
his  motive  was  excellent, — and  is  even  obliging 
enough  to  tell  us  what  that  motive  was.  The 
Earl  of  Marchmont,  it  seems,  was  Mr.  Rose's 
friend.  To  Mr.  Rose  he  left  his  manuscripts  ; 
and  among  these  manuscripts  was  a  narrative 


*  A  Vindication  of  Mr.  Fox's  History  of  the  Early  Part 
of  the  Reign  of  James  the  Second.  By  Samuel  Hev wood, 
Serjeant-at-Law.    London.    Johnson  &  Co.    1811. 


written  by  Sir  Patrick  Hume,  an  ancestor  of 
the  Earl  of  Marchmont,  and  one  of  the  leaders 
in  Argyle's  rebellion.  Of  Sir  Patrick  Hume 
Mr.  Rose  conceives  (a  little  erroneously  to  be 
sure,  but  he  assures  us  he  does  conceive)  Mr. 
Fox  to  have  spoken  disrespectfully ;  and  the 
case  comes  out,  therefore,  as  clearly  as  possi- 
ble, as  follows. 

Sir  Patrick  was  the  progenitor,  and  Mr. 
Rose  was  the  friend  and  sole  executor,  of  the 
Earl  of  Marchmont;  and  therefore,  says  Mr. 
Rose,  I  consider  it  as  a  sacred  duty  to  vindi- 
cate the  character  of  Sir  Patrick,  and,  for  that 
purpose,  to  publish  a  long  and  elaborate  cri- 
tique upon  all  the  doctrines  and  statements 
contained  in  Mr.  Fox's  history !  This  appears 
to  us  about  as  satisfactory  an  explanation  of 
Mr.  Rose's  authorship  as  the  exclamation  of  the 
traveller  was  of  the  name  of  Stony  Stratford. 

Before  Mr.  Rose  gave  way  to  this  intense 
value  for  Sir  Patrick,  and  resolved  to  write  a 
book,  he  should  have  inquired  what  accurate 
men  there  were  about  in  society ;  and  if  he 
had  once  received  the  slightest  notice  of  the 
existence  of  Mr.  Samuel  Heywood,  serjeant- 
at-law,  we  are  convinced  he  would  have  trans- 
fused into  his  own  will  and  testament  the  feel- 
ings he  derived  from  that  of  Lord  Marchmont, 
and  devolved  upon  another  executor  the  sacred 
and  dangerous  duty  of  vindicating  Sir  Patrick 
Hume. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Rose  has  been  principally 
employed  in  the  painful,  yet  perhaps  neces- 
sary, duty  of  increasing  the  burdens  of  his 
fellow-creatures.  It  has  been  a  life  of  detail, 
onerous  to  the  subject — onerous  and  lucrative 
to  himself.  It  would  be  unfair  to  expect  from 
one  thus  occupied  any  great  depth  of  thought, 
or  any  remarkable  graces  of  composition ;  but 
we  -have  a  fair  right  to  look  for  habits  of  pa- 
tient research  and  scrupulous  accuracy.  We 
might  naturally  expect  industry  in  collecting 
facts,  and  fidelity  in  quoting  them ;  and  hope, 
in  the  absence  of  commanding  genius,  to  re- 
ceive a  compensation  from  the  more  humble 
and  ordinary  qualities  of  the  mind.  How  far 
this  is  the  case,  our  subsequent  remarks  will 
enable  the  reader  to  judge.  We  shall  not  ex- 
tend them  to  any  great  length,  as  we  have 
before  treated  on  the  same  subject  in  our  re- 
view of  Mr.  Rose's  work.  Our  great  object 
at  present  is  to  abridge  the  observations  of 
Serjeant  He)nvood.  For  Serjeant  Heywood, 
though  a  most  respectable,  honest,  and  en- 
lightened man,  really  does  require  an  abridger. 
He  has  not  the  talent  of  saying  what  he  has 
to  say  quickly ;  nor  is  he  aware  that  brevity 
is  in  writing  what  charity  is  to  all  other  vir- 
tues. Righteousness  is  worth  nothing  without 
the  one,  nor  authorship  without  the  other.  But 
whoever  will  forgive  this  little  defect  will  find 
in  all  his  productions  great  learning,  immacu- 
late honesty,  and  the  most  scrupulous  accH 


9S 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


racy.  Whatever  detections  of  Mr.  Rose's  in- 
accuracies are  made  in  this  Review  are  to  be 
entirely  given  to  him ;  and  Ave  confess  our- 
selves quite  astonished  at  their  number  and 
extent. 

"Among  the  modes  of  destroying  persons 
(says  Mr.  Fox,  p.  14,)  in  such  a  situation 
(i.  e.  monarchs  deposed),  there  can  be  little 
doubt  but  that  adopted  by  Cromwell  and  his 
adherents  is  the  least  dishonourable.  Edward 
II.,  Richard  II.,  Henry  VI.,  Edward  V.,  had 
none  of  them  long  survived  their  deposal ; 
but  this  was  the  first  instance,  in  our  history 
at  least,  when  of  such  an  act  it  could  be  truly 
said  it  was  not  done  in  a  corner." 

What  Mr.  Rose  can  find  in  this  sentiment  to 
quarrel  with,  we  are  utterly  at  a  loss  to  con- 
ceive. If  a  human  being  is  to  be  put  to  death 
iinjustly,  is  it  no  mitigation  of  such  a  lot  that 
the  death  should  be  public  ]  Is  any  thing 
better  calculated  to  prevent  secret  torture  and 
cruelty  ]  And  would  Mr.  Rose,  in  mercy  to 
Charles,  have  preferred  that  red-hot  iron 
should  have  been  secretly  thrust  into  his  en- 
trails 1 — or  that  he  should  have  disappeared 
as  Pichegru  and  Toussaint  have  disappeared 
in  our  times  1  The  periods  of  the  Edwards 
and  Henrys  were,  it  is  true,  barbarous  periods : 
but  this  is  the  very  argument  Mr.  Fox  uses. 
All  these  murders,  he  contends,  were  immoral 
and  bad ;  but  that  where  the  manner  was  the 
least  objectionable,  Avas  the  murder  of  Charles 
the  First, — because  it  was  public.  And  can 
any  human  being  doubt,  in  the  first  place,  that 
these  crimes  would  be  marked  by  less  in- 
tense cruelty  if  they  were  public ;  and,  second- 
ly, that  they  would  become  less  frequent,  where 
the  perpetrators  incurred  responsibility,  than 
if  they  were  committed  by  an  uncertain  hand 
in  secrecy  and  concealment  1  There  never 
was,  in  short,  not  only  a  more  innocent,  but  a 
more  obvious  sentiment;  and  to  object  to  it 
in  the  manner  which  Mr.  Rose  has  done,  is 
surely  to  love  Sir  Patrick  Hume  too  much, — 
if  there  can  be  any  excess  in  so  very  com- 
mendable a  passion  in  the  breast  of  a  sole 
executor. 

Mr.  Fox  proceeds  to  observe,  that  "  he  M'ho 
has  discussed  this  subject  with  foreigners, 
must  have  observed,  that  the  act  of  the  execu- 
tion of  Charles,  even  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  condemn  it,  excites  more  admiration  than 
disgust."  If  the  sentiment  is  bad,  let  those 
who  feel  it  answer  for  it.  Mr.  Fox  only  as- 
serts the  fact,  and  explains,  without  justifying 
it.  The  only  question  (as  concerns  Mr.  Fox) 
is,  whether  such  is,  or  is  not,  the  feeling  of 
foreigners ;  and  whether  that  feeling  (if  it  ex- 
ists) is  rightly  explained  1  We  have  no  doubt 
either  of  the  fact  or  of  the  explanation.  The 
conduct  of  Cromwell  and  his  associates  was 
not  to  be  excused  in  the  main  act ;  but,  in  the 
manner,  it  was  magnanimous.  And  among 
the  servile  nations  of  the  Continent,  it  must 
naturally  excite  a  feeling  of  joy  and  won- 
der, that  the  power  of  the  people  had  for 
once  been  felt,  and  so  memorable  a  lesson 
read  to  those  whom  they  must  naturally  con- 
sider as  the  great  oppressors  of  mankind. 

The  most  unjustifiable  point  of  Mr.  Rose's 
accusation,  however,   is   still   to  come.     "If 


such  high  praise,"  says  that  gentleman,  "was, 
in  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Fox,  due  to  Cromwell 
for  the  publicity  of  the  proceedings  against  the 
king,  how  would  he  have  found  language  suf- 
ficiently commendatory  to  express  his  admi- 
ration of  the  magnanimity  of  those  who 
brought  Lewis  the  Sixteenth  to  an  open  trial  I" 
Mr.  Rose  accuses  Mr.  Fox,  then,  of  approving 
the  execution  of  Lewis  the  Sixteenth :  but,  on 
the  20th  of  December,  1792,  Mr.  Fox  said,  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  in  the  presence  of  Mr, 
Rose, 

"  The  proceedings  with  respect  to  the  royal 
family  of  France  are  so  far  from  being  mag- 
nanimity, justice,  or  mercy,  that  they  are  di- 
rectly the  reverse  ;  they  are  injustice,  cruelty, 
and  pusillanimity."  And  afterwards  declared 
his  Avish  for  an  address  to  his  majesty,  to 
which  he  Avould  add  an  expression  "of  our 
abhorrence  of  the  proceedings  against  the 
royal  family  of  France,  in  which,  I  have  no 
doubt,  we  shall  be  supported  by  the  whole 
country.  If  there  can  be  any  means  suggested 
that  will  be  better  adapted  to  produce  the 
unanimous  concurrence  of  this  House,  and  of 
all  the  country,  with  respect  to  the  measure 
now  under  consideration  in  Paris,  I  should  be 
obliged  to  any  person  for  his  better  suggestion 
upon  the  subject."  Then,  after  stating  that  such 
address,  especially  if  the  Lords  joined  in  it,  must 
have  a  decisive  influence  in  France,  he  added, 
"I  haA'e  said  thus  much  in  order  to  contradict 
one  of  the  most  cruel  misrepresentations  of 
what  I  had  before  said  in  our  late  debates ; 
and  that  my  language  may  not  be  interpreted 
from  the  manner  in  which  other  gentlemen 
have  chosen  to  answer  it.  I  haA^e  spoken 
the  genuine  sentiments  of  my  heart,  and  I 
anxiously  wish  the  House  to  come  to  some  re- 
solution upon  the  subject."  And  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  when  a  copy  of  instruction  sent  to 
Earl  Gower,  signifying  that  he  should  leave 
Paris,  was  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons, 
Mr.  Fox  said,  "he  had  heard  it  said,  that  the 
proceedings  against  the  King  of  France  are 
unnecessary.  He  would  go  a  great  deal  far- 
ther, and  say,  he  believed  them  to  be  highly 
unjust ;  and  not  only  repugnant  to  all  the  com- 
mon feelings  of  mankind,  but  also  contrary  to 
all  the  fundamental  principles  of  law." — (p. 
20,  21.) 

On  Monday  the  28th  January,  he  said, — 

"  With  regard  to  that  part  of  the  communi- 
cation from  his  majesty,  which  related  to 
the  late  detestable  scene  exhibited  in  a  neigh- 
bouring country,  he  could  not  suppose  there 
were  tAvo  opinions  in  that  House ;  he  knew 
they  were  all  ready  to  declare  their  ab- 
horrence of  that  abominable  proceeding." — 
(p.  21.) 

Two  days  afterwards,  in  the  debate  on  the 
message,  Mr.  Fox  pronounced  the  condemn.a- 
tion  and  execution  of  the  king  to  be 

— "  an  act  as  disgraceful  as  any  that  histoiy 
recorded :  and  whatever  opinions  he  might  at 
any  time  have  expressed  in  private  conversa- 
tion, he  had  expressed  none  certainly  in  that 
House  on  the  justice  of  bringing  kings  to  trial : 
revenge  being  unjustifiable,  and  punishment 
useless,  where  it  could  not  operate  either  by 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


97 


way  of  prevention  or  example;  he  did  not 
view  with  less  detestation  the  injustice  and 
inhumanity  that  had  been  committed  towards 
that  unhappy  monarch.  Not  only  were  the 
rules  of  criminal  justice — rules  that  more  than 
any  other  ought  to  be  strictly  observed — viola- 
ted with  respect  to  him :  not  only  was  he  tried 
and  condemned  without  existing  law,  to  which 
he  was  personally  amenable,  and  even  con- 
trary to  laws  that  did  actually  exist,  but  the 
degrading  circumstances  of  his  imprisonment, 
the  unnecessary  and  insulting  asperity  with 
which  he  had  been  treated,  the  total  want  of  re- 
publican magyianimity  in  the  whole  transaction, 
(for  even  in  that  Hoiise  it  could  be  no  offence 
to  say,  that  there  might  be  such  a  thing  as 
magnanimity  in  a  republic,)  added  every  ag- 
gravation to  the  inhumanity  and  injustice." 

That  Mr.  Fox  had  held  this  language  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Rose  knew  perfectly 
well,  when  he  accused  that  gentleman  of  ap- 
proving the  murder  of  the  King  of  France. 
Whatever  be  the  faults  imputed  to  Mr.  Fox, 
duplicity  and  hypocrisy  were  never  among  the 
number ;  and  no  human  being  ever  doubted 
but  that  Mr.  Fox,  in  this  instance,  spoke  his 
real  sentinlents :  but  the  love  of  Sir  Patrick 
Hume  is  an  overwhelming  passion ;  and  no 
man  who  gives  way  to  it,  can  ever  say  into 
what  excesses  he  may  be  hurried. 

Non  simul  cuiquam  conceditur.  amare  et  sapere. 

The  next  point  upon  which  Sergeant  Hey- 
wood  attacks  Mr.  Rose,  is  that  of  General 
Monk.  Mr.  Fox  says  of  Monk,  "that  he  ac- 
quiesced in  the  insult  so  meanly  put  upon  the 
illustrious  corpse  of  Blake,  under  whose  au- 
spices and  command  he  had  performed  the 
most  creditable  services  of  his  life."  This 
story,  Mr.  Rose  says,  rests  upon  the  authority 
of  Neale,  in  his  History  of  the  Puritans.  This 
is  the  first  of  many  blunders  made  by  Mr. 
Rose  upon  this  particular  topic  :  for  Anthony 
Wood,  in  his  Fasti  Oxonienses,  enumerating 
Blake  among  the  bachelors,  says,  "His  body 
was  taken  up,  and,  with  others,  buried  in  a  pit 
in  St.  Margaret's  church-yard  adjoining,  near  to 
the  back  door  of  one  of  the  prebendaries  of 
Westminster,  in  which  place  it  now  remaineth, 
enjoying  no  other  monument  but  what  it  reared 
by  its  valour,  which  time  itself  can  hardly 
efface."  But  the  difficulty  is  to  find  how  the 
denial  of  Mr.  Rose  affects  Mr.  Fox's  assertion. 
Mr.  Rose  admits  that  Blake's  body  was  dug  up 
by  an  order  of  the  king ;  and  does  not  deny 
that  it  was  done  with  the  acquiescence  of 
Monk.  But  if  this  be  the  case,  Mr.  Fox's  po- 
sition that  Blake  was  insulted,  and  that  Monk 
acquiesced  in  the  insult,  is  clearly  made  out. 
Nor  has  Mr.  Rose  the  shadow  of  an  authority 
for  saying  that  the  corpse  of  Blake  was  rein- 
terred  with  great  decorum.  Kennet  is  silent 
upon  the  subject.  We  have  already  given 
Serjeant  Heywood's  quotation  from  Anthony 
Wood;  and  this  statement,  for  the  present, 
rests  entirety  upon  the  assertion  of  Mr.  Rose ; 
and  upon  that  basis  will  remain  to  all  eternity. 

Mr.  Rose,  who,  we  must  say,  on  all  occa- 
sions through  the  whole  of  this  book,  makes 
the  greatest  parade  of  his  accuracy,  states  that 
the  bodies  of  Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Blake, 
13 


were  taken  up  at  the  same  time ;  whereas  the 
fact  is,  that  those  of  Cromwell  and  Ireton  were 
taken  up  on  the  26th  of  January,  and  that  of 
Blake  on  the  10th  of  September,  nearly  nine 
months  afterwards.  It  may  appear  frivolous 
to  notice  such  errors  as  these ;  but  they  lead 
to  very  strong  suspicions  in  a  critic  of  history 
and  of  historians.  They  show  that  those  ha- 
bits of  punctuality,  on  the  faith  of  which  he 
demands  implicit  confidence  from  his  readers, 
really  do  not  exist ;  they  prove  that  such  a 
writer  will  be  exact  only  when  he  thinks  the 
occasion  of  importance,  and  as  he  himself  is 
the  only  judge  of  that  importance,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  examine  his  proofs  in  every  instance, 
and  impossible  to  trust  him  anywhere. 

Mr.  Rose  remarks  that,  in  the  weekly  paper 
entitled  Mercurius  Rusticus,  No.  4,  where  an 
account  is  given  of  the  disinterment  of  Crom- 
well and  Ireton,  not  a  syllable  is  said  respect- 
ing the  corpse  of  Blake.  This  is  very  true  ; 
but  the  reason  (which  does  not  seem  to  have 
occurred  to  Mr.  Rose)  is,  that  Blake's  corpse 
was  not  touched  till  six  months  afterwards. 
This  is  really  a  little  too  much.  That  Mr. 
Rose  should  quit  his  usual  pursuits,  erect  him- 
self into  an  historical  critic,  perch  upon  the 
body  of  the  dead  lion,  impugn  the  accuracy  of 
one  of  the  greatest,  as  well  as  most  accurate 
men  of  his  time, — and  himself  be  guilty  of 
such  gross  and  unpardonable  negligence,  looks 
so  very  much  like  an  insensibility  to  shame, 
that  we  should  be  loth  to  characterize  his  con- 
duct by  the  severe  epithets  which  it  appears 
to  merit,  and  which,  we  are  quite  certain.  Sir 
Patrick,  the  defendee,  would  have  been  the 
first  to  bestow  upon  it. 

The  next  passage  in  Mr.  Fox's  work  ob- 
jected to  is  that  which  charges  Monk,  at  the 
trial  of  Argyle,  "  with  having  produced  letters 
of  friendship  and  confidence  to  take  away  the 
life  of  a  nobleman,  the  zeal  and  cordiality  of 
whose  co-operation  with  him,  proved  by  such 
documents,  was  the  chief  ground  of  his  exe- 
cution." This  accusation,  says  Mr.  Rose, 
rests  upon  the  sole  authority  of  Bishop  Bur- 
net; and  yet  no  sooner  has  he  said  this,  than 
he  tells  us,  Mr.  Laing  considers  the  bishop's 
authority  to  be  confirmed  by  Cunningham  and 
Baillie,  both  contemporary  writers.  Into  Cun- 
ningham or  Baillie  Mr.  Rose  never  looks  to 
see  whether  or  not  they  do  really  confirm  the 
authority  of  the  bishop ;  and  so  gross  is  his 
negligence,  that  the  very  misprint  from  Mr. 
Laing's  work  is  copied,  and  page  431  of  Baillie 
is  cited  instead  of  45 1.  If  Mr.  Rose  had  really 
taken  the  trouble  of  referring  to  these  books, 
all  doubt  of  the  meanness  and  guilt  of  Monk 
must  have  been  instantly  removed.  "Monk 
was  moved,"  says  Baillie,  "to  send  down  four 
or  Jive  of  Argyle' s  letters  to  himself  and  others, 
promising  his  full  compliance  with  them,  that 
the  king  should  not  reprieve  him." — Baillie's 
Letters,  p.  451.  "He  endeavoured  to  make 
his  defence,"  says  Cunningham ;  "  but  chiefly 
by  the  discoveries  of  Monk  was  condemned  of 
high  treason,  and  lost  his  head." — Cunning- 
ham's History,  i.  p.  13. 

Would  it  have  been  more  than  common  de- 
cency required,  if  Mr.  Rose,  who  had  been  ap- 
prised of  the  existence  of  these  authorities,  had 


98 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


had  recourse  to  them,  before  he  impugned  the 
accuracy  of  Mr.  Fox  1  Or  is  it  possible  to  read, 
without  some  portion  of  contempt,  this  slovenly 
and  indolent  corrector  of  supposed  inaccura- 
cies in  a  man,  not  only  so  much  greater  than 
himself  in  his  general  nature,  but  a  man  who, 
as  it  turns  out,  excels  Mr.  Rose  in  his  own  little 
arts  of  looking,  searching,  and  comparing  ;  and 
is  as  much  his  superior  in  the  retail  qualities 
■which  small  people  arrogate  to  themselves,  as 
he  was  in  every  commanding  faculty  to  the  rest 
of  his  fellow  creatures? 

Mr.  Rose  searches  Thurloe's  Slate  Papers ; 
but  Serjeant  Heywood  searches  them  after 
Mr.  Rose:  and,  by  a  series  of  the  plainest 
references,  proves  the  probability  there  is  that 
Argyle  did  receive  letters  which  might  mate- 
rially have  affected  his  life. 

To  Monk's  duplicity  of  conduct  may  be 
principally  attributed  the  destruction  of  his 
friends,  who  were  prevented,  by  their  confi- 
dence in  him,  from  taking  measures  to  secure 
themselves.  He  selected  those  among  them 
whom  he  thought  fit  for  trial — sat  as  a  commis- 
sioner upon  their  trial — and  interfered  not  to 
save  the  lives  even  of  those  with  whom  he  had 
lived  in  habits  of  the  greatest  kindness. 

"I  cannot,"  says  a  witness  of  the  most  un- 
question  ble  authority,  "I  cannot  forget o^ie^jns- 
sage  that  I  saw.  Monk  and  his  wife,  before  they 
Avere  moved  to  the  Tower,  while  they  were  yet 
prisoners  at  Lambeth  House,  came  one  evening 
10  the  garden,  and  caused  them  to  be  brought 
down,  only  to  stare  at  them  ;  which  was  such  a 
l)arbarism,  for  that  man  who  had  betrayed  so 
many  poor  men  to  death  and  misery,  that  never 
liurt  him,  but  had  honoured  him,  and  trusted 
their  lives  and  interests  with  him,  to  glut  his 
bloody  eyes  with  beholding  them  in  their  bond- 
age, as  no  story  can  parallel  the  inhumanity 
of." — (p.  83.)  Hutchinson's  Memoirs,  378. 

This,  however,  is  the  man  whom  Mr.  Fox,  at 
the  distance  of  a  century  and  a  half,  may  not 
mark  with  infamj^  Avithout  incurring,  from  the 
candour  of  Mr.  Rose,  the  imputation  of  repub- 
lican principles; — as  if  attachment  to  monarchy 
could  have  justified,  in  Monk,  the  coldness, 
cruelty,  and  treachery  of  his  character, — as  if 
the  historian  became  the  advocate, or  the  enemy 
of  any  form  of  government,  by  praising  the 
good,  or  blaming  the  bad  men  which  it  might 
produce  Serjeant  Heywood  sums  up  the  whole 
article  as  follows  : 

"  Having  examined  and  commented  upon  the 
evidence  produced  by  Mr.  Rose,  than  which  'it 
is  hardly  possible,'  he  says,  '  to  conceive  that 
stronger  could  be  formed  in  any  case  to  estab- 
lish a  negative,'  we  now  safely  assert  that  Mr. 
Fox  had  fully  informed  himself  upon  the  sub- 
ject before  he  wrote,  and  was  amply  justified 
in  the  condemnation  of  Monk,  and  the  conse- 
quent severe  censures  upon  him.  It  has  been 
already  demonstrated  that  the  character  of 
Monk  had  been  truly  given,  when  of  him  he 
said,  '  the  army  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
one,  than  whom  a  baser  could  not  be  found  in 
its  lowest  ranks.'  The  transactions  between 
l>im  and  Argyle  for  a  certain  period  of  time 
were  such  as  must  naturally,  if  not  necessarilj', 
have  led  them  into  an  epistolary  correspond- 
ence;  and   it  was   in   exact  conformity  with 


Monk's  character  and  conduct  to  the  regicides, 
that  he  should  betray  the  letters  written  to  him, 
in  order  to  destroy  a  man  whom  he  had,  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  command  in  Scotland,  both 
feared  and  hated.  If  the  fact  of  the  production 
of  ihese  letters  had  stood  merely  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Bishop  Burnet,  we  have  seen  that 
nothing  has  been  produced  by  Mr.  Rose  and 
Dr.  Campbell  to  impeach  it;  on  the  contrary, 
an  inquiry  into  the  authorities  and  documents 
they  have  cited,  strongly  confirm  it.  But,  as 
before  observed,  it  is  a  surprising  instance  of 
Mr.  Rose's  indolence,  that  he  should  state  the 
question  to  depend  now,  as  it  did  in  Dr.  Camp- 
bell's time,  on  the  bishop's  authority  solely. 
But  that  authority  is,  in  itself,  no  light  one 
Burnet  was  almost  eighteen  years  of  age  at  the 
lime  of  Argyle's  trial;  he  was  never  an  unob- 
serving  spectator  of  public  events ;  he  was 
probably  at  Edinburgh,  and,  for  some  years 
afterwards,  remained  in  Scotland,  with  ample 
means  of  information  respecting  events  which 
had  taken  place  so  recently.  Baillie  seems 
also  to  have  been  upon  the  spot,  and  expressly 
confirms  the  testimony  of  Burnet.  To  these 
must  be  added  Cunningham,  who,  writing  as  a 
person  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  circum- 
stances of  the  transaction,  says  it  was  owing 
to  the  interference  of  Monk,  who  had  been  his 
great  friend  in  Oliver's  time,  that  he  was  sent 
back  to  Scotland,  and  brought  to  trial ;  and  that 
he  was  condemned  chiefly  by  his  discoveries. 
We  may  now  ask  where  is  the  improbability 
of  this  story,  when  related  of  such  a  man?  and 
what  ground  there  is  for  not  giving  credit  to  a 
fact  attested  by  three  witnesses  of  veracity,  each 
writing  at  a  distance,  and  separate  from  each 
other?  In  this  instance  Bishop  Burnet  is  so 
confirmed,  that  no  reasonable  being,  who  will 
attend  to  the  subject,  can  doubt  of  the  fact  he 
relates  being  true  ;  and  we  shall  hereafter  prove 
that  the  general  imputation  against  his  accu- 
racy, made  by  Mr.  Rose,  is  totally  without 
foundation.  If  facts  so  proved  are  not  to  be 
credited,  historians  may  lay  aside  their  pens, 
and  every  man  must  content  himself  with  the 
scanty  pittance  of  knowledge  he  may  be  able 
to  collect  for  himself  in  the  very  limited 
sphere  of  his  own  immediate  observation." — 
(p.  86—88.) 

This,  we  think,  is  conclusive  enough  :  but 
we  are  happy  to  be  enabled,  out  of  our  own 
store,  to  set  this  part  of  the  question  finally  to 
rest,  by  an  authority  which  Mr.  Rose  himself 
will  probably  admit  to  be  decisive.  Sir  George 
Mackenzie,  the  great  torylawyer  of  Scotland  in 
that  day,  and  Lord  Advocate  to  Charles  II. 
through  the  greater  part  of  his  reign,  was  the 
leading  counsel  for  Argyle  on  the  trial  alluded 
to.  In  1678,  this  learned  person,  who  was  then 
Lord  Advocate  to  Charles,  published  an  elabo- 
rate treatise  on  the  criminal  law  of  Scotland; 
in  which,  when  treating  of  probation,  or  evi- 
dence, he  observes,  that  missive  letters,  not 
written,  but  only  signed  by  the  party,  should 
not  be  received  in  evidence  ;  and  immediately 
adds,  "  And  yet  the  Marquis  of  Argyle  ivas  con- 
vict of  treason  upon  letters  written  bt  him 
TO  General  Monk  ;  these  letters  being  only 
subscribed  by  him,  and  not  holograph,  and  the 
subscription    being  proved  per  comparationem 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


99 


literarum;  which  were  very  hard  in  other  cases," 
&c. — Mackenzie's  Criminals,  first  edit.  p.  524, 
Part  II.  tit.  25,  §  3.  Now  this,  we  conceive,  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  a  solemn  profes- 
sional report  of  the  case, — and  leaves  just  as 
little  roo-m  for  doubt  as  to  the  fact,  as  if  the 
original  record  of  the  trial  had  been  recovered. 

Mr.  Rose  next  objects  to  Mr.  Fox's  assertion, 
that  "  the  king  kept  from  his  cabal  ministry  the 
real  state  of  hip  connection  with  France — and 
from  some  of  them  the  secret  of  what  he  was 
pleased  to  call  his  religion  ;"  and  Mr.  Fox 
doubts  whether  to  attribute  this  conduct  to 
the  habitual  treachery  of  Charles,  or  to  an  ap- 
prehension that  his  ministers  might  demand 
for  themselves  some  share  of  the  French 
money;  which  he  was  unwilling  to  give  them. 
In  answer  to  this  conjecture,  Mr.  Rose  qu»tes 
Barillon's  Letters  to  Lewis  XIV.,  to  show  that 
Charles's  ministers  were  fully  apprised  of  his 
money  transactions  with  France.  The  letters 
so  quoted  were,  however,  written  seven  years 
after  the  cabal  ministry  were  inpoivcr — for  Bariilon 
did  not  come  to  England  as  ambassador  till 
1677 — and  these  letters  were  not  written  till 
after  that  period.  Poor  Sir  Patrick — It  was 
for  thee  and  thy  defence  this  book  was 
written  !  !  !  ! 

Mr.  Fox  has  said,  that  from  some  of  the 
ministers  of  the  cabal  the  secret  of  Charles's 
religion  was  concealed.  It  was  known  to  Ar- 
lington, admitted  by  Mr.  Rose  to  be  a  concealed 
Catholic ;  it  was  known  to  Clifford,  an  avowed 
Catholic:  Mr.  Rose  admits  it  not  to  have  been 
known  to  Buckingham,  though  he  explains  the 
reserve,  with  respect  to  him,  in  a  different  way. 
He  has  not,  however,  attempted  to  prove  that 
Lauderdale  or  Ashley  were  consulted; — on  the 
contrary,  in  Colbert's  letter  of  the  25th  August, 
1670,  cited  by  Mr.  Rose,  it  is  stated  that  Charles 
had  proposed  the  iraite  sitnule,  which  should  be 
a  repetition  of  the  former  one  in  all  things, 
except  the  article  relative  to  the  king's  declaring 
himself  a  Catholic,  and  that  the  Proteslanl  mi- 
nisters, Buckingham,  Ashley,  Cooper,  and  Lau- 
derdale, should  be  brought  "to  be  parties  to  it: — 
Can  there  be  a  stronger  proof  (asks  Serjeant 
Hey  wood),  that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  same 
treaty  made  the  year  before,  and  remaining 
then  in  force  1  Historical  research  is  cer- 
tainly not  the  peculiar  talent  of  JVIr.  Rose  ;  and 
as  for  the  official  accuracy  of  which  he  is  so 
apt  to  boast,  we  would  have  Mr.  Rose  to  remem- 
ber, that  the  term  official  accuracy  has  of  late 
days  become  one  of  very  ambiguous  import. 
Mr.  Rose,  we  can  see,  would  imply  by  it  the 
highest  possible  accuracy — as  we  see  office  pens 
advertised  in  the  window  of  a  shop,  by  way  of 
excellence.  The  public  reports  of  those,  how- 
ever, who  have  been  appointed  to  look  into  the 
manner  in  which  public  offices  are  conducted, 
by  no  means  justify  this  usage  of  the  term  ; — 
and  we  are  not  without  apprehensions,  that 
Dutch  politeness,  Carthaginian  faith,  Boeotian 
genius,  and  official  accuracy,  may  be  terms 
equally  current  in  the  world;  and  that  Mr.  Rose 
may,  without  intending  it,  have  contributed  to 
make  this  valuable  addition  to  the  mass  of  our 
ironical  phraseology. 

Speaking  of  the  early  part  of  James's  reign, 
Mr.  Fox  says,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  he 


had  yet  thoughts  of  obtaining  for  his  religion 
any  thing  more  than  a  complete  toleration  ;  and 
if  Mr.  Rose  had  understood  the  meaning  of  the 
French  word  etablissement,  one  of  his  many  in- 
correct corrections  of  Mr.  Fox  might  have  been 
spared.  A  system  of  religion  is  said  to  be  es- 
tablished when  it  is  enacted  and  endowed  by 
Parliament;  but  a  toleration  (as  Serjeant  Hey- 
wood  observes)  is  established,  when  ills  recog- 
nised and  protected  by  the  supreme  power. 
And  in  the  letters  of  Bariilon,  to  which  Mr.  Rose 
refers  for  the  justification  of  his  attack  upon 
Mr.  Fox,  it  is  quite  manifest  that  it  is  in  this 
latter  sense  that  the  word  etablissement  is  used; 
and  that  the  object  in  view  was,  not  the  substi- 
tution of  the  Catholic  religion  for  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  but  merely  its  toleration.  In  the 
first  letter  cited  by  Mr.  Rose,  James  says,  that 
"  he  knew  well  he  should  never  be  in  safety 
unless  liberty  of  conscience  for  them  should  be 
fully  established  in  England."  The  letter  of  the 
24th  of  April  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Rose,  as  if  the 
French  king  had  written,  the  establishment  of  the 
Catholic  religion ;  whereas  the  real  words  are, 
the  establishment  of  the  free  exercise  of  the  Catholic 
religion.  The  world  are  so  inveterately  resolved 
to  believe,  that  a  man  who  has  no  brilliant 
talents  must  be  accurate,  that  Mr.  Rose,  in  re- 
ferring to  authorities,  has  a  great  and  decided 
advantage.  He  is,  however,  in  point  of  fact,  as 
lax  and  incorrect  as  a  poet ;  and  it  is  absolutely 
necessary,  in  spite  of  every  parade  of  line,  and 
page,  and  number,  to  follow  him  in  the  most 
minute  particular.  The  Serjeant,  like  a  blood- 
hound of  the  old  breed,  is  always  upon  his 
track ;  and  always  looks  if  there  are  any  such 
passages  in  the  page  quoted, and  if  the  passages 
are  accurately  quoted  or  accurately  translated. 
Nor  will  he  by  any  means  be  content  with 
official  accuracy,  nor  submit  to  be  treated,  in  his- 
torical questions,  as  if  he  were  hearing  finan- 
cial statements  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Bariilon  writes,  in  another  letter  to  Lewis 
XIV. — "What  your  majesty  has  most  besides 
at  heart,  that  is  to  say,  for  the  establishment  of 
a  free  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion."  On 
the  9th  of  May,  Lewis  writes  to  Bariilon,  that 
he  is  persuaded  Charles  will  employ  all  his 
authority  to  establish  the  free  exercise  of  the 
Catholic  religion  :  he  mentions  also,  in  the 
same  letter,  the  Parliament  consenting  to  the 
free  exercise  of  our  religion.  On  the  15th  of 
June,  he  writes  to  Bariilon — "There  now  re- 
mains only  to  obtain  the  repeal  of  the  penal  laws 
in  favour  of  the  Catholics,  and  the  free  exercise 
of  our  religion  in  all  his  states."  Immediately 
after  Monmouth's  execution,  when  his  views 
of  success  must  have  been  as  lofty  as  they 
ever  could  have  been,  Lewis  writes — "  It  will 
be  easy  to  the  King  of  England,  and  as  useful 
for  the  security  of  his  reign  as  for  the  repose 
of  his  conscience,  to  re-establish  the  exercise 
of  the  Catholic  religion."  In  a  letter  of  Ba- 
riilon, July  16th,  Sunderland  is  made  to  say, 
that  the  king  would  always  be  exposed  to  the 
indiscreet  zeal  of  those  who  would  inflame  the 
people  against  the  Catholic  religion,  so  long  as 
it  should  not  be  more  fully  established.  The 
French  expression  is  tant  qu'elle  ne  sera  pas 
plus  pleinement  efablie ,-  and  this  Mr.  Rose  has 
had  the  modesty  to  translate,  till  it  shall  be  com- 


100 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pletely  established,  and  to  mark  the  passage 
with  italics,  as  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
his  argument.  These  false  quotations  and 
translations  being  detected,  and  those  passages 
of  early  writers,  from  which  Mr.  Fox  had  made 
up  his  opinion,  brought  to  light,  it  is  not  possible 
to  doubt,  but  that  the  object  of  James,  before 
Monmouth's  defeat,  was  not  the  destruction  of 
the  Protestant,  but  the  toleration  of  the  Catho- 
lic religion;  and  after  the  execution  of  Mon- 
mouth, Mr.  Fox  admits,  that  he  became  more 
bold  and  sanguine  upon  the  subject  of  religion. 

We  do  not  consider  those  observations  of 
Serjeant  Heywood  to  be  the  most  fortunate  in 
his  book,  where  he  attempts  to  show  the  re- 
publican tendency  of  Mr.  Rose's  principles. 
Of  any  disposition  to  principles  of  this  nature, 
we  most  heartily  acquit  that  right  honourable 
gentleman.  He  has  too  much  knowledge  of 
mankind  to  believe  their  happiness  can  be  pro- 
moted in  the  stormy  and  tempestuous  regions 
of  republicanism;  and,  besides  this,  that  sys- 
tem of  slender  pay,  and  deficient  perquisites, 
to  which  the  subordinate  agents  of  govern- 
ment are  confined  in  republics,  is  much  too 
painful  to  be  thought  of  for  a  single  instant. 

We  are  afraid  of  becoming  tedious  by  the 
enumeration  of  blunders  into  which  Mr.  Rose 
has  fallen,  and  which  Serjeant  Heywood  has 
detected.  But  the  burthen  of  this  sole  execu- 
tor's song  is  accuracy — his  own  official  accu- 
racy— and  the  little  dependence  which  is  to  be 
placed  on  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Fox.  We  will 
venture  to  assert,  that,  in  the  whole  of  his 
work,  he  has  not  detected  Mr.  Fox  in  one  sin- 
gle error.  Whether  Serjeant  Heywood  has 
been  more  fortunate  with  respect  to  Mr.  Rose, 
might  be  determined,  perhaps  with  sufficient 
certainty,  by  our  previous  extracts  from  his 
remarks.  But  for  some  indulgent  readers, 
these  may  not  seem  enough:  and  we  must  pro- 
ceed in  the  task,  till  we  have  settled  Mr.  Rose's 
pretensions  to  accuracy  on  a  still  firmer  foun- 
dation. And  if  we  be  thought  minutely  se- 
vere, let  it  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Rose  is 
himself  an  accuser;  and  if  there  is  justice 
upon  earth,  every  man  has  a  right  to  pull  sto- 
len goods  out  of  the  pocket  of  him  who  cries, 
"Stop  thief.'" 

In  the  story  which  Mr.  Rose  states  of  the 
seat  in  Parliament  sold  for  five  pounds  (Jour- 
nal of  the  Commons,  vol.  v.),  he  is  wrong,  both 
in  the  sum  and  the  volume.  The  sum  is  four 
pounds;  and  it  is  told,  not  in  the  fifth  volume, 
but  the  first.  Mr.  Rose  states,  that  a  perpetual 
excise  was  granted  to  the  crown,  in  lieu  of  the 
profits  of  the  court  of  wards ;  and  adds,  that 
the  question  in  favour  of  the  crown  was  car- 
ried by  a  majority  of  two.  The  real  fact  is, 
that  the  half  only  of  an  excise  upon  certain 
articles  was  granted  to  government  in  lieu  of 
these  profits ;  and  this  grant  was  carried  with- 
out a  division.  An  attempt  was  made  to  grant 
the  other  half,  and  this  was  negatived  by  a  ma- 
jority  of  two.  The  Journals  are  open ; — Mr. 
Rose  reads  them ; — he  is  officially  accurate. 
What  can  the  meaning  be  of  these  most  ex- 
traordinary mistakes  1 

Mr.  Rose  says  that,  in  1679,  the  writ  de  hae- 
retico  comburendo  had  been  a  dead  letter  for 
more  than  a  century.    It  would  have  been  ex- 


tremely agreeable  to  Mr.  Bartholomew  Legate, 
if  this  had  been  the  case  ;  for,  in  1612,  he  was 
burnt  at  Smithfield  for  being  an  Arian.  Mr. 
Wightman  would  probably  have  participated 
in  the  satisfaction  of  Mr.  Legate ;  as  he  was 
burnt  also,  the  same  year,  at  Lichfield,  for  the 
same  offence.  With  the  same  correctness, 
this  scourge  of  historians  makes  the  Duke  of 
Lauderdale,  who  died  in  1682,  a  confidential 
adviser  of  James  II.  after  his  accession  in  1689. 
In  page  13,  he  quotes,  as  written  by  Mr.  Fox, 
that  which  was  written  by  Lord  Holland. 
This,  however,  is  a  familiar  practice  with  him. 
Ten  pages  afterward,  in  Mr.  Fox's  History,  he 
makes  the  same  mistake.  "Mr.  Fox  added" — 
whereas  it  was  Lord  Holland  that  added.  The 
same  mistake  again,  in  p.  147  of  his  own  book; 
and  after  this,  he  makes  Mr.  Fox  the  person 
who  selected  the  appendix  of  Barillon's  pa- 
pers; whereas  it  is  particularly  stated  in  the 
preface  to  the  History,  that  this  appendix  was 
selected  by  Laing. 

Mr.  Rose  affirms,  that  compassing  to  levy 
war  against  the  king  was  made  high  treason 
by  the  statute  of  25  Edward  the  Third;  and, 
in  support  of  this  affirmation,  he  cites  Coke 
and  Blackstone.  His  stern  antagonist,  a  pro- 
fessional man,  is  convinced  he  has  read  nei- 
ther. The  former  sa3's,  "a  compassing  to  levy 
war  is  no  treasmi,"  (Inst.  3,  p.  9;)  and  Black- 
stone,  "a  bare  conspiracy  to  levy  war  does 
not  amount  to  this  species  of  treason."  (Com. 
iv.  p.  82.)  This  really  does  not  look  as  if  the 
Serjeant  had  made  out  his  assertion. 

Of  the  bill  introduced  in  1685,  for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  person  of  James  II.,  Mr.  Rose 
observes — "Mr.  Fox  has  not  told  us  for  which 
of  our  modern  statutes  this  bill  was  used  as  a 
model ;  and  it  will  be  difficult  for  any  one  to 
show  such  an  instance."  It  might  have  been 
thought,  that  no  prudent  man  would  have  made 
such  a  challenge,  without  a  tolerable  certainty 
of  the  ground  upon  which  it  was  made.  Ser- 
jeant Heywood  answers  the  challenge  by  cit- 
ing the  36  Geo.  III.  c.  7,  which  is  a  mere  copy 
of  the  act  of  James. 

In  the  fifth  section  of  Mr.  Rose's  work  is 
contained  his  grand  attack  upon  Mr.  Fox  for 
his  abuse  of  Sir  Patrick  Hume  ;  and  his  obser- 
vations upon  this  point  admit  of  a  fourfold  an- 
swer. 1st,  Mr.  Fox  does  not  use  the  words 
quoted  by  Mr.  Rose  ;  2dly,  He  makes  no  men- 
tion whatever  of  Sir  Patrick  Hume  in  the  pas- 
sage cited  by  Mr.  Rose;  3dly,  Sir  Patrick 
Hume  is  attacked  by  nobody  in  that  history; 
4thly,  If  he  had  been  so  attacked  he  would 
have  deserved  it.  The  passage  from  Mr.  Fox 
is  this: — 

"  In  recounting  the  failure  of  his  expedition, 
it  is  impossible  for  him  not  to  touch  upon  what 
he  deemed  the  misconduct  of  his  friends ;  and 
this  is  the  subject  upon  which,  of  all  others, 
his  temper  must  have  been  most  irritable.  A 
certain  description  of  friends  (the  words  de- 
scribing them  are  omitted)  were  all  of  them, 
without  exception,  his  greatest  enemies,  both 

to  betray  and  destroy  him :  and and 

(the  names  again  omitted)  were  the  greatest 
cause  of  his  rout,  and  his  being  taken,  though 
not  designedly,  he  acknowledges,  but  by  igno- 
rance, cowardice,  and  faction.     This  sentence 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


101 


had  scarce  escaped  him,  when,  notwithstand- 
ing the  qualifying  words  with  which  his  can- 
dour has  acquitted  the  last  mentioned  persons  of 
intentional  treachery,  it  appeared  too  harsh  to 
his  gentle  nature ;  and,  declaring  himself  dis- 
pleased with  the  hard  epithets  he  had  used,  he 
desires  that  they  may  be  put  out  of  any  ac- 
count that  is  to  be  given  of  these  transactions." 
— Heywood,  p.  365,  366. 

Argylq  names  neither  the  description  of 
friends  who  were  his  greatest  enemies,  nor  the 
two  individuals  who  v/ere  the  principal  cause 
of  the  failure  of  his  scheme.  Mr.  Fox  leaves 
the  blanks  as  he  finds  them.  But  two  notes 
are  added  by  the  editor,  which  Mr.  Rose  might 
have  observed  are  marked  with  an  E.  In  the 
latter  of  them  we  are  told,  that  Mr.  Fox  ob- 
serves, in  a  private  letter, "  Cochrane  and  Hume 
certainly  filled  up  the  two  principal  blanks." 
But  is  this  communication  of  a  private  letter 
any  part  of  Mr.  Fox's  history'?  And  would  it 
not  have  been  equally  fair  in  Mr.  Rose  to  have 
commented  upon  any  private  conversation  of 
Mr.  Fox,  and  then  to  have  called  it  his  history  1 
Or,  if  Mr.  Fox  had  filled  up  the  blanks  in  the 
body  of  his  history,  does  it  follow  that  he  adopts 
Argyle's  censure  because  he  shows  against 
whom  it  is  levelled  ]  Mr.  Rose  has  described 
the  charge  against  Sir  Patrick  Hume  to  be,  of 
faction,  cowardice,  and  treachery.  Mr.  Rose 
has  more  than  once  altered  the  terms  of  a  pro- 
position before  he  has  proceeded  to  answer  it ; 
and,  in  this  instance,  the  charge  of  treachery 
against  Sir  Patrick  Hume  is  not  made  either 
in  Argyle's  letter,  Mr.  Fox's  text,  or  the  editor's 
note,  or  any  where  but  in  the  imagination  of 
Mr.  Rose.  The  sum  of  it  all  is,  that  Mr.  Rose 
first  supposes  the  relation  of  Argyle's  opinion 
to  be  the  expression  of  the  relator's  opinion, 
that  Mr.  Fox  adopts  Argyle's  insinuations  be- 
cause he  explains  them  ; — then  he  looks  upon 
a  quotation  from  a  private  letter,  made  by  the 
editor,  to  be  the  same  as  if  included  in  a  work 
intended  for  publication  by  the  author; — then 
he  remembers  that  he  is  the  sole  executor  of 
Sir  Patrick's  grandson,  whose  blank  is  so 
filled  up ; — and  goes  on  blundering  and  blub- 
bering,— grateful  and  inaccurate, — teeming 
with  false  quotations  and  friendly  recollections 
to  the  conclusion  of  his  book.  Malta  gemens 
ignominiam. 

Mr.  Rose  came  into  possession  of  the  Earl 
of  Marchmont's  papers,  containing,  among 
other  things,  the  narrative  of  Sir  Patrick  Hume. 
He  is  very  severe  upon  Mr.  Fox  for  not  having 
been  more  diligent  in  searching  for  original 
papers;  and  observes,  that  if  any  application 
had  been  made  to  him  (Mr.  Rose),  this  narra- 
tive should  have  been  at  Mr.  Fox's  service. 
We  should  be  glad  to  know,  if  Mr.  Rose  saw  a 
person  tumbled  into  a  ditch,  whether  he  would 
wait  for  a  regular  application  till  he  pulled 
him  outl  Or,  if  he  happened  to  espy  the  lost 
piece  of  silver  for  which  the  good  woman  was 
diligently  sweeping  the  house,  would  he  wait 
for  formal  interrogation  before  he  imparted  his 
discovery,  and  suffer  the  lady  to  sweep  on  till 
the  question  had  been  put  to  him  in  the  most 
solemn  forms  of  politeness  1  The  established 
practice,  we  admit,  is  to  apply,  and  to  apply 
vigorously  and  incessantly,  for  sinecure  places 


and  pensions — or  they  cannot  be  had.  This  is 
true  enough.  But  did  any  human  being  ever 
think  of  carrying  this  practice  into  literature, 
and  compelling  another  to  make  interest  for 
papers  essential  to  the  good  conduct  of  his 
undertaking]  We  are  perfectly  astonished  at 
Mr.  Rose's  conduct  in  this  particular;  and 
should  have  thought  that  the  ordinary  exercise 
of  his  good  nature  would  have  led  him  to  a 
very  different  way  of  acting. 

"  On  the  whole,  and  vpon  the  most  attentive  con- 
sideration of  every  thing  tvhich  has  been  written 
upon  the  subject,  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  any  intention  of  applying  torture  in  the 
caseof  theEarlof  Argyle."  (Rose,  p.  182.)  If 
this  every  thing  had  included  the  following  extract 
from  Barillon,  the  above  cited,  and  very  dis- 
graceful inaccuracy  of  Mr.  Rose  would  have 
been  spared.  "The  Earl  of  Argyle  has  been 
executed  at  Edinburgh,  and  has  left  a  full  con- 
fession in  writing,  in  which  he  discovers  all 
those  who  have  assisted  him  with  money,  and 
have  aided  his  designs.  This  has  saved  him 
from  the  torture."  And  Argyle,  in  his  letter  to 
Mrs.  Smith,  confesses  he  has  made  discoveries. 
In  his  very  inaccurate  history  of  torture  in  the 
southern  part  of  this  island,  Mr.  Rose  says, 
that  except  in  the  case  of  Felton, — in  the  at- 
tempt to  introduce  the  civil  law  in  Henry  VI.'s 
reign, — and  in  some  cases  of  treason  in  Mary's 
reign,  torture  was  never  attempted  in  this 
country.  The  fact,  however,  is,  that  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  Anne  Askew  was  tor- 
tured by  the  chancellor  himself.  Simson  was 
tortured  in  1558;  Francis  Throgmorton  in 
1571 ;  Charles  Baillie,  and  Banastie,  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk's  servant,  were  tortured  in  1581  ; 
Campier,  the  Jesuit,  was  put  upon  the  rack ; 
and  Dr.  Astlow  is  supposed  to  have  been 
racked  in  1558.  So  much  for  Mr.  Ruse  as  the 
historian  of  punishments.  We  have  seen  him, 
a  few  pages  before,  at  the  stake, — where  he 
makes  quite  as  bad  a  figure  as  he  does  now 
upon  the  rack.  Precipitation  and  error  are 
his  foibles.  If  he  were  to  write  the  history  of 
sieges,  he  would  forget  the  siege  of  Troy; — if 
he  were  making  a  list  of  poets,  he  woulu  leave 
out  -Virgil: — Caesar  would  not  appear  in  his 
catalogue  of  generals; — and  Newton  would  be 
overlooked  in  his  collection  of  eminent  mathe- 
maticians. 

In  some  cases.  Mi:  Rose  is  to  be  met  only 
with  flat  denial.  Mr.  Fox  does  not  call  the  sol- 
diers who  were  defending  James  against  Ar- 
gyle authorized  assassins ;  but  he  uses  that  ex- 
pression against  the  soldiers  who  were  murder- 
ing the  peasants,  and  committing  every  sort  of 
licentious  cruelly  in  the  twelve  counties  given 
up  to  military  execution ;  and  this  Mr.  Rose 
must  have  known,  by  using  the  mcst  ordinary 
diligence  in  the  perusal  of  the  text, — and 
would  have  known  it  in  any  other  history  than 
that  of  Mr.  Fox. 

"Mr.  Rose,  in  his  concluding  paragraph, 
boasts  of  his  speaking  'impersonally,'  and  he 
hopes  it  will  be  allowed  justly,  when  he  makes 
a  general  observation  respecting  the  proper 
province  of  history.  But  the  last  sentence 
evidently  shows  that,  though  he  might  be 
speaking  justly,  he  was  not  speaking  impef- 
sonally,  if  by  that  word  is  meant,  without  refe- 
I  2 


102 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


rence  to  any  person.  His  words  are,  'But 
history  cannot  connect  itself  with  party,  with- 
out forfeiting  its  name ;  without  departing  from 
the  truth,  the  dignity,  and  the  usefulness  of  its 
functions.'  After  the  remarks  he  has  made  in 
some  of  his  preceding  pages,  and  the  apology 
he  has  offered  for  Mr.  Fox,  in  his  last  preceding 
paragraph,  for  having  been  mistaken  in  his 
view  of  some  leading  points,  there  can  be  no 
difficulty  in  concluding,  that  this  general  ob- 
servation is  meant  to  be  applied  to  the  histori- 
'  cal  work.  The  charge  intended  to  be  insinu- 
ated must  be,  that,  in  Mr.  Fox's  hands,  history 
has  forfeited  the  name  by  being  connected  with 
party;  and  has  departed  from  the  truth,  the 
dignity,  and  the  usefulness  of  its  functions.  It 
were  to  be  wished  that  Mr.  Rose  had  explained 
himself  more  fully;  for,  after  assuming  that 
the  application  of  this  observation  is  too  ob- 
vious to  be  mistaken,  there  still  remains  some 
difHculty  with  respect  to  its  meaning.  If  it  is 
confined  to  such  publications  as  are  written 
under  the  title  of  histories,  but  are  intended  to 
serve  the  purposes  of  a  party;  and  truth  is 
sacrificed,  and  facts  perverted,  to  defend  and 
give  currency  to  their  tenets,  we  do  not  dispute 
its  propriety ;  but,  if  that  is  the  character  which 
Mr.  Rose  would  give  to  Mr.  Fox's  labours,  he 
has  not  treated  him  with  candour,  or  even 
commo-n  justice.  Mr.  Rose  has  never,  in  any 
one  instance,  intimated  that  Mr.  Fox  has  wil- 
fully departed  from  truth,  or  strayed  from  the 
proper  province  of  history,  for  the  purpose  of 
indulging  his  private  or  party  feelings.  But, 
if  Mr.  Rose  intends  that  the  observation  should 
be  applied  to  all  histories,  the  authors  of  which 
have  felt  strongly  the  influence  of  political 
connections  and  principles,  what  must  become 
of  most  of  the  histories  of  England  1  Is  the 
title  of  historian  to  be  denied  to  Mr.  Hume  1 
and  in  what  class  are  to  be  placed  Echard, 
Kennet,  Rapin,  Dalrymple,  or  Macpherson  T 
In  this  point  of  view  the  principle  laid  down  is 
too  broad.  A  person,  though  connected  with 
party,  may  write  an  impartial  history  of  events 
which  occurred  a  century  before;  and,  till  this 
last  sentence,  Mr.  Rose  has  not  ventured  to 
intimate  that  Mr.  Fox  has  not  done  so.  On  the 
contrary,  he  has  declared  his  approbation  of  a 
great  portion  of  the  work;  and  his  attempts  to 
discover  material  errors  in  the  remainder  have 
uniformly  failed  in  every  particular.  If  it 
might  be  assumed  that  there  existed  in  the  book 
no  faults,  besides  those  which  the  scrutinizing 
eye  of  Mr.  Rose  has  discovered,  it  might  be 
justly  deemed  the  most  perfect  work  that  ever 
came  from  the  press;  for  not  a  single  devia- 
tion from  the  strictest  duty  of  an  historian  has 
been  pointed  out ;  while  instances  of  candour 
and  impartiality  present  themselves  in  almost 
every  page;  and  Mr.  Rose  himself  has  ac- 
knowledged and  applauded  many  of  them." — 
(pp.  422—424.) 

These  extracts  from  both  books  are  sufficient 
to  show  the  nature  of  Serjeant  Hey  wood's  ex- 
amination of  Mr.  Rose, — the  boldness  of  this 
latter  gentleman's  assertions, — and  the  extreme 
inaccuracy  of  the  researches  upon  which  these 
assertions  are  founded.  If  any  credit  could  be 
gained  from  such  a  book  as  Mr.  Rose  has  pub- 


lished, it  could  be  gained  from  accuracy  alone. 
Whatever  the  execution  of  his  book  had  been, 
the  world  would  have  remembered  the  infinite 
disparity  of  the  two  authors,  and  the  long  po- 
litical opposition  in  which  they  lived — if  that, 
indeed,  can  be  called  opposition,  where  the 
thunderbolt  strikes,  and  the  clay  yields.  They 
would  have  remembered  also  that  Hector  was 
dead;  and  that  every  cowardly  Grecian  could 
now  thrust  his  spear  into  the  hero's  body.  But 
still,  if  Mr.  Rose  had  really  succeeded  in  ex- 
posing the  inaccuracy  of  Mr.  Fox, — if  he 
could  have  fairly  shown  that  authorities  were 
overlooked,  or  slightly  examined,  or  wilfully 
perverted, — the  incipient  feelings  to  which 
such  a  controversy  had  given  birth  must  have 
yielded  to  the  evidence  of  facts  ;  and  Mr.  Fox, 
however  qualified  in  other  particulars,  must 
have  appeared  totally  defective  in  thatiaborious 
industry  and  scrupulous  good  faith  so  indis- 
pensable to  every  historian.  But  he  absolutely 
comes  out  of  the  contest  not  worse  even  in  a 
single  tooth  or  nail — unvilified  even  by  a  wrong 
date — without  one  misnomer  proved  upon  him 
— immaculate  in  his  years  and  days  of  the 
month — blameless  to  the  most  musty  and 
limited  pedant  that  ever  yellowed  himself 
amidst  rolls  and  records. 

But  how  fares  it  with  his  critic?  He  rests 
his  credit  with  the  world  as  a  man  of  labour, — 
and  he  turns  out  to  be  a  careless  inspector  of 
proofs,  and  an  historical  sloven.  The  species 
of  talent  which  he  pretends  to  is  humble, — 
and  he  possesses  it  not.  He  has  not  done  that 
which  all  men  may  do,  and  which  every  man 
ought  to  do,  who  rebukes  his  superiors  for 
not  doing  it.  His  claims,  too,  it  should  he 
remembered,  to  these  every-day  qualities,  are 
by  no  means  enforced  with  gentleness  and 
humility.  He  is  a  braggadocio  of  minuteness 
— a  swaggering  chronologer  ; — a  man  bristling 
up  with  small  facts — prurient  with  dates — 
wantoning  in  obsolete  evidence — loftily  dull, 
and  haughty  in  his  drudgery; — and  yet  all  this 
is  pretence.  Drawing  is  no  very  unusual 
power  in  animals;  but  he  cannot  draw  ;  he  is 
not  even  the  ox  which  he  is  so  fond  of  being. 
In  attempting  to  vilify  Mr.  Fox,  he  has  only 
shown  us  that  there  was  no  labour  from  which 
that  great  man  shrunk,  and  that  no  object  con- 
nected with  his  history  was  too  minute  for  his 
investigation.  He  has  thoroughly  convinced 
us  that  Mr.  Fox  was  as  industrious,  and  as  ac- 
curate, as  if  these  were  the  only  qualities  upon 
which  he  had  ever  rested  his  hope  of  fortune 
or  of  fame.  Such,  indeed,  are  the  customary 
results  when  little  people  sit  down  to  debase 
the  characters  of  great  men,  and  to  exalt  them- 
selves upon  the  ruins  of  what  they  have  pulled 
down.  They  only  provoke  a  spirit  of  inquiry, 
which  places  every  thing  in  .its  true  light  and 
magnitude, — shows  those  who  appear  little  to 
be  still  less,  and  displays  new  and  unexpected 
excellence  in  others  who  were  before  known 
to  excel.  These  are  the  usual  consequences 
of  such  attacks.  The  fame  of  Mr.  Fox  has 
stood  this,  and  will  stand  much  ruder  shocks. 

JVo?!  hiemes  illam,  non  fahra  neqiie  imhres 
Convellunt  ;   immota  manet,  multosque  per  annos 
Multa  virimi  volvens  durando  sacula  vincit. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


103 


MAD  aUAKEES/ 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1814.] 


The  Quakers  always  seem  to  succeed  in  any 
institution  which  they  undertake.  The  gaol  at 
Philadelphia  will  remain  a  lasting  monument 
of  their  skill  and  patience  ;  and,  in  the  plan 
and  conduct  of  this  retreat  for  the  insane,  they 
have  evinced  the  same  wisdom  and  perse- 
verance. 

The  present  account  is  given  us  by  Mr. 
Tuke,  a  respectable  tea-dealer,  living  in  York, 
— and  given  in  a  manner  which  we  are  quite 
sure  the  most  opulent  and  important  of  his 
customers  could  not  excel.  The  long  account 
of  the  subscription,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
book,  is  evidently  made  tedious  for  the  Quaker 
market;  and  Mr.  Tuke  is  a  little  too  much 
addicted  to  quoting.  But,  with  these  trifling 
exceptions,  his  book  does  him  very  great 
credit; — it  is  full  of  good  sense  and  humanity, 
right  feelings  and  rational  views.  The  retreat 
for  insane  Quakers  is  situated  about  a  mile 
from  the  city  of  York,  upon  an  eminence  com- 
manding the  adjacent  country,  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  garden  and  fields  belonging  to  the  institu- 
tion. The  great  principle  on  which  it  appears 
to  be  conducted  is  that  of  kindness  to  the  pa- 
tients. It  does  not  appear  to  them,  because  a 
man  is  mad  upon  one  particular  subject,  that 
he  is  to  be  considered  in  a  state  of  complete 
mental  degradation,  or  insensible  to  the  feel- 
ings of  kindness  and  gratitude.  When  a  mad- 
man does  not  do  what  he  is  bid  to  do,  the 
shortest  method,  to  be  sure,  is  to  knock  him 
down ;  and  straps  and  chains  are  the  species 
of  prohibition  which  are  the  least  frequently 
disregarded.  But  the  Society  of  Friends  seem 
rather  to  consult  the  interest  of  the  patient 
than  the  ease  of  his  keeper;  and  to  aim  at  the 
government  of  the  insane,  by  creating  in  them 
the  kindest  disposition  towards  those  who  have 
the  command  over  them.  Nor  can  any  thing 
be  more  wise,  humane,  or  interesting,  than  the 
strict  attention  to  the  feelings  of  their  patients 
which  seems  to  prevail  in  their  institutions. 
The  following  specimens  of  their  disposition 
upon  this  point  we  have  great  pleasure  in  lay- 
ing before  our  readers  : — 

"The  smallness  of  the  court,"  says  Mr.  Tuke, 
"would  be  a  serious  defect,  if  it  was  not 
generally  compensated  by  taking  such  patients 
as  are  suitable  into  the  garden ;  and  by  fre- 
quent excursions  into  the  city,  or  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  into  the  fields  of  the  institu- 
tion. One  of  these  is  surrounded  by  a  walk 
interspersed  with  trees  and  shrubs. 

"The  superintendent  has  also  endeavoured 
to  furnish  a  source  of  amusement  to  those  pa- 


♦  Description  of  the  Retreat,  an  Institution  near  York, 
for  Insane  Persons  of  the  Societij  nf  Friends.  Cnntninin.f 
an  account  of  its  Origin  and  Pron-rcss,  the  Modes  iif  Treat- 
ment, and  a  Statement  of  Cases.  By  Samuel  Tuke. 
York,  1813. 


tients  whose  walks  are  necessarily  more  cir 
cumscribed,  by  supplying  each  of  the  courts 
with  a  number  of  animals,  such  as  rabbits, 
sea  gulls,  hawks,  and  poultry.  These  crea- 
tures are  generally  very  familiar  with  the 
patients ;  and  it  is  believed  they  are  not  only 
the  means  of  innocent  pleasure,  but  that  the 
intercourse  with  them  sometimes  tends  to  ■ 
awaken  the  social  and  benevolent  feelings." — 
(p.  95,  96.) 

Chains  are  never  permitted  at  the  Retreat; 
nor  is  it  left  to  the  option  of  the  lower  attend- 
ants when  they  are  to  impose  an  additional 
degree  of  restraint  upon  the  patients;  and  this 
compels  them  to  pay  attention  to  the  feelings 
of  the  patients,  and  to  attempt  to  gain  an  influ- 
ence over  them  by  kindness.  Patients  who 
are  not  disposed  to  injure  themselves  are  merely 
confined  by  the  strait  waistcoat,  and  left  to 
walk  about  the  room,  or  lie  down  on  the  bed, 
at  pleasure ;  and  even  in  those  cases  where 
there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  self-destruction, 
as  much  attention  is  paid  to  the  feelings  and 
ease  of  the  patient  as  is  consistent  with  his 
safety. 

"Except  in  cases  of  violent  mania,  which  is 
far  from  being  a  frequent  recurrence  at  the 
Retreat,  coercion,  when  requisite,  is  considered 
as  a  necessary  evil ;  that  is,  it  is  thought  ab- 
stractedly to  have  a  tendency  to  retard  the  cure, 
by  opposing  the  influence  of  the  moral  reme- 
dies employed.  It  is  therefore  used  very  spar- 
ingly; and  the  superintendent  has  often  assured 
me.  that  he  would  rather  run  some  risk  than 
have  recourse  to  restraint  where  it  was  not 
absolutely  necessary,  except  in  those  cases 
where  it  was  likely  to  have  a  salutary  moral 
tendency. 

"I  feel  no  small  satisfaction  in  stating, upon 
the  authority  of  the  superintendents,  that  dur- 
ing the  last  year,  in  which  the  number  of  pa- 
tients has  generally  been  sixty-four,  there  has 
not  been  occasion  to  seclude,  on  an  average-, 
two  patients  at  one  time.  I  am  also  able  to 
state,  that  although  it  is  occasionally  necessary 
to  restrain,  by  the  waistcoat,  straps,  or  other 
means,  several  patients  at  one  time,  yet  that 
the  average  number  so  restrained  does  not  ex- 
ceed four,  including  those  who  are  secluded. 

"  The  safety  of  those  who  attend  upon  the 
insane  is  certainly  an  object  of  great  import- 
ance ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  inquiry  whether  it 
may  not  be  attained  without  materially  inter- 
fering with  another  object, —  the  recovery  of  the 
patient.  It  may  also  deserve  inquiry,  whether 
the  extensive  practice  of  coercion,  which  ob- 
tains in  some  institutions,  does  not  arise  from 
erroneous  views  of  the  character  of  insane 
persons;  from  indifference  to  their  comfort; 
or  from  having  rendered  coercion  necessarv 
by  previous  unkind  treatment. 


104 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"The  power  of  judicious  kindness  over  this 
unhappy  class  of  society  is  much  greater  than 
is  generally  imagined.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  too 
much  to  apply  to  kind  treatment  the  words  of 
our  great  poet, — 

'She  can  unlock 
The  clasping  charm,  and  thaw  the  numbing  spell.' 

Milton. 

"In  no  instances  has  this  power  been  more 
strikingly  displayed,  or  exerted  with  more 
beneficial  effects,  than  in  those  deplorable 
cases  in  which  the  patient  refuses  to  take  food. 
The  kind  persuasions  and  ingenious  arts  of  the 
superintendents  have  been  singularly  success- 
ful in  overcoming  this  distressing  symptom ; 
and  very  few  instances  now  occur  in  which  it 
is  necessary  to  employ  violent  means  for  sup- 
plying the  patient  with  food. 

"  Some  patients,  who  refuse  to  partake  of  the 
family  meals,  are  induced  to  eat  by  being  taken 
into  the  larder,  and  there  allowed  to  help  them- 
selves. Some  are  found  willing  to  eat  when 
food  is  left  with  them  in  their  rooms,  or  when 
they  can  obtain  it  unobserved  by  their  attend- 
ants. Others,  whose  determination  is  stronger, 
are  frequently  induced,  by  repeated  persuasion, 
to  take  a  small  quantity  of  nutritious  liquid; 
and  it  is  equally  true  in  these,  as  in  general 
cases,  that  every  breach  of  resolution  weakens 
the  power  and  disposition  to  resistance. 

"  Sometimes,  however,  persuasion  seems  to 
strengthen  the  unhappy  determination.  In  one 
of  these  cases  the  attendants  were  completely 
wearied  with  their  endeavours  ;  and,  on  remov- 
ing the  food,  one  of  them  took  a  piece  of  meat 
which  had  been  repeatedly  offered  to  the  pa- 
tient, and  threw  it  under  the  fire-grate,  at  the 
same  time  exclaiming  that  she  should  not  have 
it.  The  poor  creature,  who  seemed  governed 
by  the  rule  of  contraries,  immediately  rushed 
from  her  seat,  seized  the  meat  from  the  ashes, 
and  devoured  it.  For  a  short  time  she  was 
induced  to  eat,  by  the  attendants  availing 
themselves  of  this  contrary  disposition ;  but  it 
was  soon  rendered  unnecessary  by  the  removal 
of  this  unhappy  feature  of  the  disorder." — (p. 
166,  167,  168,  169.) 

When  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  apply  any 
mode  of  coercion,  such  an  overpowering  force 
is  employed  as  precludes  all  possibility  of  suc- 
cessful resistance;  and  most  commonly,  there- 
fore, extinguishes  every  idea  of  making  any 
at  all.  An  attendant  upon  a  madhouse  ex- 
poses himself  to  some  risk — and  to  some  he 
ought  to  expose  himself,  or  he  is  totally  unfit 
for  his  situation.  If  the  security  of  the  attend- 
ants were  the  only  object,  the  situation  of  the 
patients  would  soon  become  truly  desperate. 
The  business  is,  not  to  risk  nothing,  but  not  to 
risk  too  much.  The  generosity  of  the  Quakers, 
and  their  courage  in  managing  mad  people, 
are  placed,  by  this  institution,  in  a  very  strik- 
ing point  of  view.  This  cannot  be  better  illus- 
trated than  by  the  two  following  cases: — 

"The  superintendent  was  one  day  walking 
in  a  field  adjacent  to  the  house,  in  company 
with  a  patient  who  was  apt  to  be  vindictive  on 
very  slight  occasions.  An  exciting  circum- 
stance occurred.  The  maniac  retired  a  few 
paces,  and  seized  a  large  stone,  which  he  im- 
mediately held  up,  as  in  the  act  of  throwing 


at  his  companion.  The  superintendent,  in  no 
degree  ruffled,  fixed  his  eye  upon  the  patient, 
and  in  a  resolute  tone  of  voice,  at  the  same 
time  advancing,  commanded  him  to  lay  down 
the  stone.  As  he  approached,  the  hand  of  the 
lunatic  gradually  sunk  from  its  threatening 
position,  and  permitted  the  stone  to  drop  to  the 
ground.  He  then  submitted  to  be  quietly  led 
to  his  apartment." 

"  Some  years  ago,  a  man,  about  thirty-four 
years  of  age,  of  almost  herculean  size  and 
figure,  was  brought  to  the  house.  He  had 
been  afflicted  several  times  before;  and  so 
constantly,  during  the  present  attack,  had  he 
been  kept  chained,  that  his  clothes  were  con- 
trived to  be  taken  ofl'and  put  on  by  means  of 
strings,  without  removing  his  manacles.  They 
were,  however,  taken  ofif  when  he  entered  the 
Retreat,  and  he  was  ushered  into  the  apart- 
ment where  the  superintendents  were  supping. 
He  was  calm:  his  attention  appeared  to  be 
arrested  by  his  new  situation.  He  was  de- 
sired to  join  in  the  repast,  during  which  he 
behaved  with  tolerable  propriety.  After  it  was 
concluded  the  superintendent  conducted  him 
to  his  apartment,  and  told  him  the  circum- 
stances on  which  his  treatment  would  depend; 
that  it  was  his  anxious  wish  to  make  every 
inhabitant  in  the  house  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible ;  and  that  he  sincerely  hoped  the  patient's 
conduct  would  render  it  unnecessary  for  him 
to  have  recourse  to  coercion.  The  maniac  was 
sensible  of  the  kindness  of  his  treatment.  He 
promised  to  restrain  himself;  and  he  so  com- 
pletely succeeded,  that,  duringhis  stay,  no  coer- 
cive means  were  ever  employed  towards  him. 
This  case  affords  a  striking  example  of  the  effi- 
cacy of  mild  treatment.  The  patient  was  fre- 
quently very  vociferous,  and  threatened  his  at- 
tendants, who,  in  their  defence,  were  very  desir- 
ous ofrestraining  him  by  the  jacket.  The  super- 
intendent on  these  occasions  went  to  his  apart- 
ment: and  though  the  first  sight  of  him  seemed 
rather  to  increase  the  patient's  irritation,  yet, 
after  sitting  some  time  quietly  beside  him,  the 
violent  excitement  subsided,  and  he  would 
listen  with  attention  to  the  persuasions  and 
arguments  of  his  friendly  visitor.  After  such 
conversations  the  patient  was  generally  better 
for  some  days  or  a  week;  and  in  about  four 
months  he  was  discharged  perfectly  recovered. 

"  Can  it  be  doubted  that,  in  this  case,  the 
disease  had  been  greatly  exasperated  by  the 
mode  of  management]  or  that  the  subsequent 
kind  treatment  had  a  great  tendency  to  pro- 
mote his  recovery  1"— (p.  172,  173,  146,  147.) 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  this  apparent  contempt 
of  danger,  for  eighteen  years  not  a  single  acci- 
dent has  happened  to  the  keepers. 

In  the  day  room  the  sashes  are  made  of 
cast-iron,  and  give  to  the  building  the  security 
of  bars,  without  their  unpleasant  appearance. 
With  the  same  laudable  attention  to  the  feel- 
ings of  these  poor  people,  the  straps  of  their 
strait  waistcoats  are  made  of  some  showy 
colour,  and  are  not  unfrequently  considered 
b}-^  them  as  ornaments.  No  advantage  what- 
ever has  been  found  to  arise  from  reasoning 
with  patients  on  their  particular  delusions:  it 
is  found  rather  to  exasperate  than  convince 
them.     Indeed,  that  state  of  mind  would  hardly 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV,   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


105 


deserve  the  name  of  insanity  where  argument 
was  sufficient  for  the  refutation  of  error. 

The  classification  of  patients  according  to 
their  degree  of  convalescence  is  very  properly 
attended  to  at  the  Retreat,  and  every  assist- 
ance given  to  returning  reason  by  the  force  of 
example.  We  were  particularly  pleased  with 
the  following  specimens  of  Quaker  sense  and 
humanity : — 

"The  female  superintendent,  who  possesses 
an  uncommon  share  of  benevolent  activity, 
and  who  has  the  chief  management  of  the  fe- 
male patients,  as  well  as  of  the  domestic  de- 
partment, occasionally  gives  a  general  invita- 
tion to  the  patients  to  a  tea-party.  All  who 
attend  dress  in  their  best  clothes,  and  vie  with 
each  other  in  politeness  and  propriety.  The 
best  fare  is  provided,  and  the  visitors  are 
treated  with  all  the  attention  of  strangers.  The 
evening  generally  passes  in  the  greatest  har- 
mony and  enjoyment.  It  rarely  happens  that 
any  unpleasant  circumstance  occurs.  The 
patients  control,  in  a  wonderful  degree,  their 
different  propensities;  and  the  scene  is  at 
once  curious  and  affectingly  gratifying. 

"  Some  of  the  patients  occasionally  pay  visits 
to  their  friends  in  the  city;  and  female  visitors 
are  appointed  every  month  by  the  committee 
to  pay  visits  to  those  of  their  own  sex,  to  con- 
verse with  them,  and  to  propose  to  the  super- 
intendents, or  the  committee,  any  improve- 
ments which  may  occur  to  them.  The  visitors 
sometimes  take  tea  with  the  patients,  who  are 
much  gratified  with  the  attention  of  their 
friends,  and  mostly  behave  with  propriety. 

"It  will  be  necessary  here  to  mention  that 
the  visits  of  former  intimate  friends  have  fre- 
quently been  attended  with  disadvantage  to 
the  patients,  except  when  convalescence  had 
so  far  advanced  as  to  afford  a  prospect  of  a 
speedy  return  to  the  bosom  of  society.  It  is, 
however,  very  certain  that,  as  soon  as  reason 
begins  to  return,  the  conversation  of  judicious 
indifferent  persons  greatly  increases  the  com- 
fort, and  is  considered  almost  essential  to  the 
recovery  of  many  patients.  On  this  account 
the  convalescents  of  every  class  are  frequently 
introduced  into  the  society  of  the  rational 
parts  of  the  family.  The}'  are  also  permitted 
to  sit  up  till  the  usual  time  for  the  family  to 
retire  to  rest,  and  are  allowed  as  much  liberty 
as  their  state  of  mind  will  admit." — (p.  178, 
179.) 

To  the  efl^ects  of  kindness  in  the  Retreat  are 
superadded  those  of  constant  employment. 
The  female  patients  are  employed  as  much  as 
possible  in  sewing,  knitting,  and  domestic 
affairs ;  and  several  of  the  convalescents  assist 
the  attendants.  For  the  men  are  selected  those 
species  of  bodily  employments  most  agreeable 
to  the  patient,  and  most  opposite  to  the  illu- 
sions of  his  disease.  Though  the  effect  of 
fear  is  not  excluded  from  the  institution,  yet 
the  love  of  esteem  is  considered  as  astillmore 
powerful  principle. 

"That  fear  is  not  the  only  motive  which 

operates    in    producing    self-resiraint   in   the 

minds  of  maniacs,  is  evident  from  its  being 

often  exercised  in  the  presence  of  strangers 

14 


who  are  merely  passing  through  the  house ; 
and  which,  I  presume,  can  only  be  accounted 
for  from  that  desire  of  esteem  which  has  been 
stated  to  be  a  powerful  motive  to  conduct. 

"  It  is,  probably,  from  encouraging  the  action 
of  this  principle,  that  so  much  advantage  has 
been  found,  in  this  institution,  from  treating 
the  patient  as  much  in  the  manner  of  a  rational 
being  as  the  state  of  his  mind  will  possibly 
allow.  The  superintendent  is  particularly  at- 
tentive to  this  point  in  his  conversation  with 
the  patients.  He  introduces  such  topics  as  he 
knows  will  most  interest  them ;  and  which,  at 
the  same  time,  allows  them  to  display  their 
knowledge  to  the  greatest  advantage.  If  the 
patient  is  an  agriculturist,  he  asks  him  ques- 
tions relative  to  his  art ;  and  frequently  con- 
sults him  upon  any  occasion  in  which  his 
knowledge  may  be  useful.  I  have  heard  one 
of  the  worst  patients  in  the  house,  who,  pre- 
viously to  his  indisposition,  had  been  a  consi- 
derable grazier,  give  very  sensible  directions 
for  the  treatment  of  a  diseased  cow. 

"  These  considerations  are  undoubtedly  very 
material  as  they  regard  the  comfort  of  insane 
persons ;  but  they  are  of  far  greater  import- 
ance as  they  relate  to  the  cure  of  the  disorder. 
The  patient,  feeling  himself  of  some  conse- 
quence, is  induced  to  support  it  by  the  exertion 
of  his  reason,  and  by  restraining  those  dispo- 
sitions which,  if  indulged,  would  lessen  the 
respectful  treatment  he  receives,  or  lower  his 
character  in  the  eyes  of  his  companions  and 
attendants. 

"  They  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  cha- 
racter of  insane  persons  are  very  apt  to  con- 
verse with  them  in  a  childish,  or,  which  is 
worse,  in  a  domineering  manner;  and  hence 
it  has  been  frequently  remarked,  by  the  pa- 
tients at  the  Retreat,  that  a  stranger  who  has 
visited  them  seemed  to  imagine  they  were 
children. 

"  The  natural  tendency  of  such  treatment  is 
to  degrade  the  mind  of  the  patient,  and  to 
make  him  indifferent  to  those  moral  feelings 
which,  under  judicious  direction  and  encou- 
ragement, are  found  capable,  in  no  small  de- 
gree, to  strengthen  the  power  of  self-restraint, 
and  which  render  the  resort  to  coercion  in  many 
cases  unnecessary.  Even  when  it  is  absolutely 
requisite  to  employ  coercion,  if  the  patient  pro- 
mises to  control  himself  on  its  removal,  great 
confidence  is  generally  placed  upon  his  word. 
I  have  known  patients,  such  is  their  sense  of 
honour  and  moral  obligation  under  this  kind 
of  engagement,  hold,  for  a  long  time,  a  suc- 
cessful struggle  with  the  violent  propensities 
of  their  disorder ;  and  such  attempts  ought  to 
be  sedulously  encouraged  by  the  attendant. 

"  Hitherto  we  have  chiefly  considered  those 
modes  of  inducing  the  patient  to  control  his 
disordered  propensities  which  arise  from  an 
application  to  the  general  powers  of  the  mind; 
but  considerable  advantage  may  certainly  be 
derived,  in  this  part  of  moral  managemtnt, 
from  an  acquaintance  with  the  previous  habits, 
manners,  and  prejudices  of  the  individual. 
Nor  must  we  forget  to  call  to  our  aid,  in  en- 
deavouring to  promote  self-restraint,  the  mild 
but  powerful  influence  of  the  precepts  of  our 
holy  religion.    Where  these  have  been  strongly 


105 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


imbued  in  early  life,  they  become  little  less 
tlian  principles  of  our  nature:  and  their  re- 
straining power  is  frequently  felt,  even  under 
the  delirious  excitement  of  insanity.  To  en- 
courage the  influence  of  religious  principles 
over  the  mind  of  the  insane  is  considered  of 
great  consequence  as  a  means  of  cure.  For 
this  purpose,  as  well  as  for  others  still  more 
important,  it  is  certainly  right  to  promote  in 
the  patient  an  attention  to  his  accixstomed 
modes  of  ptiying  homage  to  his  Maker. 

"  Many  patients  attend  the  religious  meet- 
ings of  the  society  held  in  the  city ;  and  most 
of  them  are  assembled,  on  a  first  day  after- 
noon, at  which  time  the  superintendent  reads 
to  them  several  chapters  in  the  Bible.  A  pro- 
found silence  generally  ensues  ;  during  which, 
as  well  as  at  the  time  of  reading,  it  is  very 
gratifying  to  observe  their  orderly  conduct, 
and  the  degree  in  which  those  who  are  much 
disposed  to  action  restrain  their  different  pro- 
pensities."— (p.  158 — 161.) 

Very  little  dependence  is  to  be  placed  on  me- 
dicine alone  for  the  cure  of  insanity.  The  ex- 
perience, at  least,  of  this  well-governed  insti- 
tution is  very  unfavourable  to  its  efficacy. 
Vv''here  an  insane  person  happens  to  be  dis- 
eased in  body  as  well  as  in  mind,  medicine  is 
not  only  of  as  great  importance  to  him  as  to 
any  other  person,  but  much  greater;  for  the 
diseases  of  the  body  are  commonly  found  to 
aggravate  those  of  the  mind  ;  but  against  mere 
insanity,  unaccompanied  by  bodily  derange- 
ment, it  appears  to  be  almost  powerless. 

There  is  one  remedy,  however,  which  is  very 
frequently  employed  .at  the  Retreat,  and  which 
appears  to  have  been  attended  with  the  hap- 
piest effect,  and  that  is  the  warm  bath, — the 
least  recommended,  and  the  most  important, 
of  all  remedies  in  melancholy  madness.  Un- 
der this  mode  of  treatment,  the  number  of  re- 
coveries, in  cases  of  melancholia,  has  been  very 
unusual ;  though  no  advantage  has  been  found 
from  it  in  the  case  of  mania. 

At  the  end  of  the  work  is  given  a  table  of 
all  the  cases  which  have  occurred  in  the  insti- 
tution from  its  first  commencement.  It  appears 
that,  from  its  opening  in  the  year  1796  to  the 
end  of  1811,  149  patients  have  been  admitted. 
Of  this  number  61  have  been  recent  cases : 
31  of  these  patients  have  been  maniacal;  of 
whom  2  have  died,  6  remain,  21  have  been 
discharged  perfectly  recovered,  2  so  much  im- 
proved as  not  to  require  further  confinement. 
The  remainder,  30  recent  cases,  have  been 
those  of  melancholy  madness  ;  of  whom  Shave 
died,  4  remain,  19  have  been  discharged  cured, 
and  2  so  much  improved  as  not  to  require 
further  confinement.  The  old  cases,  or,  as 
they  are  commonly  termed,  incurable  cases, 
are  divided  into  61  cases  of  mania,  21  of  me- 
lancholia, and  6  of  dementia;  affording  the 
following  tables : — 

"  Mania. 
«11  died. 

31  remain  in  the  house. 
5  have  been  removed  by  their  friends  im- 
proved. 
10  have  been  discharged  perfectly  recovered. 
4  so  much  improved  as  not  to  require  fur- 
*her  confinement." 


"  Melancholia. 
"  6  died. 
6  remain. 

1  rem^oved  somewhat  improved. 
6  perfectly  cured. 

2  so  much  improved  as  not  to  require  fur- 

ther confinement." 

"  Dementia. 
"  2  died. 
2  remain. 
2  discharged  as  unsuitable  objects." 

The  following  statement  shows  the  ages  of 
patients  at  present  in  the  house  : — 

"  15  to  20  inclusive     2 

20  to  30  —  8 

30  to  40  —  12 

40  to  50  —  7 

60  to  70  —  11 

70  to  80  —  4 

80  to  90  —  2" 

Of  79  patients  it  appears  that 

"  12  went  mad  from  disappointed  affections. 

2  from  epilepsy. 
49  from  constitutional  causes. 

8  from  failure  in  business. 

4  from  hereditary  disposition  to  madness. 

2  from  injury  of  the  skull. 

1  from  mercury. 

1  from  parturition." 

The  following  case  is  extremely  curious: 
and  we  wish  it  had  been  authenticated  by  name, 
place,  and  signature. 

"  A  young  woman,  who  was  employed  as  a 
domestic  servant  by  the  father  of  the  relator 
when  he  was  a  boy,  became  insane,  and  at 
length  sunk  into  a  otate  of  perfect  idiocy.  In 
this  condition  she  remained  for  many  years, 
when  she  was  attacked  by  a  typhus  fever; 
and  my  friend,  having  then  practised  some 
time,  attended  her.  He  was  surprised  to  ob- 
serve, as  the  fever  advanced,  a  development 
of  the  mental  powers.  During  that  period  of 
the  fever,  when  others  were  delirious,  this 
patient  was  entirely  rational.  She  recognised 
in  the  face  of  her  medical  attendant  the  son  of 
her  old  master,  whom  she  had  known  so  many 
years  before ;  and  she  related  many  circum- 
stances respecting  his  family,  and  others  which 
had  happened  to  herself  in  her  earlier  days. 
But,  alas  !  it  was  only  the  gleam  of  reason. 
As  the  fever  abated,  clouds  again  enveloped 
the  mind :  she  sunk  into  her  former  deplora- 
ble state,  and  remained  in  it  until  her  death, 
which  happened  a  few  years  afterwards.  I 
leave  to  the  metaph)'^sical  reader  further  spe- 
culation on  this,  certainly,  very  curious  case." 
-Cp.  137.) 

Upon  the  whole,  we  have  little  doubt  that 
this  is  the  best  managed  asylum  for  the  insane 
that  has  ever  j^et  been  established;  and  a  part 
of  the  explanation  no  doubt  is,  that  the  Quakers 
take  more  pains  than  other  people  with  their 
madmen.  A  mad  Quaker  belongs  to  a  small 
and  rich  sect ;  and  is,  therefore,  of  greater  im- 
portance than  any  other  mad  person  of  the 
same  degree  in  life.  After  every  allowance, 
however,  which  can  be  made  for  the  feelings 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


107 


of  sectaries,  exercised  to-wards  their  own  dis- 
ciples, the  Quakers,  it  must  be  allowed,  are  a 
very  charitable  and  humane  people.  They  are 
always  ready  with  their  money,  and,  what  is 
of  far  more  importance,  with  their  time  and 
attention,  for  every  variety  of  human  mis- 
fortune. 

They  seem  to  set  themselves  down  systema- 
tically before  the  difficulty,  with  the  wise  con- 
viction that  it  is  to  be  lessened  or  subdued  only 
by  great  labour  and  thought;  and  that  it  is 
always  increased  by  indolence  and  neglect. 
In  this  instance,  they  have  set  an  example  of 
courage,  patience,  and  kindness,  which  cannot 
be  too  highly  commended,  or  too  widely  dif- 


fused ;  and  which,  we  are  convinced,  will  gra- 
dually bring  into  repute  a  milder  and  better 
method  of  treating  the  insane.  For  the  aver- 
sion to  inspect  places  qf  this  sort  is  so  great, 
and  the  temptation  to  neglect  and  oppress  the 
insane  so  strong,  both  from  the  love  of  power, 
and  the  improbability  of  detection,  that  we 
have  no  doubt  of  the  existence  of  great  abuses 
in  the  interior  of  many  madhouses.  A  great 
deal  has  been  done  for  prisons ;  but  the  order 
of  benevolence  has  been  broken  through  by 
this  preference ;  for  the  voice  of  misery  may 
sooner  come  up  from  a  dungeon,  than  the  op- 
pression of  a  madman  be  healed  by  the  hand 
of  justice.f 


AMERICA.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1818.] 


These  four  books  are  all  very  well  worth 
reading,  to  any  person  who  feels,  as  we  do, 
the  importance  and  interest  of  the  subject  of 
which  they  treat.  They  contain  a  great  deal 
of  information  and  amusement;  and  will  pro- 
bably decide  the  fate,  and  direct  the  footsteps, 
of  many  human  beings,  seeking  a  better  lot 
than  the  Old  World  can  afford  them.  Mr.  Hall 
is  a  clever,  lively  man,  very  much  above  the 
common  race  of  writers  ;  with  very  liberal  and 
reasonable  opinions,  which  he  expresses  with 
great  boldness, — and  an  inexhaustible  fund  of 
good  humour.  He  has  the  elements  of  wit  in 
him ;  but  sometimes  is  trite  and  flat  when  he 
means  to  be  amusing.  He  writes  verses,  too, 
and  is  occasionally  long  and  metaphysical: 
but,  upon  the  whole,  we  think  highly  of  Mr. 
Hall ;  and  deem  him,  if  he  is  not  more  than 
twenty-five  j'-ears  of  age,  an  extraordinary 
young  man.  He  is  not  the  less  extraordinary 
for  being  a  lieutenant  of  Light  Dragoons — as 
it  is  certainly  somew^hat  rare  to  meet  with  an 
original  thinker,  an  indulgent  judge  of  man- 
ners, and  a  man  tolerant  of  neglect  and  famili- 
arity, in  a  youth  covered  with  tags,  feathers, 
and  martial  foolery. 

Mr.  Palmer  is  a  plain  man,  of  good  sense 
and  slow  judgment.  Mr.  Bradbury  is  a  bota- 
nist, who  li-^^ed  a  good  deal  among  the  savages, 
but  worth  ationding  to.  Mr.  Fearon  is  a  much 
abler  writer  than  either  of  the  two  last,  but  no 


*  1.  Travels  in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  in  I81G 
and  1817.  Bii  Lieutenant  Francis  Hall,  14th  Light 
Dragoons,  H.  P.     London.    Longman  &  Co.     1818. 

2.  Juurnal  of  Travels  in  the  United  States  of  JVorth  Ame- 
rica, and  in  Lower  Canada,  performed  in  the  year  1817,  ^c. 
*e.  By  John  Palmer.  London.  Sherwood,  Neely  & 
Jones.    1818. 

3.  A  JVarrative  of  a  Journey  of  Five  TTiousand  Miles 
through  the  Eastern  and  Western  States  of  America  ;  con- 
tained in  Eight  Reports,  addressed  to  the  Thirtij-nine  Eng- 
lish Families  bi/  ichom  the  Jluthor  was  deputed,  in  June, 
1817,  to  ascertain  ichether  any  and  what  Part  of  the  United 
Slates  would  be  svitable  for  their  Residence.  With  Re- 
marks on  Mr.  Birkheck's  "  ■N'otes"  and  "Letters."  By 
Henry  Bradshaw  Fearon.  London.  Longman  &  Co. 
1818. 

4.  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  Jlmerica,  in  the  years  1809, 
1810,  and  1811,  ^c.  By  John  Bradbury,  F.  L  S.  Lond. 
8vo.  London.    Sherwood,  Neely  &  Jones.    1817. 


lover  of  America, — and  a  little  given  to  exag- 
geration in  his  views  of  vices  and  prejudices. 
Among  other  faults  with  which  our  govern- 
ment is  chargeable,  the  vice  of  impertinence 
has  lately  crept  into  our  cabinet ;  and  the 
Americans  have  been  treated  with  ridicule  and 
contempt.  But  they  are  becoming  a  little  too 
powerful,  we  take  it,  for  this  cavalier  sort  of 
management ;  and  are  increasing  with  a  rapi- 
dity which  is  really  no  matter  of  jocularity  to 
us,  or  the  other  powers  of  the  Old  World.  In 
1791,  Baltimore  contained  13,000  inhabitants; 
in  1810, 46,000  ;  in  1817,  60,000.  In  1790,  it  pos- 
sessed 13,000  tons  of  shipping ;  in  1798, 59,000  ; 
in  1805,  72,000;  in  1810,  103,444.  The  pro- 
gress of  Philadelphia  is  as  follows  : — 

Houses.  Inhabitants. 
"In  1683  there  were  in  the  city  80  and  600 

1700 700  5,000 

1749  .  -  .  _  .  2,076  15,000 
1760  -  .  .  .  .  2,969  20,000 
1769  -  -  -  _  -  4,474  30,000 
1776  -----  5,460  40,000 
.  1783  -----  6,000  42.000 
1806  -  -  -  -  -  13,000  90,000 
1810 22,769     100,000 

"Now  it  is  computed  there  are  at  least 
120,000  inhabitants  in  the  city  and  suburbs,  of 
which  10,000  are  free  coloured  people." — Pal- 
mer, p.  254,  255. 

The  population  of  New  York  {the  city),  in 
1805,  was  60,000 ;  it  is  now  120,000.  Their 
shipping,  at  present,  amounts  to  300,000  tons. 
The  population  of  the  state  of  New  York  was, 
at  the  accession  of  his  present  majesty,  87,000, 
and  is  now  nearly  1,000,000.  Kentucky,  first 
settled  in  1773,  had,  in  1792,  a  population  of 
100,000 ;  and  in  1810, 406,000.  Morse  reckons 
the  whole  population  of  the  western  territory, 
in  1790,  at  6,000;  in  1810  it  was  near  half  a 
million ;  and  will  probably  exceed  a  million  in 
1820.     These,  and  a  thousand  other  equally 

t  The  Society  of  P'riends  havel>een  extremely  fortu- 
nate in  the  choice  of  their  male  and  female  superintend- 
ents at  the  asylum,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jephson.  It  is  not  easy 
to  find  a  greater  combination  of  good  sense  a.id  good 
feeling  than  these  two  persons  possess  : — but  then  the 
merit  of  selecting  them  rests  with  their  employers 


108 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


strong  proofs  of  their  increasing  strength,  tend 
to  extinguish  pleasantry,  and  provoke  thought. 

We  were  surprised  and  pleased  to  find  from 
these  accounts  that  the  Americans  on  the  Red 
River  and  the  Arkansas  River  have  begun  to 
make  sugar  and  wine.  Their  importation  of 
wool  into  this  country  is  becoming  also  an 
object  of  some  consequence ;  and  they  have 
inexhaustible  supplies  of  salt  and  coal.  But 
one  of  the  great  sources  of  wealth  in  America 
is  and  will  be  an  astonishing  command  of  in- 
land navigation.  The  Mississippi,  flowing 
from  the  north  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  through 
seventeen  degrees  of  latitude ;  the  Ohio  and 
the  Alleghany  almost  connecting  it  with  the 
Northern  Lakes ;  the  Wabash,  the  Illinois,  the 
Missouri,  the  Arkansas,  the  Red  River,  flowing 
from  the  confines  of  New  Mexico ; — these 
rivers,  ah  navigable,  and  most  of  them  already 
frequented  by  steamboats,  constitute  a  facility 
of  internal  communication  not,  we  believe,  to 
be  paralleled  in  the  whole  world. 

One  of  the  great  advantages  of  the  American 
government  is  its  cheapness.  The  American 
king  has  about  5000/.  per  annum,  the  vice-king 
1000/.  They  hire  their  Lord  Liverpool  at 
about  a  thousand  per  annum,  and  their  Lord 
Sidmouth  (a  good  bargain)  at  the  same  sum. 
Their  Mr.  Crokers  are  inexpressibly  reason- 
able,— somewhere  about  the  price  of  an  Eng- 
lish doorkeeper,  or  bearer  of  a  mace.  Life, 
however,  seems  to  go  on  very  well,  in  spite  of 
these  low  salaries ;  and  the  purposes  of  go- 
vernment to  be  very  fairly  answered.  What- 
ever may  be  the  evils  of  universal  suff"rage  in 
other  countries,  they  have  not  yfet  been  felt  in 
America;  and  one  thing  at  least  is  established 
by  her  experience,  that  this  institution  is  not 
necessarily  followed  by  those  tumults,  the 
dread  of  which  excites  so  much  apprehension 
in  this  country.  In  the  most  democratic  states, 
where  the  payment  of  direct  taxes  is  the  only 
qualification  of  a  voter,  the  elections  are  car- 
ried on  with  the  utmost  tranquillity ;  and  the 
whole  business,  by  taking  votes  in  each  parish 
or  section,  concluded  all  over  the  state  in  a 
single  day.  A  great  deal  is  said  by  Fearon 
about  Caucus,  the  cant  word  of  the  Americans 
for  the  committees  and  party  meetings  in 
which  the  business  of  the  elections  is  prepared 
— the  influence  of  which  he  seems  to  consider 
as  prejudicial.  To  us,  however,  it  appears 
to  be  nothing  more  than  the  natural,  fair,  and 
unavoidable  influence  which  talent,  popularity 
and  activity  always  must  have  upon  such 
occasions.  What  other  influence  can  the 
leading  characters  of  the  democratic  party  in 
Congress  possibly  possess  ?  Bribery  is  entirely 
out  of  the  question — equally  so  is  the  influence 
of  family  and  fortune.  What  then  can  they 
do,  with  their  caucus  or  without  it,  but  recom- 
mend 1  And  what  charge  is  it  against  the 
American  government  to  say  that  those  mem- 
bers of  whom  the  people  have  the  highest 
opinion  meet  together  to  consult  whom  they 
shall  recommend  for  president,  and  that  their 
recommendation  is  successful  in  their  differ- 
ent states'?  Could  any  friend  to  good  order 
wish  other  means  to  be  employed,  or  other  re- 
sults to  follow?  No  statesman  can  wish  to 
exclude  influence,  but  only  bad  influence; — 


not  the  iniluence  of  sense  and  character,  but 
the  influence  of  money  and  punch. 

A  very  disgusting  feature  in  the  character 
of  the  present  English  government  is  its  ex- 
treme timidity,  and  the  cruelty  and  violence  to 
which  its  timidity  gives  birth.  Some  hot- 
headed young  person,  in  defending  the  princi- 
ples of  liberty,  and  attacking  those  abuses 
to  which  all  governments  are  liable,  passes 
the  bounds  of  reason  and  moderation,  or  is 
thought  to  have  passed  them  by  those  whose 
interest  it  is  to  think  so.  What  matters  it 
whether  he  has  or  has  nof?  You  are  strong 
enough  to  let  him  alone.  With  such  institu- 
tions as  oui's  he  can  do  no  mischief;  perhaps 
he  may  owe  his  celebrity  to  your  opposition ; 
or,  if  he  must  be  opposed,  write  against  him, 
— set  Candidus,  Scrutator,  Vindex,  or  any  of 
the  conductitious  penmen  of  government  to 
write  him  down  ; — any  thing  but  the  savage 
spectacle  of  a  poor  wretch,  perhaps  a  very 
honest  man,  contending  in  vain  against  the 
weight  of  an  immense  government,  pursued 
by  a  jealous  attorney,  and  sentenced,  by  some 
candidate,  perhaps,  for  the  favour  of  the  crown, 
to  the  long  miseries  of  the  dungeon.*  A  still 
more  flagrant  instance  may  be  found  in  our 
late  suspensions  of  the  habeas  corpus  act. 
Nothing  was  trusted  to  the  voluntary  activity 
of  a  brave  people,  thoroughly  attached  to  their 
government — nothing  to  the  good  sense  and 
prudence  of  the  gentlemen  and  yeomen  of  the 
country — nothing  to  a  little  forbearance,  pa- 
tience, and  watchfulness.  There  was  no  other 
security  but  despotism ;  nothing  but  the  aliena- 
tion of  that  right  which  no  king  nor  minister 
can  love,  and  which  no  human  beings  but  the 
English  have  had  the  valour  to  win,  and  the 
prudence  to  keep.  The  contrast  between  our 
government  and  that  of  the  Americans,  upon 
the  subject  of  suspending  the  habeas  corpus, 
is  drawn  in  so  very  able  a  manner  by  Mr. 
Hall,  that  we  must  give  the  passage  at  large. 

"  It  has  ever  been  the  policy  of  the  federal- 
ists to  'strengthen  the  hands  of  government.' 
No  measure  can  be  imagined  more  effectual 
for  this  purpose,  than  a  law  which  gifts  the 
ruling  powers  with  infallibility;  but  no  sooner 
was  it  enacted,  than  it  revealed  its  hostility  to 
the   principles  of  the  American   system,   by 


*  A  jrreat  deal  is  said  about  the  independence  and  in- 
tegrity or  Enclisli  judges.  In  causes  between  individuals 
they  are  strictly  independent  and  upright ;  but  they  have 
strong  temptations  to  be  otherwise,  in  cases  where  tha 
crown  prosecutes  for  libel.  Such  cases  otten  involve 
questions  of  party,  and  are  viewed  with  great  passion 
and  agitation  by  the  minister  and  his  friends.  Judges 
have  often  favours  to  ask  for  their  friends  and  families, 
and  dignities  to  aspire  to  for  themselves.  It  is  human 
nature,  that  such  powerful  motives  should  create  a  great 
bias  against  the  prisoner.  Suppose  the  chief  justice  of 
any  court  to  be  in  an  infirm  state  of  health,  and  a  go- 
vernment libel-cause  to  be  tried  by  one  of  the  puisne 
judges. — of  what  immense  importance  is  it  to  that  man 
to  be  called  a  strong  friend  to  government — how  injuri- 
ous to  his  natural  and  fair  hopes  to  be  called  lukewarm, 
or  addicted  to  popular  notions — and  how  easily  the  run- 
ners of  the  government  would  attach  such  a  character  to 
him!  The  useful  inference  from  these  observations  is, 
that,  in  all  government  cases,  the  jury,  instead  of  being 
influenced  by  the  cant  phrases  about  the  integrity  of 
English  judges,  should  suspect  the  operation  of  such 
motives — watch  the  judge  with  the  most  acute  jealousy 
— and  compel  him  to  be  honest,  by  throwing  themselves 
into  the  opposite  scale  whenever  he  is  inclined  to  be 
otherwise. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


109 


generating  oppression  under  the  cloak  of  de- 
fending social  order. 

"  If  there  ever  was  a  period  when  circum- 
stances seemed  to  justify  what  are  called  ener- 
getic measures,  it  was  during  the  administra- 
tions of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  successor.  A 
disastrous  war  began  to  rage,  not  only  on  the 
frontiers,  but  in  the  very  penetralia  of  the  re- 
public. To  oppose  veteran  troops,  the  ablest 
generals,  and  the  largest  fleets  in  the  world, 
the  American  government  had  raw  recruits, 
officers  who  had  never  seen  an  enemy,  half  a 
dozen  frigates,  and  a  population  unaccustomed 
to  sacrifices,  and  impatient  of  taxation.  To 
crown  these  disadvantages,  a  most  important 
section  of  the  Union,  the  New  England  states, 
openly  set  up  the  standard  of  separation  and 
rebellion.  A  convention  sat  for  the  express 
purpose  of  thwarting  the  measures  of  govern- 
ment; while  the  press  and  pulpit  thundered 
every  species  of  denunciation  against  whoever 
should  assist  their  own  country  in  the  hour 
of  danger.*  And  this  was  the  work,  not  of 
jacobins  and  democrats,  but  of  the  stanch 
friends  of  religion  and  social  order,  who  had 
been  so  zealously  attached  to  the  government, 
while  it  was  administered  by  their  own  party, 
^hat  they  suffered  not  the  popular  breath  '  to 
visit  the  president's  breech  too  roughly.' 

"  The  course  pursued,  both  by  Mr.  Jefferson 
and  Mr.  Madison  throughout  this  season  of 
difficulty,  merits  the  gratitude  of  their  country, 
and  the  imitation  of  all  governments  pretend- 
ing to  be  free. 

"  So  far  were  they  from  demanding  any  ex- 
traordinary powers  from  Congress,  that  they 
did  not  even  enforce,  to  their  full  extent,  those 
with  which  they  were  by  the  constitution  in- 
vested. The  process  of  reasoning,  on  which 
they  probably  acted,  may  be  thus  stated.  The 
majority  of  the  nation  is  with  us,  because  the 
war  is  national.  The  interests  of  a  minority 
suffer;  and  self-interest  is  clamorous  when 
injured.  It  carries  its  opposition  to  an  ex- 
treme inconsistent  with  its  political  duty. 
Shall  we  leave  it  in  an  undisturbed  career  of 
faction,  or  seek  to  put  it  down  with  libel  and 
sedition  laws  1  In  the  first  case  it  will  grow 
bold  from  impunity;  its  proceedings  will  be 
more  and  more  outrageous :  but  every  step  it 
•  takes  to  thwart  us  will  be  a  step  in  favour  of 
the  enemy,  and,  consequently,  so  much  ground 
lost  in  public  opinion.  But,  as  public  opinion 
is  the  only  instrument  by  which  a  minority 
can  convert  a  majority  to  its  views,  impunity, 
by  revealing  its  motives,  affords  the  surest 
chance  of  defeating  its  intent.  In  the  latter 
case,  we  quit  the  ground  of  reason  to  take 
that  of  force ;  we  give  the  factious  the  advan- 
tage of   seeming  persecuted;   by  repressing 

*  "  In  Boston,  associations  were  entered  into  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  the  filling  up  of  government 
loans.  Individuals  disposed  to  subscribe  were  obliged 
to  do  it  in  secret,  and  conceal  their  names,  as  if  the 
action  had  been  dishonest." — Vide  'Olive  Branch,' p. 
307.  At  the  same  time,  immense  runs  were  made  by 
the  Boston  banks  on  those  of  the  Central  and  Southern 
states  ;  while  the  specie  Ihus  drained  was  transmitted  to 
Canada,  in  payment  for  smuggled  goods  and  British  go- 
vernment bills,  which  were  drawn  in  Quebec,  and  dis- 
posed of  in  great  numbers,  on  advantageous  terms,  to 
moneyed  men  in  the  states.  Mr.  Henry's  mission  is  the 
best  proof  of  the  result  anticipated  by  our  government 
from  these  proceedings  in  New  England. 


intemperate  discussion,  we  confess  ourselves 
liable  to  be  injured  by  it.  If  we  seek  to  shield 
our  reputation  by  a  libel-law,  we  acknowledge, 
either  that  our  conduct  will  not  bear  investi- 
gation, or  that  the  people  are  incapable  of 
distinguishing  betwixt  truth  and  falsehood : 
but  for  a  popular  government  to  impeach  the 
sanctity  of  the  nation's  judgment  is  to  over- 
throw the  pillars  of  its  own  elevation. 

"  The  event  triumphantly  proved  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  reasoning.  The  federalists 
awoke  from  the  delirium  of  factions  intoxica- 
tion, and  found  themselves  covered  with'  con- 
tempt and  shame.  Their  country  had  been 
in  danger,  and  they  gloried  in  her  distress. 
She  had  exposed  herself  to  privations  from 
which  they  had  extracted  profit.  In  her  tri- 
umphs they  had  no  part,  except  that  of  having 
mourned  over  and  depreciated  them.  Since 
the  war  federalism  has  been  scarcely  heard 
of y— Hall,  508—511. 

The  Americans,  we  believe,  are  the  first 
persons  who  have  discarded  the  tailor  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  and  his  auxiliary 
the  barber — two  persons  of  endless  importance 
in  codes  and  pandects  of  Europe.  A  judge 
administers  justice,  without  a  calorific  wig 
and  particoloured  gown,  in  a  coat  and  panta- 
loons. He  is  obeyed,  however;  and  life  and 
property  are  not  badly  protected  in  the  United 
States.  We  shall  be  denounced  by  the  lau- 
reate as  atheists  and  jacobins;  but  we  must 
say,  that  we  have  doubts  whether  one  atom 
of  useful  influence  is  added  to  men  in  impor- 
tant situations  by  any  colour,  quantity,  or  con- 
figuration of  cloth  and  hair.  The  true  pro- 
gress of  refinement,  we  conceive,  is  to  discard 
all  the  mountebank  drapery  of  barbarous 
ages.  One  row  of  gold  and  fur  falls  off  after 
another  from  the  robe  of  power,  and  is  picked 
up  and  worn  by  the  parish  beadle  and  the  ex- 
hibitor of  wild  beasts.  Meantime,  the  afflicted 
wiseacre  mourns  over  equality  of  garment ; 
and  wotteth  not  of  two  men,  whose  doublets 
have  cost  alike,  how  one  shall  command  and 
the  other  obey. 

The  dress  of  lawyers,  however,  is,  at  all 
events,  of  less  importance  than  their  charges. 
Law  is  cheap  in  America:  in  England,  it  is 
better,  in  a  mere  pecuniary  point  of  view,  to 
give  up  forty  pounds  than  to  contend  for  it  in 
a  court  of  common  law.  It  costs  that  sum  in 
England  to  win  a  cause ;  and,  in  the  court  of 
equity,  it  is  better  to  abandon  five  hundred  or 
a  thousand  pounds  than  to  contend  for  it.  We 
mean  to  say  nothing  disrespectful  of  the  chan- 
cellor— who  is  an  upright  judge,  a  very  great 
lawyer,  and  zealous  to  do  all  he  can ;  but  we 
believe  the  Court  of  Chancery  to  be  in  a  state 
which  imperiously  requires  legislative  conec- 
tion.  We  do  not  accuse  it  of  any  malversa- 
tion, but  of  a  complication,  formality,  entan- 
glement, and  delay,  which  the  life,  the  wealth, 
and  the  patience  of  man  cannot  endure.  How 
such  a  subject  comes  not  to  have  been  taken 
up  in  the  House  of  Commons,  we  are  wholly 
at  a  loss  to  conceive.  We  feel  for  climbing 
boys  as  much  as  anybody  can  do ;  but  what 
is  a  climbing  boy  in  a  chimney  to  a  full-grown 
suitor  in  the  Master's  office.  And  whence 
comes  it,  in  the  midst  of  teu  thousand  com- 
K 


110 


WORKS   OF  THE   RLV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


passions  and  charities,  that  no  Wilberforce, 
or  Sister  Fry,  has  started  up  for  the  suitors  in 
Chancery  ]*  and  why,  in  the  name  of  these 
atiiicted  and  attorney-worn  people,  are  there 
united  in  their  judge  three  or  four  offices,  any 
one  of  which  is  sufficient  to  occupy  the  whole 
time  of  a  very  able  and  active  man  1 

There  are  no  very  prominent  men  at  present 
in  America ;  at  least  none  whose  fame  is 
strong  enough  for  exportation.  Monroe  is  a 
man  of  plain,  imafTected  good  sense.  Jeffer- 
son, we  believe,  is  still  alive ;  and  has  always 
been'more  remarkable,  perhaps,  for  the  early 
share  he  took  in  the  formation  of  the  republic, 
than  from  any  very  predominant  superiority 
of  understanding.  Mr.  Hall  made  him  a 
visit : — 

"  I  slept  a  night  at  Monticello,  and  left  it  in 
the  morning  with  such  a  feeling  as  the  travel- 
ler quits  the  mouldering  remains  of  a  Grecian 
temple,  or  the  pilgrim  a  fountain  in  the  desert. 
It  would  indeed  argue  great  torpor  both  of 
understanding  and  heart,  to  have  looked  with- 
oi;t  veneration  and  interest  on  the  man  who 
drew  up  the  declaration  of  American  indepen- 
dence ;  who  shared  in  the  councils  by  which 
her  freedom  was  established ;  Avhom  the  un- 
bought  voice  of  his  fellow-citizens  called  to  the 
exercise  of  a  dignity  from  which  his  own  mo- 
deration impelled  him,  when  such  example 
was  most  salutary,  to  withdraw;  and  who, 
while  he  dedicates  the  evening  of  his  glorious 
days  to  the  pursuits  of  science  and  literature, 
shuns  none  of  the  humbler  duties  of  private 
life ;  but,  having  filled  a  seat  higher  than  that 
of  kings,  succeeds  with  graceful  dignity  to 
that  of  the  good  neighbour,  and  becomes  the 
friendly  adviser,  lawyer,  physician,  and  even 
gardener  of  his  vicinity.  This  is  the  'still 
small  voice'  of  philosophy,  deeper  and  holier 
than  the  lightnings  and  earthquakes  which 
have  preceded  it.  What  monarch  would  ven- 
ture thus  to  exhibit  himself  in  the  nakedness 
of  his  humanity]  On  what  royal  brow  would 
the  laurel  replace  the  diadem  1" — Hall,  384, 
385. 

Mr.  Fearon  dined  with  another  of  the  Ex- 
Kings,  Mr.  Adams. 

"  The  ex-president  is  a  handsome  old  gen- 
tleman of  eighty-four; — his  lady  is  seventy- 
six; — she  has  the  reputation  of  superior  ta- 
.ents,  and  great  literary  acquirements.  I  was 
not  perfectly  a  stranger  here;  as,  a  few  days 
previous  to  this,  I  had  received  the  honour  of 
an  hospitable  reception  at  their  mansion. 
Upon  the  present  occasion  the  minister  (the 
day  being  Sunday)  was  of  the  dinner  party. 
As  the  table  of  a  'late  King'  may  amuse 
some  of  you,  take  the  following  particulars  : — 
first  course,  a  pudding  made  of  Indian  corn, 
molasses,  and  butter; — second,  veal,  bacon, 
neck  of  mutton,  potatoes,  cabbages,  carrots, 

*  This  is  still  one  of  the  preat  uncorrected  evils  of  the 
country.  Nothinc  can  he  so  utterly  absurd  as  to  leave 
the  head  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  a  political  officer,  and 
to  subject  forty  inillio!» of  litigated  property  to  all  the 
delays  and  interruptions  which  are  occasioned  by  his 
present  multiplicity  of  offices.  (1839.)— The  Chancellor 
is  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Lords;  he  might  as  well  be 
made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  ;— it  irf  one  of  the  great- 
CBV  of  existing  follies. 


and  Indian  beans ;  Madeira  wine,  of  which 
each  drank  two  glasses.  We  sat  down  to  din- 
ner at  one  o'clock;  at  two,  nearly  all  went 
a  second  time  to  church.  For  tea,  we  had 
pound-cake,  sweet  bread  and  butter,  and  bread 
made  of  Indian  corn  and  rye  (similar  to  our 
broAvn  home-made).  Tea  was  brought  from 
the  kitchen,  and  handed  round  by  a  neat,  white 
servant-girl.  The  topics  of  conA^ersation  were 
various — England,  America,  religion,  politics, 
literature,  science,  Dr.  Priestley,  Miss  Edge- 
worth,  Mrs.  Siddons,  Mr.  Kean,  France,  Shak- 
speare,  Moore,  Lord  Byron,  Cobbett,  American 
Revolution,  the  traitor  General  Arnold. 

"The  establishment  of  this  political  patri- 
arch consists  of  a  house  two  stories  high,  con- 
taining, I  believe,  eight  rooms ;  of  two  men  and 
three  maid-servants  ;  three  horses,  and  a  plain 
carriage.  How  great  is  the  contrast  between 
this  individual — a  man  of  knowledge  and  in- 
formation— without  pomp,  parade,  or  vicious 
and  expensive  establishments,  as  compared 
with  the  costly  trappings,  the  depraved  cha- 
racters, and  the  profligate  expenditure  of 

house,  and  !     What  a  lesson  in  this 

does  America  teach  !  There  are  now  in  this 
land  no  less  than  three  Cincinnati!" — Fearon, 
111—113. 

The  travellers  agree,  we  think,  in  complain- 
ing of  the  insubordination  of  American  child- 
ren— and  do  not  much  like  American  ladies. 
In  their  criticisms  upon  American  gasconade, 
the3'forget  that  vulgar  people  of  all  countries  aie 
full  of  gasconade.  The  Americans  love  titles. 
The  following  extract  from  the  Boston  Senti- 
nel of  last  August  (1817),  is  quoted  by  Mr 
Fearon. 

"^Dinner  to  Mr.  Adams. — Yesterday  a  pub- 
lic dinner  was  given  to  the  Hon.  John  Q. 
Adains,  in  the  Exchange  Coffee-House,  by 
his  fellow-citizens  of  Boston.  The  Hon.  Wm. 
Gray  presided,  assisted  by  the  Hon.  Harrison 
Gray  Otis,  George  Blake,  Esq.,  and  the  Hon. 
Jonathan  Mason,  vice-presidents.  Of  the 
guests  were,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Adams,  late  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  his  Excellency  Go- 
vernor Brooks,  his  Honour  Lt.  Gov.  Phillips, 
Chief  Justice  Parker,  Judge  Story,  President 
Kirkland,  Gen.  Dearborn,  Com.  Hull,  Gen. 
Miller,  several  of  the  reverend  clergy,  and 
many  public  officers,  and  strangers  of  emi- 
nence.' " 

They  all,  in  common  with  Mr.  Birkbeck, 
seem  to  be  struck  with  the  indolence  of  the 
American  character.  Mr.  Fearon  makes  the 
charge ;  and  gives  us  below  the  right  expla- 
nation of  its  cause. 

"  The  life  of  boarders  at  an  American  tavern 
presents  the  most  senseless  and  comfortless 
mode  of  killing  time  which  I  have  ever  seen. 
Every  house  of  this  description  that  I  have 
been  in,  is  thronged  to  excess ;  and  there  is 
not  a  man  who  appears  to  have  a  single  earth- 
ly object  in  view,  except  spitting,  and  smoking 
segars.  I  have  not  seen  a  book  in  the  hands 
of  any  person  since  I  left  Philadelphia.  Ob- 
jectionable as  these  habits  are,  they  affi^rd  de- 
cided evidence  of  the  prosperity  of  that  coim- 
try,  which  can  admit  so  large  a  body  of  its 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Ill 


citizens  to  waste  in  indolence  three-fourths  of 
their  lives,  and  would  also  appear  to  hold  out 
encouragement  to  Englishmen  with  English 
habits,  who  conld  retain  their  industry  amid  a 
nation  of  indolence,  and  have  sufficient  firmness 
to  live  in  America,  and  yet  bid  defiance  to  the 
deadly  example  of  its  natives."  —  Fearon,  p. 
252,  253. 

Yet  this  charge  can  hardly  apply  to  the  north- 
easiern  parts  of  the  Union. 

The  following  sample  of  American  vulgarity 
is  not  unentertaining. 

"On  arriving  at  the  tavern  door  the  landlord 
makes  his  appearance. — Landlord.  Your  ser- 
vant, gentlemen,  this  is  a  fine  day.  —  Answer. 
A'^ery  fine. — Land.  You've  got  two  nice  creatures,- 
ihey  are  riglif  elegarit  matches.  Amt.  Yes,  we 
bought  them  for  matches. — Land.  They  cost  a 
heap  of  dollars,  (a  pause,  and  knowing  look)  ; 
200  I  calculate.  Ans.  Yes, they  cost  a  good  sum. 
Land.  Possible .'  (a  pause);  going  westward  to 
Ohio,  gentlemenl  Ans.  We  are  going  to  Phila- 
delphia.—  Land.  Philadelphia,  ah!  that's  a 
dreadful  large  place,  three  or  four  times  as  big 
,ns  Lexington,  Ans.  Ten  times  as  large. — Land. 
Is  it,  by  George !  what  a  mighty  heap  of  houses, 
(a  pause) ;  bat  I  reckon  you  was  not  reared  in 
Philadelphia.  Ans.  Philadelphia  is  not  our 
native  place. —  Land.  Perhaps  away  up  in 
Canada.  Ans.  No;  we  are  from  England. — 
Land.  Is  it  possible .'  well,  I  calculated  you  were 
from  abroad,  (pause) ;  how  long  have  you  been 
from  the  old  country?  Ans.  We  left  England 
last  March. — Land.  And  in  August  here  you  are 
in  Kentuck.  Well,  I  should  have  guessed  you 
had  been  in  the  state  some  years;  you  speak 
almost  as  good  English  as  we  do! 

"'J'his  dialogue  is  not  a  literal  copy;  hut  it 
embraces  most  of  the  frequent  and  improper 
applications  of  words  used  in  the  back  country, 
with  a  few  New  England  phrases.  By  the  log- 
house  farmer  and  tavern  keeper,  they  are  used 
as  often,  and  as  erroneously,  as  they  occur  in 
the  above  discourse." — Palmer,  p.  129,  130. 

This  is  of  course  intended  as  a  representation 
of  the  manners  of  the  low,  or,  at  best,  the  mid- 
dling class  of  people  in  America. 

The  four  travellers,  of  whose  works  we  are 
giving  an  account,  made  extensive  tours  in 
every  part  of  America,  as  well  in  the  old  as  in 
the  new  settlements;  and,  generally  speaking, 
we  should  say  their  testimony  is  in  favour  of 
American  manners.  We  must  except,  perhaps, 
Mr.  Fearon;  —  and  yet  he  seems  to  have  very 
little  to  say  against  them.  Mr.  Palmer  tells  us 
that  he  found  his  companions,  officers  and  far- 
mers, unobtrusive,  civil  and  obliging;  —  that 
what  the  servants  do  for  you,  they  do  with  ala- 
crity; — that  at  their  tables  d'hote  ladies  are  treat- 
ed with  great  politeness.  We  have  real  plea- 
sure in  making  the  following  extract  from  Mr. 
Bradbury's  tour. 

"  In  regard  to  the  manners  of  the  people  west 
of  the  Alleghanies,  it  would  be  absurd  to  expect 
that  a  general  character  could  be  now  formed, 
or  that  it  will  be,  for  many  years  yet  to  come. 
The  population  is  at  present  compounded  of  a 
great  number  of  nations,  not  yet  amalgamated, 
consisting  of  emigrants  from  every  stale  in  the 
Union,  mixed  with  English,  Irish,  Scotch,  Dutch, 


Swiss,  Germans,  French  and  almost  from  every 
country  in  Europe.  In  some  traits  they  partake 
in  common  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ailanlic 
states,  which  results  from  the  nature  of  their 
government.  That  species  of  hauteur  which 
one  class  of  society  in  some  countries  shows 
in  their  intercourse  with  the  other,  is  here  utterly 
unknown.  By  their  constitution,  the  existence 
of  a  privileged  order,  vested  by  birth  with  here- 
ditary privileges,  honours  or  emoluments,  is  for 
ever  interdicted.  If,  therefore,  we  should  here 
expect  to  find  that  contemptuous  feeling  in  man 
for  man,  we  should  naturally  examine  amongst 
those  clothed  with  judicial  or  military  authority; 
but  we  should  search  in  vain.  The  justice  on 
the  bench,  or  the  officer  in  the  field,  is  respected 
and  obeyed  whilst  discharging  the  functions  of 
his  office,  as  the  representative  or  agent  of  the 
law,  enacted  for  the  good  of  all,-  but  should  he 
be  tempted  to  treat  even  the  least  wealthy  of  his 
neighbours  or  fellow-citizens  with  contumely, 
he  would  soon  find  that  he  could  not  do  it  with 
impunity.  Travellers  from  Europe,  in  passing 
through  the  western  countiy,  or  indeed  any  part 
of  the  United  States,  ought  to  be  previously  ac- 
quainted with  this  part  of  the  American  charac- 
ter, and  more  particularly  if  they  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  treating  with  contempt,  or  irritating 
with,  abuse,  those  whom  accidental  circum- 
stances may  have  placed  in  a  situation  to  ad- 
minister to  their  wants.  Let  no  one  here  in- 
dulge himself  in  abusing  the  waiter  or  ostler  at 
an  inn;  that  waiter  or  ostler  is  probably  a  citizen, 
and  does  not,  nor  cannot  conceive,  that  a  situa- 
tion in  which  he  discharges  a  duty  to  society, 
not  in  itself  dishonourable,  should  subject  him 
to  insult:  but  this  feeling,  so  lar  as  I  have  ex- 
perienced, is  entirely  defensive.  I  have  travelled 
near  10,000  miles  in  the  United  States,  and 
never  met  with  the  least  incivility  or  affront. 

"The  Americans,  in  general,  are  accused  by 
travellers  of  being  inquisitive.  If  this  be  a 
crime,  the  western  people  are  guilty;  but,  for 
my  part,  I  may  say  that  it  is  a  practice  that  I 
never  was  disposed  to  complain  of,  because  I 
always  found  them  as  ready  to  answer  a  question 
as  to  ask  one,  and  therefore  I  always  came  off  a 
gainer  by  this  kind  of  barter;  and  if  any  tra- 
veller does  not,  it  is  his  own  fault.  As  this  leads 
me  to  notice  their  general  conduct  to  strangers, 
I  feel  myself  bound,  by  gratitude  and  regard  to 
truth,  to  speak  of  their  hospitality.  In  my  tra- 
vels through  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  United 
States,  not  less  than  2000  miles  was  through 
parts  where  there  were  no  taverns,  and  M'here 
a  traveller  is  under  the  necessity  of  appealing 
to  the  hospitality  of  the  inhabitants.  In  no  one 
instance  has  my  appeal  been  fruitless ;  although, 
in  many  cases,  the  furnishing  of  a  bed  has  been 
evidently  attended  with  inconvenience,  and  in  a 
great  many  instances  no  remuneration  would 
be  received.  Other  European  travellers  have 
experienced  this  liberal  spirit  of  hospitality,  and 
some  have  repaid  it  by  calumny." — Bradbuiy, 
p.  304—306. 

We  think  it  of  so  much  importance  to  do 
justice  to  other  nations,  and  to  lessen  that  hatred 
and  contempt  which  race  feels  for  race,  that  we 
subjoin  two  short  passages  from  Mr.  Hall  to  ths 
same  effect. 


IIS 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"I  had  bills  on  Philadelphia,  and  applied  to  a 
respectable  storekeeper,  that  is,  tradesman,  of  the 
village,  to  cash  me  one;  the  amount,  however, 
was  beyond  any  remittance  he  had  occasion  to 
make,  but  he  immediately  offered  me  whatever 
sum  I  might  require  for  my  journey,  with  no 
better  security  than  my  word  for  its  repayment 
at  Philadelphia:  he  even  insisted  on  my  taking 
more  than  I  mentioned  as  sufficient.  I  do  not 
believe  this  trait  of  liberality  would  surprise  an 
American;  for  no  one  in  the  states,  to  whom  I 
mentioned  it,  seemed  to  consider  it  as  more 
than  any  stranger  of  respectable  appearance 
might  have  looked  for,  in  similar  circumstan- 
ces: but  it  might  well  surprise  an  English 
traveller,  who  had  been  told,  as  I  had,  that  the 
Americans  never  failed  to  cheatand  insult  every 
Englishman  who  travelled  through  their  coun- 
try, especially  if  they  knew  him  to  be  an  officer. 
This  latter  particular  they  never  failed  to  inform 
themselves  of,  for  they  are  by  no  means  bashful 
in  inquiries :  but  if  the  discovery  operated  in 
any  way  upon  their  behaviour,  it  was  rather 
to  my  advantage;  nor  did  I  meet  with  a  sin- 
gle instance  of  incivility  betwixt  Canada  and 
Charleston,  except  at  the  Shenandoah  Point, 
from  a  drunken  English  deserter.  My  testimony 
in  this  particular,  will  certainly  not  invalidate 
the  complaints  of  many  other  travellers,  who,  I 
doubt  not,  have  frequently  encountered  rude 
treatment,  and  quite  as  frequently  deserved  it; 
but  it  will  at  least  prove  the  possibility  of  tra- 
versing the  United  States  without  insult  or 
interruption,  and  even  of  being  occasionally 
surprised  by  liberality  and  kindness." — Hall,  p. 
255,  256. 

"  I  fell  into  very  pleasant  society  at  Washing- 
ton. Strangers  who  intend  staying  some  days 
in  a  town,  usually  take  lodgings  at  a  boarding- 
house,  in  preference  to  a  tavern:  in  this  way 
they  obtain  the  best  society  the  place  affords ; 
for  there  are  always  gentlemen  and  frequently 
ladies,  either  visitors  or  temporary  residents, 
who  live  in  this  manner  to  avoid  the  trouble  of 
housekeeping.  At  Washington,  during  the  sit- 
tings of  Congress,  the  boarding-houses  are  di- 
vided into  messes,  according  to  the  political 
principles  of  the  inmates,  nor  is  a  stranger 
admitted  without  some  introduction,  and  the 
consent  of  the  whole  company.  I  chanced  to 
join  a  democratic  mess,  and  name  a  few  of  its 
members  with  gratitude,  for  the  pleasure  their 
society  gave  me — Commodore  Decatur  and  his 
lady,  the  Abbe  Correa,  the  great  botanist  and 
plenipotentiary  of  Portugal,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Board,  known 
'as  the  author  of  a  humorous  publication  entitled 
'John  Bull  and  Brother  Jonathan,'  with  eight 
or  ten  members  of  Congress,  principally  from 
the  western  states,  which  are  generally  consi- 
dered as  most  decidedly  hostile  to  England,  but 
whom  I  did  not  on  this  account  find  less  good- 
humoured  and  courteous.  It  is  from  thus  living 
in  daily  intercourse  with  the  leading  characters 
of  the  country,  that  one  is  enabled  to  judge  with 
some  degree  of  certainty  of  the  practices  of  its 
government;  for  to  know  the  paper  theory  is 
nothing,  unless  it  be  compared  with  the  instru- 
ments employed  to  carry  it  into  effect.  A  poli- 
tical constitution  may  be  nothing  but  a  cabalistic 


form,  to  extort  money  and  power  from  the  people; 
but  then  the  jugglers  must  be  in  the  dark,  and 
"no  admittance  behind  the  curtain."  This  way 
of  living  affords,  too,  the  best  insight  into  the 
best  part  of  society:  for  if  in  a  free  nation  the 
depositaries  of  the  public  confidence  be  ignorant 
or  vulgar,  it  is  a  very  fruitless  search  to  look 
for  the  opposite  qualities  in  those  they  represent; 
whereas,  if  these  be  well-informed  in  mind  and 
manners,  it  proves  at  the  least  an  inclination 
towards  knowledge  and  refinement  in  the  gene- 
ral mass  of  citizens  by  whom  they  are  selected. 
My  own  experience  obliges  me  to  a  favourable 
verdict  in  this  particular.  I  found  the  little  circle 
into  which  I  had  happily  fallen  full  of  good  sense 
and  good  humour,  and  never  quitted  it  without 
feeling  myself  a  gainer,  on  the  score  either  of 
useful  information  or  of  social  enjoyment." — 
i^a//,  p.  329— 331. 

In  page  252  Mr.  Hall  pays  some  very  hand- 
some compliments  to  the  gallantry,  high  feeling 
and  humanity  of  the  American  troops.  Such 
passages  reflect  the  highest  honour  upon  Mr. 
Hall.  They  are  full  of  courage  as  well  as  kind- 
ness, and  will  never  be  forgiven  at  home. 

Literature  the  Americans  have  none — no  na- 
tive literature,  we  mean.  It  is  all  imported.  They 
had  a  Franklin,  indeed;  and  may  afford  to  live 
for  half  a  century  on  his  fame.  There  is,  or 
was  a  Mr.  Dwight,  who  wrote  some  poems; 
and  his  baptismal  name  was  Timothy.  There 
is  also  a  small  account  of  Virginia  by  Jefferson, 
and  an  epic  by  Joel  Barlow;  and  some  pieces 
of  pleasantry  by  Mr.  Irving,  But  why  should 
the  Americans  write  books,  when  a  six  weeks' 
passage  brings  them,  in  their  own  tongue,  our 
sense,  science  and  genius,  in  bales  and  hogs- 
heads? Prairies,  steam-boats,  grist-mills,  are 
their  natural  objects  for  centuries  to  come. 
Then,  when  they  have  got  to  the  Pacific  Ocean 
— epic  poems,  plays,  pleasures  of  memory  and 
all  the  elegant  gratifications  of  an  ancient  people 
who  have  tamed  the  wild  earth,  and  set  down 
to  amuse  themselves. — This  is  the  natural 
march  of  human  affairs. 

The  Americans,  at  least  in  the  old  states,  are 
a  very  religious  people:  but  there  is  no  sect 
there  which  enjoys  the  satisfaction  of  excluding 
others  from  civil  offices ;  nor  does  any  denomi- 
nation of  Christians  take  for  their  support  a 
tenth  of  produce.  Their  clergy,  however,  are 
respectable,  respected,  and  possess  no  small 
share  of  influence.  The  places  of  worship  in 
Philadelphia  in  1810,  were  as  follows: — Pres- 
byterian, 8;  Episcopalian,  4;  Methodists,  5; 
Catholic,  4;  Baptist,  5;  Quakers,  4;  Fighting 
Quakers,  1 ;  Lutheran,  3 ;  Calvinist,  3 ;  Jews,  2 ; 
Universalists,  1 ;  Swedish  Lutheran,  1 ;  Mora- 
vian, 1 ;  Congregationalists,  1 ;  Unitarians,  1 ; 
Covenanters,  1 ;  Black  Baptists,  1 ;  Black  Epis- 
copalians, 1 ;  Black  Methodists,  2.  The  Metho- 
dists, Mr.  Palmer  tells  us,  are  becoming  the  most 
numerous  sect  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Fearon  gives  us  this  account  of  the  state 
of  religion  at  New  York. 

"  Upon  this  interesting  topic  I  would  repeat, 
what,  indeed,  you  are  already  acquainted  with, 
that  legally  there  is  the  most  unlimited  liberty. 
There  is  no  state  religion,  and  no  government 
prosecution  of  individuals 'for  conscience  sake 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


113 


Whether  those  halcyon  days,  which  I  think 
•would  attend  a  similar  state  of  things  in  Eng- 
land, are  in  existence  here,  must  be  left  for 
future  observation.  There  are  five  Dutch  Re- 
formed churches;  six  Presbyterian;  three  As- 
sociated Reformed  ditto,  one  Associated  Pres- 
byterian; one  Reformed  ditto;  five  Methodist; 
two  diUo  for  blacks,-  one  German  Reformed;  one 
Evangelical  Lutheran;  one  Moravian;  four 
Trinitarian  Baptist;  one  Universalist;  two  Ca- 
tholic; three  Quaker;  eight  Episcopalian;  one 
Jews'  Synagogue;  and  to  this  I  would  add  a 
small  meeting  which  is  but  little  known,  at 
which  the  priest  is  dispensed  with,  every  mem- 
ber following  what  they  call  the  apostolic  plan 
of  instructing  each  other,  and  '  building  one 
another  up  in  their  most  holy  faith.'  The  Pres- 
byterian and  Episcopalian,  or  Church  of  Eng- 
land sects,  take  the  precedence  in  numbers  and 
in  respectability.  Their  ministers  receive  from 
two  to  eight  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  All 
the  churches  are  well  filled:  they  are  the  fash- 
ionable places  for  disph]/,-  and  the  sermons  and 
talents  of  the  minister  ofler  never-ending  sub- 
jects of  interest  when  social  converse  has  been 
exhausted  upon  the  bad  conduct  and  inferior 
nature  of  nit^gars  (negroes);  the  price  of  flour 
at  Liverpool;  the  capture  of  the  Guerriere,-  and 
the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  The  perfect  equali- 
ty of  all  sects  seems  to  have  deadened  party 
feeling:  controversy  is  but  little  known." — 
Fearon,  p.  45,  46. 

The  absence  of  controversy,  Mr.  Fearon 
seems  to  imagine,  has  produced  indifference ; 
and  he  heaves  a  sigh  to  the  memory  of  depart- 
ed oppression.  "  Can  it  be  possible  (he  asks) 
that  the  non-existence  of  religious  oppression 
has  lessened  religious  knowledge,  and  made 
men  superstitiously  dependent  upon  outward 
form,  instead  of  internal  purity?"  To  which 
question  (a  singular  one  from  an  enlightened 
man  like  Mr.  Fearon),  we  answer,  that  the  ab- 
sence of  religious  oppression  has  not  lessened 
religious  knowledge,  but  theological  animosity; 
and  made  men  more  dependent  upon  pious  ac- 
tions, and  less  upon  useless  and  unintelligible 
wrangling.* 

The  great  curse  of  America  is  the  institution 
of  slavery — of  itself  far  more  than  the  foulest 
blot  upon  their  national  character,  and  an  evil 
which  counterbalances  all  the  excisemen,  licens- 
ers, and  tax-gatherers  of  England.  No  virtu- 
ous man  ought  to  trust  his  own  character,  or 
the  character  of  his  children,  to  the  degioral- 
izing  effects  produced  by  commanding  slaves. 
Justice,  gentleness,  pity  and  humility  soon  give 
way  before  them.  Conscience  suspends  its  func- 
tions. The  love  of  command — the  impatience 
of  restraint,  get  the  better  of  every  other  feel- 
ing; and  cruelty  has  no  other  limit  than  fear. 

"'  There  must  doubtless,'  says  Mr.  Jefferson, 
'be  an  unhappy  influence  on  the  manners  of 
the  people  produced  by  the  existence  of  slavery 
among  us.   The  whole  commerce  between  mas- 

•  Mr.  Fearon  mentions  a  religious  lottery  for  t)uil(ling 
a  Presbyterian  church.  What  will  Mr.  Littleton  say  to 
this?  he  is  hardly  prepared,  we  suspect,  for  this  union  of 
Calvin  and  the  Little  Go.  Every  advantage  will  be  made 
of  it  by  the  wit  and  eloquence  of  his  fiscal  opponent  J — 
nor  will  it  pass  uiihcedt;d  by  Mr.  Bish. 
15 


ter  and  slave  is  a  perpetual  exercise  of  the  most 
boisterous  passions;  the  most  unremitting  des- 
potism on  the  one  part,  and  degrading  submis- 
sions on  the  other.  Our  children  see  this,  and 
learn  to  imitate  it;  for  man  is  an  imitative  ani- 
mal. The  parent  storms,  the  child  looks  on, 
catches  the  lineaments  of  wrath,  puts  on  the 
same  airs  in  the  circle  of  smaller  slaves,  gives 
loose  to  the  worst  of  passions;  and  thus  nursed, 
educated,  and  daily  exercised  in  tyranny,  can- 
not but  be  stamped  by  it  with  odious  peculiari- 
ties. The  man  must  be  a  prodigy  who  can 
retain  his  morals  and  manners  undepraved  by 
such  circumstances.' — Notes,  p.  241." — Hall,  p. 
459. 

The  following  picture  of  a  slave  song  is  quot- 
ed by  Mr.  Hall  from  the  "  Letters  on  Virginia." 

"  'I  took  the  boat  this  morning,  and  crossed 
the  ferry  over  to  Portsmouth,  the  small  town 
which  I  told  you  is  opposite  to  this  place.  It 
was  court-day,  and  a  large  crowd  of  people  was 
gathered  about  the  door  of  the  court-house.  I 
had  hardly  got  upon  the  steps  to  look  in,  when 
my  ears  were  assailed  by  the  voice  of  singing; 
and  turning  round  to  discover  from  what  quarter 
it  came,  I  saw  a  group  of  about  thirty  negroes, 
of  different  sizes  and  ages,  following  a  rough- 
looking  white  man,  who  sat  carelessly  lolling  in 
his  sulky.  They  had  just  turned  round  the  cor- 
ner, and  were  coming  up  the  main  street  to  pass 
by  the  spot  where  I  stood,  on  their  way  out  of 
town.  As  they  came  nearer,  I  saw  some  of 
them  loaded  with  chains  to  prevent  their  escape; 
while  others  had  hold  of  each  other's  hands, 
strongly  grasped,  as  if  to  support  themselves  in 
their  afiliction.  I  particularly  noticed  a  poor 
mother,  with  an  infant  suckling  at  her  breast 
as  she  walked  along,  while  two  small  children 
had  hold  of  her  apron  on  either  side,  almost 
running  to  keep  up  with  the  rest.  They  came 
along  singing  a  little  wild  hymn,  of  sweet  and 
mournful  melody,  flying,  by  a  divine  instinct  of 
the  heart,  to  the  consolation  of  religion,  the  last 
refuge  of  the  unhappy,  to  support  them  in  their 
distress.  The  sulky  now  stopped  belbre  the 
tavern,  at  a  little  distance  beyond  the  court- 
house, and  the  driver  got  out.  '  My  dear  sir,' 
said  I  to  a  person  who  stood  near  me,  'can  you 
tell  me  what  these  poor  people  have  been  doing] 
What  is  their  crime?  and  what  is  to  be  their 
punishment?'  '  O,' said  he, 'it's  nothing  at  all 
but  a  parcel  of  negroes  sold  to  Carolina;  and 
that  man  is  their  driver,  who  has  bought  theni ' 
'But  what  have  they  done,  that  they  should  bo 
sold  into  banishment?'  'Done,'  said  he,  'no- 
thing at  all,  that  I  know  of;  their  masters  wanted 
money,  I  suppose,  and  these  drivers  give  good 
prices.'  Here  the  driver  having  supplied  him- 
self with  brandy,  and  his  horse  with  water, 
(the  poor  negroes,  of  course,  wanted  nothing,) 
stepped  into  his  chair  again,  cracked  his  whip, 
and  drove  on,  while  the  miserable  exiles  fol- 
lowed in  funeral  procession  behind  him.'  " 
Hull,  358—360. 

The  law  by  which  slaves  are  governed  in  tlie 
Carolinas,  is  a  provincial  law  as  old  as  1740, 
but  made  perpetual  in  1783.  By  this  law  it  is 
enacted,  that  every  negro  shall  be  presumed  a 
slave,  unless  the  contrary  appear.  The  9lh 
clause  allows  two  justices  of  the  peace,  and 
k2 


114 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


three  freeholders,  power  to  put  them  to  any 
manner  of  death;  the  evidence  against  ihem 
may  be  without  oath. — No  slave  is  to  traffic  on 
his  own  account. — Any  person  murdering  a 
slave  is  to  pay  100/. — or  14/.  if  he  cuts  out  the 
tongue  of  a  slave. — Any  white  man  meeting 
seven  slaves  together  on  an  high  road,  may 
give  them  twenty  lashes  each. — No  man  must 
teach  a  slave  to  write,  under  penally  of  100/. 
currency.  We  have  Mr.  Hall's  authority  for 
the  existence  and  enforcement  of  this  law  at  the 
present  day.  Mr.  Fearon  has  recorded  some 
facts  still  more  instructive. 

"  Observing  a  great  many  colou  red  people,  par- 
ticularly females,  in  these  boats,  I  concluded  that 
they  were  emigrants,  who  had  proceeded  thus 
far  on  their  route  towards  a  settlement.  The  fact 
proved  to  be,  that  fourteen  of  the  flats  were 
freighted  with  human  beings  for  sale.  They 
had  been  collected  in  the  several  states  by  slave 
dealers,  and  shipped  from  Kentucky  for  a  mar- 
ket. They  were  dressed  up  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, on  the  same  principle  that  jockeys  do 
horses  upon  sale.  The  following  is  a  specimen 
of  advertisements  on  this  subject. 

'twenty  dollars  reward 

"'Will  be  paid  for  apprehending  and  lodging 
in  jail,  or  delivering  to  the  subscriber,  the  fol- 
lowing slaves,  belonging  to  Joseph  Iryin,  of 
Ibtrvllk. — TOM,  a  very  light  mulatto,  blue  eyes, 
5  feet  10  inches  high,  appears  to  be  about 
35  years  of  age;  an  artful  fellow — can  read 
and  write,  and  preaches  occasionally. — CHAR- 
LOTTE, a  black  wench,  round  and  full  faced, 
tall,  straight  and  likely — about  25  years  of  age, 
and  wife  of  the  above-named  Tom. — These 
slaves  decamped  from  their  owner's  plantation 
on  the  night  of  the  14th  September  inst.'  " — 
Fearon,  p.  270. 

"The  three  'African  churches,'  as  they  are 
called,  are  for  all  those  native  Americans  who 
are  black,  or  have  any  shade  of  colour  darker 
than  white.  These  persons,  though  many  of  them 
are  possessed  of  the  rights  of  citizenship,  are  not 
admitted  into  the  churches  which  are  visited  by 
whites.  There  exists  a  penal  law,  deeply  writ- 
ten in  the  mind  of  the  whole  while  population, 
■which  subjects  Iheir  coloured  fellow-citizens  lo 
vinconditional  contumely  and  never-ceasing  in- 
sult. No  respectability,  however  unquestionable, 
— no  property,  however  large, — no  character, 
however  unblemished,  will  gain  a  man,  whose 
body  is  (in  American  estimation)  cursed  with 
even  a  twentieth  portion  of  the  blood  of  his 
African  ancestry,  admission  into  society!!! 
They  are  considered  as  mere  Pariahs — as  out- 
casts and  vagrants  upon  the  face  of  the  earth! 
I  make  no  reflection  upon  these  things,  but 
leave  the  facts  for  your  consideration." — Ibid., 
p.  168,  169. 

That  such  feelings  and  such  practices  should 
exist  among  men  who  know  the  value  of  liberty, 
and  profess  to  understand  its  principles,  is  the 
consummation  of  wickedness.  Every  Ameri- 
can who  loves  his  country,  should  dedicate  his 
whole  life,  and  every  faculty  of  his  soul,  to 
efface  this  foul  stain  from  its  character.  If 
nations  rank  according  to  their  wisdom  and 
llieir  virtue,  what  right  has  the  American,  a 


scourger  and  murderer  of  slaves,  to  compare 
himself  with  the  least  and  lowest  of  the  Eu- 
ropean nations? — much  more  with  this  great 
and  humane  country,  where  the  greatest  lord 
dare  not  lay  a  finger  upon  the  meanest  peasant  1 
What  is  freedom,  where  all  are  not  free?  where 
the  greatest  of  God's  blessings  is  limited,  with 
impious  caprice,  to  the  colour  of  the  bodyl 
And  these  are  the  men  who  taunt  the  English 
with  their  corrupt  Parliament,  with  their  buying 
and  selling  votes.  Let  the  world  judge  which 
is  the  most  liable  to  censure — we  who,  in  the 
midst  of  our  rottenness,  have  torn  oft"  the 
manacles  of  slaves  all  over  the  world; — or 
they  who,  with  their  idle  purity  and  useless 
perfection,  have  remained  mute  and  careless, 
while  groans  echoed  and  whips  clanked  round 
the  very  walls  of  their  spotless  Congress.  We 
wish  well  to  America — we  rejoice  in  her  pros- 
perity— and  are  delighted  to  resist  the  absurd 
impertinence  with  which  the  character  of  her 
people  is  often  treated  in  this  country:  but  the 
existence  of  slavery  in  America  is  an  atrocious 
crime,  with  which  no  measures  can  be  kept — 
for  which  her  situation  atfords  no  sort  of  apology 
— which  makes  liberty  itself  distrusted,  and  the 
boast  of  it  disgusting. 

As  for  emigration,  every  man,  of  course,  must 
determine  for  himself  A  carpenter  under  thirty 
years  of  age,  who  finds  himself  at  Cincinnati 
with  an  axe  over  his  shoulder,  and  ten  pounds 
in  his  pocket,  will  get  rich  in  America,  if  the 
change  of  climate  does  not  kill  him.  So  will  a 
farmer  who  emigrates  early  with  some  capital. 
But  any  person  with  tolerable  prosperity  here 
had  better  remain  where  he  is.  There  are 
considerable  evils,  no  doubt,  in  England:  but 
it  would  be  madness  not  to  admit  that  it  is, 
upon  ihe  whole,  a  very  happy  country, — and  we 
are  much  mistaken  if  the  next  twenty  years 
will  not  bring  with  it  a  great  deal  of  iniernal 
improvement.  The  country  has  long  been 
groaning  under  the  evils  of  the  greatest  foreign 
war  we  were  ever  engaged  in;  and  we  are  just 
beginning  to  look  again  into  our  home  affairs. 
Political  economy  has  made  an  astonishing  pro- 
gress since  they  were  last  investigated;  and 
every  session  of  Parliament  brushes  off  some 
of  the  cobwebs  and  dust  of  our  ancestors.* 
The  Apprentice  Laws  have  been  swept  away; 
the  absurd  nonsense  of  the  Usury  Laws  will 
probably  soon  follow;  Public  Education  and 
Saving  Banks  have  been  the  invention  of  these 
last  ten  years ;  and  the  strong  fortress  of  bigotry 
has  been  rudely  assailed.  Then,  with  all  its 
defects,  we  have  a  Parliament  of  inestimable 
value.  If  there  be  a  place  in  any  country  where 
500  well-educated  men  can  meet  together  and 
talk  with  impunity  of  public  afl"airs,  and  if  what 
they  say  is  published,  that  country  must  im- 
prove. It  is  not  pleasant  to  emigrate  into  a 
country  of  changes  and  revolution,  the  size  and 
integrity  of  whose  empire  no  man  can  predict. 


*  In  a  scarcity  which  occurred  little  more  than  twenty 
years  ago,  every  judge,  (except  the  lord  chancellor,  then 
Justice  o!"  the  Common  Pleas,  and  Serjeant  Remington,) 
when  they  charged  the  grand  jury,  attributed  the  scarcity 
10  the  combinations  of  the  farmers;  and  complained  of  it 
as  a  very  serious  evil.  Such  doctrines  would  not  now  bo 
tolerated  in  the  mouth  of  a  schoolboy. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


115 


The  Americans  are  a  very  sensible,  reflecting 
people,  and  have  conducted  their  affairs  ex- 
tremely well;  but  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  con- 
ceive that  such  an  empire  should  very  long 
remain  undivided,  or  that  the  dwellers  on  the 
Columbia  should  have  common  interest  with 
the  navigators  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Delaware. 
England  is,  to  be  sure,a  very  expensive  coun- 
try; but  a  million  of  millions  has  been  expended 
in  making  it  habitable  and  comfortable;  and 
this  is  a  constant  source  of  revenue,  or,  what  is 
the  same  thing,  a  constant  diminution  of  ex- 
pense to  every  man  living  in  it.  The  price  an 
Englishman  pays  for  a  turnpike  road  is  not 
equal  to  the  tenth  part  of  what  the  delay  would 
cost  him  without  a  turnpike.  The  New  River 
Company  brings.  Vi'ater  to  every  inhabitant  of 
London  at  an  infinitely  less  price  than  he  could 
dip  for  jt  out  of  the  Thames.    No  country,  in 


fact,  is  so  expensive  as  one  which  human  be- 
ings are  just  beginning  to  inhabit; — where  there 
are  no  roads,  no  bridges,  no  skill,  no  help,  no 
combination  of  powers,  and  no  force  of  capital. 
How,  too,  can  any  man  take  upon  himself  to 
say  that  he  is  so  indifferent  to  his  country  that 
he  will  not  begin  to  love  it  intensely,  when  he 
is  5000  or  6000  miles  from  if?  And  what  a 
dreadful  disease  Nostalgia  must  be  on  the  banks 
of  the  Missouri!  Severe  and  painful  poverty 
will  drive  us  all  anywhere:  but  a  wise  man 
should  be  quite  sure  that  he  has  so  irresistible 
a  plea,  before  he  ventures  on  the  Great  or  the 
Little  Wabash.  He  should  be  quite  sure  that 
he  does  not  go  there  from  ill  temper — or  to  be 
pitied — or  to  be  regretted — or  from  ignorance  of 
what  is  to  happen  to  him — or  because  he  is  a 
poet — but  because  he  has  not  enough  to  eat  here, 
and  is  sure  of  abundance  where  he  is  going. 


116 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


GAME    LAWS.* 


[EuiNBunoH  Review,  1819.] 


The  evil  of  the  Game  Laws,  in  their  present 
state,  has  long  been  felt,  and  of  late  years  has 
certainly  rather  increased  than  diminished.  We 
believe  that  they  cannot  long  remain  in  their 
present  slate;  and  we  are  anxious  to  express 
our  opinion  of  those  changes  which  they  ought 
to  experience. 

We  thoroughly  acquiesce  in  the  importance 
of  encouraging  those  field  sports  which  are  so 
congenial  to  the  habits  of  Englishmen,  and 
which,  in  the  present  state  of  society,  afibrd  the 
only  effectual  counterbalance  to  the  allurements 
of  great  towns.  We  cannot  conceive  a  more 
jieruicious  condition  for  a  great  nation,  than 
that  its  aristocracy  should  be  shut  up  from  one 
year's  end  to  another  in  a  metropolis,  while  the 
r  fiss  of  its  rural  inhabitants  are  left  to  the 
management  of  factors  and  agents.  A  great 
man  returning  from  London  to  spend  his  sum- 
mer in  the  country,  diffuses  his  intelligence, 
improves  manners,  communicates  pleasure,  re- 
strains the  extreme  violence  of  subordinate 
politicians,  and  makes  the  middling  and  lower 
classes  better  acquainted  with,  and  more  attach- 
ed to  their  natural  leaders.  At  the  same  time, 
a  residence  in  the  country  gives  to  the  makers 
of  laws  an  opportunity  of  studying  those  interests 
which  they  may  afterwards  be  called  upon  to 
protect  and  arrange.  Nor  is  it  unimportant  to 
the  character  of  the  higher  orders  themselves, 
that  they  should  pass  a  considerable  part  of  the 
year  in  the  midst  of  these  their  larger  families; 
that  they  should  occasionally  be  thrown  among 
simple,  laborious,  frugal  people,  and  be  stimu- 
lated to  resist  the  prodigality  of  courts,  by  view- 
ing with  their  own  eyes  the  merits  and  the 
wretchedness  of  the  poor. 

Laws  for  the  preservation  of  game  are  not 
only  of  importance,  as  they  increase  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  country,  but  they  may  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  be  perfectly  just.  The  game 
which  my  land  feeds  is  certainly  mine;  or,  in 
other  words,  the  game  which  all  the  land  feeds 
certainly  belongs  to  all  the  owners  of  the  land; 
and  the  only  practical  way  of  dividing  it  is,  to 
give  to  each  proprietor  what  he  can  take  on  his 
own  ground.  Those  who  contribute  nothing  to 
the  support  of  the  animal,  can  have  no  possible 
right  to  a  share  in  the  distribution.  To  say  of 
animals,  that  they  aveferas  Naturu,  means  only, 
that  the  precise  place  of  their  birth  and  nurture 
is  not  known.  How  they  shall  be  divided,  is  a 
matter  of  arrangement  among  those  whose  col- 
lected property  certainly  has  produced  and  fed 
them;  but  the  case  is  completely  made  out 
against  those  who  have  no  land  at  all,  and  who 
cannot,  therefore,  have  been  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree instrumental  to  their  production.  If  a  large 


•  Tliree  LttM  i  on  the  Game  Laws.    RestFenner,  Black  & 
Co.    Loudon,  ISlfi. 


pond  were  divided  by  certain  marks  into  four 
parts,  and  allotted  to  that  number  of  proprietors, 
the  fish  contained  in  that  pond  would  be,  in  the 
same  sense,  fine  Naturu.  Nobody  could  tell  in 
which  particular  division  each  carp  had  been 
born  and  bred.  The  owners  would  arrange 
their  respective  rights  and  pretensions  in  the 
best  way  they  could;  but  the  cleaiestof  all  pos- 
sible propositions  would  be,  that  the  four  pro- 
prietors, among  them,  made  a  complete  title  to 
all  the  fish;  and  that  nobody  but  them  had  the 
smallest  title  to  the  smallest  share.  This  we 
say  in  answer  to  those  who  contend  that  there 
is  no  foundation  for  any  system  of  game  laws; 
that  animals  born  wild  are  the  property  of  the 
public  ;  and  that  their  appropriation  is  nothing 
but  tyranny  and  usurpation. 

In  addition  to  these  arguments,  it  is  perhaps 
scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  nothing  which 
is  worth  having,  which  is  accessible,  and  sup- 
plied only  in  limited  quantities,  could  exist  at 
all,  if  it  was  not  considered  as  the  property  of 
some  individual.  If  every  body  might  take 
game  wherever  they  found  it,  there  would  soon 
be  an  end  of  every  species  of  game.  The  ad- 
vantage would  not  be  extended  to  fresh  classes, 
but  be  annihilated  for  all  classes.  Besides  all 
this,  the  privilege  of  killing  game  could  not  be 
granted  without  the  privilege  of  trespassing  on 
landed  property; — an  intolerable  evil,  which 
would  entirely  destroy  the  comfort  and  privacy 
of  a  country  life. 

But  though  a  system  of  game  laws  is  of  great 
use  in  promoting  country  amusements,  and 
may,  in  itself,  be  placed  on  a  footing  of  justice, 
its  effects,  we  are  sorry  to  say, are  by  no  means 
favourable  to  the  morals  of  the  poor. 

It  is  impossible  to  make  an  uneducated  man 
understand  in  what  manner  a  bird  hatched  no- 
body knows  where, — to-day  living  in  my  field, 
to-morrow  in  yours, — should  be  as  strictly  pro- 
pertj'  as  the  goose  whose  whole  history  can  be 
traced,  in  the  most  authentic  and  satisfactory 
manner,  from  the  egg  to  the  spit.  The  argu- 
ments upon  which  this  depends  are  so  contrary 
to  the  notions  of  the  poor,  —  so  repugnant  to 
their  passions, — and,  perhaps,  so  much  above 
their  comprehension,  that  they  are  totally  una- 
vailing. The  same  man  who  would  respect  an 
orchard,  a  garden  or  an  hen-roost,  scarcely 
thinks  he  is  committing  any  fault  at  all  in  in- 
vading the  game-covers  of  his  richer  neigh- 
bour; and  as  soon  as  he  becomes  wearied  of 
honest  industry,  his  first  resource  is  in  plunder- 
ing the  rich  magazine  of  hares,  pheasants  and 
partridges — the  top  and  bottom  dishes,  which  on 
every  side  of  his  village  are  running  and  dying 
before  his  eyes.  As  these  things  cannot  be 
done  with  safety  in  the  day,  they  must  be  done 
in  the  night; — and  in  this  manner  a  lawless 
marauder  is  often  formed,  who  proceeds  from 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


117 


one  infringement  of  law  and  property  to  an- 
other, till  he  becomes  a  thoroughly  bad  and 
corrupted  member  of  society. 

These  few  preliminary  observations  lead  na- 
turally to  the  two  principal  considerations  which 
are  to  be  kept  in  view,  in  reforming  the  game 
laws ; — to  preserve,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with 
justice,  the  amusements  of  the  rich  and  to  di- 
minish, as  much  as  possible,  the  temptations  of 
the  poor.  And  these  ends,  it  seems  to  us,  will 
be  best  answered, 

1.  By  abolishing  qualifications.  2.  By  giving 
to  every  man  a  property  in  the  game  upon  his 
land.  3.  By  allowing  game  to  be  bought  by  any 
body,  and  sold  by  its  lawful  possessors.* 

Nothing  can  be  more  grossly  absurd  than  the 
present  state  of  the  game  laws,  as  far  as  they 
concern  the  qualification  for  shooting.  In  Eng- 
land, no  man  can  possibly  have  a  legal  right  to 
kill  game,  who  has  not  100/.  a  year  in  land  rent. 
With  us  in  Scotland,  the  rule  is  not  quite  so 
inflexible,  though  in  principle  not  very  difl!erent. 
But  we  shall  speak  to  the  case  which  concerns 
by  far  the  greatest  number  :  and  certainly  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  imagine  a  more  absurd  and 
capricious  limitation.  For  what  possible  reason 
is  a  man,  who  has  only  90/.  per  annum  in  land, 
not  to  kill  the  game  which  his  own  land  nou- 
rishes ?  If  the  legislature  really  conceives,  as 
we  have  heard  surmised  by  certain  learned 
squires,  that  a  person  of  such  a  degree  of  for- 
tune should  be  confined  to  profitable  pursuits, 
and  debarred  from  that  pernicious  idleness  into 
which  he  would  be  betrayed  by  field  sports,  it 
would  then  be  expedient  to  make  a  qualification 
for  bowls  or  skittles — to  prevent  small  land- 
owners from  going  to  races  or  following  a  pack 
of  hounds — and  to  prohibit  to  men  of  a  certain 
income,  every  other  species  of  amusement  as 
well  as  this.  The  only  instance,  however,  in 
which  this  paternal  care  is  exercised,  is  that  in 
which  the  amusement  of  the  smaller  landowner 
is  supposed  to  interfere  with  those  of  his  richer 
neighbour.  He  may  do  what  he  pleases,  and 
elect  any  other  species  of  ruinous  idleness  but 
that  in  which  the  upper  classes  of  society  are 
his  rivals. 

,■  Nay,  the  law  is  so  excessively  ridiculous  in 
the  case  of  small  landed  proprietors,  that  on  a 
property  of  less  than  100/.  per  annum,  wo  human 
being  has  the  right  of  shooting.  It  is  not  con- 
fined but  annihilated.  The  lord  of  the  manor 
may  be  warned  off  by  the  proprietor;  and  the 
proprietor  may  be  informed  against  by  any 
body  who  sees  him  sporting.  .  The  case  is  still 
stronger  in  the  instance  of  large  farms.  In 
Northumberland,  and  on  the  borders  of  Scot- 
land, there  are  large  capitalists  who  farm  to  the 
amount  of  two  or  three  thousand  per  annum, 
who  have  the  permission  of  their  distant  non- 
resident landlords  to  do  what  they  please  with 
the  game,  and  yet  who  dare  not  fire  oif  a  gun 
upon  their  own  land.  Can  any  thing  be  more 
utterly  absurd  and  preposterous,  than  that  the 
landlord  and  the  wealthy  tenant  together  cannot 
make  up  a  title  to  the  hare  which  is  fattened 
upon  the  choicest  produce  of  their  land  1  That 
the  landlord,  who  can  let  to  farm  the  fertility  of 
the  land  for  growing  wheat,  cannot  let  to  farm 

*  All  this  has  since  been  established. 


its  power  of  growing  partridges  1  That  he  may 
reap  by  deputy,  but  cannot  on  that  manor  shoot 
by  deputy!  Is  it  possible  that  any  respectable 
magistrate  could  fine  a  farmer  for  killing  a  hare 
upon  his  own  grounds  with  his  landlord's  con- 
sent, without  feeling  that  he  was  violating  every 
feeling  of  common  sense  and  justice  1 

Since  the  enactment  of  the  game  laws,  there 
has  sprung  up  an  entirely  new  species  of  pro- 
perty, which  of  course  is  completely  overlooked 
by  their  provisions.  An  Englishman  may  pos- 
sess a  million  of  money  in  funds  or  merchan- 
dize— may  be  the  Baring  or  the  Hope  of  Europe 
— provide  to  government  the  sudden  means  of 
equipping  fleets  and  armies,  and  yet  be  without 
the  power  of  smiting  a  single  partridge,  though 
invited  by  the  owner  of  the  game  to  participate 
in  his  amusement.  It  is  idle  to  say  that  the 
difficulty  may  be  got  over  by  purchasing  land: 
the  question  is,  upon  what  principle  of  justice 
can  the  existence  of  the  difficulty  be  defended  ? 
If  the  right  of  keeping  men-servants  was  con- 
fined to  persons  who  had  more  than  100/.  a  year 
in  the  funds,  the  difficulty  might  be  got  over  by 
every  man  who  would  change  his  landed  pro- 
perty to  that  extent.  But  what  could  justify  so 
capricious  a  partiality  to  one  species  of  pro- 
perty 1  There  might  be  some  apology  for  such 
laws  at  the  time  they  were  made ;  but  there  can 
be  none  for  their  not  being  now  accommodated 
to  the  changes  which  time  has  introduced.  If 
you  choose  to  exclude  poverty  from  this  species 
of  amusement,  and  to  open  it  to  wealth,  why  is 
it  not  opened  to  every  species  of  wealth  1  What 
amusement  can  there  be  morally  lawful  to  an 
holder  of  turnip  land,  and  criminal  in  a  posses- 
sor of  exchequer  bills  7  What  delights  ought 
to  be  tolerated  to  long  annuities,  from  which 
wheat  and  beans  should  be  excluded  !  What 
matters  whether  it  is  scrip  or  short-horned  cattle? 
If  the  locus  quo  is  conceded — if  the  trespass  is 
waived — and  if  the  qualification  for  any  amuse- 
ment is  wealth,  let  it  be  any  probable  wealth — 
Dives  agris,  dives  positis  infcenore  numms. 

It  will  be  very  easy  for  any  country  gentleman 
who  wishes  to  monopolize  to  himself  the  plea- 
sures of  shooting,  to  let  to  his  tenant  every  other 
right  attached  to  the  land,  except  the  right  of 
killing  game;  and  it  will  be  equally  easy,  in 
the  formation  of  a  new  game  act,  to  give  to  the 
landlord  a  summary  process  against  his  tenant, 
if  such  tenant  fraudulently  exercises  the  privi- 
leges he  has  agreed  to  surrender. 

The  case  which  seems  most  to  alarm  coun. 
try  gentlemen,  is  that  of  a  person  possessing  a 
few  acres  in  the  heart  of  a  manor,  who  might, 
by  planting  food  of  which  they  are  fond,  allure 
the  game  into  his  own  little  domain,  and  thus 
reap  an  harvest  prepared  at  the  expense  of  the 
neighbour  who  surrounded  him.  But,  under 
the  present  game  laws,  if  the  smaller  posses- 
sion belongs  to  a  qualified  person,  the  danger 
of  intrusion  is  equally  great  as  it  would  be  un- 
der the  proposed  alteration ;  and  the  danger  from 
the  poacher  would  be  the  same  in  both  cases. 
But  if  it  is  of  such  great  consequence  to  keep 
clear  from  all  interference,  may  not  such  a  piece 
of  land  be  rented  or  bought]  Or,  may  not  the 
food  which  tempts  the  game  be  sown  in  the  same 
abundance  in  the  surrounding  as  in  the  encloscj 


lid 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


land  After  all,  it  is  only  common  justice,  that 
he  whose  property  is  surrounded  on  every  side 
by  a  preserver  of  game,  whose  corn  and  turnips 
are  demolished  by  animals  preserved  for  the 
amusement  of  his  neighbour,  should  himself  be 
entitled  to  that  share  of  game  which  plunders 
upon  his  land.  The  complaint  which  the  landed 
grandee  makes  is  this.  "Here  is  a  man  who 
has  only  a  twenty-fourth  part  of  the  land,  and 
he  expects  a  twenty-fourth  part  of  the  game. 
He  is  so  captious  and  litigious,  that  he  will  not 
be  contented  to  supply  his  share  of  the  food 
without  requiring  his  share  of  what  the  food  pro- 
duces. I  want  a  neighbour  who  has  talents  only 
for  suffering,  not  one  who  evinces  such  a  fatal 
disposition  for  enjoying."  Upon  such  princi- 
ples as  these,  many  of  the  game  laws  have  been 
constructed,  and  are  preserved.  The  interfer- 
ence of  a  very  small  property  with  a  very  large 
one ;  the  critical  position  of  one  or  two  fields, 
is  a  very  serious  source  of  vexation  on  many 
other  occasions  besides  those  of  game.  He 
who  possesses  a  field  in  the  middle  of  my  pre- 
mises, may  build  so  as  to  obstruct  my  view; 
and  may  present  to  me  the  hinder  parts  of  a 
barn,  instead  of  one  of  the  finest  landscapes  in 
nature.  Nay,  he  may  turn  his  fields  into  tea- 
gardens,  and  destroy  my  privacy  by  the  intro- 
duction of  every  species  of  vulgar  company. 
The  legislature,  in  all  these  instances,  has  pro- 
vided no  remedy  for  the  inconveniences  which 
a  small  property,  by  such  intermixture,  may  in- 
flict upon  a  large  one,  but  has  secured  the  same 
rights  to  unequal  proportions.  It  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  why  these  equitable  principles 
are  to  be  violated  in  the  case  of  game  alone. 

Our  securities  against  that  rabble  of  sports- 
men which  the  abolition  of  qualifications  might 
be  supposed  to  produce,  are,  the  consent  of  the 
owner  of  the  soil  as  an  indispensable  prelimi- 
nary, guarded  by  heavy  penalties — and  the  price 
of  a  certificate,  rendered,  perhaps,  greater  than 
it  is  at  present.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive 
why  the  owner  of  the  soil,  if  the  right  of  game 
is  secured  to  him,  has  not  a  right  to  sell,  or  grant 
the  right  of  killing  it  to  whom  he  pleases — just 
as  much  as  he  has  the  power  of  appointing 
whom  he  pleases  to  kill  his  ducks,  pigeons  and 
chickens.  The  danger  of  making  the  poor  idle 
IS  a  mere  pretence.  It  is  monopoly  calling  in 
the  aid  of  hypocrisy,  and  tyranny  veiling  itself 
in  thegarb  of  philosophical  humanity.  A  poor 
man  goes  to  wakes,  fairs  and  horse-races,  with- 
out pain  and  penalty;  a  little  shopkeeper,  when 
his  work  is  over,  may  go  to  a  bullbait,  or  to  the 
cock-pit;  but  the  idea  of  his  pursuing  an  hare, 
even  with  the  consent  of  the  landowner,  fills  the 
Bucolic  senator  with  the  most  lively  apprehen- 
sions of  relaxed  industry  and  ruinous  dissipation. 
The  truth  is.ifa  poor  man  does  not  offend  against 
morals  or  religion,  and  supports  himself  and  his 
family  without  assistance,  the  law  has  nothing 
to  do  v/ith  his  amusements.  The  real  barriers 
against  increase  of  sportsmen  (if  the  proposed 
alteration  were  admitted),  are,  as  we  have  before 
said,  the  prohibition  of  the  landowner;  the  tax 
to  the  state  fur  a  certificate ;  the  necessity  of 
labouring  for  support. — Whoever  violates  none 
of  these  rights,  and  neglects  none  of  these  duties 
in  his  sporting,  sports  without  crime  ; — and  to 
punish  him  would  be  gross  and  scandalous  ty- 
ranny 


The  next  alteration  which  we  would  propose 
is  that  game  should  be  made  property;  that  is, 
that  every  man  should  have  a  right  to  the  game 
found  upon  his  land — and  that  the  violation  of 
it  should  be  punished  as  poaching  now  is,  by 
pecuniary  penalties,  and  summary  conviction 
before  magistrates.  This  change  in  the  game 
laws  would  be  an  additional  defence  of  game: 
for  the  landed  proprietor  has  now  no  other 
remedy  against  the  qualified  intruder  upon  his 
game,  than  an  action  at  law  for  a  trespass  on 
the  land;  and  if  the  trespasser  has  received  no 
notice,  this  can  hardly  be  called  any  remedy  at 
all.  It  is  now  no  uncommon  practice  for  per- 
sons who  have  the  exterior,  and  perhaps  the 
fortunes  of  gentlemen,  as  they  are  travelling 
from  place  to  place,  to  shoot  over  manors  where 
they  have  no  property,  and  from  which,  as 
strangers,  they  cannot  have  been  warned.  In 
such  case  (which,  we  repeat  again,  is  by  no 
means  one  of  rare  occurrence),  it  would,  under 
the  reformed  system,  be  no  more  difficult  for  the 
lord  of  the  soil  to  protect  his  game,  than  it  would 
be  to  protect  his  geese  and  ducks.  But  though 
game  should  be  considered  as  property  it  should 
still  be  considered  as  the  lowest  species  of  pro- 
perty— because  it  is  in  its  nature  more  vague 
and  mutable  than  any  other  species  of  property, 
and  because  depredations  upon  it  are  carried  on 
at  a  distance  from  the  dwelling,  and  without 
personal  alarm  to  the  proprietors.  It  would  be 
very  easy  to  increase  the  penalties,  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  offences  committed  by  the  same 
individual. 

The  punishments  which  country  gentlemen 
expect  by  making  game  property,  are  the  pun- 
ishments affixed  to  offences  of  a  much  higher 
order:  but  country  gentlemen  must  not  be  al- 
lowed to  legislate  exclusively  on  this,  more  than 
on  any  other  subject.  The  very  mention  of 
hares  and  partridges  in  the  country,  too  often 
puts  an  end  to  common  humanity  and  common 
sense.  Game  must  be  protected;  but  protected 
without  violating  those  principles  of  justice, 
and  that  adaptation  of  punishment  to  crime, 
which  (incredible  as  it  may  appear),  are  of  in- 
finitely greater  importance  than  the  amusements 
of  country  gentlemen. 

We  come  now  to  the  sale  of  game. — The 
foundation  on  which  the  propriety  of  allowing 
this  partly  rests,  is  the  impossibility  of  prevent- 
ing it.  There  exists,  and  has  sprung  up  since 
the  game  laws,  an  enormous  mass  of  wealth, 
which  has  nothing  to  do  with  land.  Do  the 
country  gentlemen  imagine  that  it  is  in  the 
power  of  human  laws  to  deprive  the  three  per 
cents  of  pheasants  1  That  there  is  upon  earth, 
air,  or  sea,  a  single  flavour  (cost  what  crime  it 
may  to  procure  it),  that  mercantile  opulence 
will  not  procure  1  Increase  the  difficulty,  and 
you  enlist  vanity  on  the  side  of  luxury;  and 
make  that  be  sought  for  as  a  display  of  wealth, 
which  was  before  valued  only  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  appetite.  The  law  may  multiply  penal- 
ties by  reams.  Squires  may  fret  and  justices 
commit,  and  gamekeepers  and  poachers  con- 
tinue their  nocturnal  wars.  There  must  be 
game  on  Lord  Mayor's  day,  do  what  you  will. 
You  may  multiply  the  crimes  by  which  it  is  pro- 
cured ;  but  nothing  can  arrest  its  inevitable  pro- 
gress, from  the  wood  of  the  esquire  to  the  spit 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


119 


of  the  citizen.  The  late  law  for  preventing  the 
sale  of  game  produced  some  little  temporary 
difficulty  in  London  at  the  beginning  of  the  sea- 
son. The  poulterers  were  alarmed,  and  came 
to  some  resolutions.  But  the  alarm  soon  began 
to  subside  and  the  difficulties  to  vanish.  In 
another  season,  the  law  will  be  entirely  nugatory 
and  forgotten.  The  experiment  was  tried  of 
increased  severity,  and  a  law  passed  to  punish 
poachers  with  transportation  who  were  caught 
poaching  in  the  night  time  with  arms.  What 
has  the  consequence  beeni — Not  a  cessation  of 
poaching,  but  a  succession  of  village  guerillas; 
— an  iniernecive  war  between  the  gamekeepers 
and  marauders  of  game: — the  whole  country 
flung  into  brawls  and  convulsions,  for  the  unjust 
and  exorbitant  pleasures  of  country  genilemen. 
The  poacher  hardly  believes  he  is  doing  any 
wrong  in  taking  partridges  and  pheasants.  He 
would  admit  the  justice  of  being  transported  for 
stealing  sheep;  and  his  courage  in  such  a 
transaction  would  be  impaired  by  a  conscious- 
ness he  was  doing  wrong:  but  he  has  no  such 
feeling  in  taking  game;  and  the  preposterous 
punishment  of  transportation  makes  him  despe- 
rate, and  not  timid.  Single  poachers  are  gathered 
into  large  companies,  for  their  mutual  protec- 
tion; and  go  out,  not  only  with  the  intention  of 
taking  game,  but  of  defending  what  they  take 
■with  their  lives.  Such  feelings  soon  produce  a 
ri/alry  of  personal  courage,  and  a  thirst  of  re- 
venge between  the  villagers  and  the  agents  of 
power.  We  extract  the  following  passages  on 
this  subject  from  the  Three  Letters  on  the  Game 
Laws. 

"  The  first  and  most  palpable  effect  has  natu- 
rally been,  an  exaltation  of  all  the  savage  and 
desDerate  features  in  the  poacher's  character. 
The  war  between  him  and  the  gamekeeper  has 
necessarily  become  a  '  bellum  iniernecivum.'  A 
marauder  may  hesitate  perhaps  at  killing  his 
fellow  man,  when  the  alternative  is  only  six 
nonths'  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail;  but 
vhen  the  alternative  is  to  overcome  the  keeper, 
or  to  be  torn  from  his  family  and  connections, 
and  sent  to  hard  labour  at  the  antipodes,  we 
cannot  be  much  surprised  that  murders  and 
nidnight  combats  have  considerably  increased 
this  season;  or  that  information,  such  as  the 
following,  has  frequently  enriched  the  columns 
of  the  country  newspapers." 

"'Poaching. — Richard  Barnettwas  on  Tues- 
day convicted  before  T.  Clutterbuck,  Esq.,  of 
keeping  and  using  engines  or  wires  for  the  de- 
struction of  game  in  the  parish  of  Dunkerton, 
and  fined  5/.  He  was  taken  into  custody  by  C. 
Coates,  keeper  to  Sir  Charles  Bamfylde,  Bart., 
who  found  upon  him  seventeen  wire-snares. 
The  new  act  that  has  just  passed  against  these 
illegal  practices,  seems  only  to  have  irritated 
the  offenders,  and  made  them  more  daring  and 
desperate.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  an  anony- 
mous circular  letter,  which  has  been  received 
by  several  magistrates,  and  other  eminent  cha- 
racters in  this  neighbourhood. 

"'Take  notice. — We  have  lately  heard  and 
seen  that  there  is  an  act  passed,  and  whatever 
poacher  is  caught  destroying  the  game,  is  to  be 
transported  for  seven  years. —  This  is  English 
liberty! 
"  'Now,  we  do  swear  to  each  other,  that  the 
Vol.  I.-, 


first  of  our  company  that  this  law  is  inflicted 
on,  that  there  shall  not  one  gentleman's  seat 
in  our  country  escape  the  rage  of  fire.  We  are 
nine  in  number,  and  we  will  burn  every  gentle- 
man's house  of  note.  The  first  that  impeaches 
shall  be  shot.  We  have  sworn  not  to  impeach. 
You  may  think  it  a  threat,  but  they  will  find  it 
reality.  The  game-laws  were  too  severe  be- 
fore. The  Lord  of  all  men  sent  these  animals 
for  the  peasants  as  well  as  for  the  prince.  God 
will  not  let  his  people  be  oppressed.  He  will 
assist  us  in  our  undertaking,  and  we  will  exe- 
cute it  with  caution.'" — Bath  Paper. 

"'Death  of  a  Poacher. — On  the  evening 
of  Saturday  se'ennight,  about  eight  or  nine 
o'clock,  a  body  of  poachers,  seven  in  number, 
assembled  by  mutual  agreement  on  the  estate 
of  the  Hon.  John  Dutton  at  Sherborne,  Glouce- 
stershire, for  the  purpose  of  taking  hares  and 
other  game.  With  the  assistance  of  two  dogs, 
and  some  nets  and  snares  which  they  brought 
with  them,  they  had  succeeded  in  catching  nine 
hares,  and  were  carrying  them  away,  when 
they  were  discovered  by  the  gamekeeper  and 
seven  others  who  were  engaged  with  him  in 
patroling  the  different  covers,  in  order  to  pro- 
tect the  game  from  nightly  depredators.  Imme- 
diately on  perceiving  the  poachers,  the  keeper 
summoned  them  in  a  civil  and  peaceable  man- 
ner to  give  up  their  names,  the  dogs,  imple- 
ments, &c.  they  had  with  them,  and  the  game 
they  had  taken ;  at  the  same  time  assuring 
them,  that  his  party  had  firearms  (which  were 
produced  for  the  purpose  of  convincing  and 
alarming  them),  and  representing  to  them  the 
folly  of  resistance,  as,  in  the  event  of  an  affray, 
they  must  inevitably  be  overpowered  by  supe- 
rior numbers,  even  without  firearms,  which 
they  were  determined  not  to  resort  to  unless 
compelled  in  self-defence.  Notwithstanding  this 
remonstrance  of  the  keeper,  the  men  unanimous- 
ly refused  to  give  up  on  any  terms,  declaring, 
that  if  they  were  followed,  they  would  give  thera 
"a  brush," and  would  repel  force  by  force.  The 
poachers  then  directly  took  off  their  great  coats, 
threw  them  down  with  the  game,  &c.  behind 
them,  and  approached  the  keepers  in  an  atti- 
tude of  attack.  A  smart  contest  instantly  en- 
sued; both  parties  using  only  the  sticks  or  blud- 
geons they  carried:  and  such  was  the  confusion 
during  the  battle,  that  some  of  the  keepers  were 
occasionally  struck  by  their  own  comrades 
in  mistake  for  their  opponents.  After  they 
had  fought  in  this  manner  about  eight  or  ten 
minutes,  one  of  the  poachers  named  Robert 
Simmons,  received  a  violent  blow  upon  his  left 
temple,  which  felled  him  to  the  ground,  where 
he  lay,  crying  out  murder,  and  asking  for  mer 
cy.  The  keepers  very  humanely  desired  that 
all  violence  might  cease  on  both  sides:  upon 
which  three  of  the  poachers  took  to  flight  and 
escaped,  and  the  remaining  three,  together  with 
Simmons,  were  secured  by  the  keepers.  Sim- 
mons, by  the  assistance  of  the  other  men,  walked 
to  the  keeper's  house,  where  he  was  placed  in  a 
chair:  but  he  soon  after  died.  His  death  was 
no  doubt  caused  by  the  pressure  of  blood  upon 
the  brain,  occasioned  by  the  rupture  of  a  vessel 
from  the  blow  he  had  received.  The  three 
poachers  who  had  been  taken  were  committed 
to  Northleach  prison.    The  inquest  upon  the 


120 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


body  of  Simmons  was  taken  on  Monday,  before 
W.  Trigge,  Gent.,  Coroner;  and  the  above  ac- 
count is  extracted  from  the  evidence  given  upon 
that  occasion.  The  poachers  were  all  armed 
with  bludgeons,  except  the  deceased,  who  had 
provided  himself  with  the  thick  part  of  a  flail, 
made  of  firm  knotted  crabtree,  and  pointed  at 
the  extremity,  in  order  to  thrust  with,  if  occa- 
sion required.  The  deceased  was  an  athletic 
muscular  man,  very  active,  and  about  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.  He  resided  at  Bowie,  in 
Oxfordshire,  and  has  left  a  wife  but  no  child. 
The  three  prisoners  were  heard  in  evidence ; 
and  all  concurred  in  stating  that  the  keepers 
were  in  no  way  blameable,  and  attributed  their 
disaster  to  their  own  indiscretion  and  impru- 
dence. Several  of  the  keepers'  party  were  so 
much  beat  as  to  be  now  confined  to  their  beds. 
The  two  parties  are  said  to  be  total  strangers 
to  each  other,  consequently  no  malice  prepense 
could  have  existed  between  them;  and  as  it 
appeared  to  the  jury,  after  a  most  minute  and 
deliberate  investigation,  that  the  confusion  dur- 
ing the  affray  was  so  great,  that  the  deceased 
was  as  likely  to  be  struck  by  one  of  his  own 
party  as  by  the  keepers',  they  returned  a  ver- 
dict of — Manslaughter  against  some  person  or 
persons  unknown.' 

"  Wretched  as  the  first  of  these  productions 
is,  I  think  it  can  scarcely  be  denied,  that  both 
its  spirit  and  its  probable  consequences  are 
wholly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  exasperation  natu- 
rally consequent  upon  the  severe  enactment  just 
alluded  to.  And  the  last  case  is  at  least  a  strong 
proof  that  severity  of  enactment  is  quite  inade- 
quate to  correct  the  evil." — (P.  356-.359.) 

Poaching  will  exist  in  some  degree,  let  the 
laws  be  what  they  may ;  but  the  most  certain 
method  of  checking  the  poacher  seems  to  be  by 
underselling  him.  If  game  can  be  lawfully  sold, 
the  quantity  sent  to  market  will  be  increased, 
the  price  lowered,  and,  with  that,  the  profits  and 
temptations  of  the  poacher.  Not  only  would  the 
prices  of  the  poacher  be  lowered,  but  we  much 
doubt  if  he  would  find  any  sale  at  all.  Licenses 
to  sell  game  might  be  confined  to  real  poulterers, 
and  real  occupiers  of  a  certain  portion  of  land. 
It  might  be  rendered  penal  to  purchase  it  from 
any  but  licensed  persons;  and  in  this  way  the 
facility  of  the  lawful,  and  the  danger  of  the  un- 
lawful trade,  would  either  annihilate  the  poach- 
er's trade,  or  reduce  his  prices  so  much,  that  it 
would  be  hardly  worth  his  while  to  carry  it  on. 
What  poulterer  in  London,  or  in  any  of  the  large 
tovv^ns,  would  deal  with  poachers,  and  expose 
himself  to  indictment  for  receiving  stolen  goods, 
when  he  might  supply  his  customers  at  fair 
prices  by  dealing  with  the  lawful  proprietor  of 
game]  Opinion  is  of  more  power  than  law. 
Such  conduct  would  soon  become  infamous; 
and  every  respectable  tradesman  would  be 
shamed  out  of  it.  The  consumer  himself  would 
rather  buy  his  game  of  a  poulterer  ataii  increase 
of  price,  than  pick  it  up  clandestinely,  and  at  a 
great  risk,  though  a  somewhat  smaller  price, 
from  porters  and  boothkeepers.  Give  them  a 
chance  of  getting  it  fairly,  and  they  will  not  get 
it  unfairly.  At  present,  no  one  has  the  slightest 
shame  at  violating  a  law  which  everybody  feels 
to  be  absurd  and  unjust. 

Poultry-houses  are  sometimes  robbed; — but 


stolen  poultry  is  rarely  offered  to  sale ; — at  least, 
nobody  pretends  that  the  shops  of  poulterers  and 
the  tables  of  moneyed  gentlemen  are  supplied 
by  these  means.  Out  of  one  hundred  geese  that 
are  consumed  at  Michaelmas,  ninety-nine  come 
into  the  jaws  of  the  consumer  by  honest  means ; 
— and  yet,  if  it  had  pleased  the  country  gentle- 
men to  have  goose  laws  as  well  as  game  laws; 
— if  goose-keepers  had  been  appointed,  and  the 
sale  and  purchase  of  this  savoury  bird  prohi- 
bited, the  same  enjoyments  would  have  been 
procured  by  the  crimes  and  convictions  of  the 
poor;  and  the  periodical  gluitony  of  Michaelmas 
have  been  rendered  as  guilty  and  criminal,  as  it 
is  indigestible "^nd  unwholesome.  Upon  this 
subject  we  shall  quote  a  passage  from  the  very 
sensible  and  spirited  letters  before  us. 

"In  favourable  situations,  game  would  be 
reared  and  preserved  for  the  express  purpose  of 
regularly  supplying  the  market  in  fair  and  open 
competition;  which  would  so  reduce  its  price, 
that  I  see  no  reason  why  a  partridge  should  be 
dearer  than  a  rabbit,  or  a  hare  and  pheasant  than 
a  duck  or  goose.  This  is  about  the  proportion 
of  price  which  the  animals  bear  to  each  other  in 
France,  where  game  can  be  legally  sold,  and  is 
regularly  brought  to  market;  and  where,  by  the 
way,  game  is  as  plentiful  as  in  any  cultivated 
country  in  Europe.  The  price  so  reduced  would 
never  Ije  enough  to  compensate  the  risk  and  pe- 
nalties of  the  unlawful  poacher,  who  must  there- 
fore be  driven  out  of  the  market.  Doubtless,  the 
great  poulterers  of  London  and  the  commercial 
towns,  who  are  the  principal  instigators  of  poach- 
ing, would  cease  to  have  any  temptation  to  con- 
tinue so,  as  they  could  fairly  and  lawfully  pro- 
cure game  for  their  customers  at  a  cheaper  rate 
from  the  regular  breeders.  They  would,  as  Ihey 
now  do  for  rabbits  and  wild-fowl,  contract  vith 
persons  to  rear  and  preserve  them  for  the  regu- 
lar supply  of  their  shops,  which  would  be  a  much 
more  commodious  and  satisfactory,  and  less 
hazardous  way  for  them,  than  the  irregular  and 
dishonest  and  corrupting  methods  now  pursued. 
It  is  not  saying  very  much  in  favour  of  human 
nature  to  assert,  that  men  in  respectable  statiors 
of  society  had  rather  procure  the  same  ends  ty 
honest  than  dishonest  means.  Thus  would  all 
the  temptations  to  offend  against  the  game  laws, 
arising  from  the  change  of  society,  together  with 
the  long  chain  of  moral  and  political  mischiefs, 
at  once  disappear. 

"  But  then,  in  order  to  secure  a  sufficient  breed 
of  game  for  the  supply  of  the  market,  in  fair  and 
open  competition,  it  will  be  necessary  to  author- 
ize a  certain  number  of  persons,  likely  to  breed 
game  for  sale,  to  take  and  dispose  of  it  when 
reared  at  their  expense.  For  this  purpose,  I 
would  suggest  the  propriety  of  permittmg  by  law 
occupiers  of  land  to  take  and  kill  game,  for  sale 
or  otherwise,  on  their  own  occupations  only,  un- 
less, Cif  tenants,)  they  are  specifically  prohibited 
by  agreement  with  their  landlord;  reserving  the 
game  and  the  power  of  taking  it  to  himself,  (as 
is  now  frequently  done  in  leases.)  This  per- 
mission should  not,  of  course,  operate  during 
the  current  leases,  unless  by  agreement.  With 
this  precaution,  nothing  could  be  fairer  than 
such  an  enactment;  for  it  is  certainly  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  occupier  that  the  game  is  raised  and 
maintained :  and  unless  he  receive  an  equivalent 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


121 


for  it,  either  by  abatement  of  rent  upon  agree- 
ment, or  by  permission  to  take  and  dispose  of  it, 
he  is  certainly  an  injured  man.  Whereas  it  is 
perfectly  just  that  the  owner  of  the  land  should 
have  the  option  either  to  increase  his  rent  by 
leaving  the  disposal  of  his  game  to  his  tenant, 
or  vice  versa.  Game  would  be  held  to  be  (as  in 
fact  it  is)  an  outgoing  from  the  land,  like  tithe 
and  other  burdens,  and  therefore  to  be  consi- 
dered in  a  bargain ;  and  land  would  either  be  let 
^a»/e-/ree,  or  a  special  reservation  of  it  made  by 
agreement. 

"Moreover,  since  the  breed  of  game  must 
always  depend  upon  the  occupier  of  the  land, 
who  may,  and  frequently  does,  destroy  every 
head  of  it,  or  prevent  its  coming  to  maturity, 
unless  it  is  considered  in  his  rent;  the  license 
for  which  I  am  now  contending,  by  affording  an 
inducement  to  preserve  the  breed  in  particular 
spots,  would  evidently  have  a  considerable  ef- 
fect in  increasing  the  stock  of  game  in  other 
parts,  and  in  the  country  at  large.  There  would 
be  introduced  a  general  system  of  protection 
depending  upon  individual  interest,  instead  of  a 
general  system  of  destruction.  I  have,  therefore, 
very  little  doubt  that  the  provision  here  recom- 
mended would,  upon  the  whole,  add  facilities  to 
the  amusements  of  the  sportsman,  rather  than 
subtract  from  them.  A  sportsman  without  land 
might  also  hire  from  the  occupier  of  a  large 
tract  of  land  the  privilege  of  shooting  over  it, 
which  would  answer  to  the  latter  as  well  as 
sending  his  game  to  the  market.  In  short,  he 
might  in  various  ways  get  a  fair  return,  to  which 
he  is  well  entitled  for  the  expense  and  trouble 
incurred  in  rearing  and  preserving  that  particu- 
lar species  of  stock  upon  his  land." — (P.  337 — 
339.) 

There  are  sometimes  400  or  .'iOO  head  of  game 
killed  in  great  manors  on  a  single  day.  We 
think  it  highly  probable  the  greater  part  of  this 
harvest  (if  the  game  laws  were  altered)  would 
go  to  the  poulterer,  to  purchase  poultry  or  fish 
for  the  ensuing  London  season.  Nobody  is  so 
poor  and  so  distressed  as  men  of  very  large  for- 
tunes, who  are  fond  of  making  an  unwise  dis- 
play to  the  world ;  and  if  they  had  recourse  to 
these  means  of  supplying  game,  it  is  impossible 
to  suppose  that  the  occupation  of  the  poacher 
could  be  continued. — The  smuggler  can  com- 
petewith  the  spirit  merchant  on  account  of  the 
great  duty  imposed  by  the  revenue;  but  where 
there  is  no  duty  to  be  saved,  the  mere  thief — 
the  man  who  brings  the  article  to  market  with 
a  halter  around  his  neck — the  man  of  whom  it 
is  disreputable  and  penal  to  buy — who  hazards 
life,  liberty  and  property,  to  procure  the  articles 
which  he  sells;  such  an  adventurer  can  never 
be  long  the  rival  of  him  who  honestly  and  fairly 
produces  the  articles  in  which  he  deals. — Fines, 
imprisonments,  concealment,  loss  of  character, 
are  great  deductions  from  the  profits  of  any 
trade  to  which  they  attach,  and  great  discou- 
ragement to  its  pursuit. 

It  is  not  the  custom  at  present  for  gentlemen 
to  sell  their  game ;  but  the  custom  would  soon 
begin,  and  public  opinion  soon  change.  It  is 
not  unusual  for  men  of  fortune  to  contract  with 
their  gardeners  to  supply  their  own  table  and  to 
send  the  residue  to  market,  or  to  sell  their  veni- 
son ;  and  the  same  thing  might  be  done  with  the 
16 


manor.  If  game  could  be  bought,  it  would  not 
be  sent  in  presents: — barn-door  fowls  are  never 
so  sent,  precisely  for  this  reason. 

The  price  of  game  would,  under  the  system 
of  laws  of  which  we  are  speaking,  be  further 
lowered  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  game,  the 
sale  of  which,  at  present  prohibited,  would  tend 
very  much  to  the  preservation  of  English  game 
by  underselling  the  poacher.  It  would  not  be 
just,  if  it  were  possible,  to  confine  any  of  the 
valuable  productions  of  nature  to  the  use  of 
one  class  of  men,  and  to  prevent  them  from 
becoming  the  subject  of  barter,  when  the  pro- 
prietor wished  so  to  exchange  them.  Tt  would 
be  just  as  reasonable  that  the  consumption  of 
salmon  should  be  confined  to  the  proprietors  of 
that  sort  of  fishery — that  the  use  of  charr  should 
be  limited  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  lakes — that 
maritime  Englishmen  should  alone  eat  oysters 
and  lobsters  as  that  every  other  class  of  the 
community  than  landowners  should  be  prohibit- 
ed from  the  acquisition  of  game. 

It  will  be  necessary,  whenever  the  game  laws 
are  revised,  that  some  of  the  worst  punishments 
now  inflicted  for  an  infringement  of  these  laws 
should  be  repealed.  To  transport  a  man  for 
seven  years,  on  account  of  partridges,  and  to 
harass  a  poor  wretched  peasant  in  the  Crown 
Office,  are  very  preposterous  punishments  for 
such  offences ;  humanity  revolts  against  them — 
ihey  are  grossly  tyrannical — and  it  is  disgrace- 
ful that  they  should  be  suffered  to  remain  on  our 
statute  books.  But  the  most  singular  of  all 
abuses,  is  the  new  class  of  punishments  which 
the  squirarchy  have  themselves  enacted  against 
depredations  on  game.  The  law  says,  that  an 
unqualified  man  who  kills  a  pheasant,  shall  pay 
five  pounds;  but  the  squire  says  he  shall  be  shot; 
— and  accordingly  he  places  a  spring-gun  in  the 
path  of  the  poacher,  and  does  all  he  can  to  take 
away  his  life.  The  more  humane  and  mitigated 
squire  mangles  him  with  traps;  and  the  supra- 
fine  country  gentleman  only  detains  him  in  ma- 
chines, which  prevent  his  escape,  but  do  not 
lacerate  their  captive.  Of  the  gross  illegality  of 
such  proceedings,  there  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt.  Their  immorality  and  cruelty  are  equally 
clear.  If  they  are  not  put  down  by  some  decla- 
ratory law,  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary  that 
the  judges,  in  their  invaluable  circuits  of  Oyer 
and  Terminer,  should  leave  two  or  three  of  his 
majesty's  squires  to  a  fate  too  vulgar  and  indeli- 
cate to  be  alluded  to  in  this  journal. 

Men  have  certainly  a  clear  right  to  defend 
their  property;  but  then  it  must  be  by  such 
means  as  the  law  allows: — their  houses  by  pis- 
tols, their  fields  by  actions  for  trespass,  their 
game  by  information.  There  is  an  end  of  law, 
if  every  man  is  to  measure  out  his  punishment 
for  his  own  wrong.  Nor  are  we  able  to  distin- 
guish between  the  guilt  of  two  persons, — the  one 
of  whom  deliberately  shoots  a  man  whom  he 
sees  in  his  fields — the  other  of  whom  purposely 
places  such  instruments  as  he  knows  will  shoot 
trespassers  upon  his  fields.  Better  that  it  should 
be  lawful  to  kill  a  trespasser  face  to  face  than 
to  place  engines  which  will  kill  him.  The  tres- 
passer may  be  a  child — a  women — a  son  or 
friend.  The  spring-gun  cannot  accommodate 
itself  to  circumstances, — the  squire  or  the  game 
keeper  may. 


123 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


These,  then,  are  our  opinions  respecting  the 
aherations  in  the  game  laws,  which,  as  they  now 
stand,  are  perhaps  the  only  system  which  could 
possibly  render  the  possession  of  game  so  very 
insecure  as  it  now  is.  We  would  give  to  every 
man  an  absolute  properly  in  the  game  upon  his 
land,  with  full  power  to  kill — to  permit  others  to 
kill — and  to  sell; — we  would  punish  any  viola- 
tion of  that  property  by  summary  conviction,  and 
pecuniary  penalties — rising  in  value  according 
to  the  number  of  offences.  This  would  of  course 
abolish  all  qualifications;  and  we  sincerely  be- 
lieve it  would  lessen  the  profits  of  selling  game  il- 
legal iy,  so  as  very  materially  to  lessen  the  number 
of  poachers.  It  would  make  game  as  an  article 
of  food,  accessible  to  all  classes,  without  infring- 
ing the  laws.    It  would  limit  the  amusement  of 


country  gentlemen  within  the  boundaries  of  jus- 
tice— and  would  enable  the  magistrate  cheerful- 
ly and  conscientiously  to  execute  laws,  of  the 
moderation  and  justice  of  which  he  must  be  tho- 
roughly convinced.  To  this  conclusion,  too,  we 
have  no  doubt  we  shall  come  at  the  last.  After 
many  years  of  scutigeral  folly — loaded  prisons* 
— nightly  battles — poachers  tempted — and  fami- 
lies ruined,  these  principles  will  finally  prevail, 
and  make  law  once  more  coincident  with  rea- 
son and  justice. 

*  In  the  course  of  the  last  year,  no  fewer  than  iivelve 
hundred  persons  were  committed  for  offences  against  the 
game ;  besides  those  who  ran  away  from  their  families 
for  the  fear  of  commitment.  This  is  no  slight  quantity  of 
misery 


BOTANY   BAY.* 


[Ebinburgh  Review,  1819.] 


This  land  of  convicts  and  kangaroos  is  be- 
ginning to  rise  into  a  very  fine  and  flourishing 
settlement : — And  great  indeed  must  be  the  natu- 
ral resources,  and  splendid  the  endowments  of 
that  land  that  has  been  able  to  survive  the  sys- 
tem of  neglecl-j-  and  oppression  experienced 
from  the  mother  country,  and  the  series  of  igno- 
rant and  absurd  governors  that  have  been  se- 
lected for  the  administration  of  its  affairs.  But 
mankind  live  and  flourish  not  only  in  spite  of 
.storms  and  tempests, but  (which  could  not  have 
been  anticipated  previous  to  experience)  in 
spite  of  colonial  secretaries  expressly  paid  to 
watch  over  their  interests.  The  supineness 
and  profligacy  of  public  officers  cannot  always 
overcome  the  amazing  energy  with  which  hu- 
man beings  pursue  their  happiness,  nor  the  sa- 
gacity with  which  they  determine  on  the  means 
by  which  that  end  is  to  be  promoted.  Be  it  our 
care,  however,  to  record  for  the  future  inhabit- 
ants of  Australasia,  the  political  sufferings  of 
their  larcenous  forefathers;  and  let  them  appre- 
ciate, as  they  ought,  that  energy  which  founded 
a  mighty  empire  in  spite  of  the  afflicting  blun- 


*\.  A  Statistical,  Historical  and  Political  Description  of  the 
Colony  of  New  South  Wnks,  atirl  its  drpenclent  Settlements 
in  Van  Dicmen^s  Land;  vjith  a  particular  Enumeration  of 
the  Advantages  ivhich  these  colonies  offer  for  Emigration. 
and  their  Superiority  in  many  respects  over  those  possessed 
hy  the  United  States  of  America.  By  W.  C.  Wentworth, 
Esq.,  a  Native  of  the  Colony.    Whittaker.    liOndon,  1819. 

2.  Letter  to  Viscount  Sidnwuth.  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Home  Department,  on  the  Transjiortalion  LaH<s,  the  State  of 
the  Hulks,  and  of  the  Colonies  in  Neio  Soiith  Wale^.  liy 
the  Hon.  Henry  Grey  Bennet,  M.  P.  Ridgway.  London, 
1819. 

3.  O'Hara's  History  of  New  South  Wales.  Hatchard. 
London,  1818. 

t  One  and  no  small  excuse  for  the  misconduct  of  colo- 
nial secretaries  is.  the  enormous  quantity  of  business  by 
which  they  are  distracted.  There  should  be  two  or  three 
colonial  secretaries  instead  of  one  :  the  office  is  dreadfully 
overweighed.  The  government  of  the  colonies  is  com- 
monly a  series  of  blunders. 


ders  and  marvellous  caccEConomy  of  their  go- 
vernment. 

Botany  Bay  is  situated  in  a  fine  climate,  rather 
Asiatic  than  European, — with  a  great  variety  of 
temperature, — but  favourable  on  the  whole  to 
health  and  life.  It,  conjointly  with  Van  Die- 
men's  Land,  produces  coal  in  great  abundance, 
fossil  salt,  slate,  lime,  plumbago,  potter's  clay; 
iron  ;  white,  yellow  and  brilliant  topazes;  alum 
and  copper.  These  are  all  the  important  fossil 
productions  which  have  been  hitherto  disco- 
vered; but  the  epidermis  of  the  country  has 
hardly  as  yet  been  scratched;  and  it  is  most 
probable  that  the  immense  mountains  which 
divide  the  eastern  and  western  settlements,  Ba- 
thurst  and  Sydney,  must  abound  with  every  spe- 
cies of  mineral  wealth.  'I'he  harbours  are  ad- 
mirable; and  the  whole  world,  perhaps,  cannol 
produce  two  such  as  those  of  Port  Jackson  and 
Derwent.  The  former  of  these  is  land-locked 
for  fourteen  miles  in  length,  and  of  the  most 
irregular  form ;  its  soundings  are  more  than 
sufficient  for  the  largest  ships;  and  all  the  na- 
vies of  the  world  might  ride  in  safety  within  it. 
In  the  harbour  of  Derwent  there  is  a  road-stead 
forty-eight  mileE  in  length,  completely  land- 
looked  ; — varying  in  breadth  from  eight  to  two 
miles, — in  depth  from  thirty  to  four  fathoms, — 
and  affording  the  best  anchorage  the  whole  way 

The  mean  heat,  during  the  three  summer 
months,  December,  January,  and  February,  is 
about  80°  at  noon.  The  heat  which  such  a  de- 
gree of  the  thermometer  would  seem  to  indicate, 
is  considerably  tempered  by  the  sea-breeze, 
which  blows  with  considerable  force  from  nine 
in  the  morning  till  seven  in  the  evening.  The 
three  autumn  months  are  March,  April  and 
May,  in  which  the  thermometer  varies  from  55° 
at  night  to  75°  at  noon.  The  three  winter  months 
are  June,  July,  cind  August.    During  this  inter- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


123 


va.],  the  mornings  and  evenings  are  very  chilly, 
and  the  nights  excessively  cold;  hoar-frosts  are 
frequent ;  ice,  half  an  inch  thick,  is  found  twenty 
miles  from  the  coast;  the  mean  temperature,  at 
daylight,  is  from  40°  to  45,°  and  at  noon,  from 
55°  to  60°.  In  the  three  months  of  spring,  the 
thermometer  varies  from  60°  to  70°.  The  cli- 
mate to  the  westward  of  the  mountains  is  colder. 
Heavy  falls  of  snow  take  place  during  the  win- 
ter; the  frosts  are  more  severe,  and  the  winters 
of  longer  duration.  All  the  seasons  are  much 
more  distinctly  marked,  and  resemble  much 
more  those  of  this  country. 

Such  is  the  climate  of  Botany  Bay;  and,  in 
this  remote  part  of  the  earth,  Nature  (having 
made  horses,  oxen,  ducks,  geese,  oaks,  elms, 
and  all  regular  and  useful  productions  for  the 
rest  of  the  world),  seems  determined  to  have  a 
bit  of  play,  and  to  amuse  herself  as  she  pleases. 
Accordingly,  she  makes  cherries  with  the  stone 
on  the  outside;  and  a  monstrous  animal, as  tall 
as  a  grenadier,  with  the  head  of  a  rabbit,  a  tail 
as  big  as  a  bed-post,  hopping  along  at  the  rate 
of  five  hops  to  a  mile,  with  three  or  four  young 
kangaroos  looking  out  of  its  false  uterus  to  see 
what  is  passing.  Then  comes  a  quadruped  as 
big  as  a  large  cat,  with  the  eyes,  colour  and 
skin  of  a  mole,  and  the  bill  and  web-feet  of  a 
duck — puzzling  Dr.  Shaw,  and  rendering  the 
latter  half  of  his  life  miserable,  from  his  utter 
inability  to  determine  whether  it  was  a  bird  or 
a  beast.  Add  to  this  a  parrot,  with  the  legs  of 
a  sea-gull;  a  skate  with  the  head  of  a  shark; 
and  a  bird  of  such  monstrous  dimensions,  that 
a  side  bone  of  it  will  dine  three  real  carniverous 
Englishmen; — together  with  many  other  pro- 
ductions that  agitate  Sir  Joseph,  and  fill  him 
with  mingled  emotions  of  distress  and  delight. 

The  colony  has  made  the  following  pro- 
gress : — 

Stock  in  176&  Stock  in  1?17. 

Horned  Cattle      -        5  Do.     -      44,753 

Horses     ...        7  Do.     -        3,072 

Sheep       ...       29  Do.     -    170,920 

Hogs        ...       74  Do.     -      17,842 

Land  in  cultivation       0  acres.  Do.     .     47,564 
Inhabitants     -      -  1000  Do.     .      20,379 

The  colony  has  a  bank,  with  a  capital  of 
20,000/. ;  a  newspaper ;  and  a  capital  (the  town  of 
Sydney)  containing  about  7000  persons.  There 
is  also  a  Van  Diemen's  Land  Gazette.  The 
perusal  of  these  newspapers,  which  are  regu- 
larly transmitted  to  England,  and  may  be  pur- 
chased in  London,  has  atforded  us  considerable 
amusement.  Nothing  can  paint  in  a  more  lively 
manner  the  state  of  the  settlement,  its  disadvan- 
tages and  prosperities,  and  the  opinions  and 
manners  which  prevail  there. 

"  On  Friday,  Mr.  James  Squires,  settler  and 
brewer,  wailed  on  his  excellency  at  Govern- 
ment House,  with  two  vines  of  hops  taken 
from  his  own  grounds,  &c. — As  a  public  recom- 
pense for  the  unremitted  attention  shown  by  the 
grower  in  bringing  this  valuable  plant  to  such 
a  high  degree  of  perfection,  his  excellency  has 
directed  a  cow  to  be  given  to  Mr.  Squires  from 
the  government  herd." — O'Hara,  p.  255. 

"  To  Parents  and  Guardians. 
"A  person  who  flatters  herself  her  character 
■will  bear  the  strictest  scrutiny,  being  desirous 


of  receiving  into  her  charge  a  proposed  number 
of  children  of  her  own  sex,  as  boarders,  respect- 
fully acquaints  parents  and  guardians  that  she 
is  about  to  situate  herself  either  in  Sydney  or 
Paramatta,  of  which  notice  will  be  shortly  given. 
She  doubts  not,  at  the  same  time,  that  her  as. 
siduity  in  the  inculcation  of  moral  principles  in 
the  youthful  mind,  joined  to  an  unremitting  at- 
tention and  polite  diction,  will  insure  to  her  the 
much-desired  confidence  of  those  who  may 
think  proper  to  favour  her  with  such  a  charge. — 
Inquiries  on  the  above  subject  will  be  answered 
by  G.  Howe,  at  Sydney,  who  will  make  known 
the  name  of  the  advertiser." — (p.  270.) 

"Lost, 
"  (supposed  to  be  on  the  governor's  wharf,) 
two  small  keys,  a  tortoise  shell  comb,  and  a 
packet  of  papers.  Whoever  may  have  found 
them,  will,  on  delivering  them  to  the  printer, 
receive  areward  of  half  a  gallon  of  spirits." — 
(p.  272.) 

"  To  the  Public. 
"As  we  have  no  certainty  of  an  immediate 
supply  of  paper,  we  cannot  promise  a  publica- 
tion next  week."— (p.  290.) 

"  Fashionable  Intelligence,  Sept.  1th. 
"On  Tuesday  his  excellency  the  late  gover- 
nor,  and  Mrs.  King,  arrived  in  town  from  Para- 
matta ;  and  yesterday  Mrs.  King  returned  thither, 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Putland." — {Ibid.) 

"  To  be  sold  by  private  Contract,  by  Mr.  Bevan, 
"An  elegant  four-wheeled  chariot,  with  plated 
mounted  harness  for  four  horses  complete;  and 
handsome  lady's  side-saddle  and  bridle.  May 
be  viewed,  on  application  to  Mr.  Bevan." — 
(p.  347.) 

"  From  the  Derwent  Star. 
"  Lieutenant  Lord,  of  the  Royal  Marines,  who, 
after  the  death  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Collins, 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  settlement  at 
Hobart  Town,  arrived  at  Port  Jackson  in  the 
Hunter,  and  favours  us  with  the  perusal  of  the 
ninth  number  published  of  the  Derwent  Star  and 
Van  Diemen's  Land  Intelligencer ;  from  which 
we  copy  the  following  extracts." — (p.  353.) 

"A  Card. 
"The  subscribers  to  the  Sydney  Race  Course 
are  informed  that  the  Stewards  have  made  ar- 
rangements  for  two  balls  during  the  race  week, 
viz.,  on  Tuesday  and  Thursday. — Tickets,  at 
7s.  6c?.  each,  to  be  had  at  Mr.  E.  Wills's,  George 
Street. — An  ordinary  for  the  subscribers  and 
their  friends  each  day  of  the  races,  at  Mr.  Wills's. 
Dinner  on  table  at  five  o'clock." — (p.  356.) 

"  The  Ladies'  Cup. 
"  The  ladies'  cup,  which  was  of  very  superior 
workmanship,  won  by  Chase,  was  presented 
to  Captain  Richie  by  Mrs.  M'Quarie;  who,  ac- 
companied by  his  excellency,  honoured  each 
day's  race  with  her  presence,  and  who,  with 
her  usual  affability,  was  pleased  to  preface  the 
donation  with  the  following  short  address. — 'In 
the  name  of  the  Ladies  of  New  South  Wales,  I 
have  the  pleasure  to  present  you  with  this  cup. 
Give  me  leave  to  congratulate  you  on  being  the 
successful  candidate  for  it;  and  to  hope  that  it 


124 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


is  a  prelude  to  future  success  and  lasting  pros- 
perity.'"—(p.  357.) 

"Butchers. 
"Now  killing,  at  .Matthew  Pimpton's,  Cum- 
berland street,  Rocks,  beef,  mutton,  pork,  and 
lamb.  By  retail.  Is.  4i:/.  per  lib.  Mutton  by  the 
carcass,  Is.  per  lib.  sterling,  or  \id.  currency; 
warranted  to  weigh  from  10  lib.  to  12  lib.  per 
quarter.  Lamb  per  ditto. — Captains  of  ships 
supplied  at  the  wholesale  price,  and  with  punc- 
tuality.— N.B.  Beef,  pork,  mutton,  and  lamb,  at 
E.  Lamb's,  Hunter  street,  at  the  above  prices." 
-(p.  376.) 

"Salt  Pork  and  Flair  from  Otaheite. 
"On  sale,  at  the  warehouse  of  Mrs.  S.  Willis, 
96  George  street,  a  large  quantity  of  the  above 
articles,  well  cured,  being  the  Mercury's  last 
importation  from  Otaheite.  The  terms  per  cask 
are  10c?.  per  lib.  sterling,  or  Is.  currency. — 
N.B.  For  the  accommodation  of  families,  it  will 
be  sold  in  quantities  not  less  than  113  lib." — (p. 
377.) 

"Painting. — A  Card. 
"  Mr.  J.  W.  Lewin  begs  leave  to  inform  his 
friends  and  the  public  in  general,  that  he  intends 
opening  an  academy  for  painting  on  the  days  of 
Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday,  from  the  hours 
of  10  to  12  in  the  forenoon. — Terms  5s.  a  les- 
son :  Entrance  20s. — N.B.  The  evening  academy 
for  drawing  continued  as  usual." — (p.  384.) 

"Sale  of  Rams. 
"  Ten  rams  of  the  Merino  breed,  lately  sold 
by  auction  from  the  flocks  of  John  M'Arthur, 
Esq.,  produced  upwards  of  200  guineas." — (p. 
388.) 

"Mrs.  Jones's  Vacation  Ball,  December  \2ih. 

"  Mrs.  Jones,  with  great  respect,  informs  the 
parents  and  guardians  of  the  young  ladies  en- 
trusted to  her  tuition,  that  the  vacation  ball  is 
fixed  for  Tuesday  the  22d  instant,  at  the  semi- 
nary. No.  45  Castlereagh  street,  Sydney.  Tickets 
75.  6d.  each."— (p.  388.) 

"Sporting  Intelligence. 

"A  fine  hunt  took  place  the  8th  instant  at  the 
Nepean,  of  which  the  following  is  the  account 
given  by  a  gentleman  present.  '  Having  cast  off 
by  the  government  hut  on  the  Nepean,  and 
drawn  the  cover  in  that  neighbourhood  for  a 
native  Dog  unsuccessfully,  we  tried  the  forest 
ground  for  a  Kangaroo,  which  we  soon  found. 
It  went  otf  in  excellent  style  along  the  sands  by 
the  river  side,  and  crossed  to  the  Cow-pasture 
Plains,  running  a  circle  of  about  two  miles; 
then  recrossed,  taking  a  direction  for  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's stock-yard,  and  from  thence  at  the  back 
of  Badge  Allen  Hill,  to  the  head  of  Boorrooba- 
ham  Creek,  where  he  was  headed;  from  thence 
he  took  the  main  range  of  hills  between  the 
Badge  Allen  and  Badge  AUenabinjee,  in  a 
straight  direction  for  Mr.  Throsbey's  farm, 
where  the  hounds  ran  into  him;  and  he  was 
killed,  after  a  good  run  of  about  two  hours.' — 
The  weight  of  the  animal  was  upwards  of  120 
lib."— (p.  380.) 

Of  the  town  of  Sydney,  Mr.  Wentworth  ob- 
serves, that  there  are  in  it  many  public  build- 
ings, as  well  as  houses  of  individuals,  that  would 


not  disgrace  the  best  parts  of  London ;  but  this 
description  we  must  take  the  liberty  to  consider 
as  more  patriotic  than  true.  We  rather  suspect 
it  was  penned  before  Mr.  Wentworth  was  in 
London;  for  he  is  (be  it  said  to  his  honour)  a 
native  of  Botany  Bay.  The  value  of  lands  (in 
the  same  spirit  he  adds)  is  half  as  great  in 
Sydney  as  in  the  best  situations  in  London ;  and 
is  daily  increasing:  The  proof  of  this  which 
Mr.  Wentworth  gives  is,  that  "it  is  not  a  com- 
modious house  which  can  be  rented  for  IQQL 
per  annum  unfurnished."  The  town  of  Sydney 
contains  two  good  public  schools,  for  the  educa- 
tion of  224  children  of  both  sexes.  There  are 
establishments,  also,  for  the  diffusion  of  educa- 
tion in  every  populous  district  throughout  the 
colony;  the  masters  of  these  schools  are  allowed 
stipulated  salaries  from  the  Orphans'  fund.  Mr. 
Wentworth  states  that  one-eighth  part  of  the 
whole  revenue  of  the  colony  is  appropriated  to 
the  purposes  of  education;  this  eighth  he  com- 
putes at  2500/.  Independent  of  these  institutions, 
there  is  an  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  a  Sunday 
School,  and  several  good  private  schools.  This 
is  all  as  it  should  be :  the  education  of  the  poor, 
important  everywhere, is  indispensable  at  Bota- 
ny Bay.  Nothing  but  the  earliest  attention  to 
the  habits  of  children  can  restrain  the  erratic 
finger  from  the  contiguous  scrip,  or  prevent  the 
hereditary  tendency  to  larcenous  abstraction. 
The  American  arrangements  respecting  the 
education  of  the  lower  orders  is  excellent. 
Their  unsold  lands  are  surveyed,  and  divided 
into  districts.  In  the  centre  of  every  district, 
an  ample  and  well-selected  lot  is  provided  for 
the  support  of  future  schools.  We  wish  this 
had  been  imitated  in  New  Holland;  for  we  are 
of  opinion  that  the  elevated  nobleman,  tord 
Sidmouth,  should  imitate  what  is  good  and  wise, 
even  if  the  Americans  are  his  teachers.  Mr. 
Wentworth  talks  of  15,000  acres  set  apart  for 
the  support  of  the  Female  Orphan  Schools; 
which  certainly  does  sound  a  little  extravagant: 
but  then  50  or  100  acres  of  this  reserve  are 
given  as  a  portion  to  each  female  orphan ;  so 
that  all  this  pious  tract  of  ground  will  be  sooa 
married  away.  This  dotation  of  women,  in  a 
place  where  they  are  scarce,  is  amiable  and 
foolish  enough.  There  is  a  school  also  for  the 
education  and  civilization  of  the  natives,  we 
hope  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  children  of  con- 
victs, who  have  clearly  a  prior  claim  upon  pub- 
lic charity. 

Great  exertions  have  been  made  in  public 
roads  and  bridges.  The  present  governor  has 
wisely  established  toll-gates  in  all  the  principal 
roads.  No  tax  can  be  more  equitable,  and  no 
money  more  beneficially  employed.  The  herds 
of  wild  cattle  have  either  perished  through  the 
long  droughts,  or  been  destroyed  by  the  remote 
settlers.  They  have  nearly  disappeai-ed ;  and 
their  extension  is  a  good  rather  than  an  evil.  A 
very  good  horse  for  cart  or  plough  may  now  be 
bought  for  5/.  to  10/.;  working  oxen  for  the  same 
price ;  fine  young  breeding  ewes  from  1/.  to  3/., 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  fleece.  So  lately 
as  1808,  a  cow  and  calf  were  sold  by  public 
auction  for  105/.;  and  the  price  of  middling 
cattle  was  from  80/.  to  100/.  A  breeding  mare 
was,  at  the  same  period,  worth  from  150  to  200 
guineas;  and  ewes  from  10/.  to  20/.   The  inhabit- 


WORKS  OF  '^HE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


125 


ants  of  New  South  Wales  have  now  2000  years 
before  them  of  cheap  beef  and  mutton.  The 
price  of  land  is  of  course  regulated  by  its  situa- 
tion and  quality.  Four  years  past,  an  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  very  indifl~erent  ground,  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  Sydney,  were 
sold,  by  virtue  of  an  execution,  in  lots  of  12 
acres  each,  and  averaged  14/.  per  acre.  This 
is  the  highest  price  given  for  land  not  situated 
in  a  town.  The  general  average  of  unimproved 
land  is  hi.  per  acre.  In  years  when  the  crops 
have  not  suffered  from  flood  or  drought,  wheat 
sells  for  9s  per  bushel;  maize  for  3s.  6f/.;  barley 
for  5s.;  oats  for  4s.  Qd.\  potatoes  for  6s.  per  cwt. 
By  the  last  accounts  received  from  the  colony, 
mutton  and  beef  were  Gd.  per  lib.;  veal  8(/.;  pork 
9(/.  Wheat  8s.  M.  per  bushel;  oats  4s.,  and 
barley  5s.  per  ditto.  Fowls  4s.  6fZ.  per  couple  ; 
ducks  6s.  per  ditto  ;  geese  bs.  each  ;  turkeys  7s. 
&d.  each  ;  eggs  2s  6c/.  per  dozen  ;  butter  2s.  Qd. 
per  lib.  There  are  manufacturers  of  coarse 
woollen  cloths,  hats,  earthenware,  pipes,  salt, 
candles,  soap.  There  are  extensive  breweries 
and  tanneries;  and  all  sorts  of  mechanics  and 
artificers  necessary  for  an  infant  colony.  Car- 
penters, stone  masons,  brickla3'ers,  wheel  and 
plough  wrights,  and  all  the  most  useful  descrip- 
tion of  artificers,  can  earn  from  8s.  to  10s.  per 
da}'.  Great  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  im- 
provement of  wool;  and  it  is  becoming  a  very 
considerable  article  of  export  to  this  country. 

The  most  interesting  circumstance  in  the 
accounts  lately  received  from  Botany  Bay,  is 
the  discovery  of  the  magnificent  river  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Blue  Mountains.  The  pub- 
lic are  aware  that  a  fine  road  has  been  made 
from  Sydney  to  Bathurst,  and  a  new  town 
founded  at  the  foot  of  a  western  side  of  these 
mountains,  a  distance  of  140  miles.  The  coun- 
try in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bathurst  has  been 
described  as  beautiful,  fertile,  open,  and  emi- 
nently fit  for  all  tlie  purposes  of  a  settlement. 
I'he  object  was  to  find  a  river;  and  such  an  one 
has  been  found,  the  description  of  which  it  is 
impossible  to  read  without  the  most  lively  in- 
terest. The  intelligence  is  contained  in  a  dis- 
patch from  Mr.  Oxley,  surveyor-general  of  the 
settlement,  to  the  governor,  dated  30th  August, 
1817. 

"'  On  the  19th,  we  were  gratified  by  falling  in 
with  a  river  running  through  a  most  beautiful 
country,  and  which  I  would  have  been  well  con- 
tented to  have  believed  the  river  we  were  in 
search  of.  Accident  led  us  down  this  stream 
about  a  mile,  when  we  were  surprised  by  its 
junction  with  a  river  coming  from  the  south,  of 
such  width  and  magnitude,  as  to  dispel  all 
doubts  as  to  this  last  being  the  river  we  had  so 
long  anxiously  looked  for.  Short  as  our  resour- 
ces were,  we  could  not  resist  the  temptation  this 
oeautiful  country  offered  us  to  remain  two  days 
on  the  junction  of  the  river,  for  the  purpose  of 
examining  the  vicinity  to  as  great  an  extent  as 
possible. 

"'Our  examination  increased  the  satisfac- 
tion we  had  previously  felt.  As  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach  in  every  direction,  a  rich  and  pic- 
turesque country  extended,  abounding  in  lime- 
stone, slate,  good  timber  and  every  other  requi- 
site that  coTild  render  an  uncultivated  country 
desirable.     The  soil  cannot  be  excelled;  whilst 


a  noble  river  of  the  first  magnitude  affords  the 
means  of  conveying  its  productions  from  one 
part  to  the  other.  Where  I  quitted  it,  its  course 
was  northerly;  and  we  were  then  north  of  the 
parallel  of  Port  Stevens,  being  in  latitude  32" 
45'  south,  and  148°  58'  east  longitude. 

"  '  It  appeared  to  me  that  the  Macqtiarrie  had 
taken  a  north-north-west  course  from  Bathurst, 
and  that  it  must  have  received  immense  acces- 
sions of  water  in  its  course  from  that  place. 
Weviewed  it  at  a  period  best  calculated  to  form 
anacc  urate  judgment  of  its  importance,  when 
itwas  neither  swelled  by  floods  beyond  its  na- 
turial  and  usual  height,  nor  contracted  within 
limits  by  summer  droughts.  Of  its  magnitude 
when  it  should  have  received  the  streams  we 
had  crossed,  independent  of  any  it  may  receive 
fi-om  the  east,  M'hich,  from  the  boldness  and 
height  of  the  country,  I  presume  must  be  at 
least  as  many,  some  idea  may  be  formed,  whea 
at  this  point  it  exceeded  in  breadth  and  apparent 
depth,  the  Hawkesbury  at  Windsor.  Many  of 
the  branches  were  of  grander  and  more  ex- 
tended proportion  than  the  admired  one  on  the 
Nepean  river  from  the  Warragambia  to  Emu 
plains. 

" '  Resolving  to  keep  as  near  the  river  as  pos- 
sible during  the  remainder  of  our  course  to 
Bathurst,  and  endeavour  to  ascertain,  at  least 
on  the  west  side,  what  waters  fell  into  it,  on  the 
22d  we  proceeded  up  the  river;  and  between  the 
point  quitted  and  Bathurst,  crossed  the  sources 
of  numberless  streams,  all  running  into  the 
Macquarrie.  Two  of  them  were  nearly  as  large 
as  that  river  itself  at  Bathurst.  The  country 
whence  all  these  streams  derive  their  source 
was  mountainous  and  irregular,  and  appeared 
equally  so  on  the  east  side  of  the  Macquarrie. 
This  description  of  country  extended  to  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Bathurst;  but  to  the  west  of 
those  lofty  ranges  the  country  was  broken  into 
low,  grassy  hills  and  fine  valleys,  watered  by 
rivulets  rising  on  the  west  side  of  the  moun- 
tains, which,  on  their  eastern  side,  pour  their 
waters  directly  into  the  Macquarrie. 

"'These  westerly  streams  appeared  to  me  to 
join  that  which  I  had  at  first  sight  taken  for  the 
Macquarrie ;  and  when  united,  fall  into  it  at  the 
point. at  which  it  was  first  discovered  on  the 
19th  inst. 

"  '  We  reached  this  place  last  evening,  with- 
out a  single  accident  having  occurred  during 
the  whole  progress  of  the  expedition,  which 
from  this  point  has  encircled,  with  the  parallels 
of  34°  0'  south  and  32°  south,  and  between  the 
meridians  of  149°  43'  and  143°  40'  east,  a  space 
of  nearly  one  thousand  miles.'  " — Weniworth, 
pp.  72—75. 

The  nearest  distance  from  the  point  at  which 
Mr.  Oxley  left  off,  to  any  part  of  the  western 
coast,  is  very  little  short  of  2000  miles.  The 
Hawkesbury,  at  Windsor,  (to  which  he  com- 
pares his  new  river  in  magnitude,)  is  250  yards 
in  breadth,  and  of  sufficient  depth  to  float  a  74 
gun  ship.  At  this  point  it  has  2000  miles  in  a 
straight  line  to  reach  the  ocean;  and  if  it  winds 
as  rivers  commonly  do  wind,  it  has  a  space  to 
flow  over  of  between  5000  and  6000  miles.  The 
course  and  direction  of  the  river  have  since  be- 
come the  object  of  two  expeditions,  one  by  land 
under  Mr.  Oxley,  the  other  by  sea  under  Lieu 
1.2 


126 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tenant  King,  to  the  results  of  which  we  look  for- 
ward with  great  interest.  Enough  of  the  country 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Blue  Mountains  has 
been  discovered,  to  show  that  the  settlement 
has  been  made  on  the  wrong  side.  The  space 
between  the  Mountains  and  the  Eastern  Sea  is 
not  above  40  miles  in  breadth,  and  the  five  or 
six  miles  nearest  the  coast  are  of  very  barren 
land.  The  country,  on  the  other  side,  is  bound- 
less, fertile,  well  watered,  and  of  very  great 
beaut)'.  The  importance  of  such  a  river  as  the 
Macquarrie  is  incalculable.  We  cannot  help 
remarking  here,  the  courtly  appellations  in 
which  Geography  delights ; — the  river  HawJces- 
bury;  the  town  of  VFmrfsor  on  its  banks;  Bathurst 
Plains ;  Nepean  River.  Shall  we  never  hear  of 
the  Gulf  of  Tierney ,-  Brougham  Point;  or  the 
Straits  of  Machintush  on  the  river  Grey? 

The  mistakes  which  have  been  made  in  set- 
tling this  fine  colony  are  of  considerable  im- 
portance, and  such  as  must  very  seriously  retard 
its  progress  to  power  and  opulence.  The  first 
we  shall  mention  is  the  settlement  on  the 
Hawkesbury.  Every  work  of  nature  has  its 
characteristic  defects.  Marshes  should  be  sus- 
pected of  engendering  disease  —  a  volcanic 
country  of  eruptions — rivers  of  overflowing.  A 
very  little  portion  of  this  kind  of  reflection  would 
have  induced  the  disposers  of  land  in  New 
South  Wales  to  have  become  a  little  better 
acquainted  with  the  Hawkesbury  before  they 
granted  land  on  its  banks,  and  gave  that  direc- 
tion to  the  tide  of  setliement  and  cultivation.  It 
turns  out  that  the  Hawkesbury  is  the  embou- 
chure through  which  all  the  rain  that  falls  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Blue  Mountain  makes  its 
way  to  the  sea;  and  accordingly,  without  any 
warning,  or  any  fall  of  rain  on  the  settled  part 
of  the  river,  the  stream  has  often  risen  from  70 
to  90  feet  above  its  common  level. 

"These  inundations  often  rise  seventy  or 
eighty  feet  above  low  water  mark;  and  the  in- 
stance of  what  is  still  emphatically  termed  'the 
great  flood,'  attained  an  elevation  of  ninety-three 
feet.  The  chaos  of  confusion  and  distress  that 
presents  itself  on  these  occasions  cannot  be 
easily  conceived  by  any  one  who  has  not  been 
a  witness  of  its  horrors.  An  immense  expanse 
of  water,  of  which  the  eye  cannot  in  many  di- 
rections discover  the  limits,  everywhere  inter- 
spersed with  growing  timber,  and  crowded  with 
poultry,  pigs,  horses,  cattle,  stacks  and  houses, 
having  frequently  men,  women  and  children, 
clinging  to  them  for  protection  and  shrieking 
out  in  an  agony  of  despair  for  assistance: — 
such  are  the  principal  objects  by  which  these 
scenes  of  death  and  devastation  are  charac- 
terized. 

"These  inundations  are  not  periodical,  but 
they  most  generally  happen  in  the  month  of 
March.  Within  the  last  two  years  there  have 
been  no  fewer  than  four  of  them,  one  of  which 
was  nearly  as  high  as  the  great  flood.  In  the 
six  years  preceding,  there  had  not  been  one. 
Since  the  establishment  of  the  colony,  they  have 
happened,  upon  an  average,  about  once  in  three 
years. 

"The  principal  cause  of  them  is  the  conti- 

•guity  of  this  river  to  the  Blue  Mountains.     The 

Grose  and  Warragambia  rivers,  from   which 

rwo  sources  it  derives  its  principal  supply,  issue 


direct  from  these  mountains;  and  the  Nepeaa 
river,  the  other  principal  branch  of  it,  runs  along 
the  base  of  them  for  fifty  or  sixty  miles ;  and  re- 
ceives, in  its  progress,  from  the  innumerable 
mountain  torrents  connected  with  it,  the  whole 
of  the  rain  which  these  mountains  collect  in 
that  great  extent.  That  this  is  the  principal 
cause  of  these  calamitous  inundations  has  been 
fully  proved;  for  shortly  after  the  plantation  of 
this  colony,  the  Hawkesbury  overflowed  its 
banks  (which  are  in  general  about  thirty  feet 
in  height,)  in  the  midst  of  harvest,  when  not  a 
single  drop  of  rain  had  fallen  on  the  Port  Jack- 
son side  of  the  mountains.  Another  great  cause 
of  the  inundations  which  take  place  in  this  and 
the  other  rivers  in  the  colony,  is  the  small  fall 
that  is  in  them  and  the  consequent  slowness  of 
their  currents.  The  current  in  the  Hawkesbury, 
even  when  the  tide  is  in  full  ebb,  does  not  exceed 
two  miles  an  hour.  The  water,  therefore,  which 
during  the  rains  rushes  in  torrents  from  the 
mountains,  cannot  escape  with  sufllcient  rapidi- 
ty; and  from  its  immense  accumulation  soon 
overtops  the  banks  of  the  river  and  covers  the 
whole  of  the  low  country." — Wentworth,  pp. 
24-26. 

It  appears  to  have  been  a  great  oversight  not 
to  have  built  the  town  of  Sydney  upon  a  regular 
plan.  Ground  was  granted,  in  the  first  instance, 
without  the  least  attention  to  this  circumstance; 
and  a  chaos  of  pigstyes  and  houses  was  pro- 
duced, which  subsequent  governors  have  found 
it  extremely  ditficult  to  reduce  to  a  state  of  order 
and  regularity. 

Regularity  is  of  consequence  in  planning  a 
metropolis;  but  fine  buildings  are  absurd  in  the 
infant  state  of  any  country.  The  various  go- 
vernors have  unfortunately  displayed  rather  too 
strong  a  taste  for  architecture — forgetting  that 
the  real  Palladio  for  Botany  Bay,  in  its  present 
circumstances,  is  he  who  keeps  out  the  sun,  wind 
and  rain  with  the  smallest  quantity  of  bricks 
and  mortar. 

The  appointment  of  Governor  Bligh  appears 
to  have  been  a  very  serious  misfortune  to  the 
colony — at  such  an  immense  distance  from  the 
mother-country,  with  such  an  uncertainty  of 
communication,  and  with  a  population  so  pecu- 
liarly circumstanced.  In  these  extraordinary 
circumstances,  the  usual  jobbing  of  the  treasury 
should  really  be  laid  aside,  and  some  little  at- 
tention paid  to  the  selection  of  a  proper  person. 
It  is  common,  we  know,  to  send  a  person  who 
is  somebody's  cousin ;  but,  when  a  new  empire 
is  to  be  founded,  the  treasury  should  send  out. 
into  some  other  part  of  the  town,  for  a  man  ot 
sense  and  character. 

Another  very  great  absurdity  which  has  been 
committed  at  Botany  Bay,  is  the  diminution  of 
their  strength  and  resources  by  the  foundation, 
of  so  many  subordinate  settlements.  No  sooner 
had  the  settlers  unpacked  their  boxes  at  Port 
Jackson,  than  a  fresh  colony  was  settled  in 
Norfolk  Island  under  Lieutenant  King,  which 
was  afterwards  abandoned,  after  considerable 
labour  and  expense,  from  the  want  of  a  harbour: 
besides  four  or  five  settlements  on  the  main 
land,  two  or  three  thousand  persons,  under  a 
lieutenant-governor,  and  regular  oflicers,  are 
settled  in  Van  Diemen's  Land.  The  difficulties 
of  a  new  colony  are  such,  that  the  exertions  of 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


127 


all  the  arms  and  legs  are  wanted  merely  to 
cover  their  bodies  and  fill  their  bellies:  the 
passage  from  one  settlement  to  another,  neces- 
sary for  common  intercourse,  is  a  great  waste 
of  strength;  ten  thousand  men,  within  a  given 
compass,  will  dp  much  more  for  the  improve- 
ment of  a  country  than  the  same  number  spread 
over  three  times  the  space — will  make  more 
miles  of  roads,  clear  more  acres  of  wood,  and 
build  more  bridges.  The  judge,  the  windmill, 
and  the  school,  are  more  accessible;  and  one 
judge,  one  windmill,  and  one  school,  may  do 
instead  of  two; — there  is  less  waste  of  labour. 
We  do  not,  of  course,  object  to  the  natural  ex- 
pansion of  a  colony  over  uncultivated  lands — 
the  more  rapidly  that  takes  place  the  greater  is 
the  prosperity  of  the  settlement;  but  we  repro- 
bate the  practice  of  breaking  the  first  population 
of  a  colony,  by  the  interposition  of  government, 
into  small  detached  portions,  placed  at  great 
intervals.  It  is  a  bad  economy  of  their  re- 
sources; and  as  such,  is  very  properly  objected 
to  by  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

This  colony  appears  to  have  suffered  a  good 
deal  from  the  tyranny  as  well  as  the  ignorance 
of  its  governors.  On  the  7th  of  December,  1816, 
Governor  Macquarrie  issued  the  following  or- 
der:— 

"His  excellency  is  also  pleased  further  to 
declare,  order  and  direct,  that  in  consideration 
of  the  premises,  the  under-mentioned  sums, 
amounts  and  charges,  and  no  more,  with  re- 
gard to  and  upon  the  various  denominations  of 
work,  labour  and'  services,  described  and  set 
forth,  shall  be  allowed,  claimed  or  demandable 
within  this  territory  and  its  dependencies  in 
respect  thereolV — Wenlworth,  pp.  105,  106. 

And  then  follows  a  schedule  of  every  species 
of  labour,  to  each  of  which  a  maximum  is  af- 
fixed. We  have  only  to  observe,  that  a  good 
stout  inundation  of  the  Hawkesbury  would  be 
far  less  pernicious  to  the  industry  of  the  colony 
than  such  gross  ignorance  and  absurdity  as  this 
order  evinces.  Young  surgeons  are  examined 
in  Surgeon's  Hall  on  the  methods  of  cutting  oflT 
legs  and  arms  before  they  are  allowed  to  prac- 
tise surgery.  An  examination  on  the  principles 
of  Adam  Smith,  and  a  license  from  Mr.  Ricardo, 
seem  to  be  almost  a  necessary  preliminary  for 
the  appointment  of  governors.  We  must  give 
another  specimen  of  Governor  Macquarrie's 
acquaintance  with  the  principles  of  political 
economy. 

"General  Orders. 

"His  excellency  has  observed,  with  much 
concern,  that,  at  the  present  time  of  scarcity, 
most  of  the  garden  ground  attached  to  the  allot- 
ments, whereon  different  descriptions  of  per- 
sons have  been  allowed  to  build  huts,  are  totally 
neglected,  and  no  vegetable  growing  thereon: 
— as  such  neglect  in  the  occupiers,  points  them 
out  as  unfit  to  profit  by  such  indulgence,  those 
who  do  not  put  the  garden  ground  attached  to 
the  allotments  they  occupy  in  cultivation,  on 
or  before  the  10th  day  of  July  next,  will  be  dis- 
possessed (except  in  cases  wherein  ground  is 
held  by  lease),  and  more  industrious  persons 
put  in  possession  of  them;  as  the  present  ne- 
cessities of  the  settlement  require  every  exer- 
tion being  used  to  supply  the  wants  of  families, 


by  the  ground  attached  to  their  dwellings  being 
made  as  productive  as  possible. — By  command 
of  his  excellency.  G.  Blaxwell,  Sec.  Govern- 
ment House,  Sydney,  June  2lst,  1806." — O'Hara, 
p.  275. 

This  compulsion  to  enjoy,  this  despotic  bene- 
volence, is  something  quite  new  in  the  science 
of  government. 

The  sale  of  spirits  was,  first  of  all,  mono- 
polized by  the  government,  and  then  let  out 
to  individuals  lor  the  purpose  of  building  an 
hospital.  Upon  this  subject  Mr.  Bennet  ob- 
serves,— 

"Heretofore  all  ardent  spirits  brought  to  the 
colony  were  purchased  by  the  government,  and 
served  out  at  fixed  prices  to  the  officers,  civil 
and  military,  according  to  their  ranks;  hence 
arose  a  discreditable  and  gainful  trade  on  the 
part  of  these  officers,  their  wives  and  mis- 
tresses. The  price  of  spirits  at  times  was  so 
high,  that  one  and  two  guineas  have  been  given 
for  a  single  bottle.  The  thirst  after  ardent 
spirits  became  a  mania  among  the  settlers:  all 
the  writers  on  the  state  of  the  colony,  and  all 
who  have  resided  there,  and  have  given  testi- 
mony concerning  if,  describe  this  rage  and 
passion  for  drunkenness  as  prevailing  in  all 
classes,  and  as  being  the  principal  foundation 
of  all  the  crimes  committed  there.  This  ex- 
travagant propensity  to  drunkenness  was  taken 
advantage  of  by  the  governor,  to  aid  him  in 
the  building  of  the  hospital.  Mr.  Wentworth, 
the  surgeon,  Messrs.  Riley  and  Blaxwell,  ob- 
tained permission  to  enter  a  certain  quantity  of 
spirits; — they  were  to  pay  a  duty  of  five  or 
seven  shillings  a  gallon  on  the  quantity  they  in- 
troduced, which  duty  was  to  be  set  apart  for  the 
erection  of  the  hospital.  To  prevent  any  other 
spirits  from  being  landed,  a  monopoly  was 
given  to  these  contractors.  As  soon  as  the 
agreement  was  signed,  these  gentlemen  sent 
off  to  Rio  Janeiro,  the  Mauritius  and  the  East 
Indies,  for  a  large  quantity  of  rum  and  arrack, 
which  they  could  purchase  at 'about  the  rate  of 
2s.  or  2s.  6d.  per  gallon,  and  disembarked  it  at 
Sydney.  From  there  being  but  few  houses 
that  were  before  permitted  to  sell  this  poison, 
they  abounded  in  every  street;  and  such  was  the 
enormous  consumption  of  spirits,  that  money 
was  soon  raised  to  build  the  hospital,  which 
was  finished  in  1814.  Mr.  Marsden  informs 
us,  that  in  the  small  town  of  Paramatta,  thir- 
teen houses  were  licensed  to  deal  in  spirits, 
though  he  should  think  five  at  the  utmost  would 
be  amply  sufficient  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  public." — Bennet,  pp.  77-79. 

The  whole  coast  of  Botany  Bay  and  Van 
Diemen's  Land  abounds  with  whales;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, the  duty  levied  upon  train  oil  pro- 
cured by  the  subjects  in  New  South  Wales,  or 
imported  there,  is  twenty  times  greater  than 
that  paid  by  the  inhabitants  of  this  country; 
the  duty  on  spermaceti  oil,  imported,  is  sixty 
times  greater.  The  duty  levied  on  train  oil, 
spermaceti  and  head  matter,  procured  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Newfoundland,  is  only  three 
times  the  amount  of  that  which  is  levied  on 
the  same  substance  procured  by  British  sub- 
jects residing  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The 
duty  levied  on  oil  procured  by  British  subjects 
residing  in  the  Bahama  or  Bermuda  islands,  or 


128 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


on  the  plantations  of  North  America,  is  only 
eight  times  the  amount  on  train  oil,  and  twelve 
times  the  amount  on  spermaceti,  of  that  which 
is  levied  on  the  same  substances  taken  hy 
British  subjects  within  the  Uiiited  Kingdom. 
The  duty,  therefore,  which  is  payable  on  train 
oil  in  vessels  belonging  to  this  colony  is  nearly 
seven  times  greater  than  that  which  is  payable 
on  the  same  description  of  oil  taken  in  vessels 
belonging  to  the  island  of  Newfoundland,  and 
considerably  more  than  double  of  that  which  is 
payable  on  the  same  commodity  taken  in  ves- 
sels belonging  to  the  Bahama  or  Bermuda 
islands,  or  to  the  plantations  in  North  Ame- 
rica; while  the  duty  which  is  levied  on  sperm- 
aceti oil,  procured  in  vessels  belonging  to  this 
colony,  is  five  times  the  amount  of  that  which 
is  levied  on  vessels  belonging  to  the  above- 
mentioned  places,  and  twenty  times  the  amount 
of  that  which  is  levied  on  vessels  belonging  to 
Newfoundland.  The  injustice  of  this  seems  to 
us  to  be  quite  enormous.  The  statements  are 
taken  from  Mr.  Wentworth's  book. 

The  inhabitants  of  New  South  Wales  have 
no  trial  by  jury;  the  governor  has  not  even  a 
council  to  restrain  him.  There  is  imposed  in 
this  country  a  very  lieavy  duty  on  timber  and 
coals  exported;  but  for  which,  says  Mr.  Went- 
worth,  some  hundred  tons  of  these  valuable 
productions  would  have  been  sent  annually  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  India,  smce  the 
vessels  which  have  been  in  the  habit  of  trading 
between  those  countries  and  the  colony  have 
always  returned  in  ballast.  The  owners  and 
consignees  would  gladly  have  shipped  cargoes 
of  timber  and  coals,  if  they  could  have  derived 
the  most  minute  profit  from  the  freight  of  them. 

The  Australasians  grow  corn;  and  it  is  neces- 
sarily their  staple.  The  Cape  is  their  rival  in 
the  corn  trade.  The  food  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  East  Indies  is  rice;  the  voyage  to  Europe  is 
too  distant  for  so  bulkv  an  article  as  corn.  The 
supply  to  the  government  stores  furnished  the 
cultivators  of  New  South  Wales  with  a  market 
in  the  first  instance,  which  is  now  become  too 
insignificant  for  the  great  excess  of  the  supply 
above  the  consumption.  Population  goes  on 
with  immense  rapidity;  but  while  so  much  new 
and  fertile  land  is  before  them,  the  supply  con- 
tinues in  the  same  proportion  greater  than  the 
demand.  The  most  t)bvious  method  of  affording 
a  market  for  this  redundant  corn  is  by  encourag- 
ing distilleries  within  the  colony  ;  a  measure  re- 
peatedly pressed  upon  the  government  at  home, 
but  hitherto  as  constantly  refused.  It  is  a  mea- 
sure of  still  greater  importance  to  the  colony, 
because  its  agriculture  is  subjected  to  the  effects 
both  of  severe  drought  and  extensive  inunda- 
tions, and  the  corn  raised  for  the  distillers  would 
be  a  magazine  in  times  of  famine.  A  recom- 
mendation to  this  elTect  was  long  since  made  by 
a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons;  but,  as 
it  was  merely  a  measure  for  the  increase  of 
human  comforts,  was  stufied  into  the  improve- 
ment baskets  and  forgotten.  There  has  been  in 
all  governments  a  great  deal  of  absurd  canting 
about  the  consumption  of  spirits.  We  believe 
the  best  plan  is  to  let  people  drink  what  they 
like,  and  wear  what  they  like;  to  make  no 
sumptuary  laws  either  for  the  belly  or  the  back. 
la  the  first  place  laws  against  rum  and  rum 


water  are  made  by  men  who  can  change  a  wet 
coat  for  a  dry  one  whenever  they  choose,  and 
who  do  not  often  work  up  to  their  knees  in  mud 
and  water;  and,  in  the  next  place,  if  this  stimu- 
lus did  all  the  mischief  it  is  thought  to  do  by  the 
wise  men  of  claret,  its  cheapness  and  plenty 
would  rather  lessen  than  increase  the  avidity 
with  which  it  is  at  present  sought  for. 

The  governors  of  Botany  Bay  have  taken  the 
liberty  of  imposing  what  taxes  they  deemed 
proper,  without  any  other  authorit)'  than  their 
own  ;  and  it  seemed  very  frivolous  and  vexa- 
tious not  to  allow  this  small  efi'usion  of  despot- 
ism in  so  remote  a  corner  of  the  globe;  but  it 
was  noticed  by  the  opposition  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  reluctantly  confessed  and  given 
up  by  the  administration.  This  great  portion 
of  the  earth  begins  civil  life  with  noble  princi- 
ples of  freedom  : — may  God  grant  to  its  inha- 
bitants that  wisdom  and  courage  which  are 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  so  great  a 
good! 

Mr.  Wentworth  enumerates,  among  the  evils 
to  which  the  colony  is  subjected,  that  clause  in 
the  last  settlement  of  the  East  India  Company's 
charter,  which  prevents  vessels  of  less  than  300 
tons  burden  from  navigating  the  Indian  seas ;  a 
restriction  from  which  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
has  been  lately  liberated,  and  which  ought,  in 
the  same  manner,  to  be  removed  from  New 
South  Wales,  where  there  cannot  be  for  many 
years  to  come  sufficient  capital  to  build  vessels 
of  so  large  a  burden. 

"  The  disability," says  Mr.  Wentworth,"  might 
be  removed  by  a  simple  order  in  council.  When- 
ever his  majesty's  government  shall  have  freed 
the  colonists  from  this  useless  and  cruel  pro- 
hibition, the  following  branches  of  commerce 
would  then  be  opened  to  them.  First,  they 
would  be  enabled  to  transport, in  their  own  ves« 
sels,  their  coals,  timbers,  spars,  flour,  meat,  &c. 
to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  Isle  of  France, 
Calcutta,  and  many  other  places  in  the  Indian 
seas;  in  all  of  which,  markets  more  or  less 
extensive  exist  for  those  various  other  produc- 
tions which  the  colony  might  furnish.  Secondly, 
they  would  be  enabled  to  carry  directly  to  Can- 
ton the  sandal  wood,  beche  la  mer,  dried  seal 
skins,  and,  in  fact,  all  the  numerous  productions 
which  the  surrounding  seas  and  islands  aflbrd 
for  the  China  market,  and  return  freighted  with 
cargoes  of  tea,  silks,  nankeens,  &c.;  all  of  which 
commodities  are  in  great  demand  in  the  colony, 
and  are  at  present  altogether  furnished  by  East 
India  or  American  merchants,  to  the  great  detri- 
ment and  dissatisfaction  of  the  colonial.  And, 
lastly,  they  would  be  enabled,  in  a  short  time, 
from  the  great  increase  of  capital  which  these 
important  privileges  would  of  themselves  occa- 
sion, as  well  as  attract  from  other  countries,  to 
open  the  fur-trade  with  the  northwest  coast  of 
America,  and  dispose  of  the  cargoes  procured 
in  China, — a  trade  which  has  hitherto  been  ex- 
clusively carried  on  by  the  Americans  and 
Russians,  although  the  colonists  possess  a  local 
superiority  for  the  prosecution  of  this  valuable 
branch  of  commerce,  which  would  insure  them 
at  least  a  successful  competition  with  the  sub- 
jects of  those  two  nations."— Wien/ii'or/A,  pp. 
317,  318. 

The  means  which  Mr  Wentworth  proposes 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


129 


for  improving  the  condition  of  Botany  Bay,  are 
— trial  by  jury — colonial  assemblies,  with  whom 
the  right  of  taxation  should  rest — the  establish- 
ment of  distilleries,  and  the  exclusion  of  foreign 
spirits — alteration  of  duties,  so  as  to  place  New 
South  Wales  upon  the  same  footing  as  other 
colonies — removal  of  the  restriction  to  navigate 
the  Indian  seas  in  vessels  of  a  small  burden — 
improvements  in  the  courts  of  justice — en- 
couragement for  the  growth  of  hemp,  flax,  to- 
bacco and  wine;  and,  if  a  colonial  assembly 
cannot  be  granted,  that  there  should  be  no 
taxation  without  the  authority  of  Parliament. 

In  general,  we  agree  with  Mr.  Wentworth  in 
his  statement  of  evils,  and  in  the  remedies  he 
has  proposed  for  them.  Many  of  the  restric- 
tions upon  the  commerce  of  New  South  Wales 
are  so  absurd  that  they  require  only  to  be  stated 
in  Parliament  to  be  corrected.  The  fertility  of 
the  colony  so  far  exceeds  its  increase  of  popu- 
lation, and  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  market  for 
corn  is  so  great — or  rather  the  impossibility  so 
clear — that  the  measure  of  encouraging  domes- 
tic distilleries  ought  to  be  had  recourse  to.  The 
colony,  with  a  soil  fit  for  every  thing,  must,  as 
Mr.  Wentworth  proposes,  grow  other  things 
besides  corn,  and  excite  that  market  in  the  in- 
terior which  it  does  not  enjoy  from  without. 
The  want  of  demand,  indeed,  for  the  excess  of 
corn,  will  soon  effect  this  without  the  interven- 
tion of  government.  Government,  we  believe, 
have  already  given  up  the  right  of  taxation 
without  the  sanction  of  Parliament ;  and  there 
is  an  end,  probably,  by  this  time,  to  that  griev- 
ance. A  council  and  a  colonial  secretary  they 
have  also  expressed  their  willingness  to  con- 
cede. Of  trial  by  jury  and  a  colonial  assembly, 
we  confess  that  we  have  great  doubts.  At  some 
future  time  they  must  come,  and  ought  to  come. 
The  only  question  is,  is  the  colony  fit  for  such 
institutions  at  present]  Are  there  a  sufficient 
number  of  respectable  persons  to  serve  that 
office  in  the  various  settlements  1  If  the  English 
law  is  to  be  followed  exactly,  to  compose  a  jury 
of  twelve  persons,  a  panel  of  forty-eight  must 
be  summoned.  Could  forty-eight  intelligent 
convicted  men,  be  found  in  every  settlement  of 
New  South  Wales'?  or  must  they  not  be  fetched 
from  great  distances,  at  an  enormous  expense 
and  inconvenience  1  Is  such  an  institution  cal- 
culated for  so  very  young  a  colony  ?  A  good 
government  is  an  excellent  thing;  but  it  is  not 
the  first  in  the  order  of  human  wants.  The 
first  want  is  to  subsist;  the  next  to  subsist  in 
freedom  and  comfort;  first  to  live  at  all,  then  to 
live  well.  A  parliament  is  still  a  greater  de- 
mand upon  the  wisdom  and  intelligence  and 
opulence  of  a  colony  than  trial  by  jury.  Among 
the  twenty  thousand  inhabitants  of  New  South 
Wales,  are  there  ten  persons  out  of  the  employ 
of  government  whose  wisdom  and  prudence 
could  reasonably  be  expected  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  colony  without  embroiling  it 
with  the  mother-country  1  Who  has  leisure,  in 
such  a  state  of  afiairs,  to  attend  such  a  parlia- 
ment 1  Where  wisdom  and  conduct  are  so  rare, 
every  man  of  character,  we  will  venture  to  say, 
has,  like  strolling  players  in  a  barn,  six  or  seven 
important  parts  to  perform.  Mr.  M'Arthur,  who, 
from  his  character  and  understanding,  would 
probably  be  among  the  first  persons  elected  to 
17 


the  colonial  legislature,  besides  being  a  very 
spirited  agriculturist,  is,  we  have  no  doubt, 
justice  of  the  peace,  curator  and  rector  of  a 
thousand  plans,  charities  and  associations,  to 
which  his  presence  is  essentially  necessary. 
If  he  could  be  cut  into  as  many  pieces  as  a  tree 
is  into  planks,  all  his  subdivisions  would  be 
eminently  useful.  When  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  what  is  called  a  really  respectable 
country  gentleman,  sets  off  to  attend  his  duty  in 
our  Parliament,  such  diminution  of  intelligence 
as  is  produced  by  his  absence,  is,  God  knows, 
easily  supplied;  but  in  a  colony  of  20,000  per- 
sons, it  is  impossible  this  should  be  the  case. 
Some  time  hence,  the  institution  of  a  colonial 
assembly  will  be  a  very  wise  and  proper  mea- 
sure, and  so  clearly  called  for,  that  the  most 
profligate  members  of  administration  will  nei- 
ther be  able  to  ridicule  nor  refuse  it.  At  pre- 
sent we  are  afraid  that  a  Botany  Bay  parliament 
would  give  rise  to  jokes  ;  and  jokes  at  present 
have  a  great  agency  in  human  affairs. 

Mr.  Bennet  concerns  himself  with  the  settle- 
ment of  New  Holland,  as  it  is  a  school  for 
criminals ;  and,  upon  this  subject,  has  written 
a  very  humane,  enlightened  and  vigorous  pam- 
phlet. The  objections  made  to  this  settlement 
by  Mr.  Bennet  are,  in  the  first  place,  its  enor- 
mous expense.  The  colony  of  New  South 
Wales,  from  1788  to  1815  inclusive,  has  cost 
this  country  the  enormous  sum  of  3,465,983/. 
In  the  evidence  before  the  transportation  com- 
mittee, the  annual  expense  of  each  convict, 
from  1791  to  1797,  is  calculated  at  33/.  9s.  5^d. 
per  annum,  and  the  profits  of  his  labour  are 
slated  to  be  20/.  The  price  paid  for  the  trans- 
port of  convicts  has  been,  on  an  average,  37/. 
exclusive  of  food  and  clothing.  It  appears, 
however,  says  Mr.  Bennet,  by  an  account  laid 
before  Parliament,  that  in  the  year  1814,  109,- 
746/.  were  paid  for  the  transport,  food  and  cloth- 
ing of  1016  convicts,  which  will  make  the  cost 
amount  to  about  108/.  per  man.  In  1812,  the 
expenses  of  the  colony  were  176,000/.;  in  1813, 
235,000/.;  in  1814,231,362/.;  but  in  1815  they 
had  fallen  to  150,000/. 

The  cruelty  and  neglect  in  the  transportation 
of  convicts  have  been  very  great — and  in  this 
way  a  punishment  inflicted  which  it  never  was 
in  the  contemplation  of  law  to  enact.  During 
the  first  eight  years,  according  to  Mr.  Bennet's 
statements,  one-tenth  of  the  convicts  died  on  the 
passage ;  on  the  arrival  of  three  of  the  ships, 
200  sick  were  landed,  281  persons  having  died 
on  board.  These  instances,  however,  of  crimi 
nal  inattention  to  the  health  of  the  convicts  no 
longer  take  place;  and  it  is  mentioned  rather 
as  an  history  of  what  is  past  than  a  censure 
upon  any  existing  evil. 

In  addition  to  the  expense  of  Botany  Bay, 
Mr.  Bennet  contends  that  it  wants  the  very 
essence  of  punishment,  terror;  that  the  commou 
people  do  not  dread  it;  that  instead  of  prevent- 
ing crimes,  it  rather  excites  the  people  to  their 
commission,  by  the  hopes  it  affords  of  bettering 
their  condition  in  a  new  country. 

"All  those  who  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
witnessing  the  effect  of  this  system  of  trans- 
portation agree  in  opinion,  that  it  is  no  longer 
an  object  of  dread — it  has,  in  fact,  generally 
ceased  to  be  a  punishment:  true  it  is,  to  a  fa" 


130 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


thcr  of  a  family,  to  the  mother  who  leaves  her 
children,  this  perpetual  separation  from  those 
whom  they  love  and  whom  they  support,  is  a 
cruel  blow,  and  when  I  consider  the  merciless 
character  of  the  law  which  inflicts  it,  a  severe 
penalty :  but  by  far  the  greater  number  of  per- 
sons who  suffer  this  punishment,  regard  it  in 
quite  a  different  light.  Mr.  Cotton,  the  ordinary 
of  Newgate,  informed  the  police  committee  last 
year,  '  that  the  generality  of  those  who  are 
transported  consider  it  as  a  party  of  pleasure — 
as  going  out  to  see  the  world;  they  evince  no 
penitence,  no  contrition,  but  seem  to  rejoice  in 
the  thing, — many  of  them  to  court  it.  I  have 
heard  them,  when  the  sentence  of  transporta- 
tion has  been  passed  by  the  recorder,  return 
thanks  for  it,  and  seem  overjoyed  at  their  sen- 
tence: the  very  last  party  that  went  off,  when 
they  were  put  into  the  caravan,  shouted  and 
huzzaed,  and  were  very  joyous:  several  of  them 
called  out  to  the  keepers  who  were  there  in  the 
yard,  the  first  fine  Sunday  we  will  have  a  glo- 
rious kangaroo  hunt  at  the  Bay, — seeming  to 
anticipate  a  great  deal  of  pleasure.'  He  was 
asked  if  those  persons  were  married  or  single, 
and  his  answer  was,  'by  far  the  greater  number 
of  them  were  unmarried.  Some  of  them  are 
anxious  that  their  wives  and  children  should 
follow  them;  others  care  nothing  about  either 
wives  or  children,  and  are  glad  to  get  rid  of 
lhem:"—Ben>7ef,  pp.  60,  61 

It  is  a  scandalous  injustice  in  this  colony, 
that  persons  transported  for  seven  years,  have 
no  power  of  returning  when  that  period  is  ex- 
pired. A  strong  active  man  may  sometimes 
work  his  passage  home ;  but  what  is  an  old  man 
or  an  aged  female  to  do  1  Suppose  a  convict 
were  to  be  confined  in  prison  ibr  seven  years, 
and  then  told  he  might  get  out  if  he  could  climb 
over  the  walls,  or  break  open  the  locks,  what  in 
general  would  be  his  chance  of  liberation  1  But 
no  lock  nor  doors  can  be  so  secure  a  means  of 
detention  as  the  distance  of  Botany  Bay.  This 
is  a  downright  trick  and  fraud  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  criminal  justice.  A  poor  wretch  who 
is  banished  from  his  country  for  seven  years, 
should  be  furnished  with  the  means  of  return- 
ing to  his  country  when  these  seven  years  are 
expired. — If  it  is  intended  he  should  never  re- 
turn, his  sentence  shouldhave  been  banishment 
for  life. 

The  most  serious  charge  against  the  colonj^ 
as  a  place  for  transportation,  and  an  experiment 
in  criminal  justice,  is  the  extreme  profligacy  of 
manners  which  prevails  there,  and  the  total 
want  of  reformation  among  the  convicts.  Upon 
this  subject,  except  in  the  regular  letters  ofl^- 
cially  varnished  and  filled  with  fraudulent  beati- 
tudes for  the  public  eye,  there  is,  and  there  can 
be,  but  one  opinion.  New  South  Wales  is  a 
sink  of  wickedness,  in  which  the  great  majority 
of  convicts  of  both  sexes  become  infinitely 
more  depraved  than  at  the  period  of  their  arri- 
val. How,  as  Mr.  Bennet  very  justly  observes, 
can  it  be  otherwise  1  The  lelon,  transported  to 
the  American  plantations,  became  an  insulated 
rogue  among  honest  men.  He  lived  for  years 
in  the  family  of  some  industrious  planter, 
without  seeing  a  picklock,  or  indulging  in  plea- 
sant dialogues  on  the  delicious  burglaries  of 
bis  youth.     He  imperceptibly  glided  into  honest 


habits,  and  lost  not  only  the  tact  for  pockets,  bul 
the  wish  to  investigate  their  contents.  But  in 
Botany  Bay,  the  felon,  as  soon  as  he  gets  out  of 
the  ship,  meets  with  his  ancient  trull,  with  the 
footpad  of  his  heart,  the  convict  of  his  affec- 
tions,— the  man  whose  hand  he  has  often  met 
in  the  same  gentleman's  pocket — the  being 
whom  he  would  choose  from  the  whole  world 
to  take  to  the  road,  or  to  disentangle  the  locks 
of  Bramah.  It  is  impossible  that  vice  should 
not  become  more  intense  in  such  society. 

Upon  the  horrid  state  of  morals  now  preva- 
lent in  Botany  Bay,  we  would  counsel  our  read- 
ers to  cast  their  eyes  upon  the  account  given  by 
Mr.  Marsden,  in  a  letter,  dated  July,  1815,  to 
Governor  Macquarrie.  It  is  given  at  length  in 
the  appendix  to  Mr.  Bennet's  book.  A  more 
horrid  picture  of  the  state  of  any  settlement 
was  never  penned.  It  carries  with  it  an  air  of 
truth  and  sincerity,  and  is  free  from  all  enthu- 
siastic cant. 

"  I  now  appeal  to  j'^our  excellency,"  (he  says, 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  letter,)  "  whether,  under 
such  circumstances  any  man  of  common  feel- 
ing, possessed  of  the  least  spark  of  humanity 
or  religion,  who  stood  in  the  same  official  rela- 
lation  that  I  do  to  these  people,  as  their  spiritual 
pastor  and  magistrate,  could  enjoy  one  happy 
moment  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
week ! 

"I  humbly  conceive  that  it  is  incompatible 
with  the  character  and  wish  of  the  British  na- 
tion, that  her  own  exiles  should  be  exposed  to 
such  privations  and  dangerous  temptations, 
when  she  is  daily  feeding  the  hungry  and  cloth- 
ing the  naked,  and  receiving  into  her  friendly, 
and  I  may  add  pious  bosom,  the  stranger,  whe- 
ther savage  or  civilized,  of  every  nation  under 
heaven.  There  are,  in  the  whole,  under  the  two 
principal  superintendents,  Messrs.  Rouse  and 
Oakes,  one  hundred  and  eight  men,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  women,  and  several  children; 
and  nearly  the  whole  of  them  have  to  find  lodg- 
ings for  themselves  when  they  have  performed 
their  government  tasks. 

"  I  trust  that  your  excellency  will  be  fully 
persuaded,  that  it  is  totally  impossible  for  the 
magistrate  to  support  his  necessary  authority, 
and  to  establish  a  regular  police,  under  such  a 
weight  of  accumulated  and  accumulating  evils. 
I  am  as  sensible  as  anyone  can  be,  that  the  dif- 
ficulty of  removing  these  evils  will  be  very  great; 
at  the  same  time,  their  number  and  influence 
may  be  greatly  lessened,  if  the  abandoned  male 
and  female  convicts  are  lodged  in  barracks,  and 
placed  under  the  eye  of  the  police,  and  the  num- 
ber of  licensed  houses  is  reduced.  Till  some- 
thing of  this  kind  is  done,  all  attempts  of  the 
magistrate,  and  the  public  administration  of  re- 
ligion, will  be  attended  with  little  benefit  to  the 
general  good.  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  your 
excellency's  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 
Samuel  Mabsdex." — Bennet,  p.  134. 

Thus  much  for  Botany  Bay.  As  a  mere  colo- 
ny, it  is  too  distant  and  too  expensive;  and,  in 
future,  will  of  course  involve  us  in  many  of 
those  just  and  necessary  wars,  which  deprive 
Englishmen  so  rapidly  of  their  comforts,  and 
make  England  scarcely  worth  living  in.  If  con- 
sidered as  a  place  of  reform  for  criminals,  its 
distance,  expense,  and  the  society  to  which  it 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


131 


dooms  the  objects  of  the  experiment,  are  insu- 
perable objections  to  it.  It  is  in  vain  to  say, 
that  the  honest  people  in  New  South  Wales  will 
soon  bear  a  greater  proportion  to  the  rogues, 
and  the  contamination  of  bad  society  will  be 
less  fatal.  This  only  proves  that  it  may  be  a 
good  place  for  reform  hereafter,  not  that  it  is  a 
good  one  now.  One  of  the  principal  reasons 
for  peopling  Botany  Bay  at  all,  was,  that  it 
would  be  an  admirable  receptacle,  and  a  school 
of  reform,  for  our  convicts.  It  turns  out,  that 
for  the  first  half  century,  it  will  make  them 
worse  than  they  were  before,  and  that,  after  that 
period,  they  may  probably  begin  to  improve. 
A  marsh,  to  be  sure,  may  be  drained  and  culti- 
vated; but  no  man  who  has  his  choice,  would 
select  it  in  the  mean  time  for  his  dwelling-place. 
The  three  books  are  all  books  of  merit.  Mr. 
O'Hara's  is  a  bookseller's  compilation,  done  in 
a  useful  and  pleasing  manner.  Mr.  Wentworth 
is  full  of  information  on  the  present  state  of 
Botany  Bay.    The  humanity,  the  exertions  and 


the  genuine  benevolence  of  Mr.  Bennet,  are  too 
well  known  to  need  our  commendation 

All  persons  who  have  a  few  guineas  in  their 
pocket,  are  now  running  away  from  Mr.  Nicho- 
las Vansittart  to  settle  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe.  Upon  the  subject  of  emigration  to  Bota- 
ny Bay,  Mr.  Wentworth  observes,  1st,  that  any 
respectable  person  emigrating  to  that  colony, 
receives  as  much  land  gratis  as  would  cost  him 
400/.  in  the  United  Slates ;  2dly,  he  is  allowed 
as  many  servants  as  he  may  require,  at  one- 
third  of  the  wages  paid  for  labour  in  America; 
3dly,  himself  and  family  are  victualled  at  the 
expense  of  government  for  six  months.  He  cal- 
culates that  a  man,  wife  and  two  children,  with 
an  allowance  of  five  tons  for  themselves  and 
baggage,  could  emigrate  to  Botany  Bay  for  100/. 
including  every  expense,  provided  a  whole  ship 
could  be  freighted;  and  that  a  single  man  could 
be  taken  out  thither  for  30/.  These  points  are 
worthy  of  serious  attention  to  those  who  are 
shedding  their  country. 


CHIMNEY    SWEEPEES.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1819.] 


As  excellent  and  well-arranged  dinner  is  a 
most  pleasing  occurrence,  and  a  great  triumph 
of  civilized  life.  It  is  not  only  the  descending 
morsel  and  the  enveloping  sauce — but  the  rank, 
wealth,  wit  and  beauty  which  surround  the 
meats— the  learned  management  of  light  and 
heat — the  silent  and  rapid  services  of  the  attend- 
ants— the  smiling  and  sedulous  host,  proffering 
gusts  and  relishes— the  exotic  bottles — the  em- 
bossed plate — the  pleasant  remarks — the  hand- 
some dresses — the  cunning  artifices  in  fruit  and 
farina!  The  hour  of  dinner,  in  short,  includes 
every  thing  of  sensual  and  intellectual  gratifica- 
tion which  a  great  nation  glories  in  producing. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this,  who  knows  that  the 
kitchen  chimney  caught  fire  half  an  hour  before 
dinner! — and  that  a  poor  little  wretch,  of  six  or 
seven  years  old,  was  sent  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
flames  to  put  it  out  1  We  could  not,  previous 
to  reading  this  evidence,  have  formed  a  concep- 
tion of  the  miseries  of  these  poor  wretches,  or 
that  there  should  exist,  in  a  civilized  country,  a 
class  of  human  beings  destined  to  such  extreme 
and  varied  distress.  We  will  give  a  short  epi- 
tome of  what  is  developed  in  the  evidence  before 
the  two  Houses  of  Parliament' 

Boys  are  made  chimney  sweepers  at  the  early 
age  of  five  or  six. 

Link  boys  for  small  flues,  is  a  common  phrase 
in  the  cards  left  at  the  door  by  itinerant  chimney 
sweepers.  Flues  made  to  ovens  and  coppers 
are  often  less  than  nine  inches  square;  audit 


*Accountofthe  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  superseding 
the  NecessUy  of  Climbing  Boiis.  Baldwin,  &c.  London, 
1816. 


may  be  easily  conceived  how  slender  the  frame 
of  that  human  body  must  be,  which  can  force 
itself  through  such  an  aperture. 

"  What  is  the  age  of  the  youngest  boys  who 
have  been  employed  in  this  trade,  to  your  know- 
ledge 1  About  five  years  of  age:  I  know  one 
now  between  five  or  six  years  old;  it  is  the 
man's  own  son  in  the  Strand:  now  there  is  an- 
other at  Somer's  Town,  1  think,  said  he  was 
between  four  and  five,  or  about  five;  Jack  Hall, 
a  little  lad,  takes  him  about. — Did  you  ever 
know  any  female  children  employed  1  Yes,  I 
know  one  now.  About  two  years  ago  there  was 
a  woman  told  me  she  had  climbed  scores  of 
times,  and  there  is  one  at  Paddington  now 
whose  father  taught  her  to  climb:  but  I  have 
often  heard  talk  of  them  when  I  was  an  appren- 
tice, in  different  places. — What  is  the  smallest 
sized  flue  you  have  ever  met  with  in  the  course 
of  your  experience  ?  About  eight  inches  by  nine; 
these  they  are  always  obliged  to  climb  in  this 
posture  (describing  it),  keeping  the  arms  up 
straight;  if  they  slip  their  arms  down,  they  get 
jammed  in;  unless  they  get  their  arms  close 
over  their  head  they  cannot  climb." — Lord's 
Minutes,  No.  1.  p.  8. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  taught  this  art  of  climbing 
chimneys. 

"  Do  you  remember  being  taught  to  climb 
chimneys'?  Yes. — What  did  you  feel  upon  the 
first  attempt  to  climb  a  chimney]  The  first 
chimney  I  went  up,  they  told  me  there  was  some 
plum-pudding  and  money  up  at  the  top  of  it,  and 
that  is  the  way  they  enticed  me  up;  and  when  I 


132 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


got  up,  I  would  not  let  the  other  boy  get  from  j 
under  me  to  get  at  it;  I  thought  he  would  get  it; 
I  could  not  get  up,  and  shoved  the  pot  and  half 
the  chimney  down  into  the  yard. — Did  you  expe- 
rience any  inconvenience  to  your  knees,  or  your 
elbows]  Yes,  the  skin  was  off  my  knees  and 
elbows  too,  in  climbing  up  the  new  chimneys 
they  forced  me  up. — How  did  they  force  you  up '.' 
When  I  got  up,  I  cried  out  about  my  sore  knees. 
— Were  you  beat  or  compelled  to  go  up  by  any 
violent  means  ]  Yes,  when  I  went  to  a  narrow 
chimney,  if  I  could  not  do  it,  I  durst  not  go 
home ;  when  I  used  to  come  down,  my  master 
would  well  beat  me  with  the  brush;  and  not 
only  my  master,  but  when  he  used  to  go  with 
the  journeymen,  if  we  could  not  do  it,  they  used 
to  hit  us  three  or  four  times  with  the  brush." — 
Lords'  Minutes,  No.  1.  p.  5. 

In  practising  the  art  of  climbing  they  are  often 
crippled. 

"You  talked  of  the  pargetting  to  chimneys; 
are  many  chimneys  pargetted?  There  used  to 
be  more  than  are  now;  we  used  to  have  to  go 
and  sit  all  a-twist  to  parge  them,  according  to  the 
floors,  to  keep  the  smoke  from  coming  out;  then 
I  could  not  straighten  my  legs;  and  that  is  the 
reason  that  many  are  cripples, — from  parging 
and  stopping  the  holes." — Lords'  Minutes,No.  1. 
p.  17. 

They  are  often  stuck  fast  in  a  chimney,  and, 
after  remaining  there  many  hours,  are  cut  out. 

"Have  you  known,  in  the  course  of  your 
practice,  boys  stick  in  chimneys  at  alii  Yes, 
frequently. — Did  you  ever  know  an  instance  of. 
a  boy  being  suffocated  to  death  1  No ;  I  do  not 
recollect  anyone  at  present,  but  I  have  assisted 
in  taking  boys  out  when  they  have  been  nearly 
exhausted. — Did  you  ever  know  an  instance  of  its 
being  necessary  to  break  open  a  chimney  to  take 
the  boy  out  ]  0  yes. — Frequently?  Monthly  I 
might  say;  it  is  done  with  a  cloak,  if  possible,  that 
it  should  not  be  discovered ;  a  master  in  general 
wishes  it  not  to  be  known,  and  therefore  speaks  to 
the  people  belonging  to  the  house  not  to  mention 
it,  for  it  was  merely  the  boy's  neglect;  they  often 
say  it  was  the  boy's  neglect. — Why  do  they  say 
that  ]  The  boy's  climbing  shirt  is  often  very 
bad;  the  boy  coming  down,  if  the  chimney  be 
very  narrow,  and  numbers  of  them  are  only  nine 
inches,  gets  his  shirt  rumpled  underneath  him, 
and  he  has  no  power  after  he  is  fixed  in  that 
way  {with  his  hand  up.)  Does  a  boy  frequently 
stick  in  the  chimney  1  Yes,  I  have  known  more 
instances  of  that  the  last  twelvemonth  than  be- 
fore.— Do  you  ever  have  to  break  open  in  the 
inside  of  a  room]  Yes,  I  have  helped  to  break 
through  into  a  kitchen  chimney  in  a  dining 
room." — Lords'  Minutes,  p.  34. 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  evidence  of  John 
Daniels,  (Minutes,  p.  100,)  and  of  James  Lud- 
ford,  (Lords'  Minutes,  p.  147.) 

"You  have  swept  the  Penitentiary]  I  have. 
— Did  you  ever  know  a  boy  stick  in  any  of  the 
chimneys  there]  Yes,  I  have. — Was  it  one  of 
your  boys  ]  It  was. — Was  there  one  or  two  that 
stuck  ]  Two  of  them. — How  long  did  they  stick 
there]  Two  hours. — How  were  they  got  out] 
They  were  cut  out. — Was  there  any  danger 
•while  they  were  in  that  situation]  It  was  the 
core  from  the  pargetting  of  the  chimney,  and 
the  rubbish  that  the  labourers  had  thrown  down, 


that  stopped  them,  and  when  they  got  it  aside 
them,  they  could  not  pass. — They  both  stuck 
together]     Yes." — Lords'  Minutes,  p.  147. 

One  more  instance  we  shall  give  from  the 
evidence  before  the  Commons. 

"Have  you  heard  of  any  accidents  that  have 
recently  happened  to  climbing  boys  in  the  small 
flues]  Yes;  I  have  often  met  with  accidents 
myself  when  I  was  a  boy;  there  was  lately  one 
in  Mary-le-bone,  where  the  boy  lost  his  life  in  a 
flue,  a  boy  of  the  name  of  Tinsey  (his  father 
was  of  the  same  trade);  that  boy  I  think  was 
about  eleven  or  twelve  years  old. — Was  there 
a  coroner's  inquest  sat  on  the  body  of  that  boy 
you  mentioned]  Yes,  there  was;  he  was  aa 
apprentice  of  a  man  of  the  name  of  Gay. — 
How  many  accidents  do  you  recollect  which 
were  attended  with  loss  of  life  to  the  climbing 
boys]  I  have  heard  talk  of  many  more  than  I 
know  of;  I  never  knew  of  more  than  three 
since  I  have  been  at  the  trade,  but  I  have  heard 
talk  of  many  more. — Of  twenty  or  thirty]  I 
cannot  say;  I  have  been  near  losing  my  own 
life  several  times." — Commons'  Report,  p.  53. 

We  come  now  to  burning  little  chimney 
sweepers.  A  large  party  are  invited  to  dinner 
— a  great  display  is  to  be  made ; — and  about  an 
hour  before  dinner,  there  is  an  alarm  that  the 
kitchen  chimney  is  on  fire !  It  is  impossible  to 
put  off  the  distinguished  personages  who  are 
expected.  It  gets  very  late  for  the  soup  and  fish 
— the  cook  is  frantic — all  eyes  are  turned  upon 
the  sable  consolation  of  the  master  chimney 
sweeper — and  up  into  the  midst  of  the  burning 
chimney  is  sent  one  of  the  miserable  little  in- 
fants of  the  brush!  There  is  a  positive  pro- 
hibition of  this  practice,  and  an  enactment  of 
penalties  in  one  of  the  acts  of  Parliament  which 
respects  chimney  sweepers.  But  what  matter 
acts  of  Parliament,  when  the  pleasures  of  gen- 
teel people  are  concerned  ]  Or  what  is  a  toasted 
child,  compared  to  the  agonies  of  the  mistress 
of  the  house  with  a  deranged  dinner] 

"  Did  you  ever  know  a  boy  get  burnt  up  a 
chimney]  Yes. — Is  that  usual''  Yes,  I  have 
been  burnt  myself,  and  have  got  the  scars  oa 
my  legs;  a  year  ago  I  was  up  a  chimney  in 
Liquor  Pond  Street;  I  have  been  up  more  than 
forty  chimneys  where  I  have  been  burnt. — Did 
your  master  or  the  journeymen  ever  direct  you 
to  go  up  a  chimney  that  was  on  fire  ]  Yes,  it  is 
a  general  case. — Do  they  compel  you  to  go  up 
a  chimney  that  is  on  fire]  Oh  yes,  it  was  the 
general  practice  for  two  of  us  to  slop  at  home 
on  Sunday  to  be  ready  in  case  of  a  chimney 
being  a-fire. — You  say  it  is  general  to  compel 
the  boys  to  go  up  chimneys  on  fire]  Yes,  boys 
get  very  ill-treated  if  they  do  not  go  up." — Lords' 
Minutes,  p.  34. 

"  Were  you  ever  forced  up  a  chimney  on 
fire  ]  Yes,  I  was  forced  up  one  once,  and,  be- 
cause I  could  not  do  it,  I  was  taken  home  and 
well  hided  with  a  brush  by  the  journeyman. — 
Have  you  frequently  been  burnt  in  ascending 
chimneys  on  fire]  Three  times. — Are  such 
hardships  as  you  have  described  common  in 
the  trade  with  other  boys  1  Yes,  they  are." — 
Ibid.,  p.  100. 

"  What  is  the  price  for  sending  a  boy  up  a 
chimney  badly  on  fire  ]  The  price  allowed  is 
five  shillings,  but  most  of  them  charge  half  a 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


133 


guinea. — Is  any  part  of  that  given  to  the  boy?  1 
No,  but  very  often  the  boy  gets  half  a  crown ,  j 
and  then  the  journeyman  has  half,  and  his  mis- 
tress takes  the  other  part  to  take  care  of  against 
Sunday. — Have  you  never  seen  water  thrown 
down  from  the  top  of  a  chimney  when  it  is  on 
fire?  Yes. — Is  not  that  generally  done  1  Yes; 
I  have  seen  that  done  twenty  times,  and  the  boy 
in  the  chimney;  at  the  time  when  the  boy  has 
hallooed  out,  'It  is  so  hot  I  cannot  go  any  fur- 
ther;' and  then  the  expression  is,  with  an  oath, 
'Stop,  and  I  will  heave  a  pail  of  water  down.'  " 
—Ibid.,  p.  39. 

Chimney  sweepers  are  subject  to  a  peculiar 
sort  of  cancer,  which  often  brings  them  to  a 
premature  death. 

"  He  appeared  perfectly  willing  to  try  the 
machines  everywhere?  I  must  say  the  man 
appeared  perfectly  willing;  he  had  a  fear  that 
he  and  his  family  would  be  ruined  by  them;  but 
I  must  say  of  him  that  he  is  very  different  from 
other  sweeps  I  have  seen ;  he  attends  very  much 
to  his  own  business;  he  was  as  black  as  any 
boy  he  had  got,  and  unfortunately  in  the  course 
of  conversation  he  told  me  he  had  got  a  cancer; 
he  was  a  fine  healthy  strong  looking  man;  he  told 
me  he  dreaded  having  an  operation  performed, 
but  his  father  died  of  the  same  complaint,  and 
his  father  was  sweeper  to  King  George  the 
Second." — Lords'  Minutes,  p.  84. 

"  What  is  the  nature  of  the  particular  dis- 
eases! The  diseases  that  we  particularly  no- 
ticed, to  which  they  were  subject,  were  of  a 
cancerous  description.  In  what  part?  The 
scrotum  in  particular,  &c. — Did  you  ever  hear 
of  cases  of  that  description  that  were  fatal  ]  No, 
I  do  not  think  them  as  being  altogether  fatal, 
unless  they  will  not  submit  to  the  operation  ; 
they  have  such  a  dread  of  the  operation  that 
they  will  not  submit  to  it,  and  if  they  do  not  let 
it  be  perfectly  removed  they  will  be  liable  to  the 
return  of  it.  To  what  cause  do  you  attribute 
that  disease?  I  think  it  begins  from  a  want  of 
care :  the  scrotum  being  in  so  many  folds  or 
crevices,  the  soot  lodges  in  them  and  creates  an 
itching,  and  I  conceive,  that  by  scratching  it  and 
tearing  it,  the  soot  gets  in  and  creates  the  irrita- 
bility; which  disease  we  know  by  the  name  of 
the  chimney  sweeper's  cancer,  and  is  always 
lectured  upon  separately  as  a  distinct  disease. 
— Then  the  committee  understands  that  the  phy- 
sicians who  are  entrusted  with  the  care  and 
management  of  those  hospitals  think  that  dis- 
ease of  such  common  occurrence,  that  it  is 
necessary  to  make  it  a  part  of  surgical  educa- 
tion? Most  assuredly;  I  remember  Mr.  Cline 
and  Mr.  Cooper  were  particular  on  that  subject. 
— Without  an  operation  there  is  no  cure?  I 
conceive  not;  I  conceive  without  the  operation 
it  is  death;  for  cancers  are  of  that  nature  that 
unless  you  extirpate  them  entirely  they  will 
never  be  cured." — Commons'  Rep.  pp.  60,  61. 

In  addition  to  the  life  they  lead  as  chimney 
sweepers,  is  superadded  the  occupation  of  night- 
men. 

"(Bj/a  Lord.)  Is  it  generally  the  custom 
that  many  masters  are  likewise  nightmen  ?  Yes: 
I  forgot  that  circumstance,  which  is  very  griev- 
ous; I  have  been  tied  round  the  middle  and  let 
down  several  privies, forthe  purpose  of  fetching 
watches  and  such  things;  it  is  generally  made 


the  practice  to  take  the  smallest  boy,  to  let  him 
through  the  hole  without  taking  up  the  seat,  and 
to  paddle  about  there  until  he  finds  it;  they  do 
not  take  a  big  boy,  because  it  disturbs  the  seat." 
— Lords'  Minutes,  p.  38- 

The  bed  of  these  poor  little  wretches  is  often 
the  soot  they  have  swept  in  the  day. 

"How  are  the  boys  generally  lodged;  where 
do  they  sleep  at  night?  Some  masters  maybe 
better  than  others,  but  I  know  I  have  slept  on 
the  soot  that  was  gathered  in  the  day  myself. — 
Where  do  boys  generally  sleep?  Never  on  a 
bed;  I  never  slept  on  a  bed  myself  while  I  was 
apprentice — Do  they  sleep  in  cellars?  Yes, 
very  often  :  I  have  slept  in  the  cellar  myself  on 
the  sacks  I  took  out. — What  had  you  to  cover 
you?  The  same. — Had  you  any  pillow?  No 
further  than  my  breeches  and  jacket  under  my 
head.  How  were  you  clothed?  When  I  was 
apprentice  we  had  a  pair  of  leather  breeches 
and  a  small  flannel  jacket.  Any  shoes  and 
stockings?  Oh  dear, no;  nostockings.— Had  you 
any  other  clothes  for  Sunday  I  Sometimes  we 
had  an  old  bit  of  a  jacket,  that  we  might  wash 
out  ourselves,  and  a  shirt." — Lords'  Minutes, 
p.  40. 

Girls  are  occasionally  employed  as  chimney 
sweepers. 

"Another  circumstance,  which  has  not  been 
mentioned  to  the  committee,  is,  that  there  are 
several  little  girls  employed;  there  are  two  of 
the  name  of  Morgan  at  Windsor,  daughters  of 
the  chimney  sweeper,  who  is  employed  to  sweep 
the  chimneys  of  the  castle  ;  another  instance  at 
Uxbridge,  and  at  Brighton,  and  at  Whilechapel 
(which  was  some  years  ago),  and  at  Hadley 
near  Barnet,  and  Witham  in  Essex,  and  else- 
where."— 'Commons'  Report,  p.  71. 

Another  peculiar  danger  to  which  chimney 
sweepers  are  exposed,  is  the  rottenness  of  the 
pots  at  the  top  of  chimneys; — for  they  must  as- 
cend to  the  very  summit,  and  show  their  brushes 
above  them,  or  there  is  no  proof  that  the  work  is 
properly  completed.  These  chimney-pots  from 
their  exposed  situation,  are  very  subject  to  de- 
cay; and  when  the  poor  little  wretch  has  worked 
his  way  up  to  the  top,  pot  and  boy  give  way 
together,  and  are  both  shivered  to  atoms.  There 
are  many  instances  of  this  in  the  evidence  be- 
fore both  Houses.  When  they  outgrow  the  pow- 
er of  going  up  a  chimney,  they  are  fit  for  nothing 
else.  The  miseries  they  have  suflJered  lead  to 
nothing.  They  are  not  only  enormous,  but  un- 
profitable: having  suffered,  in  what  is  called  the 
happiest  part  of  life,  every  misery  which  an 
human  being  can  suffer,  they  are  then  cast  out 
to  rob  and  steal,  and  given  up  to  the  law. 

Not  the  least  of  their  miseries,  while  their 
trial  endures,  is  their  exposure  to  cold.  It  will 
easily  be  believed  that  much  money  is  not  ex- 
pended on  the  clothes  of  a  poor  boy  stolen  from 
his  parents,  or  sold  by  them  for  a  few  shillings, 
and  constantly  occupied  in  dirty  work.  Yet  the 
nature  of  their  occupations  renders  chimney 
sweepers  peculiarly  susceptible  of  cold.  And 
as  chimneys  must  be  swept  very  early,  at  four 
or  five  o'clock  of  a  winter  morning,  the  poor 
boys  are  shivering  at  the  door,  and  attempting 
by  repeated  ringings  to  rouse  the  profligate  foot- 
nian ;  but  the  more  they  ring  the  more  the  foot- 
man does  not  come, 

M 


134 


WORKS  OF  THE  KEY.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"Do  they  gfo  out  in  the  winter  time  without 
stockings]  Oh  yes. — Always?  I  never  saw  one 
go  out  unth  stockings;  I  have  known  masters 
make  their  boys  pull  off  their  leggins,  and  cut 
off  the  feet,  to  keep  their  feet  warm  when  they 
have  chilblains. — Are  chimney  sweepers'  boys 
peculiarly  subject  to  chilblains'?  Yes;  I  believe 
it  is  owing  to  the  weather:  they  often  go  out  at 
two  or  three  in  the  morning,  and  their  shoes  are 
generally  very  bad.  Do  they  go  out  at  that  hour 
at  Christmas]  Yes;  a  man  will  have  twenty 
jobs  at  four,  and  twenty  more  at  five  or  six. — 
Are  chimneys  generally  swept  much  about 
Christmastime]  Yes;  they  are  in  general;  it 
is  left  to  the  Christmas  week. — Do  you  suppose 
it  is  frequent  that,  in  the  Christmas  week,  boys 
are  out  l>om  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  to 
nine  or  ten]  Yes,  further  than  that;  I  have 
known  that  a  boy  has  been  only  in  and  out 
again  directly  all  day  till  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening. — Do  you  consider  the  journeymen  and 
masters  treat  those  boys  generally  with  greater 
cruelty  than  other  apprentices  in  other  trades 
are  treated]  They  do,  most  horrid  and  shock- 
ing."— Lords'  Minutes,  p.  33. 

The  following  is  the  reluctant  evidence  of  a 
master. 

"At  what  hour  in  the  morning  did  your  boys 
go  out  upon  their  employment]  According  to 
orders. — At  any  time]  To  be  sure;  suppose  a 
nobleman  wished  to  have  his  chimney  done 
before  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  it 
■was  done,  or  how  were  the  servants  to  get  their 
things  done] — Supposing  you  had  an  order  to 
attend  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  the 
month  of  December,  you  sent  your  boy  ?  I  was 
generally  with  him,  or  had  a  careful  follower 
with  him.  Do  you  think  those  early  hours 
beneficial  for  him]  I  do;  and  I  have  heard 
that  'early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise,  is  the  way 
to  be  healthy,  wealthy  and  wise.' — Did  they 
always  get  in  as  soon  as  they  knocked]  No; 
it  would  be  pleasant  to  the  profession  if  they 
could. — How  long  did  they  wait]  Till  t/ie  ser- 
vants please  io  rise. — How  long  might  that  be] 
According  how  heavy  they  were  to  sleep. — 
How  long  was  that]  It  is  impossible  to  say; 
ten  minutes  at  one  house,  and  twenty  at  ano- 
ther.— Perhaps  half  an  hour]  We  cannot  see 
in  ike  dark  how  the  minutes  go. — Do  you  think  it 
healthy  to  let  them  stand  there  twenty  minutes 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  the  winter 
time]  He  has  a  cloth  to  wrap  himself  in  like 
a  mantle,  and  keep  himself  warm." — Lords' 
Minutes,  f  p.  138,  139. 

We  must  not  forget  sore  eyes.  Soot  lodges 
on  their  eyelids,  produces  irritability,  which 
requires  friction  ;  and  the  friction  of  dirty  hands 
of  course  increases  the  disease.  The  greater 
proportion  of  chimney  sweepers  are  in  conse- 
quence blear-eyed.  The  boys  are  very  small,  but 
they  are  compelled  to  carry  heavy  loads  of  soot. 

"Are  you  at  all  lame  yourself]  No:  but  lam 
'knapped-kneed'  with  carrying  heavy  loads 
when  I  was  an  apprentice.  That  was  the  oc- 
casion of  it]  It  was.  In  general,  are  persons 
employed  in  your  trade  either  stunted  or  knock- 
kneed  by  carrying  heavy  loads  during  their 
childhood]  It  is  owing  to  their  masters  a  great 
deal ;  and  when  they  climb  a  great  deal  it  makes 
ihem  weak." — Cumntons'  Report,  p.  58, 


In  climbing  a  chimney,  the  great  hold  is  by 
the  knees  and  elbows.  A  young  child  of  6  or 
7  years  old,  working  with  knees  and  elbows 
against  hard  bricks  soon  rubs  off  the  skin  from 
these  bony  projections,  and  is  forced  to  climb 
high  chimneys  with  raw  and  bloody  knees  and 
elbows. 

"Are  the  boys'  knees  and  elbows  rendered 
sore  when  they  first  begin  to  learn  to  climb] 
Yes,  they  are,  and  pieces  out  of  them. — Is  that 
almost  generally  the  case]  It  is;  there  is  not 
one  out  of  twenty  who  is  not,-  and  they  are  sure 
to  take  the  scars  to  their  grave :  I  have  some 
now. — Are  they  usually  compelled  to  continue 
climbing  while  those  sores  are  open]  Ycs;  the 
way  they  use  to  make  them  hard  is  that  way. — 
Might  not  this  severity  be  obviated  by  the  use  of 
pads  in  learning  to  climb]  Yes ;  but  they  con- 
sider in  the  business,  learning  a  boy,  that  he  is 
never  thoroughly  learned  until  the  boy's  knees 
are  hard  after  being  sore ;  then  they  consider  it 
necessary  to  put  a  pad  on,  from  seeing  the  boys 
have  bad  knees;  the  children  generally  walk 
stifi-kneed. — Is  it  usual  among  the  chimney 
sweepers  to  teach  their  boys  to  learn  by  means 
of  pads]  No;  they  learn  them  with  nearly 
naked  knees.— Is  it  done  in  one  instance  in 
twenty]  No, nor  one  in  fifty." — Lords'  Minutes, 
p.  32. 

According  to  the  humanity  of  the  master,  the 
soot  remains  upon  the  bodies  of  the  children, 
unwashed  off,  for  any  time  from  a  week  to  a 
year. 

"Are  the  boys  generally  washed  regularly? 
No,  unless  they  wash  themselves. —  Did  not 
your  master  take  care  you  were  washed]  No. 
— Not  once  in  three  months]  No,  7wt  once  a 
year. — Did  not  he  find  you  soap]  No;  lean 
take  my  oath  on  the  Bible  that  he  never  found 
me  one  piece  of  soap  during  the  time  I  was 
apprentice." — Lords'  Minutes,  p.  41. 

The  life  of  these  poor  little  wretches  is  so 
miserable,  that  they  often  lie  sulking  in  the 
flues  unwilling  to  come  out. 

"Did  you  ever  see  severity  used  to  boys  that 
were  not  obstinate  and  perverse  ]  Yes. — Very 
often]  Yes,  very  often.  The  boys  are  rather 
obstinate;  some  of  them  are;  some  of  them  will 
get  half-way  up  the'  chimney,  and  will  not  go 
any  further,  and  then  the  journeyman  will  swear 
at  them  to  come  down,  or  go  on  ;  but  the  boys 
are  too  frightened  to  come  down;  they  halloo 
out,  we  cannot  get  up,  and  they  are  afraid  to 
come  down;  sometimes  they  will  send  for  ano- 
ther boy,  and  drag  them  down;  sometimes  get 
up  to  the  top  of  the  chimne^',  and  throw  down 
water,  and  drive  them  down;  then,  when  they 
get  them  down,  they  will  begin  to  drag,  or  beat, 
or  kick  them  about  the  house;  then,  when  they 
get  home,  the  master  will  beat  them  all  round 
the  kitchen  afterwards,  and  give  them  no  break- 
fast, perhaps." — Lords'  Minutes,  pp.  9,  10. 

When  a  chimney  boy  has  done  sufficient 
work  for  the  master  he  must  work  for  the  man; 
and  he  thus  becomes  for  several  hours  after  his 
morning's  work  a  perquisite  to  the  journeyman. 

"  It  is  frequently  the  perquisite  of  the  journey- 
man, when  the  first  labour  of  the  day  on  account 
of  the  master  is  finished,  to  'call  the  streets,'  in 
search  of  employment  on  their  own  account, 
with  the  apprentices,  whose  labour  is  thus  un- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


135 


reasonably  extended,  and  whose  limbs  are  weak- 
ened and  distorted  by  the  weights  which  they 
have  to  carry,  and  by  the  distance  which  they 
have  to  walic.  John  Lawless  says,  '  I  have 
known  a  boy  to  CiJmb  from  twenty  to  thirty 
chimneys  for  his  master  in  the  morning;  he 
has  then  been  sent  out  instantly  with  the  jour- 
neyman, who  has  kept  him  out  till  three  or  four 
o'clock,  till  he  has  accumulated  from  six  to  eight 
bushels  of  soot.' " — Lords'  Report,  p.  24. 

The  sight  of  a  little  chimney  sweeper  often 
excites  pity:  and  they  have  small  presents  made 
to  them  at  the  houses  where  they  sweep.  These 
benevolent  alms  are  disposed  of  in  the  following 
manner: — 

"  Do  the  boys  receive  little  presents  of  money 
from  people  often  in  your  trade  1  Yes,  it  is  in 
general  the  custom. — x\re  they  allowed  to  keep 
that  for  their  own  use  1  Not  the  whole  of  it, — 
the  journeymen  take  what  they  think  proper. 
The  journeymen  are  entitled  to  half  by  the 
master's  orders;  and  whatever  a  boy  may  get, 
if  two  boys  and  one  journeyman  are  sent  to  a 
large  house  to  sweep  a  number  of  chimneys, 
and  after  they  have  done,  there  should  be  a 
shilling  or  eighteen  pence  given  to  the  boys,  the 
journeyman  has  his  full  half,  and  the  two  boys  in 
general  have  the  other.  Is  it  usual  or  customary 
for  the  journeymen  to  play  at  chuck  farthing  or 
other  games  with  the  boys]  Frequently. — Do 
they  win  the  money  from  the  boys  ?  Frequently: 
the  childien  give  their  money  to  the  journeymen 
to  screen  for  them. —  What  do  you  mean  by 
screening]  Such  a  thing  as  sifting  the  soot. — 
The  chiki  is  tired,  and  he  says, '  Jem,  I  will  give 
you  two-pence  if  you  will  sift  my  share  of  the 
soot ;'  there  is  sometimes  twenty  or  thirty  bushels 
to  sift.  Do  you  think  the  boys  retain  one  quar- 
ter of  that  given  them  for  their  own  use  ]  No." 
— Lords'  Minutes,  p.  35. 

To  this  most  horrible  list  of  calamities  is  to 
be  added  the  dreadful  deaths  by  which  chimney 
sweepers  are  often  destroyed.  Of  these  we 
once  thought  of  giving  two  examples;  one  from 
London,  the  other  from  our  own  town  of  Edin- 
burgh: but  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  latter. 

"James  Thomson,  chimney-sweeper. —  One 
day,  in  the  beginning  of  June,  witness  and  panel 
(that  is,  the  master,  the  party  accused)  had  been 
sweeping  vents  together.  About  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  the  panel  proposed  to  go  to 
Albany  street,  where  the  panel's  brother  was 
cleaning  a  vent,  with  the  assistance  of  Frazer, 
■whom  he  had  borrowed  from  the  panel  for  the 
occasion.  When  witness  and  panel  got  to  the 
house  in  Albany  street,  they  found  Frazer,  who 
had  gone  up  the  vent  between  eleven  and  twelve 
o'clock,  not  yet  come  down.  On  entering  the 
house  they  found  a  mason  making  a  hole  in  the 
wall.  Panel  said,  what  was  he  doing]  I  sup- 
pose he  has  taken  a  lazy  fit.  The  panel  called 
to  the  boy, '  What  are  you  doing]  what's  keep- 
ing you  ]'  The  boy  answered  that  he  could  not 
come.  The  panel  worked  a  long  while,  some- 
times persuading  him,  sometimes  threatening 
and  swearing  at  the  boy  to  get  him  down.  Panel 
then  said, '  I  will  go  to  a  hardware  shop  and  get 
a  barrel  of  gunpowder,  and  blow  you  and  the 
vent  to  the  devil,  if  you  do  not  come  down.' — 
Panel  then  began  to  slap  at  the  wall — witness 
then  went  up  a  ladder,  and  spoke  to  the  boy 


through  a  small  hole  in  the  wall  previously 
made  by  the  mason — but  the  boy  did  not  answer 
Panel's  brother  told  witness  to  come  down,  as 
the  boy's  master  knew  best  how  to  manage  him. 
Witness  then  threw  off  his  jacket,  and  put  a 
handkerchief  about  his  head,  and  said  to  the 
panel,  let  me  go  up  the  chimney  to  see  what's 
keeping  him.  The  panel  made  no  answer,  but 
pushed  witness  away  from  the  chimney,  and 
continued  bullying  the  boy.  At  this  time  the 
panel  was  standing  on  the  grate,  so  that  witness 
could  not  go  up  the  chimney;  witness  then  said 
to  panel's  brother,  there  is  no  use  for  me  here, 
meaning  that  panel  would  not  permit  him  to  use 
his  services.  He  prevented  the  mason  making 
the  hole  larger,  saying,  Stop,  and  I'll  bring  him 
down  in  five  minutes'  time.  Witness  then  put 
on  his  jacket,  and  continued  an  hour  in  the 
room,  during  all  which  time  the  panel  continued 
bulli/inn;  the  boy.  Panel  then  desired  witness  to 
go  to  Reid's  house  to  get  the  loan  of  his  boy 
Alison.  Witness  went  to  Reid's  house,  and 
asked  Reid  to  come  and  speak  to  panel's  bro- 
ther. Reid  asked  if  panel  was  there]  Witness 
answered  he  was;  Reid  said  he  would  send  his 
boy  to  the  panel,  but  not  to  the  panel's  brother. 
Witness  and  Reid  went  to  Albany  street;  and 
when  they  got  into  the  room,  panel  took  his  head 
out  of  the  chimney  and  asked  Reid  if  he  would 
lend  him  his  boy;  Reid  agreed;  witness  then 
returned  to  Reid's  house  for  his  boy,  and  Reid 
called  after  him,  'Fetch  down  a  set  of  ropes 
with  you.'  By  this  time  witness  had  been  ten 
minutes  in  the  room,  during  which  time  panel 
was  swearing,  and  asking  what's  keeping  you, 
you  scoundrel]  When  witness  returned  with 
the  boy  and  ropes,  Reid  took  hold  of  the  rope, 
and  having  loosed  it,  gave  Alison  one  end,  and 
directed  him  to  go  up  the  chimney,  saying,  do 
not  go  farther  than  his  feet,  and  when  you  get 
there  fasten  it  to  his  foot.  Panel  said  nothing 
all  this  time.  Alison  went  up,  and  having  fast- 
ened the  rope,  Reid  desired  him  to  come  down; 
Reid  took  the  rope  and  pulled,  but  did  not  bring 
down  the  boy;  the  rope  broke!  Alison  was 
sent  up  again  with  the  other  end  of  the  rope, 
which  was  fastened  to  the  boy's  foot.  When 
Reid  was  pulling  the  rope,  panel  said,  'You 
have. not  the  strength  of  a  cat;'  he  took  the 
rope  into  his  own  hands,  pulli7ig  as  strong  as  he 
could.  Having  pulled  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
panel  and  Reid  fastened  the  rope  round  a  crow 
bar,  which  they  applied  to  the  wall  as  a  lever, 
and  both  pulled  with  all  their  strength  for  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  longer,  when  it  broke. — 
During  this  time  witness  heard  the  boy  cry,  and 
say, '  My  God  Almighty  !'  Panel  said, '  If  I  had 
you  here,  I  would  God  Almighty  you.'  Witness 
thought  the  cries  were  in  agony.  The  master 
of  the  house  brought  a  new  piece  of  rope,  and 
the  panel's  brother  spliced  an  eye  on  it.  Reid 
expressed  a  wish  to  have  it  fastened  on  both 
thighs,  to  have  greater  purchase.  Alison  was 
sent  up  for  this  purpose,  but  came  down,  and 
said  he  could  not  get  it  fastened.  Panel  then 
began  to  slap  at  the  wall.  After  striking  a  long 
while  at  the  wall,  he  got  out  a  large  stone;  he 
then  put  in  his  head  and  called  to  Frazer,  'Do 
you  hear,  you  sir]'  but  got  no  answer:  he  then 
put  in  his  hands,  and  threw  down  deceased's 
breeches.   He  then  came  down  from  the  ladder 


138 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


At  this  time  the  panel  was  in  a  state  of  perspi- 
ration: he  sat  down  on  a  stool,  and  the  master 
of  the  house  gave  him  a  dram.  Witness  did 
not  hear  panel  make  any  remarks  as  to  the 
situation  of  the  boy  Frazer.  Witness  thinks 
that,  from  panel's  appearance,  he  knew  that  the 
boy  was  dead." —  Commons'  Report,  pp.  136 — 
138. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  stating  the 
case  of  the  chimney  sweepers,  and  in  founding 
it  upon  the  basis  of  facts,  that  we  may  make  an 
answer  to  those  profligate  persons  who  are  al- 
ways ready  to  fling  an  air  of  ridicule  upon  the 
labours  of  humanity,  because  they  are  desirous 
that  what  they  have  not  virtue  to  do  themselves, 
should  appear  to  be  foolish  and  romantic  when 
done  by  others.  A  still  higher  degree  of  depra- 
vity than  this,  is  to  want  every  sort  of  compas- 
sion for  human  misery,  when  it  is  accompanied 
by  filth,  poverty  and  ignorance, — to  regulate 
humanity  by  the  income  tax,  and  to  deem  the 
bodily  wretchedness  and  the  dirty  tears  of  the 
poor,  a  fit  subject  for  pleasantry  and  contempt. 
We  should  have  been  loath  to  believe  that  such 
deep-seated  and  disgusting  immorality  existed 
in  these  days ;  but  the  notice  of  it  is  forced  upon 
lis.  Nor  must  we  pass  over  a  set  of  marvel- 
lously weak  gentlemen  who  discover  democracy 
and  revolution  in  every  effort  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  lower  orders,  and  to  take  off"  a 
little  of  the  load  of  misery  from  those  points 
where  it  presses  the  hardest.  Such  are  the 
men  into  whose  heart  Mrs.  Fry  has  struck  the 
deepest  terror, — who  abhor  Mr.  Bentham  and 
his  penitentiary;  Mr.  Bennet  and  his  hulks; 
Sir  James  Mackintosh  and  his  bloodless  assizes ; 
Mr.  Tuke  and  his  sweeping  machines, — and 
every  human  being  who  is  great  and  good 
enough  to  sacrifice  his  quiet  to  his  love  for  his 
fellow-creatures.  Certainly  we  admit  that  hu- 
manity is  sometimes  the  veil  of  ambition  or  of 
faction;  but  we  have  no  doubt  that  there  are  a 
great  many  excellent  persons  to  whom  it  is 
misery  to  see  misery,  and  pleasure  to  lessen  it; 
and  who,  by  calling  the  public  attention  to  the 
worst  cases,  and  by  giving  birth  to  judicious 


legislative  enactments  for  their  improvement, 
have  made,  and  are  making,  the  world  some- 
what happier  than  they  found  it.  Upon  these 
principles  we  join  hands  with  the  friends  of  the 
chimney  sweepers,  and  most  heartily  wish  for 
the  diminution  of  their  numbers,  and  the  limi- 
tation of  their  trade. 

We  are  thoroughly  convinced,  there  are  many 
respectable  master  chimney  sweepers;  though 
we  suspect  their  numbers  have  been  increased 
by  the  alarm  which  their  former  tyranny  excited, 
and  by  the  severe  laws  made  for  their  coercion: 
but  even  with  good  masters  the  trade  is  mise- 
rable,— with  bad  ones  it  is  not  to  be  endured; 
and  the  evidence  already  quoted  shows  us  how 
many  of  that  character  are  to  be  met  with  in  the 
occupation  of  sweeping  chimneys. 

After  all,  we  must  own  that  it  was  quite  right 
to  throw  out  the  bill  for  prohibiting  the  sweep- 
ing of  chimneys  by  boys — because  humanity  is 
a  modern  invention;  and  there  are  many  chim- 
neys in  old  houses  which  cannot  possibly  be 
swept  in  any  other  manner.  But  the  construc- 
tion of  chimneys  should  be  attended  to  in  some 
new  building  act;  and  the  treatment  of  boys  be 
watched  over  with  the  most  severe  jealousy  of 
the  law.  Above  all,  those  who  have  chimneys 
accessible  to  machinery,  should  encourage  the 
use  of  machines,*  and  not  think  it  beneath  their 
dignity  to  take  a  little  trouble,  in  order  to  do  a 
great  deal  of  good.  We  should  have  been  very 
glad  to  have  seconded  the  views  of  the  Climbing 
Society,  and  to  have  pleaded  for  the  complete 
abolition  of  climbing  boys,  if  we  could  consci- 
entiously have  done  so.  But  such  a  measure, 
we  are  convinced  from  the  evidence,  could  not 
be  carried  into  execution  without  great  injury  to 
property,  and  great  increased  risk  of  fire.  The 
lords  have  investigated  the  matter  with  the 
greatest  patience,  humanity  and  good  sense; 
and  they  do  not  venture,  in  their  report,  to  re- 
commend to  the  House  the  abolition  of  climbing 
boys. 


*  The  price  of  a  machine  is  fifteen  sliillings. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


137 


AMEEICA.* 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1820.] 


This  is  a  book  of  character  and  authority  ; 
but  it  is  a  very  large  book;  and  therefore  we 
think  we  shall  do  an  acceptable  service  to  our 
readers,  by  presenting  them  with  a  short  epi- 
tome of  its  contents,  observing  the  same  order 
which  has  been  chosen  by  the  author.  The 
whole,  we  conceive,  will  form  a  pretty  complete 
picture  of  America,  and  teach  us  how  to  appre- 
ciate that  countr)%  either  as  a  powerful  enemy 
or  a  profitable  friend.  The  first  subject  with 
which  Mr.  Seybert  begins,  is  the  population  of 
the  United  States. 

Population. — As  representatives  and  direct 
taxes  are  apportioned  among  the  different  states 
in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  it  is  provided 
for  in  the  American  constitution,  that  there 
shall  be  an  actual  enumeration  of  the  people 
every  ten  years.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  marshals 
in  each  state  to  number  the  inhabitants  of  their 
respective  districts :  and  a  correct  copy  of  the 
lists,  containing  the  names  of  the  persons  re- 
turned, must  be  set  up  in  a  public  place  within 
each  district,  before  they  are  transmitted  to  the 
secretary  of  state: — they  are  then  laid  before 
Congress  by  the  president.  Under  this  act  three 
census,  or  enumerations  of  the  people,  have 
been  already  laid  before  Congress — fur  the 
years  1790,  1800  and  1810.  In  the  year  1790, 
the  population  of  America  was  3,921,326  per- 
sons, of  whom  697,697  were  slaves.  In  1800, 
the  numbers  were  5,319,762,  of  which  896,849 
were  slaves.  In  1810,  the  numbers  were  7,239,- 
903,  of  whom  1,191,364  were  slaves;  so  that  at 
a  rale  at  which  free  population  has  proceeded 
between  1790  and  1810,  it  doubles  itself,  in  the 
United  Slates,  in  a  very  little  more  than  22 
years.  The  slave  population,  according  to  its 
rate  of  proceeding  in  the  same  time,  would  be 
doubled  in  about  26  years.  The  increase  of  the 
slave  population  in  this  statement  is  owing  to 
the  importation  of  negroes  betw^een  1800  and 
1808,  especially  in  1806  and  1807,  from  the  ex- 
pected prohibition  against  importation.  The 
number  of  slaves  was  also  increased  by  the  ac- 
quisitions of  territory  in  Louisiana,  where  they 
constituled  nearly  half  the  population.  From 
1801  to  1811,  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain 
acquired  an  augmentation  of  14  per  cent.;  the 
Americans,  within  the  same  period,  were  aug- 
mented 36  per  cent. 

Emigration  seems  to  be  of  very  little  import- 
ance to  the  United  States.  In  the  year  1817,  by 
far  the  most  considerable  3'^ear  of  emigration, 
there  arrived  in  ten  of  the  principal  ports  of 
America,  from  the  old  world,  22,000  persons  as 
passengers.  The  number  of  emigrants,  from  1790 
to  1810,  is  not  supposed  to  have  exceeded  6000 


*  Statiuical  Annals  of  Oie  United  States  of  America.    By 
J>  diim  Seybert,  4to-    Pliiladelphia,  1S18. 
18 


per  annum.  None  of  the  separate  states  have 
been  retrograde  duringthese  three  enumerations, 
though  some  have  been  nearly  stationary.  The 
most  remarkable  increase  is  that  of  New  York, 
which  has  risen  from  340,120  in  the  year  1790, 
to  959,049  in  the  year  1810.  The  emigration 
from  the  eastern  to  the  western  states  is  calcu- 
lated at  60,000  persons  per  annum.  In  all  the 
American  enumerations,  the  males  uniformly 
predominate  in  the  proportion  of  about  100  to 
92.  We  are  better  ofl^  in  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land,— where  the  women  were  to  the  men,  by 
the  census  of  1811,  as  110  to  100.  The  density 
of  population  in  the  United  States  is  less  than 
4  persons  to  a  square  mile;  that  of  Holland, 
in  1803,  was  275  to  the  square  mile;  that  of 
England  and  Wales,  169.  So  that  the  fifteen 
provinces  which  formed  the  union  in  1810, 
would  contain,  if  they  were  as  thickly  peopled 
as  Holland,  135  million  souls. 

The  next  head  is  that  of  Trade  and  Commerce. 
— In  1790,  the  exports  of  the  United  States  were 
above  19  millions  of  dollars;  in  1791,  above  20 
millions;  in  1792,  26  millions;  in  1793,  33  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  Prior  to  1795,  there  was  no 
discrimination,  in  the  American  treasury  ac- 
counts, between  the  exportation  of  domestic, 
and  the  re-exportation  of  foreign  articles.  In 
1795,  the  aggregate  value  of  the  merchandize 
exported  was  67  millions  of  dollars,  of  which  the 
foreign  produce  re-exported  was  26  millions. 
In  1800,  the  total  value  of  exports  was  94  mil- 
lions; in  1805,  101  millions;  and  in  1808,  when 
they  arrived  at  their  maximum,  108  million 
dollars.  In  the  year  1809,  from  the  effects  of 
the  French  and  English  orders  in  council,  the 
exports  fell  to  52  millions  of  dollars;  in  1810 
to  66 -millions  ;  in  1811,  to  61  millions;  In  the 
first  year  of  the  war  with  England,  to  38  mil- 
lions ;  in  the  second  to  27;  in  the  )'ear  1814, 
when  peace  was  made,  to  6  millions.  So  that 
the  exports  of  the  republic,  in  six  years,  had 
tumbled  down  from  108  to  6  millions  of  dollars: 
after  the  peace,  in  the  years  1815-16-17,  thp 
exports  rose  to  52,  81,87  million  dollars. 

In  1817,  the  exportation  of  cotton  was  8.5 
million  pounds.  In  1815,  the  sugar  made  on 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  was  10  millioa 
pounds.  In  1792,  when  the  wheat  trade  was  at 
the  maximum,  a  million  and  a  half  of  bushels 
were  exported.  The  proportions  of  the  exports 
to  Great  Britain,  Spain,  France,  Holland  and 
Portugal,  on  an  average  of  ten  years  ending 
1812,  are  as  27,  16,  13,  12  and  7;  the  actual 
value  of  exports  to  the  dominions  of  Great 
Britain,  in  the  three  years  ending  1804,  were 
consecutively,  in  millions  of  dollars,  16,  17,  13. 

Imports. — in  1791,  the  imports  of  the  United 
States  were  19  millions;  on  an  average  of  three 
consecutive  years,  ending  1804  inclusive,  they 
u2 


138 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


were  68  millions;  in  1806-7,  they  were  138 
millions;  and  in  1815,  133  millions  of  dollars. 
The  annual  value  of  the  imports,  on  an  average 
of  three  years  ending  1804,  was  75,000,000,  of 
"which  the  dominions  of  Great  Britain  furnished 
nearly  one  half.  On  an  average  of  three  years 
ending  in  1804,  America  imported  from  Great 
Britain  to  the  amount  of  about  36  millions,  and 
returned  goods  to  the  amount  of  about  23  mil- 
lions. Certainly  these  are  countries  that  have 
some  belter  employment  for  their  time  and 
energy  than  cutting  each  other's  throats,  and 
may  meet  for  more  profitable  purposes. — The 
American  imports  from  the  dominions  of  Great 
Britain,  before  the  great  American  war,  amount- 
ed to  about  3  millions  sterling;  soon  after  the 
war,  to  the  same.  From  1805  to  1811,  both  in- 
clusive, the  average  annual  exportation  of  Great 
Britain  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  in  real  value, 
was  about  43  millions  sterling,  of  which  one- 
fifth,  or  nearly  9  millions,  was  sent  to  America. 

Tonnage  and  Navigation. — Before  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  the  American  tonnage,  whether 
owned  by  British  or  American  subjects,  was 
about  127,000  tons;  immediately  after  that  war, 
108,000.  In  1789,  it  had  amounted  to  437,733 
tons,  of  which  279,000  was  American  property. 
In  1790,  the  total  was  605,825,  of  which  354,000 
was  American.  In  1816,  the  tonnage,  all  Ame- 
rican, was  1,300,000.  On  an  average  of  three 
years,  from  1810  to  1812,  both  inclusive,  the 
registered  tonnage  of  the  British  empire  was 
2,459,000 ;  or  little  more  than  double  the  Ame- 
rican. 

Lands. — All  public  lands  are  surveyed  before 
they  are  offered  for  sale,  and  divided  into  town- 
ships of  six  miles  square,  which  are  subdivided 
into  thirty-six  sections  of  one  mile  square,  con- 
taining each  640  acres.  The  following  lands 
are  excepted  from  the  sales.  One  thirty-sixth 
part  of  the  lands,  or  a  section  of  640  acres  in 
each  township,  is  unilormly  reserved  for  the 
support  of  schools ;  seven  entire  townships,  con- 
taining each  23,000  acres,  have  been  reserved 
in  perpetuity  for  the  support  of  learning:  all  salt 
springs  and  lead  mines  are  also  reserved.  The 
Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and  all  the  navigable 
rivers  and  waters  leading  into  either,  or  into  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  remain  common  highways, 
and  forever  lYee  to  all  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  without  payment  of  any  tax.  All  the 
other  public  lands,  not  thus  excepted,  are  offered 
for  public  sale  in  quarter  sections  of  160  acres, 
at  a  price  not  less  than  two  dollars  per  acre, 
and  as  much  more  as  they  will  fetch  by  public 
auction.  It  was  formerly  the  duty  of  the  secre 
tary  of  the  treasury  to  superintend  the  sales  of 
lands.  In  1812,  an  ofllce,  denominated  the 
General  Land-Office,  was  instituted.  The  public 
lands  sold  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  land-offices, 
amounted  to  one  million  and  a  half  of  acres. 
The  aggregate  of  the  sales  since  the  opening  of 
the  land-offices,  N.  W.  of  the  river  Ohio,  to  the 
end  of  September,  1817,  amounted  to  8,469,644 
acres;  and  the  purchase-money  to  18,000,000 
dollars.  The  lands  sold  since  the  opening  of 
the  land-offices  in  the  Mississippi  territory, 
amount  to  1,600,000  acres.  The  stock  of  un- 
sold land  on  hand  is  calculated  at  400,000,000 
acres.  In  the  year  18 17  there  were  sold  above 
two  millions  of  acres. 


Post-Office. — In  1789,  the  number  of  post- 
offices  in  the  United  States  was  75;  the  amount 
of  postage  38,000  dollars  ;  the  miles  of  post-road 
1800.  In  1817,  the  number  of  post-offices  was 
3,459;  the  amount  of  postage  961,000  dollars; 
and  the  extent  of  post-roads  51,600  miles. 

Revetiiie. — The  revenues  of  the  United  States 
are  derived  from  the  customs;  from  duties  on 
distilled  spirits,  carriages,  snuff,  refined  sugar, 
auctions,  stamped  paper,  goods,  wares  and  mer- 
chandise manufactured  within  the  United  States, 
household  furniture,  gold  and  silver  watches 
and  postage  of  letters;  from  money  arising  from 
the  sale  of  public  lands  and  from  fees  on  letters- 
patent.  The  following  are  the  duties  paid  at 
the  custom-house  for  some  of  the  principal  arti- 
cles of  importation: — "i^  per  cent,  on  dyeing 
drugs,  jewellery  and  watch-work;  15  per  cent, 
on  hempen  cloth  and  on  all  articles  manu- 
factured from  iron,  tin,  brass  and  lead — on  but- 
tons, ijuckles,  china,  earthenware  and  glass, 
except  window  glass;  25  per  cent,  on  cotton 
and  woollen  goods  and  cotton  twist;  30  per 
cent,  on  carriages,  leather  and  leather  manu- 
factures, &c. 

The  average  annual  produce  of  the  customs, 
between  1801  and  1810,  both  inclusive,  was 
about  twelve  millions  of  dollars.     In  the  year 

1814,  the  customs  amounted  onli/  to  four  mil- 
lions; and,  in  the  year  1815,  the  first  year  after 
the  war,  rose  to  thirty-seven  millions.  From 
1789  to  1814,  the  customs  have  constituted  65 
per  cent,  of  the  American  revenues;  loans  26 
per  cent.;  and  all  other  branches  8  to  9  per  cent. 
They  collect  their  customs  at  about  4  per  cent.; 
— the  English  expense  of  collection  is  6/.  2s.Qd. 
per  cent. 

The  duty  upon  spirits  is  extremely  trifling  to 
the  consumer — not  a  penny  per  gallon.  The 
number  of  distilleries  is  about  15,000.  The 
licenses  produce  a  very  inconsiderable  sum. 
The  tax  laid  upon  carriages  in  1814,  varied 
from  fifty  dollars  to  one  dollar,  according  to  the 
value  of  the  machine.  In  the  year  1801,  there 
were  more  than  fifteen  thousand  carriages  of  dif- 
ferent descriptions  paying  duty.  The  furniture- 
tax  seems  to  have  been  a  very  singular  species 
of  tax,  laid  on  during  the  last  war.  It  was  an  ad 
valorem  duty  upon  all  the  furniture  in  any  man's 
possession,  the  value  of  which  exceeded  600 
dollars.  Furniture  cannot  be  estimated  without 
domiciliary  visits,  nor  domiciliary  visits  allowed 
without  tyranny  and  vexation.  An  information 
laid  against  a  new  arm-chair,  or  a  clandestine 
sideboard — a  search-warrant,  and  a  conviction 
consequent  upon  it — have  much  more  the  ap- 
pearance of  English  than  American  liberty. 
The  license  for  a  watch,  too,  is  purely  English. 
A  truly  free  Englishman  walks  out  covered  with 
licenses.  It  is  impossible  to  convict  him.  He 
has  paid  a  guinea  for  his  powdered  head — a 
guinea  for  the  coat  of  arms  upon  his  seals — a 
three  guinea  license  for  the  gun  he  carries  upon 
his  shoulder  to  shoot  game:  and  is  so  fortified 
with  permits  and  official  sanctions,  that  the  most 
eagle-eyed  informer  cannot  obtain  the  most  tri- 
fling advantage  over  him. 

America   has   borrowed,  between   1791   and 

1815,  one  hundred  and  seven  millions  of  dol 
lars,  of  which  forty-nine  millions  were  bor- 
rowed in  1813  and  1814.    The  internal  revenue 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


139 


in  the  year  1815  amounted  to  eight  million 
dollars;  the  gross  revenue  of  the  same  year, 
including  the  loan,  to  fifty-one  million  dollars. 

Army. — During  the  late  war  wilh  Great  Brit- 
tain,  Congress  authorized  the  raising  of  62,000 
men  for  the  armies  of  the  United  States, — 
though  the  actual  number  raised  never  amount- 
ed to  half  that  force.  In  February,  1815,  the 
army  of  the  United  States  did  not  amount  to 
more  than  32,000  men;  in  January,  1814,  to 
23,000.*  The  recruiting  service,  as  may  be 
easily  conceived,  where  the  wages  of  labour 
are  so  high,  goes  on  very  slowly  in  America. 
The  military  peace  establishment  was  fixed  in 
1815  at  10,000  men.  The  Americans  are  fortu- 
nately exempt  from  the  insanity  of  garrisoning 
little  rocks  and  islands  all  over  the  world;  nor 
would  they  lavish  millions  upon  the  ignoble  end 
of  the  Spanish  Peninsula — the  most  useless  and 
extravagant  possession  with  which  any  Eu- 
ropean power  was  ever  afflicted.  In  1812,  any 
recruit  honourably  discharged  from  the  service, 
was  allowed  three  months'  pay,  and  160  acres 
of  land.  In  1814,  every  non-commissioned 
officer,  musician  and  private,  who  enlisted  and 
was  afterwards  honourably  discharged,  was  al- 
lowed, upon  such  discharge,  320  acres.  The 
enlistment  was  for  five  years,  or  during  the  war. 
The  widow,  child  or  parent  of  any  person  en- 
listed, who  was  killed,  or  died  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  was  entitled  to  receive  the 
same  bounty  in  land. 

Every  free  white  male  between  eighteen  and 
forty-five,  is  liable  to  be  called  out  in  the  militia, 
which  is  stated,  in  official  papers,  to  amount  to 
748,000  persons. 

Navy. — On  the  8th  of  June,  1781,  the  Ameri- 
cans had  onlj'  one  vessel  of  war,  the  Alliance; 
and  that  was  thought  to  be  too  expensive ;  it  was 
sold!  The  attacks  of  the  Barbary  powers  first 
roused  them  to  form  a  navy;  which,  in  1797, 
amounted  to  three  frigates.  In  1814,  besides  a 
great  increase  of  frigates,  four  seventy-fours 
were  ordered  to  be  built.  In  1816,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  brilliant  actions  of  their  fri- 
gates, the  naval  service  had  become  very  popu- 
lar throughout  the  United  States.  One  million 
of  dollars  was  appropriated  annually,  for  eight 
years  to  the  gradual  increase  of  the  navy;  nine 
seventy-fours,!  and  twelve  forty-four  gun-ships 
were  ordered  to  be  built.  Vacant  and  unappro- 
priated lands  belonging  to  the  United  States,  fit 
to  produce  oak  and  cedar,  were  to  be  selected 
for  the  use  of  the  navy.  The  peace  establish- 
ment of  the  marine  corps  was  increased,  and 
six  navy  yards  were  established.  We  were 
surprised  to  find  Dr.  Seybert  complaining  of  a 
want  of  ship  timber  in  America.  "Many  per- 
sons (he  says)  believe  that  our  stock  of  live  oak 
is  very  considerable ;  but  upon  good  authority 
we  have  been  told,  in  1801,  that  supplies  of  live 
oak  from  Georgia  will  be  obtained  with  great 
difficulty,  and  that  the  larger  pieces  are  very 
scarce."  In  treating  of  naval  aiTairs,  Dr.  Sey- 
bert, with  a  very  difl^erent  purpose  in  view,  pays 
the  following  involuntary  tribute  to  the  activity 


*  Peace  with  Great  Britain  was  signed  in  December, 
1S14,  at  Glient. 

t  The  American  seventy-four  gun  ships  are  as  bi!^  as 
our  first-rates,  and  tlieir  frigates  nearly  as  big  as  ships  of 
the  line. 


and  effect  of  our  late  naval  warfare  against  the 
Americans. 

"For  a  long  time  the  majority  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  was  opposed  to  an  exten- 
sive and  permanent  naval  establishment;  and 
the  force  authorized  by  the  legislature,  until  very 
lately,  was  intended  for  temporary  purposes.  A 
navy  was  considered  to  be  beyond  the  financial 
means  of  our  country;  and  it  was  supposed  the 
people  would  not  submit  to  be  taxed  for  its  sup- 
port. Our  brilliant  success  in  the  late  war  has 
changed  the  public  sentiment  on  this  subject: 
many  persons  who  formerly  opposed  the  navy, 
now  consider  it  as  an  essential  means  for  our 
defence.  The  late  transactions  on  the  borders 
of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  cannot  be  forgotten; 
the  extent  of  that  immense  estuary  enabled  the 
enemy  to  sail  triumphant  into  the  interior  of 
the  United  States.  For  hundreds  of  miles  along 
the  shores  of  that  great  bay,  our  people  were  in- 
sulted; our  towns  were  ravaged  and  destroyed; 
a  considerable  population  was  teased  and  irri- 
tated; depredations  were  hourly  committed  by 
an  enemy  who  could  penetrate  into  the  bosom 
of  the  country,  without  our  being  able  to  molest 
him  whilst  he  kept  on  the  water.  By  the  time 
a  sufficient  force  was  collected  to  check  his 
operations  in  one  situation,  his  ships  had  al- 
ready transported  him  to  another,  which  was 
feeble,  and  offered  a  booty  to  him.  An  army 
could  make  no  resistance  to  this  mode  of  war- 
fare; the  people  were  annoyed;  and  they  suf- 
fered in  the  field  only  to  be  satisfied  of  their 
inability  to  check  those  who  had  the  dominion 
upon  our  waters.  The  inhabitants  who  were  in 
the  immediate  vicinity,  were  not  alone  affected 
by  the  enemy;  his  operations  extended  their 
influence  to  our  great  towns  on  the  Atlantic 
coast;  domestic  intercourse  and  internal  com- 
merce were  interrupted,  whilst  that  wilh  foreign 
nations  was,  in  some  instances,  entirely  sus- 
pended. The  treasury  documents  for  1814,  ex- 
hibit the  phenomenon  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania not  being  returned  in  the  list  of  the 
exporting  states.  We  were  not  only  deprived 
of  revenue,  but  our  expenditures  were  very 
much  augmented.  It  is  probable  the  amount 
of  the  expenditures  incurred  on  the  borders  of 
the  Chesapeake  would  have  been  adequate  to 
provide  naval  means  for  the  defence  of  those 
waters:  the  people  might  then  have  remained 
at  home,  secure  from  depredation  in  the  pur- 
suit of  their  tranquil  occupations.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  government,  as  well  as  of  indi- 
viduals, were  very  much  augmented  for  every 
species  of  transportation.  Every  thing  had  to 
be  conveyed  by  land  carriage.  Our  communi- 
cation with  the  ocean  was  cut  off.  One  thou- 
sand dollars  were  paid  for  the  transportation  of 
each  of  the  thirty-two  pounder  cannon  from 
Washington  city  to  Lake  Ontario  for  the  public 
service.  Our  roads  became  almost  impassable 
from  the  heavy  loads  which  were  carried  over 
them.  These  facts  should  induce  us,  in  times 
of  tranquillity,  to  provide  for  the  national  de- 
fence, and  execute  such  internal  improvements 
as  cannot  be  effected  during  the  agitations  of 
war." — (p.  679.) 

Expenditure. — The  President  of  the  United 
States  receives  about  6000/.  a  year;  the  Vice- 
President  about  600/.;  the  deputies  to  Congress 


140 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


have  8  dollars  per  day,  and  8  dollars  for  every 
20  miles  of  journey.  The  first  clerk  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  receives  about  750/. 
per  annum;  the  Secretary  of  State,  1200/.;  the 
Postmaster-General,  750/.;  the  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States,  1000/.;  a  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary, 2200/.  per  annum.  There  are,  doubt- 
less, reasons  why  there  should  be  two  noblemen 
appointed  in  this  country  as  postmasters-gene- 
ral, with  enormous  salaries,  neither  of  whom 
know  a  twopenny  post  letter  from  a  general 
one,  and  where  further  retrenchments  are  stated 
to  be  impossible.  This  is  clearly  a  case  to 
■which  that  impossibility  extends.  But  these  are 
matters  where  a  prostration  of  understanding 
is  called  for;  and  good  subjects  are  not  to  rea- 
son, but  to  pay.  If,  however,  we  were  ever  to 
indulge  in  the  Saxon  practice  of  looking  into 
•our  own  aflairs,  some  important  documents 
might  be  derived  from  these  American  salaries. 
Jonathan,  for  instance,  sees  no  reason  why  the 
first  clerk  of  his  House  of  Commons  should 
derive  emoluments  from  his  situation  to  the 
amount  of  6000/.  or  7000/.  per  annum  ;  but 
Jonathan  is  vulgar  and  arithmetical.  The  total 
expenditure  of  the  United  States  varied,  between 
1799  and  1811,  both  inclusive,  from  11  to  17 
millions  of  dollars.  From  1812  to  1814,  both 
inclusive,  and  all  these  years  of  war  with  this 
country,  the  expenditure  was  consecutively,  23, 
29,  and  38  millions  of  dollars.  The  total  ex- 
penditure of  the  United  States,  for  14  years 
from  1791  to  1814,  was  333  millions  of  dollars; 
of  which,  in  the  three  last  years  of  war  with 
this  country,  from  1812  lo  1814,  there  were  ex- 
pended 100  millions  of  dollars,  of  which  only 
35  were  supplied  by  revenue,  the  rest  by  loans 
and  government  paper.  The  sum  total  received 
by  the  American  treasury  from  the  3d  of  March, 
1789,  to  the  31st  of  March,  1816,  is  354  millions 
of  dollars;  of  which  107  millions  have  been 
raised  by  loan,  and  222  millions  by  the  customs 
and  tonnage:  so  that,  exclusive  of  the  revenue 
derived  from  loans,  222  parts  out  of  247  of  the 
American  revenue  have  been  derived  from  fo- 
reign commerce.  In  the  mind  of  any  sensible 
American,  this  consideration  ought  to  prevail 
over  the  few  splendid  actions  of  their  half  dozen 
frigates,  which  must,  in  a  continued  war,  have 
been,  with  all  their  bravery  and  activity,  swept 
from  the  face  of  the  ocean  by  the  superior  force 
and  equal  bravery  of  the  English.  It  would  be 
the  height  of  madness  in  America  to  run  into 
another  naval  war  with  this  country,  if  it  could 
be  averted  by  any  other  means  than  a  sacrifice 
of  proper  dignity  and  character.  They  have, 
comparatively,  no  land  revenue;  and,  in  spite 
of  the  Franklin  and  Gaerrlere,  though  lined 
with  cedar  and  mounted  with  brass  cannon, 
they  must  soon  be  reduced  to  the  same  state 
which  has  been  described  by  Dr.  Seybert,  and 
from  which  they  were  so  opportunely  extricated 
by  the  treaty  of  Ghent.  David  Porter  and  Ste- 
phen Decatur  are  A'ery  brave  men ;  but  they 
will  prove  an  unspeakable  misfortune  to  their 
country,  if  they  inflame  Jonathan  into  a  love  of 
naval  glory,  and  inspire  him  with  any  other 
love  of  war  than  that  which  is  founded  upon  a 
determination  not  to  submit  to  serious  insult 
and  injury. 

We  can  inform  Jmiathan  what  are  the  inevi- 


table consequences  of  being  too  fond  of  glory;— 
Taxes  upon  every  article  which  enters  into  the 
mouth,  or  covers  the  back,  or  is  placed  under  the 
foot — taxes  upon  every  thing  which  it  is  pleasant 
to  see,  hear,  feel,  smell,  or  taste  —  taxes  upon 
warmth,  light  and  locomotion — taxes  on  every  thing 
on  earth,  and  the  waters  under  the  earth — on  every 
thing  that  comes  from  abroad,  or  is  grown  at 
home — taxes  on  the  raw  material — taxes  on  every 
fresh  value  that  is  added  to  it  by  the  industry  of 
man — taxes  on.  the  sauce  which  pampers  7nan's 
appetite,  and  the  drug  that  restores  him  to  health 
— on  the  ermine  ivhich  decorates  the  judge,  and 
the  rope  which  hangs  the  criminal — on  the  poor 
man's  salt,  and,  the  rich  man's  spice — on  the  brass 
nails  of  the  coffin,  and  the  ribbons  of  the  bride — 
at  bed  or  board,  couchant  or  levant,  we  must  pay. 
—  The  school-hoy  whips  his  taxed  top — the  beard- 
less youth  manages  his  taxed  horse,  with  a  taxed 
bridle,  on  a  taxed  road: — and  the  dying  English- 
man, pouring  his  medicine,  which  has  paid  7  per 
cent.,  into  a  spoon  that  has  paid  \^  per  cent., — 
flings  himself  back  upon  his  chintz  bed,  which 
has  paid  22  per  cent., — and  expires  in  the  arms 
of  an  apothecary,  who  has  paid  a  license  of  a 
hundred  pounds  for  the  privilege  of  putting  him 
to  death.  His  whole  property  is  then  immediately 
taxed  from  2  to  10  per  cent.  Besides  the  probate, 
large  fees  are  demanded  f/r  burying  him  in  the 
chancel;  his  virtues  are  handed  down  to  posterity 
on  taxed  marble ;  and  he  is  then  gathered  to  his 
fathers, — to  be  taxed  no  more.  In  addition  to  all 
this,  the  habit  of  dealing  with  large  sums  will 
make  the  government  avaricious  and  profuse; 
and  the  system  itself  will  infallibly  generate 
the  base  vermin  of  spies  and  informers,  and  a' 
still  more  pestilent  race  of  political  tools  and 
retainers  of  the  meanest  and  most  odious 
description; — while  the  prodigious  patronage 
which  the  collecting  of  this  splendid  revenue 
will  throw  into  the  hands  of  government,  will 
invest  it  with  so  vast  an  influence,  and  hold  out 
such  means  and  temptations  to  corruption,  as 
all  the  virtue  and  public  spirit,  even  of  repub- 
licans, will  be  unable  to  resist. 

Every  wise  Jonathan  should  remember  this, 
when  he  sees  the  rabble  huzzaing  at  the  heels 
of  the  truly  respectable  Decatur,  or  inflaming 
the  vanity  of  that  still  more  popular  leader, 
whose  justification  has  lowered  the  character  of 
his  government  with  all  the  civilized  nations  of 
the  world. 

Debt. — America  owed  42  million  dollars  after 
the  Revolutionary  war;  in  1790,  79  millions;  in 
1803,70  millions;  and  in  the beginningof  Janu- 
ary, 1812,  the  public  debt  was  diminished  to  45 
million  dollars.  After  the  last  war  with  Eng- 
land, it  had  risen  to  123  millions ;  and  so  it  stood 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1816.  The  total  amount 
carried  to  the  credit  of  the  commissioners  of  the 
sinking  fund, on  the31stof  December,  1816, was 
about  34  millions  of  dollars. 

Such  is  the  land  of  Jonathan — and  thus  has 
it  been  governed.  In  his  honest  endeavours  to 
better  his  situation,  and  in  his  manly  purpose 
of  resisting  injury  and  insult  we  most  cordially 
sympathize.  We  hope  he  will  always  continue 
to  watch  and  suspect  his  government  as  he  now 
does — remembering  that  it  is  the  constant  ten- 
dency of  those  entrusted  with  power,  to  con- 
ceive that  they  enjoy  it  by  their  own  merits, 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


141 


and  foi"  their  own  use,  and  not  by  delegation, 
and  for  the  benefit  of  others.  Thus  far  we  are 
the  friends  and  admirers  of  Jonathan.  But  he 
must  not  grow  vain  and  ambitious;  or  allow 
himself  to  be  dazzled  by  that  galaxy  of  epithets 
by  which  his  orators  and  newspaper  scribblers 
endeavour  to  persuade  their  supporters  that  they 
are  the  greatest,  the  most  refined,  the  most  en- 
lightened and  most  moral  people  upon  earth. 
The  effect  of  this  is  unspeakably  ludicrous  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic — and,  even  on  the  other, 
we  shall  imagine,  must  be  rather  humiliating 
to  the  reasonable  part  of  the  population.  The 
Americans  are  a  brave,  industrious  and  acute 
people;  but  they  have,  hitherto,  given  no  indi- 
cations of  genius,  and  made  no  approaches 
to  the  heroic,  either  in  their  morality  or  cha- 
racter. They  are  but  a  recent  offset,  indeed, 
from  England;  and  should  make  it  their  chief 
boast,  for  many  generations  to  come,  that  they 
are  sprung  from  the  same  race  with  Bacon  and 
Shakspeare  and  Newton.  Considering  their 
numbers,  indeed,  and  the  favourable  circum- 
stances in  which  they  have  been  placed,  they 
have  yet  done  marvellously  little  to  assert  the 
honour  of  such  a  descent,  or  to  show  that  their 
English  blood  has  been  exalted  or  refined  by 
their  republican  training  and  institutions. — 
Their  Franklins  and  Washingtons,  and  all  the 
other  sages  and  heroes  of  their  Revolution, 
were  born  and  bred  subjects  of  the  King  of 
England, — and  not  among  the  freest  or  most 
valued  of  his  subjects.  And  since  the  period 
of  their  separation,  a  far  greater  proportion  of 
their  statesmen  and  artists  and  political  writers 
have  been  foreigners  than  ever  occurred  before 
in  the  history  of  any  civilized  and  educated 
people.  During  the  thirty  or  forty  years  of 
their  independence,  they  have  done  absolutely 
nothing  for  the  Sciences,  for  the  Arts,  for  Lite- 
rature, or  even  for  the  statesman-like  studies  of 


Politics  or  Political  Economy.  Confining  our- 
selves to  our  own  country,  and  to  the  period 
that  has  elapsed  since  they  had  an  independent 
existence,  we  would  ask,  where  are  their  Foxes, 
their  Burkes,  their  Sheridans,  their  Windhams, 
their  Homers,  their  Wilberforces? — where  their 
Arkwrights,  their  Watts,  their  Davys  1 — their 
Robertsons,  Blairs,  Smiths,  Stewarts,  Paleys, 
and  Malthusesi  —  their  Porsons,  Parrs,  Bur- 
neys,  or  Bloomfieldsl — their  Scotts,  Rogers's, 
Campbells,  Byrons,  Moores,  or  Crabbes  ?  — 
their  Siddons's,  Kembles,  Keans,  or  O'Neilsl — 
their  Wilkies,  Lawrences,  Chantrys? — or  their 
parallels  to  the  hundred  other  names  that  have 
spread  themselves  over  the  world  from  our 
little  island  in  the  course  of  the  last  thirty 
years,  and  blest  or  delighted  mankind  by  their 
works,  inventions  or  examples  1  In  so  far  as 
we  know,  there  is  no  such  parallel  to  be  pro- 
duced from  the  whole  annals  of  this  self- 
adulating  race.  In  the  four  quarters  of  the 
globe,  who  reads  an  American  book  1  or  goes 
to  an  American  play?  or  looks  at  an  American 
picture  or  statue  1  What  does  the  world  yet 
owe  to  American  ph3'sicians  or  surgeons  I 
What  new  substances  have  their  chemists  dis- 
covered? or  what  old  ones  have  they  analyzedl 
What  new  constellations  have  been  discovered 
by  the  telescopes  of  Americans'?  What  have 
they  done  in  the  mathematics?  Who  drinks 
out  of  American  glasses?  or  eats  from  Ameri- 
can plates?  or  wears  American  coats  or  gowns? 
or  sleeps  in  American  blankets  ?  Finally,  under 
which  of  the  old  tyrannical  governments  of  Eu- 
rope is  every  sixth  man  a  slave,  whom  his  fel- 
low-creatures may  buy  and  sell  and  torture  ? 

When  these  questions  are  fairly  and  favour- 
ably answered,  their  laudatory  epithets  may  be 
allowed:  but  till  that  can  be  done,  we  would 
seriously  advise  them  to  keep  clear  of  super- 
latives. 


142 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


lEELAND.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1820.] 


There  are  all  the  late  publications  that  treat 
of  Irish  interests  in  general, — and  none  of  them 
are  of  first-rate  importance.  Mr.  Gamble's  Tra- 
vels in  Ireland  are  of  a  very  ordinary  description 
— low  scenes  and  low  humour  making  up  the 
principal  part  of  the  narrative.  There  are 
readers,  however,  whom  it  will  amuse;  and  the 
reading  market  becomes  more  and  more  exten- 
sive, and  embraces  a  greater  variety  of  persons 
every  day.  Mr.  Whitelaw's  History  of  Dublin 
is  a  book  of  great  accuracy  and  research,  highly 
creditable  to  the  industry,  good  sense  and  be- 
nevolence of  its  author.  Of  the  Travels  of  Mr. 
Christian  Curwen,  we  hardly  know  what  to  say. 
He  is  bold  and  honest  in  his  politics — a  great 
enemy  to  abuses — vapid  in  his  levity  and  plea- 
santry, and  inlinitely  too  much  inclined  to  de- 
claim upon  common-place  topicsof  morality  and 
benevolence.  But,  with  these  drawbacks,  the 
book  is  not  ill  written;  and  may  be  advantage- 
ously read  by  those  who  are  desirous  of  informa- 
tion upon  the  present  state  of  Ireland. 

So  great  and  so  long  has  been  the  misgo- 
vernment  of  that  country,  that  we  verily  believe 
the  empire  would  be  much  stronger  if  every 
thirg  was  open  sea  between  England  and  ihe 
Atlantic,  and  if  skates  and  codfish  swam  over 
the  fair  land  of  Ulster.  Such  jobbing,  such 
profligacy — so  much  direct  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion— such  an  abuse  of  God's  gifts — such  a 
profanation  of  God's  name  for  the  purposes  of 
bigotry  and  party  spirit,  cannot  be  exceeded  in 
the  history  of  civilized  Europe,  and  will  long 
remain  a  monument  of  infamy  and  shame  to 
England.  But  it  will  be  more  useful  to  suppress 
the  indignation  which  the  very  name  of  Ireland 
inspires,and  to  consider  impartially  those  causes 
which  have  marred  this  fair  portion  of  the  crea- 
tion, and  kept  it  wild  and  savage  in  the  midst  of 
improving  Europe. 

The  great  misfortune  of  Ireland  is,  that  the 
mass  of  the  people  have  been  given  up  for  a 
century  to  a  handful  of  Protestants,  by  whom 
they  have  been  treated  as  Heluts,  and  subjected 
to  every  species  of  persecution  and  disgrace. 
The  sufferings  of  the  Catholics  have  been  so 
loudly  chaunted  in  the  very  streets,  that  it  is  al- 
most needless  to  remind  our  readers  that,  during 
the  reigns  of  George  I.  and  George  II.,  the  Irish 
Roman  Catholics  were  disabled  from  holding 
any  civil  or  military  office,  from  voting  at  elec- 
tions, from  admission  into  corporations,  from 
practising  law  or  physic.  A  younger  brother, 
by  turning  Protestant,  might  deprive  his  elder 


*1.  W/(lle!aw''s  History  of  the  City  of  Dublin.  4to  Ca- 
dell  and  Davics. 

2.  Observntinns  on  ihe  State  of  Ireland,  principally  di- 
rected to  its  As^ricvUure  and  livral  Population;  in  a  series  of 
hetters  tcritttn  on  a  Tour  through  that  Country.  In  2  vols. 
By  J.  C.  Curwen,  Esq.,  M.  P.    London,  l&ia 

3.  Gamble's  Views  of  Society  in  Ireland. 


brother  of  his  birthright;  by  the  same  process, 
he  might  force  his  father,  under  the  name  of  a 
liberal  provision,  to  yield  up  to  him  a  part  of 
his  landed  property:  and,  if  an  eldest  son,  he 
might,  in  the  same  way,  reduce  his  father's  fee- 
simple  to  a  life  estate.  A  papist  was  disabled 
from  purchasing  freehold  lands — and  even  from 
holding  long  leases — and  any  person  might  take 
his  Catholic  neighbour's  house  by  paying  5/.  for 
it.  If  the  child  of  a  Catholic  father  turned  Pra- 
testant,  he  was  taken  away  from  his  father  and 
put  into  the  hands  of  a  Protestant  relation.  No 
papist  could  purchase  a  freehold,  or  lease  for 
more  than  thirty  years — or  inherit  from  an  in- 
testate Protestant — nor  from  an  intestate  Catho- 
lic— nor  dwell  in  Limerick  or  Galway — nor  hold 
an  advowson,  nor  buy  an  annuity  for  life.  50/. 
was  given  for  discovering  a  popish  archbishop 
— 30/.  for  a  popish  clergyman — and  10s.  for  a 
schoolmaster.  No  one  was  allowed  to  be  trustee 
for  Catholics ;  no  Catholic  was  allowed  to  take 
more  than  two  apprentices;  no  papist  to  be  so- 
licitor, sheriff,  or  to  serve  on  grand  juries. 
Horses  of  papists  might  be  seized  for  the  militia; 
for  which  militia  papists  were  to  pay  double, 
and  to  find  Protestant  substitutes.  Papists  were 
prohibited  from  being  present  at  vestries,  or 
from  being  high  or  petty  constables;  and,  when 
resident  in  towns,  they  were  compelled  to  find 
Protestant  watchmen.  Barristers  and  solicitors 
marrying  Catholics,  were  exposed  to  the  penal- 
ties of  Catholics.  Persons  plundered  by  pri- 
vateers during  a  war  with  any  popish  prince, 
were  reimbursed  by  a  levy  on  the  Catholic  in- 
habitants where  they  lived.  All  popish  priests 
celebrating  marriages  contrary  to  12  Geo.  I.  cap. 
3,  were  to  be  hanged. 

The  greater  part  of  these  incapacities  are  re- 
moved, though  many  of  a  very  serious  and  op- 
pressive nature  still  remain.  But  the  grand 
misfortune  is,  that  the  spirit  which  these  op- 
pressive laws  engendered  remains.  The  Pro- 
testant still  looks  upon  the  Catholic  as  a 
degraded  being.  The  Catholic  does  not  yet 
consider  himself  upon  an  equality  with  his  for- 
mer tyrant  and  taskmaster.  That  religious 
hatred  which  required  all  the  prohibiting  vigi- 
lance of  the  law  for  its  restraint,  has  found  in 
the  law  its  strongest  support;  and  the  spirit 
which  the  law  first  exasperated  and  embittered, 
continues  to  act  long  after  the  original  stimulus 
is  withdrawn.  The  law  which  prevented  Ca- 
tholics from  serving  on  grand  juries  is  repealed ; 
but  Catholics  are  not  called  upon  grand  juries 
in  the  proportion  in  which  they  are  entitled,  by 
their  rank  and  fortune.  The  Duke  of  Bedford 
did  all  he  could  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  those 
laws  which  are  already  passed  in  their  favour. 
But  power  is  seldom  entrusted  in  this  country 
to  one  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  liberality ;  and 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


K3 


every  thing  has  fallen  back  in  the  hands  of  his 
successors  into  the  ancient  division  of  the  pri- 
vileged and  degraded  castes.  We  do  not  mean 
to  cast  any  reflection  upon  the  present  secretary 
for  Ireland,  whom  we  believe  to  be  upon  this 
subject  a  very  liberal  politician,  and  on  all  sub- 
jects an  honourable  and  excellent  man.  The 
government  under  which  he  serves  allows  him 
to  indulge  in  a  little  harmless  liberality;  but  it 
is  perfectly  understood  that  nothing  is  intended 
to  be  done  for  the  Catholics ;  that  no  loaves  and 
fishes  will  be  lost  by  indulgence  in  Protestant 
insolence  and  tyranny;  and,  therefore,  among 
the  generality  of  Irish  Protestants,  insolence, 
tyranny  and  exclusion  continue  to  operate. 
However  eligible  the  Catholic  may  be,  he  is  not 
elected;  whatever  barriers  may  be  thrown  down, 
he  does  not  advance  a  step.  He  was  first  kept 
out  by  law;  he  is  now  kept  out  by  opinion  and 
habit.  They  have  been  so  long  in  chains,  that 
nobody  believes  they  are  capable  of  using  their 
hands  and  feet. 

It  is  not,  however,  the  only  or  the  worst  misfor- 
tune of  the  Catholics,  that  the  relaxations  of  the 
law  are  hitherto  of  little  benefit  to  them  ;  the  law 
is  not  )'et  sufficiently  relaxed.  A  Catholic,  as 
every  body  knows,  cannot  be  made  sheriff;  can- 
not be  in  Parliament;  cannot  be  a  director  of 
the  Irish  Bank ;  cannot  fill  the  great  departments 
of  the  law,  the  army  and  the  navy;  is  cut  off 
from  all  the  high  objects  of  human  ambition, 
and  treated  as  a  marked  and  degraded  person. 

The  common  admission  now  is,  that  the  Ca- 
tholics are  to  the  Protestants  in  Ireland  as  about 
4  to  1 — of  which  Protestants,  not  more  than  one 
half  he]or\g  to  the  Church  of  Ireland.  This,  then, 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  features  in  the  state 
of  Ireland.  That  the  great  mass  of  the  popula- 
tion is  completely  subjugated  and  overawed  by 
a  handful  of  comparatively  recent  settlers, — in 
whom  all  the  power  and  patronage  of  the  coun- 
try are  vested, — who  have  been  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  desist  from  still  greater  abuses  of 
authority, — and  who  look  with  trembling  appre- 
hension to  the  increasing  liberality  of  the  Par- 
liament and  the  country  towards  these  unfortu- 
nate persons  whom  they  have  always  looked 
upon  as  their  property  and  their  prey. 

Whatever  evils  may  result  from  these  pro- 
portions between  the  oppressor  and  the  op- 
pressed— to  whatever  dangers  a  country  so 
situated  may  be  considered  to  be  exposed — these 
evils  and  dangers  are  rapidly  increasing  in  Ire- 
land. The  proportion  of  Catholics  to  Protestants 
is  infinitely  greater  now  than  it  was  thirty  years 
ago,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  lavourable 
to  the  former.  By  a  return  made  to  the  Irish 
House  of  Lords  in  1732,  the  proportion  of  Ca- 
tholics to  Protestants  was  not  2  to  1.  It  is  now 
(as  we  have  already  observed)  4  to  1 ;  and  the 
causes  which  have  thus  altered  the  proportion 
in  favour  of  the  Catholics  are  sufficiently  ob- 
vious to  any  one  acquainted  with  the  state  of 
Ireland.  The  Roman  Catholic  priest  resides: 
his  income  entirely  depends  upon  the  number 
of  his  flock;  and  he  must  exert  himself,  or  he 
starves.  There  is  some  chance  of  success, 
therefore,  in  his  efforts  to  convert;  but  the  Pro- 
testant clergyman,  if  he  were  equally  eager,  has 
little  or  no  probability  of  persuading  so  much 
larger  a  proportion  of  the  population  to  come 


over  to  his  church.  The  Catholic  clergyman 
belongs  to  a  religion  that  has  always  been  more 
desirous  of  gaining  proselytes  than  the  Pro- 
testant church;  and  he  is  animated  by  a  sense 
of  injury  and  a  desire  of  revenge.  Another  rea- 
son for  the  disproportionate  increase  of  Catho- 
lics is,  that  the  Catholics  will  marry  upon  means 
which  the  Protestant  considers  as  insufficient 
for  marriage.  A  few  potatoes  and  a  shed  of 
turf  are  all  that  Luther  has  left  for  the  Roman- 
ist ;  and,  when  the  latter  gets  these,  he  instantly 
begins  upon  the  great  Irish  manufacture  of  chil- 
dren. But  a  Protestant  belongs  to  the  sect  that 
eats  the  fine  flour,  and  leaves  the  bran  to  others; 
he  must  have  comforts,  and  he  does  not  marry 
till  he  gets  them.  He  would  be  ashamed,  if  he 
were  seen  living  as  a  Catholic  lives.  This  is 
the  principal  reason  why  the  Protestants  who 
remain  attached  to  their  church  do  not  increase 
so  fast  as  the  Catholics.  But  in  common  minds, 
daily  scenes,  the  example  of  the  majority,  the 
power  of  imitation,  decide  their  habits,  religious 
as  well  as  civil.  A  Protestant  labourer  who 
works  among  Catholics,  soon  learns  to  think 
and  act  and  talk  as  they  do — he  is  not  proof 
against  the  eternal  panegyric  which  he  hears  of 
Father  0'Lear3%  His  Protestantism  is  rubbed 
away  ;  and  he  goes  at  last,  after  some  little  re- 
sistance, to  the  chapel,  where  he  sees  every 
body  else  going. 

These  eight  Catholics  not  only  hate  the  ninth 
man,  the  Protestant  of  the  Establishment,  for 
the  unjust  privileges  he  enjoys — not  only  remem- 
ber that  the  lands  of  their  fathers  were  given  to 
his  father — but  they  find  themselves  forced  to 
pay  for  the  support  of  his  religion.  In  the 
wretched  state  of  poverty  in  which  the  lower 
orders  of  Irish  are  plunged,  it  is  not  Avithout 
considerable  effort  that  they  can  pay  the  few 
shillings  necessary  for  the  support  of  their  Ca- 
tholic priest;  and  when  this  is  effected,  a  tenth 
of  the  potatoes  in  the  garden  is  to  be  set  out 
for  the  support  of  a  persuasion,  the  introduction 
of  which  into  Ireland  they  consider  as  the  great 
cause  of  their  political  inferiority,  and  all  their 
manifold  wretchedness.  In  England,  a  labourer 
can  procure  constant  employment — or  he  can, 
at  the  worst,  obtain  relief  from  his  parish. 
Whether  tithe  operates  as  a  tax  upon  him.  is 
known  only  to  the  political  economist:  if  he 
does  pay  it,  he  does  not  know  that  he  pays  it; 
and  the  burthen  of  supporting  the  clergy  is  at 
least  kept  out  of  his  view.  But,  in  Ireland,  the 
only  method  in  which  a  poor  man  lives,  is  by 
taking  a  small  portion  of  land,  in  which  he  can 
grow  potatoes:  seven  or  eight  months  out  of 
twelve,  in  many  parts  of  Ireland,  there  is  no 
constant  employment  of  the  poor:  and  the  po- 
tato farm  is  all  that  shelters  them  from  absolute 
famine.  If  the  pope  were  to  come  in  person,  and 
seize  upon  every  tenth  potato,  the  poor  peasant 
would  scarcely  endure  it.  With  what  patience 
then,  can  he  see  it  tossed  into  the  cart  of  the 
heretic  rector  who  has  a  church  without  a  con- 
grejjation,  and  a  revenue  without  duties? 

We  do  not  say  whether  these  things  are  right 
or  wrong — whether  they  want  a  remedy  at  all 
— or  what  remedy  they  want ;  but  we  paint  them 
in  those  colours  in  which  they  appear  to  the  eye 
of  poverty  and  ignorance,  without  saying  whe- 
ther those  colours  are  false  or  true.    Nor  is  tho 


144 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


case  at  all  comparable  to  that  of  Dissenters  pay- 
ing tithe  in  England;  which  case  is  precisely 
the  reverse  of  what  happens  in  Ireland,  for  it  is 
the  contribution  of  a  very  small  minority  to  the 
religion  of  a  very  large  majority ;  and  the  num- 
bers on  either  side  make  all  the  difference  in 
the  argument.  To  exasperate  the  poor  Catholic 
still  more,  the  rich  grazier  of  the  parish — or  the 
squire  in  his  parish — pay  no  tithe  at  all  for  their 
grass  land.  Agistment  tithe  is  abolished  in 
Ireland ;  and  the  burthen  of  supporting  two 
churches  seems  to  devolve  upon  the  poorer 
Catholics,  struggling  with  plough  and  spade  in 
small  scraps  of  dearly-rented  land.  Tithes  seem 
to  be  collected  in  a  more  harsh  manner  than 
they  are  collected  in  England.  The  minute  sub- 
divisions of  land  in  Ireland — the  little  connection 
which  the  Protestant  clergyman  commonly  has 
with  the  Catholic  population  of  his  parish,  have 
made  the  introduction  of  tithe  proctors  very 
general — sometimes  as  the  agent  of  the  clergy- 
man— sometimes  as  the  lessee  or  middleman 
between  the  clergyman  and  the  cultivator  of 
the  land ;  but,  in  either  case,  practised,  dexter- 
ous estimators  of  tithe.  The  English  clergymen 
in  general,  are  far  from  exacting  the  whole  of 
what  is  due  to  them,  but  sacrifice  a  little  to  the 
love  of  popularity  or  to  the  dread  of  odium. 
A  system  of  tithe-proctors  established  all  over 
England  (as  it  is  in  Ireland,)  would  produce 
general  disgust  and  alienation  from  the  Esta- 
blished Church. 

"  During  the  administration  of  Lord  Halifax," 
says  Mr.  Hardy,  in  quoting  the  opinion  of  Lord 
Charlemont  upon  tithes  paid  by  Catholics,  "  Ire- 
land was  dangerously  disturbed  in  its  south- 
ern and  northern  regions.  In  the  south  princi- 
pally, in  the  counties  of  Kilkenny,  Limerick, 
Cork  and  Tipperary,  the  White  Boys  now  made 
their  first  appearance ;  those  White  Boys,  who 
have  ever  since  occasionally  disturbed  the  pub- 
lic tranquillity,  without  any  rational  method 
having  been  as  yet  pursued  to  eradicate  this 
disgraceful  evil.  When  we  consider  that  the 
very  same  district  has  been  for  the  long  space 
of  seven-and-twenty  years  liable  to  frequent 
returns  of  the  same  disorder  into  which  it  has 
continually  relapsed,  in  spite  of  all  the  violent 
remedies  from  time  to  time  administered  by  our 
political  quacks,  we  cannot  doubt  but  that  some 
real,  peculiar  and  topical  cause  must  exist;  and 
yet,  neither  the  removal  nor  even  the  investiga- 
tion of  this  cause  has  ever  once  been  seriously 
attempted.  Laws  of  the  most  sanguinary  and 
unconstitutional  nature  have  been  enacted;  the 
country  has  been  disgraced  and  exasperated 
by  frequent  and  bloody  executions ;  and  the 
gibbet,  that  perpetual  resource  of  weak  and 
cruel  legislators,  has  groaned  under  the  multi- 
tude of  starving  criminals  :  yet,  while  the  cause 
is  suffered  to  exist,  the  effects  will  ever  follow. 
The  amputation  of  limbs  will  never  eradicate 
a  prurient  humour,  which  must  be  sought  in  its 
source,  and  there  remedied." 

"I  wish,"  continues  Mr.  Wakefield,  "for  the 
sake  of  humanity,  and  for  the  honour  of  the 
Irish  character,  that  the  gentlemen  of  that  coun- 
try would  take  this  matter  into  their  serious 
consideration.  Let  them' only  for  a  moment 
place  themselves  in  the  situation  of  the  half- 
famished  cotter,  surrounded  by  a  wretched  fami- 


ly, clamorous  for  food  ;  and  judge  what  his  feel- 
ings must  be,  when  he  sees  the  tenth  part  of  the 
produce  of  his  potato  garden  exposed  at  harvest 
time  to  public  cant;  or,  if  he  have  given  a  pro- 
missory note  for  the  payment  of  a  certain  sum 
of  money,  to  compensate  for  such  tithe  when  it 
becomes  due,  to  hear  the  heart-rending  cries  of 
his  offspring  clinging  round  him,  and  lamenting 
for  the  milk  of  which  they  are  deprived,  by  the 
cows  being  driven  to  the  pound,  to  be  sold  to  dis- 
charge the  debt.  Such  accounts  are  not  the 
creation  of  fancy ;  the  facts  do  exist,  and  are 
but  too  common  in  Ireland.  Were  one  of  them 
transferred  to  canvas  by  the  hand  of  genius, 
and  exhibited  to  English  humanity,  that  heart 
must  be  callous,  indeed,  that  could  refuse  its 
sympathy.  I  have  seen  the  cow,  the  favourite 
cow,  driven  away,  accompanied  by  the  sighs, 
the  tears  and  the  imprecations  of  a  whole  fami- 
ly, who  were  paddling  after,  through  wet  and 
dirt,  to  take  their  last  affectionate  farewell  of 
this  their  only  friend  and  benefactor,  at  the 
pound  gate.  I  have  heard  with  emotions  which 
I  can  scarcely  describe,  deep  curses  repeated 
from  village  to  village  as  the  cavalcade  pro- 
ceeded. I  have  witnessed  the  group  pass  the 
domain  walls  of  the  opulent  grazier,  whose 
numerous  herds  were  cropping  the  most  luxu- 
riant pastures,  while  he  was  secure  from  any 
demand  for  the  tithe  of  their  food,  looking  on 
with  the  most  unfeeling  indifference." — Wake- 
field,  p.  486. 

In  Munster,  where  tithe  of  potatoes  is  exact- 
ed, risings  against  the  system  have  constantly 
occurred  during  the  last  forty  years.  In  Ulster, 
where  no  such  tithe  is  required,  these  insurrec- 
tions are  unknown.  The  double  church  which 
Ireland  supports,  and  that  painful  visible  con- 
tribution towards  it  which  the  poor  Irishman  is 
compelled  to  make  from  his  miserable  pittance, 
is  one  great  cause  of  those  never-ending  in- 
surrections, burnings,  murders  and  robberies, 
which  have  laid  waste  that  ill-fated  country  for 
so  many  years.  The  unfortunate  consequence 
of  the  civil  disabilities,  and  the  church  payments 
under  which  the  Catholics  labour,  is  a  rooted 
antipathy  to  this  country.  They  hate  the  Eng- 
lish government  from  historical  recollection, 
actual  sufferings  and  disappointed  hope ;  and 
till  they  are  better  treated,  they  will  continue  to 
hate  it.  At  this  moment,  in  a  period  of  the 
most  profound  peace,  there  are  twenty-five 
thousand  of  the  best  disciplined  and  best  ap- 
pointed troops  in  the  world  in  Ireland,  with 
bayonets  fixed,  presented  arms,  and  in  the  atti- 
tude of  present  war:  nor  is  there  a  man  too 
much — nor  would  Ireland  be  tenable  without 
them.  When  it  was  necessary  last  year  (or 
thought  necessary)  to  put  down  the  children  of 
reform,  we  were  forced  to  make  a  new  levy 
of  troops  in  this  country — not  a  man  could 
be  spared  from  Ireland.  The  moment  they 
had  embarked,  Peep-of-day  Boys,  Heart-of-Oak 
Boys,  Twelve-o'clock  Boys,Heart-of-Flint  Boys, 
and  all  the  bloody  boyhood  of  the  Bog  of  Allen, 
would  have  proceeded  to  the  ancient  work  of 
riot,  rapine  and  disaffection.  Ireland,  in  short, 
till  her  wrongs  are  redressed,  and  a  more  liberal 
policy  is  adopted  towards  her,  will  always  be  a 
cause  of  anxiety  and  suspicion  to  this  country; 
and,  in  some  moment  of  our  weakness  and  de- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


14 


pression,  ■will  forcibly  extort  what  she  would 
now  receive  with  gratitude  and  exultation. 

Ireland  is  situated  close  to  another  island  of 
gi'eater  size,  speaking  the  same  language,  very 
superior  in  civilization,  and  the  seal  of  govern- 
ment. The  consequence  of  this  is  the  emigra- 
tion of  the  richest  and  most  powerful  part  of  the 
community — a  vast  drain  of  wealth — and  the 
absence  of  all  that  wholesome  influence  Avhich 
the  representatives  of  ancient  families  residing 
upon  their  estates,  produce  upon  their  tenantry 
and  dependents.  Can  any  man  imagine  that 
the  scenes  which  have  been  acted  in  Ireland 
within  these  last  twenty  years,  would  have 
taken  place,  if  such  vast  proprietors  as  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire,  the  Marquis  of  Hertford, 
the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  Earl  Fitzwilliam, 
and  many  other  men  of  equal  Avealth,  had  been 
in  the  constant  habit  of  residing  upon  their  Irish, 
as  they  are  upon  their  English  estates  1  Is  it  of 
no  consequence  to  the  order  and  the  civilization 
of  a  large  district,  whether  the  great  mansion  is 
inhabited  by  an  insignificant,  perhaps  a  mis- 
chievous, attorney,  in  the  shape  of  agent,  or 
whether  the  first  and  greatest  men  of  the  United 
Kingdoms,  after  the  business  of  Parliament  is 
over,  come  with  their  friends  and  families,  to 
exercise  hospitality,  to  spend  large  revenues,  to 
diffuse  information  and  lo  improve  manners'! 
This  evil  is  a  very  serious  one  to  Ireland;  and, 
as  far  as  we  see,  incurable.  For  if  the  present 
large  estates  were,  by  the  dilapidation  of  fami- 
lies, to  be  broken  to  pieces  and  sold,  others 
equally  great  would,  in  the  free  circulation  of 
property, speedily  accumulate;  and  the  moment 
any  possessor  arrived  at  a  certain  pilch  of  for- 
tune, he  would  probably  choose  to  reside  in  the 
better  country, — near  the  Parliament  or  the 
court. 

This  absence  of  great  proprietors  in  Ireland 
Eecessarily  brings  with  it,  or  if  not  necessarily, 
has  actually  brought  with  it,  the  employment 
of  middlemen,  which  forms  one  other  standing 
and  regularlrish  grievance.  We  are  well  aware 
of  all  that  can  be  said  in  defence  of  middle- 
men ;  that  they  stand  between  the  little  farmer 
and  the  great  proprietor,  as  the.  shop-keeper 
does  between  the  manufacturer  and  consumer; 
and,  in  fact,  by  their  intervention,  save  time,  and 
therefore  expense.  This  may  be  true  enough 
in  the  abstract;  but  the  particularnatureof  land 
must  be  attended  to.  The  object  of  the  man  who 
makes  cloth  is  to  sell  his  cloth  at  the  present 
market,  for  as  high  a  price  as  he  can  obtain.  If 
that  price  is  too  high,  it  soon  falls;  but  no  injury 
is  done  to  his  machinery  by  the  superior  price 
he  has  enjoyed  for  a  season — he  is  just  as  able 
to  produce  cloth  with  it,  as  if  the  profits  he  en- 
joyed had  always  been  equally  moderate ;  he 
has  no  fear,  therefore,  of  the  middlemen,  or  of 
an}'  species  of  moral  machinery  which  may  help 
to  obtain  for  him  the  greatest  present  prices. 
The  same  would  be  the  feeling  of  any  one  who 
let  out  a  steam-engine,  or  any  other  machine, 
for  the  purposes  of  manufacture ;  he  would  natu- 
rally take  the  highest  price  he  could  get:  for  he 
might  either  let  his  machine  for  a  price  propor- 
tionate to  the  work  it  did,  or  the  repairs,  estima- 
ble with  the  greatest  precision,  might  be  thrown 
upon  the  tenant;  in  short,  he  could  hardly  ask 
any  rent  too  high  for  his  machine  which  a  re- 
19 


sponsible  person  would  give ;  dilapidation  would 
be  so  visible,  and  so  calculable  in  such  in- 
stances, that  any  secondary  lease,  or  subletting, 
would  be  rather  an  increase  of  security  than  a 
source  of  alarm.  Any  evil  from  such  a  practice 
would  be  improbable,  measurable  and  reme- 
diable. In  land,  on  the  contrary,  the  object  is 
not  to  get  the  highest  prices  absolutely,  but  to 
get  the  highest  prices  which  will  not  injure  the 
machine.  One  tenant  may  ofler  and  pay  double 
the  rent  of  another,  and  in  a  few  years  leave  the 
land  in  a  state  which  will  efl^ectually  bar  all  fu- 
ture offers  of  tenancy.  It  is  of  no  use  to  fill  a 
lease  full  of  clauses  and  covenants;  a  tenant 
who  pays  more  than  he  ought  to  pay,  or  who  pays 
even  to  the  last  farthing  which  he  ought  to  pay, 
will  rob  the  land,  and  injure  the  machine,  in 
spite  of  all  the  attorneys  in  England.  He  will 
rob  it  even  if  he  means  to  remain  upon  it — 
driven  on  by  present  distress,  and  anxious  to 
put  off  the  day  of  defalcation  and  arrear.  The 
damage  isoften  difficult  of  detection — not  easily 
calculated,  not  easily  to  be  proved;  such  for 
which  juries  (themselves,  perhaps,  farmers) 
would  not  willingly  give  sufficient  compensa- 
tion. And  if  this  is  true  in  England,  it  is  much 
more  strikingly  true  in  Ireland,  where  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  obtain  verdicts  for  breaches 
of  covenant  in  leases. 

The  only  method  then  of  guarding  the  machine 
from  real  injury  is,  by  giving  to  the  actual  oc- 
cupier such  advantage  in  his  contract,  that  he 
is  unwilling  to  give  it  up — that  he  has  a  real 
interest  in  retaining  it,  and  is  not  driven  by  the 
distresses  of  the  present  moment  to  destroy  the 
future  productiveness  of  the  soil.  Any  rent 
which  the  landlord  accepts  more  than  this,  or 
any  system  by  which  more  rent  than  this  is  ob- 
tained, is  to  borrow  money  upon  the  most  usu- 
rious and  profligate  interest — to  increase  the 
revenue  of  the  present  day  by  the  absolute  ruin 
of  the  property.  Such  is  the  effect  produced  by 
a  middleman :  he  gives  high  prices  that  he  may 
obtain  higher  from  the  occupier;  more  is  paid 
by  the  actual  occupier  than  is  consistent  with 
the  safety  and  preservation  of  the  machine;  the 
land  is  run  out,  and  in  the  end,  that  maximum  of 
rent  we  have  described  is  not  obtained:  and  not 
only'is  the  property  injured  by  such  a  system, 
but  in  Ireland  the  most  shocking  consequences 
ensue  from  it.  There  is  little  manufacture  in 
Ireland;  the  price  of  labour  is  low,  the  demand 
for  labour  irregular.  If  a  poor  man  is  driven, 
by  distress  of  rent,  from  his  potato  garden,  he 
has  no  other  resource — all  is  lost:  he  will  do  the 
impossible  (as  the  French  say)  to  retain  it :  and 
subscribe  any  bond,  and  promise  any  rent.  The 
middleman  lias  no  character  to  lose;  and  he 
knew,  when  he  took  up  the  occupation,  that  it 
was  one  with  which  pity  had  nothing  lo  do.  On 
he  drives;  and  backward  the  poor  peasant  re- 
cedes, losing  something  at  every  step,  till  he 
comes  to  the  very  brink  of  despair;  and  then 
he  recoils  and  murders  his  oppressor,  and  is  a 
WTiite  boi/  or  a  Right  boy : — the  soldier  shoots 
him,  and  the  judge  hangs  him. 

In  the  debate  which  took  place  in  the  Irish 
House  of  Commons,  upon  the  bill  for  preventing 
tumultuous  risings  and  assemblies,  on  the  31sl 
of  January,  1787,  the  attorney-general  submitted 
to  the  House  the  following  narrative  of  facts. 
N 


146 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"The  commencement,"  said  he,  "-was  in  one 
or  two  parishes  in  the  county  of  Kerry;  and 
they  proceeded  thus.  The  people  assembled  in 
a  Catholic  chapel,  and  there  took  an  oath  to 
obey  the  laws  of  Captain  Right,  and  to  starve  the 
clergy.  They  then  proceeded  to  the  next  pa- 
rishes, on  the  following  Sunday,  and  there  swore 
the  people  in  the  same  manner;  with  this  addi- 
tion, that  they  (the  people  last  sworn)  should, 
on  the  ensuing  Sunday,  proceed  to  the  chapels 
of  their  next  neighbouring  parishes,  and  swear 
the  inhabitants  of  those  parishes  in  like  manner. 
Proceeding  in  this  manner  they  very  soon  went 
through  the  province  of  Munster.  The  first 
object  was  the  reformation  of  tithes.  They  swore 
not  to  give  more  than  a  certain  price  per  acre; 
not  to  assist,  or  allow  them  to  be  assisted,  in 
drawing  the  tilhe,  and  to  permit  no  proctm-. 
They  next  took  upon  them  to  prevent  the  collec- 
tion of  parish  cesses;  next  to  nominate  parish 
clerks,  and  in  some  cases  curates:  to  say  what 
church  should  or  should  not  be  repaired;  and 
in  one  case  to  threaten  that  they  would  burn  a 
new  church,  if  the  old  one  were  not  given  for  a 
mass-house.  At  last,  they  proceeded  to  regulate 
the  price  of  lands;  to  raise  the  price  of  labour; 
and  to  oppose  the  collection  of  the  hearth  money, 
and  other  taxes.  Bodies  of  5000  of  them  have 
been  seen  to  march  through  the  country  un- 
armed, and  if  met  by  any  magistrate,  they  never 
offered  the  smallest  rudeness  or  offence,-  on  the 
contrary,  they  had  allowed  persons  charged  with 
crimes  to  be  taken  from  amongst  them  by  the 
magistrate  alone,  unaided  by  any  force." 

"The  attorney-general  said  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  province  of  Munster,  and  that 
it  was  impossible  for  human  wretchedness  to 
exceed  that  of  the  peasantry  of  that  province. 
The  unhappy  tenantry  were  ground  to  powder 
by  relentless  landlords ;  that,  far  from  being 
able  to  give  the  clergy  their  just  dues,  they  had 
not  food  nor  raiment  for  themselves — the  land- 
lord grasped  the  whole;  and  sorry  was  he  to 
add,  that,  not  satisfied  with  the  present  extortion, 
some  landlords  had  been  so  base  as  to  instigate 
the  insurgents  to  rob  the  clergy  of  their  tithes, 
not  in  order  to  alleviate  the  distresses  of  the 
tenantry,  but  that  they  might  add  the  clergy's 
share  to  the  cruel  rack-rents  they  already  paid. 
The  poor  people  of  Munster  lived  in  a  more  ab- 
ject state  of  poverty  than  human  tiature  could  be 
supposed  equal  to  bear." — Grattan's  Speeches,  vol. 
i.  292. 

We  are  not,  of  course,  in  such  a  discussion, 
to  be  governed  by  names.  A  middleman  might 
be  tied  up  by  the  strongest  legal  restriction,  as 
to  the  price  he  was  to  exact  from  the  under- 
tenants, and  then  he  would  be  no  more  perni- 
cious to  the  estate  than  a  steward.  A  steward 
might  be  protected  in  exactions  as  severe  as  the 
most  rapacious  middleman  ;  and  then,  of  course, 
it  would  be  the  same  thing  under  another  name. 
The  practice  to  which  we  object  is,  the  too 
common  method  in  Ireland  of  extorting  the  last 
farthing  which  the  tenant  is  willing  to  give  for 
land,  rather  than  quit  it:  and  the  machinery 
by  which  such  practice  is  carried  into  effect,  is 
that  of  the  middleman.  It  is  not  only  that  it 
rums  the  land;  it  ruins  the  people  also.  They 
are  made  so  poor — brought  so  near  the  ground 

-that  they  can  sink  no  lower;  and  burst  out  at 


last  into  all  the  acts  of  desperation  and  revenge 
for  which  Ireland  is  so  notorious.  Men  who 
have  money  in  iheir  pockets,  and  find  that  they 
are  improving  in  their  circumstances,  don't  do 
these  things.  Opulence,  or  the  hope  of  opulence 
or  comfort,  is  the  parent  of  decency,  order  and 
submission  to  the  laws.  A  landlord  in  Ireland 
understands  the  luxury  of  carriages  and  horses; 
but  has  no  relish  for  the  greater  luxury  of  sur- 
rounding himself  with  a  moral  and  grateful 
tenantry.  The  absent  proprietor  looks  only  to 
revenue,  and  cares  nothing  for  the  disorder  and 
degradation  of  a  country  which  he  never  means 
to  visit.  There  are  very  honourable  exceptions 
to  this  charge :  but  there  are  too  many  living  in- 
stances that  it  is  just.  The  rapacity  of  the  Irish 
landlord  induces  him  to  allow  of  the  extreme 
division  of  his  lands.  When  the  daughter  mar- 
ries, a  little  portion  of  the  little  farm  is  broken 
off— another  corner  for  Patrick,  and  another  for 
Dermot — till  the  land  is  broken  into  section?, 
upon  one  of  which  an  English  cow  could  not 
stand.  Twenty  mansions  of  misery  are  thus 
reared  instead  of  one.  A  louder  cry  of  oppres- 
sion is  lifted  up  to  Heaven;  and  fresh  enemies 
to  the  English  name  and  power  are  multiplied 
on  the  earth.  The  Irish  gentlemen,  too,  ex- 
tremely desirous  of  political  influence,  multiply 
freeholds  and  split  votes;  and  this  propensity 
tends  of  course  to  increase  the  miserable  re- 
dundance of  living  beings,  under  which  Ireland 
is  groaning.  Among  the  manifold  wretchedness 
to  which  the  poor  Irish  tenant  is  liable,  we 
must  not  pass  over  the  practice  of  driving  for 
rent.  A  lets  land  to  B,  who  lets  it  to  C,  who 
lets  it  again  to  D.  D  pays  C  his  rent,  and  C 
pays  B.  But  if  B  fails  to  pay  A,  he  cattle  of 
B,  C,  D  are  all  driven  to  the  pound,  and  after 
the  interval  of  a  few  days,  sold  by  auction.  A 
general  driving  of  this  kind  very  frequently 
leads  to  a  bloody  insurrection.  It  may  be 
ranked  among  the  classical  grievances  of  Ire- 
land. 

Potatoes  enter  for  a  great  deal  into  the  pre- 
sent condition  of  Ireland.  They  are  much 
cheaper  than  wheat;  and  it  is  so  easy  to  rear  a 
family  upon  them,  that  there  is  no  check  to 
population  from  the  difficulty  of  procuring  food. 
The  population,  therefore,  goes  on  with  a  ra- 
pidity approaching  almost  to  that  of  new  coun- 
tries, and  in  a  much  greater  ratio  than  the 
improving  agriculture  and  manufactures  of  the 
country  can  find  employment  for  it.  All  degrees 
of  all  nations  begin  with  living  in  pig-styes. 
The  king  or  the  priest  first  gets  out  of  them; 
then  the  noble,  then  the  pauper,  in  proportion 
as  each  class  becomes  more  and  more  opulent. 
Better  tastes  arise  from  better  circumstances; 
and  the  luxury  of  one  period  is  the  wretched- 
ness and  poverty  of  another.  English  peasants, 
in  the  time  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  were  lodged 
as  badly  as  Irish  peasants  now  are;  but  the 
population  was  limited  by  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing a  corn  subsistence.  The  improvements 
of  this  kingdom  were  more  rapid ;  the  price  of 
labour  rose;  and,  with  it,  the  luxury  and  com- 
fort of  the  peasant,  who  is  now  decently  lodged 
and  clothed,  and  who  would  think  himself  in  the 
last  stage  of  wretchedness,  if  he  had  nothing 
but  an  iron  pot  in  a  turf  house,  and  plenty  of 
potatoes  in  it.    The  use  of  the  potato  was  intro- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


147 


duced  into  Ireland  when  the  wretched  accommo- 
dation of  her  own  peasantry  bore  some  propor- 
tion to  the  state  of  those  accommodations  all 
over  Europe.  But  they  have  increased  their 
population  so  fast,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the 
oppressive  government  of  Ireland  retarding  im- 
provement, have  kept  the  price  of  labour  so  low, 
that  the  Irish  poor  have  never  been  able  to 
emerge  from  their  mud  cabins,  or  to  acquire 
any  taste  for  cleanliness  and  decency  of  appear- 
ance. Mr.  Curwen  has  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  Irish  cottages. 

"These  mansions  of  miserable  existence,  for 
so  they  may  truly  be  described,  conformably  to 
our  general  estimation  of  those  indispensable 
comforts  requisite  to  constitute  the  happiness  of 
rational  beings,  are  most  commonly  composed 
of  two  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  a  most  ap- 
propriate term,  for  they  are  literary  on  the 
earth ;  the  surface  of  which  is  not  unfrequently 
reduced  a  foot  or  more,  to  save  the  expense  of 
so  much  outward  walling.  The  one  is  a  refec- 
tory, the  other  the  dormitory.  The  furniture  of 
the  former,  if  the  owner  ranks  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  scale  of  scantiness,  will  consist  of  a 
kitchen  dresser,  well  provided  and  highly  deco- 
rated with  crockery — not  less  apparently  the 
pride  of  the  husband  than  the  result  of  female 
vanity  in  the  wife :  which,  with  a  table,  a  chest, 
a  few  stools  and  an  iron  pot,  complete  the  cato- 
logue  of  conveniences  generally  found  as  be- 
longing to  the  cabin ;  while  a  spinning-wheel, 
furnished  by  the  Linen  Board,  and  a  loom,  or- 
nament vacant  spaces,  that  otherwise  would 
remain  unfurnished.  In  fitting  up  the  latter, 
which  cannot,  on  any  occasion,  or  by  any  dis- 
play, add  a  feather  to  the  weight  or  importance 
expected  to  be  excited  by  the  appearance  of  the 
former,  the  inventory  is  limited  to  one,  and 
sometimes  two  beds,  serving  for  the  repose  of 
the  whole  family!  However  downy  these  may 
be  to  limbs  impatient  for  rest,  their  coverings 
appeared  to  be  very  slight;  and  the  whole  of 
the  apartment  created  reflections  of  a  very  pain- 
ful nature.  Under  such  privations,  with  a  wet 
mud  floor,  and  a  roof  in  tatters,  how  idle  the 
search  for  comforts  !" — Curwen,  I.  112,  113. 

To  this  extract  we  shall  add  one  more  on  the 
same  subject. 

"The  gigantic  figure,  bare-headed  before  me, 
had  a  beard  that  would  not  have  disgraced  an 
ancient  Israelite — he  was  without  shoes  or 
stockings — and  almost  a  sans-culotte — with  a 
coat  or  rather  a  jacket,  that  appeared  as  if  the 
first  blast  of  wind  would  tear  it  to  tatters. 
Though  his  garb  was  ,thus  tattered  he  had  a 
manly  commanding  countenance.  I  asked  per- 
mission to  see  the  inside  of  his  cabin,  to  which 
I  received  his  most  courteous  assent.  On 
stooping  to  enter  at  the  door  I  was  stopped  and 
found  that  permission  from  another  was  neces- 
sary before  I  could  be  admitted.  A  pig,  which 
was  fastened  to  a  stake  driven  into  the  floor, 
with  length  of  rope  suflicient  to  permit  him  the 
enjoyment  of  sun  and  air,  demanded  some  cour- 
tesy, which  I  showed  him,  and  was  suffered  to 
enter.  The  wife  was  engaged  in  boiling  thread; 
and  by  her  side,  near  the  fire,  a  lovely  infant 
was  sleeping,  without  any  covering,  on  a  bare 
board.  Whether  the  fire  gave  additional  glow 
to  the  countenance  of  the  babe,  or  that  Nature 


impressed  on  its  unconscious  cheek  ablush  that 
the  lot  of  man  should  be  exposed  to  such  pri- 
vations, I  will  not  decide;  but  if  the  cause  be 
referable  to  the  latter,  it  was  in  perfect  unison 
with  my  own  feelings.  Two  or  three  other 
children  crowded  round  the  mother:  on  their 
rosy  countenances  health  seemed  established 
in  spite  of  filth  and  ragged  garments.  The  dress 
of  the  poor  woman  was  barely  sufficient  to  sa- 
tisfy decency.  Her  countenance  bore  the  im- 
pression of  a  set  melancholy,  tinctured  with  an 
appearance  of  ill  health.  The  hovel,  which 
did  not  exceed  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  length 
and  ten  in  breadth,  was  half  obscured  by  smoke 
— chimney  or  window  I  saw  none ;  the  door 
served  the  various  purposes  of  an  inlet  to  light, 
and  the  outlet  to  smoke.  The  furniture  consist- 
ed of  two  stools,  an  iron  pot  and  a  spinning- 
wheel — while  a  sack  stufi'ed  with  straw,  and  a 
single  blanket  laid  on  planks,  served  as  a -bed 
for  the  repose  of  the  whole  family.  Need  I 
attempt  to  describe  my  sensations  1  The  state- 
ment alone  cannot  fail  of  conveying,  to  a  mind 
like  yours,  an  adequate  idea  of  them — I  could 
not  long  remain  a  witness  to  this  acme  of  hu- 
man misery.  As  I  left  the  deplorable  habita- 
tion, the  mistress  followed  me  to  repeat  her 
thanks  for  the  trifle  I  had  bestowed.  This  gave 
me  an  opportunity  of  observing  her  person 
more  particularly.  She  was  a  tall  figure,  her 
countenance  composed  of  interesting  features, 
and  with  every  appearance  of  having  once  been 
handsome. 

"Unwilling  to  quit  the  village  without  first 
satisfying  myself  whether  what  I  had  seen  was 
a  solitary  instance,  or  a  sample  of  its  general 
state;  or  whether  the  extremity  of  poverty  I  had 
just  beheld  had  arisen  from  peculiar  improvi- 
dence and  want  of  management  in  one  wretch- 
ed family;  I  went  into  an  adjoining  habitation, 
where  I  found  a  poor  old  woman  of  eighty, 
whose  miserable  existence  was  painfully  con- 
tinued by  the  maintenance  of  her  granddaugh- 
ter. Their  condition,  if  possible,  was  more  de- 
plorable."—Cw?-;<;en,  I.  181.  183. 

This  wretchedness,  of  which  all  strangers  who 
visit  Ireland  are  so  sensible,  proceeds  certainly, 
in  great  measure,  from  their  accidental  use  of  a 
food'so  cheap,  that  it  encourages  population  to  an 
extraordinary  degree,  lowers  the  price  of  labour, 
and  leaves  the  multitudes  which  it  calls  into 
existence  almost  destitute  of  every  thing  but 
food.  Many  more  live  in  consequence  of  the 
introduction  of  potatoes  ;  but  all  live  in  greater 
wretchedness.  In  the  progress  of  population, 
the  potato  must,  of  course,  become  at  last  as  dif- 
ficult to  be  procured  as  any  other  food ;  and  then 
let  the  political  economist  calculate  what  the 
immensity  and  wretchedness  of  a  people  must 
be  where  the  farther  progress  of  population  is 
checked  by  the  difficulty  of  procuring  potatoes. 

The  consequence  of  the  long  mismanagement 
and  oppression  of  Ireland,  and  of  the  singular 
circumstances  in  which  it  is  placed,  is,  that  it  is 
a  semi-barbarous  country: — more  shame  to  those 
who  have  thus  ill  treated  a  fine  country,  and  a 
fine  people;  but  it  is  part  of  the  present  case  of 
Ireland.  The  barbarism  of  Ireland  is  evinced 
by  the  frequency  and  ferocity  of  duels, — the  he- 
reditary clannish  feuds  of  the  common  people, 
— and  the  fights  to  which  they  give  birth, — the 


148 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


atrocious  cruelties  practised  in  the  insurrections 
of  the  common  people — and  their  proneness  to 
insurrection.  The  lower  Irish  live  in  a  state  of 
greater  wretchedness  than  any  other  people  in 
Europe,  inhabiting  so  fine  a  soil  and  climate. 
It  is  difficult,  often  impossible,  to  execute  the 
processes  of  law.  In  cases  where  gentlemen 
are  concerned,  it  is  often  not  even  attempted. 
The  conduct  of  under-sheriffs  is  often  very  cor- 
rupt.* We  are  afraid  the  magistracy  of  Ireland 
is  very  inferior  to  that  of  this  country;  the  spirit 
of  jobbing  and  bribery  is  very  widely  diffused, 
and  upon  occasions  when  the  utmost  purity  pre- 
vails in  the  sister  kingdom.  Military  force  is 
necessary  all  over  the  country,  and  often  for  the 
most  common  and  just  operations  of  govern- 
ment. The  behaviour  of  the  higher  to  the  lower 
orders  is  much  less  gentle  and  decent  than  in 
England.  Blows  from  superiors  to  inferiors 
are  more  frequent,  and  the  punishment  for  such 
aggression  more  doubtful.  The  word  gentleman 
seems,  in  Ireland,  to  put  an  end  to  most  pro- 
cesses of  law.  Arrest  a  gentleman! !!!— take 
out  a  warrant  against  a  gentleman — are  modes 
of  operation  not  very  common  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  Irish  justice.  If  a  man  strikes  the 
meanest  peasant  in  England,  he  is  either  knock- 
ed down  in  his  turn,  or  immediately  taken  before 
a  magistrate.  It  is  impossible  to  live  in  Ireland 
without  perceiving  the  various  points  in  which 
it  is  inferior  in  civilization.  Want  of  unity  in 
feeling  and  interest  among  the  people, — irrita- 
bility, violence  and  revenge, — want  of  comfort 
and  cleanliness  in  the  lower  orders, — habitual 
disobedience  to  the  law, — want  of  confidence 
m  magistrates, — corruption,  venality,  the  per- 
petual necessity  of  recurring  to  military  force, 
— all  carry  back  the  observer  to  that  remote  and 
early  condition  of  mankind,  which  an  English- 
man can  learn  only  in  the  pages  of  the  antiquary 
or  the  historian.  We  do  not  draw  this  picture 
for  censure  but  for  truth.  We  admire  the  Irish, 
— feel  the  most  sincere  pity  for  the  state  of  Ire- 
land, and  think  the  conduct  of  the  English  to 
that  country  to  have  been  a  system  of  atrocious 
■cruelty  and  contemptible  meanness.  W^ith  such 
a  climate,  such  a  soil  and  such  a  people,  the  in- 
feriority of  Ireland  to  the  rest  of  Europe  is  di- 
rectly chargeable  to  the  long  wickedness  of  the 
English  government. 

A  direct  consequence  of  the  present  uncivi- 
lized state  of  Ireland,  is  that  very  little  English 
capital  travels  there.  The  man  who  deals  in 
steam-engines  and  warps  and  woofs,  is  naturally 
alarmed  by  Peep-of-Day  Boys,  and  nocturnal 
Carders ;  his  object  is  to  buy  and  sell  as  q  uicklly 
and  quietly  as  he  can;  and  he  will  naturally 
bear  higJi  taxes  and  rivalry  in  England,  or  emi- 
grate to  any  part  of  the  Continent,  or  to  America, 
rather  than  plunge  into  the  tumult  of  Irish  poli- 
tics and  passions.  There  is  nothing  which  Ire- 
land wants  more  than  large  manufacturing  towns 
to  take  off  ils  superfluous  population.  But  in- 
ternal peace  must  come  first,  and  then  the  arts 
of  peace  will  follow.  The  foreign  manufac- 
larer  will  hardly  think  of  embarking  his  capital 
wiere  he  cannot  be  sure  that  his  existence  is 
safe.  Anothercheck  to  the  manufacturing  great- 
ness of  Ireland,  is  the  scarcity — not  of  coal — 


*  The  diiBculty  often  is  to  catch  the  sheriff. 


but  of  good  coal,  cheaply  raised;  an  article  in 
which  (in  spite  of  papers  in  the  Irish  Transac- 
tions) they  are  lamentably  inferior  to  the  Eng- 
lish. 

Another  consequence  from  some  of  the 
causes  we  have  stated,  is  the  extreme  idleness 
of  the  Irish  labourer.  There  is  nothing  of  the 
value  of  which  the  Irish  seem  to  have  so  little 
notion  as  that  of  time.  They  scratch,  pick,  dau- 
dle,  stare,  gape,  and  do  any  thing  but  strive  and 
wrestle  with  the  task  before  them.  The  most 
ludicrous  of  all  human  objects  is  an  Irishman 
ploughing. — A  gigantic  figure — a  seven  foot 
machine  for  turning  potatoes  into  human  na- 
ture, wrapt  up  in  an  immense  great  coat,  and 
urging  on  two  starved  ponies,  with  dreadful  im- 
precations, and  uplifted  shillala.  The  Irish  crow 
discerns  a  coming  perquisite,  and  is  not  inatten- 
tive to  the  proceedings  of  the  steeds.  The  fur- 
row which  is  to  be  the  depository  of  the  future 
crop,  is  not  unlike,  either  in  depth  or  regularity, 
to  those  domestic  furrows  which  the  nails  of  the" 
meek  and  much-injured  wife  plough,  in  some 
family  quarrel,  upon  the  cheeks  of  the  deserv- 
edly punished  husband.  The  weeds  seem  to 
fall  contentedly,  knowing  that  they  have  ful- 
filled their  destiny,  and  left  behind  them,  for  the 
resurrection  of  the  ensuing  spring,  an  abundant 
and  healthy  progeny.  The  whole  is  a  scene  of 
idleness,  laziness  and  poverty,  of  which  it  is 
impossible,  in  this  active  and  enterprising  coun- 
try, to  form  the  most  distant  conception;  but 
strongly  indicative  of  habits,  whether  second- 
ary or  original,  which  will  long  present  a  pow- 
erful impediment  to  the  improvement  of  Ireland. 

The  Irish  character  contributes  something  to 
retard  the  improvements  of  that  country.  The 
Irishman  has  many  good  qualities:  he  is  brave 
witty,  generous,  eloquent,  hospitable  and  open 
hearted ;  but  he  is  vain,  ostentatious,  extrava- 
gaii:,  and  fond  of  display— light  in  counsel — 
deficient  in  perseverance — without  skill  in  pri- 
vate or  public  economy — an  enjoyer,  not  an 
acquirer — one  who  despises  the  slow  and  patient 
virtues — who  wants  the  supei-structure  without 
the  foundation — the  result  without  the  previous 
operation — the  oak  without  the  acorn  and  the 
three  hundred  years  of  expectation.  The  Irish 
are  irascible,  prone  to  debt  and  to  fight,  and 
very  impatient  of  the  restraints  of  law.  Such 
a  people  are  not  likely  to  keep  their  eyes 
steadily  upon  the  main  chance,  like  the  Scotch 
or  the  Dutch.  England  strove  very  hard,  at 
one  period,  to  compel  the  Scotch  to  pay  a 
double  church ; — but  Sawney  took  his  pen  and 
ink;  and  finding  what  a  sura  it  amounted  to, 
became  furious,  and  drew  his  sword.  God  for- 
bid the  Irishman  should  do  the  same !  the  re- 
medy, now,  would  be  worse  than  the  disease; 
but  if  the  oppressions  of  England  had  been 
more  steadily  resisted  a  century  ago,  Ireland 
would  not  have  been  the  scene  of  poverty, 
misery  and  distress  which  it  now  is. 

The  Catholic  religion,  among  other  causes, 
contributes  to  the  backwardness  and  barbarism 
of  Ireland.  Its  debasing  superstition,  childish 
ceremonies,  and  the  profound  submission  to  the 
priesthood  which  it  teaches,  all  tend  to  darken 
men's  minds,  to  impede  the  progress  of  know- 
ledge and  inquiry,  and  to  prevent  Ireland  from 
becoming  as  free,  as  powerful,  and  as  rich  aa 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


149 


the  sister  kingdom.  Though  sincere  friends  to 
Catholic  emancipation,  we  are  no  advocates  for 
the  Catholic  religion.  We  should  be  very  glad 
to  see  a  general  conversion  to  Protestantis,m 
among  the  Irish;  but  we  do  not  think  that  vio- 
lence, privations  and  incapacities  are  the  pro- 
per methods  of  making  proselytes. 

Such,  then,  is  Ireland,  at  this  period, — a  land 
more  barbarous  than  the  rest  of  Europe,  because 
it  has  been  worse  treated  and  more  cruelly  op- 
pressed. Many  of  the  incapacities  and  priva- 
tions to  which  the  Catholics  were  exposed,  have 
been  removed  bylaw;  but,  in  such  instances, 
they  are  still  incapacitated  and  deprived  by  cus- 
tom. Many  cruel  and  oppressive  laws  are  still 
enforced  against  them.  A  ninth  part  of  the 
population  engrosses  all  the  honours  of  the 
country;  the  other  nine  pay  a  tenth  of  the  pro- 
duct of  the  earth  for  the  support  of  a  religion  in 
which  they  do  not  believe.  There  is  little  capi- 
tal in  the  country.  The  great  and  rich  men 
are  called  by  business,  or  allured  by  pleasure, 
into  England;  their  estates  are  given  up  to  fac- 
tors, and  the  utmost  farthing  of  rent  extorted 
from  the  poor,  who,  if  they  give  up  the  land, 
cannot  get  employment  in  manufactures,  or 
regular  employment  in  husbandry.  The  com- 
mon people  use  a  sort  of  food  so  very  cheap, 
that  they  can  rear  families,  who  cannot  procure 
employment,  and  who  have  little  more  of  the 
comforts  of  life  than  food.  The  Irish  are  light- 
minded — want  of  employment  has  made  them 
idle — they  are  irritable  and  brave — have  a  keen 
remembrance  of  the  past  wrongs  they  have 
suffered,  and  the  present  wrongs  they  are  suf- 
fering from  England.  The  consequence  of  all 
this  is,  eternal  riot  and  insurrection,  a  whole 
army  of  soldiers  in  time  of  profound  peace,  and 
general  rebellion  whenever  England  is  busy 
with  other  enemies,  or  off  her  guard!  And 
thus  it  will  be  while  the  same  causes  continue 
to  operate,  for  ages  to  come, — and  worse  and 
worse  as  the  rapidly  increasing  population  of 
the  Catholics  becomes  more  and  more  nume- 
rous. 

The  remedies  are,  time  and  justice;  and  that 
justice  consists  in  repealing  all  laws  which 
make  any  distinction  between  the  two  religions; 
in  placing  over  the  government  of  Ireland,  not 
the  stupid,  amiable,  and  insignificant  noblemen 
who  have  too  often  been  sent  there,  but  men 
who  feel  deeply  the  wrongs  of  Ireland,  and  who 
have  an  ardent  wish  to  heal  them;  who  will 
take  care  that  Catholics,  when  eligible,  shall  be 
elected;*  who  will  share  the  patronage  of  Ire- 
land proportionally  among  the  two  parties,  and 
give  to  just  and  liberal  laws  the  same  vigour  of 
execution  which  has  hitherto  been  reserved  only 
for  decrees  of  tyranny,  and  the  enactments  of 
oppression.  The  injustice  and  hardship  of  sup- 
porting two  churches  must  be  put  out  of  sight, 
if  it  cannot  or  ought  not  to  be  cured.  The  po- 
litical economist,  the  moralist  and  the  satirist, 
must  combine  to  teach  moderation  and  superin- 
tendence to  the  great  Irish  proprietors.  Public 
talk  and  clamour  may  do  something  for  the  poor 
Irish,  as  it  did  for  the  slaves  in  the  West  Indies. 
Ireland  will   become   more   quiet  under  such 


*  Great  merit  is  due  to  the  AVhigs  for  the  patronage  be- 
stowed on  Catholics. 


treatment,  and  then  more  rich,  more  comfortable, 
and  more  civilized;  and  the  horrid  spectacle  of 
folly  and  tyranny  which  it  at  present  exhibits, 
may  in  time  be  removedfrom  the  eyes  of  Europe. 

There  are  two  eminent  Irishmen  now  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  Lord  Castlereagh  and  Mr. 
Canning,  who  will  subscribe  to  the  justness  of 
every  syllable  we  have  said  upon  this  subject; 
and  who  have  it  in  their  power,  by  making  it 
the  condition  of  their  remaining  in  office,  to 
liberate  their  native  country  and  raise  it  to  its 
just  rank  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Yet 
the  court  buys  them  over,  year  after  year,  by 
the  pomp  and  perquisites  of  office,  and  year 
after  year  they  come  into  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, feeling  deeply  and  describing  powerfully, 
the  injuries  of  five  millions  of  their  countrymen, 
— and  continue  members  of  a  government  that 
inflicts  those  evils,  under  the  pitiful  delusion 
that  it  is  not  a  cabinet  question, —  as  if  the 
scratchings  and  quarrellings  of  kings  and 
queens  could  alone  cement  politicians  together 
in  indissoluble  unity,  while  the  fate  and  fortune 
of  one-third  of  the  empire  might  be  compliment- 
ed away  from  one  minister  to  another,  without 
the  smallest  breach  in  their  cabinet  alliance. 
Politicians,  at  least  honest  politicians,  should  be 
very  flexible  and  accommodating  in  little  things, 
very  rigid  and  inflexible  in  great  things.  And 
is  this  not  a  great  thing]  Who  has  painted  it 
in  finer  and  more  commanding  eloquence  than 
Mr.  Canning]  Who  has  taken  a  more  sensible 
and  statesmanlike  view  of  our  miserable  and 
cruel  policy  than  Lord  Castlereagh]  You 
would  think,  to  hear  them,  that  the  same  planet 
could  not  contain  them  and  the  oppressors  of 
their  country,  —  perhaps  not  the  same  solar 
system.  Yet  for  money,  claret  and  patronage, 
they  lend  their  countenance,  assistance  and 
friendship,  to  the  ministers  who  are  the  stern 
and  inflexible  enemies  to  the  emancipation  of 
Ireland! 

Thank  God  that  all  is  not  profligacy  and  cor- 
ruption in  the  history  of  that  devoted  people — 
and  that  the  name  of  Irishman  does  not  always 
carry  with  it  the  idea  of  the  oppressor  or  the 
oppressed — the  plunderer  or  the  plundered — the 
tyrant  or  the  slave.  Great  men  hallow  a  whole 
people  and  lift  up  all  who  live  in  their  time. 
What  Irishman  does  not  feel  proud  that  he  has 
lived  in  the  days  of  Ghattan]  who  has  not 
turned  to  him  for  comfort,  from  the  false  friends 
and  open  enemies  of  Ireland]  who  did  not  re- 
member him  in  the  days  of  its  burnings  and 
wastings  and  murders]  No  government  ever 
dismayed  him — the  world  could  not  bribe  him 
— he  thought  only  of  Ireland — lived  for  no  other 
object — dedicated  to  her  his  beautiful  fancy,  his 
elegant  wit,  his  manly  courage  and  all  the 
splendour  of  his  astonishing  eloquence.  He 
was  so  born  and  so  gifted,  that  poetry,  forensic 
skill,  elegant  literature  and  all  the  highest  at- 
tainments of  human  genius,  were  within  his 
reach;  hut  he  thought  the  noblest  occupation  of 
a  man  was  to  make  other  men  happy  and  free; 
and  in  that  straight  line  he  went  on  for  fifty 
years,  without  one  side-look,  without  one  yield- 
ing thought,  without  one  motive  in  his  heart 
which  he  might  not  have  laid  open  to  the  viewr 
of  God  and  man.  He  .is  gone! — but  there  is  not 
a  single  day  of  his  honest  life  of  which  every  g.  vd 


150 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Irishman  would  not  be  more  proud,  than  of  the  |  the  annual  deserters  and  betrayers  of  their  na- 
■whole  political  existence  of  his  countrymen —  |  live  land. 


SPEING-GUNS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1821.] 


Whek  Lord  Dacre  (then  Mr.  Brand)  brougrht 
into  the  House  of  Commons  his  bill  for  the 
amendment  of  the  game  laws,  a  system  of 
greater  mercy  and  humanity  -wa.s  in  vain  re- 
Commended  10  that  popular  branch  of  the  legis- 
lature. The  interests  of  humanity,  and  the  inte- 
rests of  the  lord  of  the  manor,  were  not,  however, 
opposed  to  each  other;  nor  any  attempt  made 
to  deny  the  superior  importance  of  the  last.  No 
such  bold  or  alarming  topics  were  agitated ;  but  it 
•was  contended  that,  if  laws  were  less  ferocious, 
there  would  be  more  partridges — if  the  lower 
orders  of  mankind  were  not  torn  from  their 
families  and  banished  to  Botany  Bay,  hares  and 
pheasants  would  be  increased  in  number,  or,  at 
least,  not  diminished.  It  is  not,  however,  till 
after  long  experience  that  mankind  ever  think 
of  recurring  to  humane  expedients  for  effecting 
their  objects.  The  rulers  who  ride  the  people 
never  think  of  coaxingand  petting  till  they  have 
worn  out  the  lashes  of  their  whips,  and  broken 
the  rowels  of  their  spurs.  The  legislators  of 
the  trigger  replied,  that  two  laws  had  lately 
passed  which  would  answer  their  purpose  of 
preserving  game:  the  one,  an  act  for  transport- 
ing men  found  with  arms  in  their  hands  for  the 
purposes  of  killing  game  in  the  night;  the  other, 
an  act  for  rendering  the  buyers  of  the  game 
equally  guilty  with  the  seller,  and  for  involving 
both  in  the  same  penalty.  Three  seasons  have 
elapsed  since  the  last  of  these  laws  was  passed  ; 
and  we  appeal  to  the  experience  of  all  the  great 
towns  in  England,  whether  the  difliculty  of  pro- 
curing game  is  in  the  slightest  degree  increased  ? 
— whether  hares,  partridges  and  pheasants  are 
not  purchased  with  as  much  facility  as  before 
the  passing  this  act  1 — whether  the  price  of  such 
unlawful  commodities  is  even  in  the  slightest 
degree  increasedl  Let  the  Assize  and  Sessions' 
calendars  bear  witness,  whether  the  law  for 
transporting  poachers  has  not  had  the  most 
direct  tendency  to  encourage  brutal  assaults  and 
ferocious  murders.  There  is  hardly  now  a  jail- 
delivery  in  which  some  gamekeeper  has  not 
murdered  a  poacher — or  some  poacher  a  game- 
keeper. If  the  question  concerned  the  payment 
of  five  pounds,  a  poacher  would  hardly  risk  his 
life  rather  than  be  taken;  but  when  he  is  to  go 
to  Botany  Bay  for  seven  years,  he  summons 
together  his  brother  poachers — they  get  brave 
from  rum,  numbers  and  despair — and  a  bloody 
battle  ensues. 

Another  method  by  which  it  is  attempted  to 


*  The  Shooter's  Guide.    By  J.  B.  Johnson.    12mo.    Ed- 
wards and  Kuibb,  1&19. 


defeat  the  depredations  of  the  poacher,  is  by  set- 
ting spring-guns  to  murder  any  person  who 
comes  within  their  reach;  and  it  is  to  this  last 
new  feature  in  the  supposed  game  laws,  to  which, 
on  the  present  occasion,  we  intend  principally 
to  confine  our  notice. 

We  utterly  disclaim  all  hostility  to  the  game 
laws  in  general.  Game  ought  to  belong  to  those 
who  feed  it.  All  the  landowners  in  England 
are  fairly  entitled  to  all  the  game  in  England. 
These  laws  are  constructed  upon  a  basis  of 
substantial  justice;  but  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
absurdity  and  tyranny  mingled  with  them,  and 
a  perpetual  and  vehement  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  country  gentlemen  to  push  the  provisions  of 
these  laws  up  to  the  highest  point  of  tyrannical 
severity. 

"Is  it  lawful  to  put  to  death  by  a  spring-gun, 
or  any  other  machine,  an  unqualified  person 
trespassing  upon  your  woods  or  fields  in  pursuit 
of  game,  and  who  has  received  due  notice  of 
your  intention,  and  of  the  risk  to  which  he  is 
exposed  1"  This,  we  think,  is  stating  the  ques- 
tion as  fairly  as  can  be  stated.  We  purposely 
exclude  gardens,  orchards  and  all  contiguity  to 
the  dwelling  house.  We  exclude,  also,  all  fe- 
lonious intention  on  the  part  of  the  deceased. 
The  object  of  his  expedition  shall  be  proved  to 
be  game  ;  and  the  notice  he  received  of  his  dan- 
ger shall  be  allowed  to  be  as  complete  as  pos- 
sible. It  must  also  be  part  of  the  case,  that  the 
spring-gun  was  placed  there  for  the  express 
purpose  of  defendmg  the  game,  by  killing  or 
wounding  the  poacher,  or  spreading  terror,  or 
doing  any  thing  that  a  reasonable  man  ought  to 
know  would  happen  from  such  a  proceeding. 

Suppose  any  gentleman  were  to  give  notice 
that  all  other  persons  must  abstain  from  his 
manors;  that  he  himself  and  his  servants  pa- 
raded the  woods  and  fields  with  loaded  pistols 
and  blunderbusses,  and  would  shoot  any  body 
who  fired  at  a  partridge  ;  and  suppose  he  were 
to  keep  his  word,  and  shoot  through  the  head 
some  rash  trespasser  who  defied  this  bravado, 
and  was  determined  to  have  his  sport: — Is  there 
any  doubt  that  he  would  be  guilty  of  murder? 
We  suppose  no  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
trespasser;  but  that,  the  moment  he  passes  the 
line  of  demarcation  with  his  dogs  and  gun,  he 
is  shot  dead  by  the  proprietor  of  the  land  from 
behind  a  tree.  If  this  is  not  murder,  what  is 
murder?  We  will  make  the  case  a  little  better 
for  the  homicide  squire.  It  shall  be  night ;  the 
poacher,  an  unqualified  person,  steps  over  the 
line  of  demarcation  with  his  nets  and  snares, 
and  is  instantly  shot  through  the  head  by  the 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


151 


pistol  of  the  proprietor.  We  have  no  doubt 
that  this  would  be  murder — that  it  ought  to  be 
considered  as  murder,  and  punished  as  murder. 
We  think  this  so  clear  that  it  would  be  a  waste 
of  time  to  argue  it.  There  is  no  kind  of  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  deceased  ;  no  attempt  to 
run  away;  he  is  not  even  challenged:  but  in- 
stantly shot  dead  by  the  proprietor  of  the  wood, 
for  no  other  crime  than  the  intention  of  killing 
game  unlawfully.  We  do  not  suppose  that  any 
man,  possessed  of  the  elements  of  law  and  com- 
mon sense,  would  deny  this  to  be  a  case  of 
murder,  let  the  previous  notice  to  the  deceased 
have  been  as  perfect  as  it  could  be.  It  is  true, 
a  trespasser  in  a  park  may  be  killed  ;  but  then 
it  is  when  he  will  not  render  himself  to  the 
keepers,  upon  a  hue  and  cry  to  stand  to  the 
king's  peace.  But  deer  are  property,  game  is 
not;  and  this  power  of  slaying  deer-stealers  is 
by  the  2 1st  Edward  I.,  de  Makfudarihus  in  Parcis, 
and  by  3d  and  4th  William  &  Mary,  c.  10.  So 
rioters  may  be  killed,  house-burners,  ravishers, 
felons  refusing  to  be  arrested,  felons  escaping, 
felons  breaking  jail,  men  resisting  a  civil  pro- 
cess— may  all  be  put  to  death.  All  these  cases 
of  justifiable  homicide  are  laid  down  and  ad- 
mitted in  our  books.  But  who  ever  heard  that 
to  pistol  a  poacher  was  justifiable  homicide  1  It 
has  long  been  decided  that  it  is  unlawful  to  kill 
a  dog  who  is  pursuing  game  in  a  manor.  "  To 
decide  the  contrary,"  says  Lord  Ellenborough, 
"would  outrage  reason  and  sense."  (Vere  i'. 
Lord  Cawdor  and  King,  11  East,  368.)  Pointers 
have  always  been  treated  by  the  legislature 
with  great  delicacy  and  consideration.  To 
"  wish  to  be  a  dog  and  to  bay  the  moon,"  is  not 
quite  so  mad  a  wish  as  the  poet  thought  it. 

If  these  things  are  so,  what  is  the  difference 
between  the  act  of  firing  yourself  and  placing 
an  engine  which  does  the  same  thing]  In  the 
one  case  your  hand  pulls  the  trigger;  in  the 
other,  it  places  the  wire  which  communicates 
with  the  trigger,  and  causes  the  death  of  the 
trespasser.  There  is  the  same  intention  of  slay- 
ing in  both  cases — there  is  precisely  the  same 
human  agency  in  both  cases  ;  only  the  steps  are 
rather  more  numerous  in  the  latter  case.  As  to 
the  bad  effects  of  allowing  proprietors  of  game 
to  put  trespassers  to  death  at  once,  or  to  set 
guns  that  will  do  it,  we  can  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying,  that  the  first  method,  of  giving  the 
power  of  life  and  death  to  esquires,  would  be 
by  far  the  most  humane.  For,  as  we  have  ob- 
served in  a  previous  Essay  on  the  Game  Laws, 
a  live  armigeral  spring-gun  would  distinguish 
an  accidental  trespasser  from  a  real  poacher — 
a  woman  or  a  boy  from  a  man — perhaps  might 
spare  a  friend  or  an  acquaintance — or  a  father 
of  a  family  with  ten  children — or  a  small  free- 
holder who  voted  for  administration.  But  this 
new  rural  artillery  must  destroy,  without  mercy 
and  selection,  every  one  who  approaches  it. 

In  the  case  of  Hot  versus  Wilks,  Esq.,  the  four 
judges.  Abbot,  Bailey,  Holroyd  and  Best,  gave 
their  opinions  smaZ/V/i  on  points  connected  with 
this  question.  In  this  case,  as  reported  in  Chet- 
wynd's  edition  of  Burn's  Justice,  1820,  vol.  ii. 
p.  500,  Abbot,  C.  J.  observes  as  follows : — 

"I  cannot  say  that  repeated  and  increasing 
acts  of  aggression  may  not  reasonably  call  for 
increased  means  of  defence  and  protection.    I 


believe  that  many  of  the  persons  who  cause  en- 
gines of  this  description  to  be  placed  in  their 
grounds,  do  not  do  so  with  an  intention  to  injure 
any  person,  but  really  believe  that  the  publica- 
tion of  notices  will  prevent  any  person  from 
sustaining  an  injury ;  and  that  no  person  having 
the  notice  given  him,  will  be  weak  and  foolish 
enough  to  expose  himself  to  the  perilous  conse- 
quences of  his  trespass.  Many  persons  who 
place  such  engines  in  their  grounds,  do  so  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing,  by  means  of  terror, 
injury  to  their  property,  rather  than  from  any 
motive  of  doing  malicious  injury." 

"  Increased  means  of  defence  and  protection," 
but  increased  (his  lordship  should  remember) 
from  the  payment  of  five  pounds  to  instant  death 
— and  instant  death  inflicted,  not  by  the  arm  of 
law,  but  by  the  arm  of  the  proprietor; — could 
the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench  in- 
tend to  say,  that  the  impossibility  of  putting  an 
end  to  poaching  by  other  means  would  justify 
the  infliction  of  death  upon  the  offender!  Is  he 
so  ignorant  of  the  philosophy  of  punishing,  as 
to  imagine  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  give  ten 
stripes  instead  of  two,  an  hundred  instead  of 
ten,  and  a  thousand,  if  an  hundred  will  not  do? 
to  substitute  the  prison  for  pecuniary  fines,  and 
the  gallows  instead  of  the  jail  ?  It  is  impossible 
so  enlightened  a  judge  can  forget,  that  the  sym- 
pathies of  mankind  must  be  consulted;  that  it 
would  be  wrong  to  break  a  person  upon  the 
wheel  for  stealing  a  penny  loaf,  and  that  grada- 
tions in  punishments  must  be  carefully  accom- 
modated to  gradations  in  crime ;  that  if  poaching 
is  punished  more  than  mankind  in  general  think 
it  ought  to  be  punished,  the  fault  will  either  es- 
cape with  impunity,  or  the  delinquent  be  driven 
to  desperation  ;  that  if  poaching  and  murder  are 
punished  equally,  every  poacher  will  be  an  as- 
sassin. Besides,  too,  if  the  principle  is  right  in 
the  unlimited  and  unqualified  manner  in  which 
the  chief  justice  puts  it — if  defence  goes  on  in- 
creasing with  aggression,  the  legislature  at  least 
must  determine  upon  their  equal  pace.  If  an 
act  of  Parliament  made  it  a  capital  offence  to 
poach  upon  a  manor,  as  it  is  to  commit  a  bur- 
glary in  a  dwelling-house,  it  might  then  be  as 
lawful  to  shoot  a  person  for  trespassing  upon 
your  manor  as  it  is  to  kill  a  thief  for  breaking 
into  your  house.  But  the  real  question  is — and 
so  in  sound  reasoning  his  lordship  should  have 
put  it — "If  the  law  at  this  moment  determines 
the  aggression  to  be  in  such  a  state  that  it  merits 
only  a  pecuniary  fine  after  summons  and  proof, 
has  any  sporadic  squire  the  right  to  say,  that  it 
shall  be  punished  with  death,  before  any  sum- 
mons and  without  any  proof?" 

It  appears  to  us,  too,  very  singular  to  say 
that  many  persons  who  cause  engines  of  this 
description  to  be  placed  in  their  ground,  do  not 
do  so  with  an  intention  of  injuring  any  person, 
but  really  believe  that  the  pubhcation  of  notices 
will  prevent  any  person  from  sustaining  an 
injury,  and  that  no  person,  having  the  notice 
given  him,  will  be  weak  and  foolish  enough  to 
expose  himself  to  the  perilous  consequences  of 
his  trespass.  But  if  this  is  the  real  belief  of 
the  engineer — if  he  thinks  the  mere  notice  will 
keep  people  awa)' — then  he  must  think  jt  a 
mere  inutility  that  the  guns  should  be  placed 
at  all ;  if  he  thinks  that  many  will  be  deterred, 


153 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


and  a  few  come,  then  he  must  mean  to  shoot 
those  few.  He  who  believes  his  gun  will  never 
be  called  upon  to  do  its  duty,  need  set  no  gun, 
and  trust  to  rumour  of  their  being  set,  or  being 
loaded  for  his  protection.  Against  the  gun 
and  the  powder  we  have  no  complaint;  they 
are  perfectly  fair  and  admissible:  our  quarrel 
is  with  the  bullets.  He  who  sets  a  loaded  ^i\n, 
means  that  it  should  go  off  if  it  is  touched. 
But  what  signifies  the  mere  empty  wish  that 
there  may  be  no  mischief,  when  I  perform  an 
action  which  my  common  sense  tells  me  may 
produce  the  worst  mischief?  If  I  hear  a  great 
noise  in  the  street,  and  fire  a  bullet  to  keep 
people  quiet,  I  may  not,  perhaps,  have  intended 
to  i<ill;  I  may  have  wished  to  have  produced 
quiet  by  mere  terror,  and  I  may  have  expressed 
a  strong  hope  that  my  object  has  been  effected 
without  the  destruction  of  human  life.  Still  I 
have  done  that  which  every  man  of  sound  in- 
tellect knows  is  likely  to  kill;  and  if  any  one 
falls  from  my  act,  I  am  guilty  of  murder. — 
"Further,"  (says  Lord  Coke,)  "if  there  be  an 
evil  intent,  though  that  intent  extendeth  not  to 
death,  it  is  murder.  Thus,  if  a  man,  knowing 
that  many  people  are  in  the  street,  throw  a 
stone  over  the  wall,  intending  only  to  frighten 
them,  or  to  give  them  a  little  hurt,  and  there- 
upon one  is  killed — this  is  murder — for  he  had 
an  ill  intent;  though  that  intent  extended  not  to 
death,  and  though  he  knew  not  the  party  slain." 
(3  Inst.  .57.)  If  a  man  is  not  mad,  he  must  be 
presumed  to  foresee  common  coni^equences  if 
he  puts  a  bullet  into  a  spring  gun — he  may  be 
supposed  to  foresee  that  it  will  kill  any  poacher 
•who  touches  the  wire — and  to  that  consequence 
he  must  stand.  We  do  not  suppose  all  pre- 
servers of  game  to  be  so  bloodily  inclined  that 
they  would  prefer  the  death  of  a  poacher  to 
his  staying  away.  Their  object  is  to  preserve 
game;  they  have  no  objection  to  preserve  the 
lives  of  their  fellow-creatures,  also,  if  both  can 
exist  at  the  same  time;  if  not,  the  least  worthy 
of  God's  creatures  must  fall — the  rustic  without 
a  soul — not  the  Christian  partridge — not  the 
immortal  pheasant — not  the  rational  woodcock, 
or  the  accountable  hare. 

The  chief  justice  quotes  the  instance  of 
glass  and  spikes  fixed  upon  walls.  He  cannot 
mean  to  infer  from  this,  because  the  law  con- 
nives at  the  infliction  of  such  small  punish- 
ments for  the  protection  of  properly,  that  it 
does  allow,  or  ought  to  allow,  proprietors  to 
proceed  to  the  punishment  of  death.  Small 
means  of  annoying  trespassers  may  be  con- 
sistently admitted  by  the  law,  though  more 
severe  ones  are  forbidden,  and  ought  to  be  for- 
bidden; unless  it  follows,  that  what  is  good  in 
any  degree,  is  good  in  the  highest  degree.  You 
may  correct  a  servant  boy  with  a  switch;  but 
if  you  bruise  him  sorely,  you  are  to  be  indicted 
— if  you  kill  him,  you  are  hanged.  A  black- 
smith corrected  his  servant  with  a  bar  of  iron  ; 
the  boy  died,  and  the  blacksmith  was  executed. 
(Grey's  Case,  Kel.  64,  65.)  A  woman  kicked 
and  stamped  on  the  belly  of  her  child — she 
was  found  guilty  of  murder.  (1  Ead,  P.  C. 
261.)  Si  immoderafe  suo  jure  uialur,  (ittic  reus 
homicidii  sif.  There  is,  besides,  this  additional 
difference  in  the  two  cases  put  by  the  chief 
justice,  that  no  publication  of  notices  can  be  so 


plain,  in  the  case  of  the  guns,  as  the  sight  of 
the  glass  or  the  spikes;  for  a  trespasser  may 
not  believe  in  the  notice  which  he  receives,  or 
he  may  think  he  shall  see  a  gun,  and  so  avoid 
it,  or  that  he  may  have  the  good  luck  to  avoid 
it,  if  he  does  not  see  it;  whereas,  of  the  pre- 
sence of  the  glass  or  the  spikes  he  can  have  no 
doubt;  and  he  has  no  hope  of  placing  his  hand 
in  any  spot  where  they  are  not.  In  the  one 
case,  he  cuts  his  fingers  upon  full  and  perfect 
notice,  the  notice  of  his  own  senses;  in  the 
other  case,  he  loses  his  life  after  a  notice  which 
he  may  disbelieve,  and  by  an  engine  which  he 
may  hope  to  escape. 

Mr.  Justice  Bailey  observes,  in  the  same  case, 
that  it  is  not  an  indictable  offence  to  set  spring- 
guns  :  perhaps  not.  It  is  not  an  indictable  offence 
to  go  about  with  a  loaded  pistol,intending  to  shoot 
any  body  who  grins  at  you;  but  if  you  do  it,  you 
are  hanged;  many  inchoate  acts  are  innocent, 
the  consummation  of  which  is  a  capital  offence. 

This  is  not  a  case  where  the  motto  applies' 
of  Volenti  non  Jit  injuria.  The  man  does  not 
will  to  be  hurt,  but  he  wills  to  get  the  game; 
and,  with  that  rash  confidence  natural  to  many 
characters,  believes  he  shall  avoid  the  evil  and 
gain  the  good.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  case 
which  exactly  arranges  itself  under  the  maxim, 
Qiiando  aliqiiid  proliibetur  ex  direct o,  prnhibetur 
et  per  obliqiiuni.  Give  what  notice  he  may,  the 
proprietor  cannot  lawfully  shoot  a  trespasser 
(who  neither  runs  nor  resists)  with  a  loaded 
pistol; — he  cannot  do  it  eo;  directo; — how  then 
can  he  do  iiper  ohUquum,  by  arranging  on  the 
ground  the  pistol  which  commits  ihe  murder] 

Mr.  Justice  Best  delivers  the  following  opin- 
ion.    His  lordship  concluded  as  follows: — 

"  This  case  has  been  discussed  at  the  bar,  as 
if  these  engines  were  exclusively  resorted  to 
for  the  protection  of  game;  but  I  considerthem 
as  lawfully  applicable  to  the  protection  of  every 
species  of  property  against  unlawful  trespass- 
ers. But  if  even  they  might  not  lawfully  be 
used  for  the  protection  of  game,  I,  for  one, 
should  be  extremely  glad  to  adopt  such  means, 
if  they  were  found  sufficient  for  that  purpose; 
because  I  think  it  a  great  object  that  gentlemen 
should  have  a  temptation  to  reside  in  the  coun- 
try, amongst  their  neighbours  and  tenantry, 
whose  interests  must  be  materially  advanced  by 
such  a  circumstance.  The  links  of  society  are 
thereby  better  preserved,  and  the  mutual  advan- 
tage and  dependence  of  the  higher  and  lower 
classes  of  society,  existing  between  each  other, 
more  beneficially  maintained.  We  have  seen, 
in  a  neighbouring  country,  the  baneful  conse- 
quences of  the  non-residence  of  the  landed 
gentry;  and  in  an  ingenious  work,  lately  pub- 
lished by  a  foreigner,  we  learn  the  fatal  eflTects 
of  a  like  system  on  the  Continent.  By  preserv- 
ing game,  gentlemen  are  tempted  to  reside  in 
the  country;  and,  considering  that  the  diversion 
of  the  field  is  the  only  one  of  which  they  can 
partake  on  the  estates,  I  am  of  opinion  that,  for 
the  purpose  I  have  stated,  it  is  of  essential  im- 
portance that  this  species  of  property  should 
be  inviolably  protected." 

If  this  speech  of  Mr.  Justice  Best  is  correctly 
reported,  it  follows,  that  a  man  may  put  his  fel- 
low-creatures to  death  for  any  infringement  of 
his  property — for  picking  the  sloes  and  black- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


153 


berries  off  his  hedges — for  breaking  a  few  dead 
sticks  out  of  them  by  night  or  by  day — with  re- 
sistance or  without  resistance — with  warning  or 
■without  warning; — a  strange  method  this  of 
keeping  up  the  links  of  society,  and  maintain- 
ing the  dependence  of  the  lower  upon  the  higher 
classes.  It  certainly  is  of  importance  that  gen- 
tlemen should  reside  on  their  estates  in  the 
country  ;  but  not  that  gentlemen  with  such  opin- 
ions as  these  should  reside.  The  more  they  are 
absent  from  the  country,  the  less  strain  will 
there  be  upon  those  links  to  which  the  learned 
judge  alludes — the  more  firm  that  dependence 
upon  which  he  places  so  just  a  value.  In  the 
case  of  Dean  versus  Clayton,  Bart.,  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  were  equally  divided  upon  the 
lawfulness  of  killing  a  dog  coursing  an  hare  by 
means  of  a  concealed  dog-spear.  We  confess 
that  we  cannot  see  the  least  difference  between 
transfixing  with  a  spear,  or  placing  a  spear  so 
that  it  will  transfix;  and,  therefore,  if  Vere  ver- 
sus Lord  Cawdor  and  King  is  good  law,  the  ac- 
tion could  have  been  maintained  in  Dean  versus 
Clayton;  but  the  solemn  consideration  concern- 
ing the  life  of  the  pointer  is  highly  creditable  to 
all  the  judges.  They  none  of  them  say  that  it 
is  lawful  to  put  a  trespassing  pointer  to  death 
under  any  circumstances,  or  that  they  them- 
selves would  be  glad  to  do  it;  they  all  seem 
duly  impressed  with  the  recollection  that  they 
are  deciding  the  fate  of  an  animal  faithfully 
ministerial  to  the  pleasures  of  the  upper  classes 
of  society;  there  is  an  awful  desire  to  do  their 
duty,  and  a  dread  of  any  rash  and  intemperate 
decision.  Seriously  speaking,  we  can  hardly 
believe  this  report  of  Mr.  Justice  Best's  speech 
to  be  correct;  yet  we  take  it  from  a  book  which 
guides  the  practice  of  nine-tenths  of  all  the 
magistrates  in  England.  Does  a  judge, — a  cool, 
calm  man,  in  whose  hands  are  the  issues  of  life 
and  death — from  whom  so  many  miserable, 
trembling  human  beings  await  their  destiny — 
does  he  tell  us,  and  tell  us  in  a  court  of  justice, 
that  he  places  such  little  value  on  the  life  of 
man,  that  he  himself  would  plot  the  destruction 
of  his  fellow-creatures  for  the  preservation  of 
a  few  hares  and  partridges'?  "  Nothing  which 
falls  from  me"  (says  Mr.  Justice  Bailey)  "shall 
have  a  tendency  to  encourage  the  practice." — 
"I  consider  them"  (says  Mr.  Justice  Best)  "  as 
lawfully  applicable  to  the  protection  of  every 
species  of  property;  but  even  if  the}'  might  not 
lawfully  be  used  for  the  protection  of  game,  / 
for  one  should  be  extremely  glad  io  adopt  them, 
if  they  were  found  sufficient  for  that  purpose." 
Can  any  man  doubt  to  which  of  these  two  ma- 
gistrates he  would  rather  entrust  a  decision  on 
his  life,  his  liberty  and  his  possessions?  We 
should  be  very  sorry  to  misrepresent  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Best,  and  will  give  to  his  disavowal  of 
such  sentiments,  if  he  does  disavow  them,  all 
the  publicity  in  our  power;  but  we  have  cited 
his  very  words  conscientiously  and  correctly, 
as  they  are  given  in  the  Law  Report.  We  have 
no  doubt  he  meant  to  do  his  duty;  we  blame 
not  his  motives,  but  his  feelings  and  his  reason- 
ing. 

Let  it  be  observed  that,  in  the  whole  of  this 

case,  we  have  put  every  circumstance  in  favour 

of  the  murder.     We  have  supposed  it  to  be  in 

the  night  time;  but  a  man  may  be  shot  in  the 

20 


day*  by  a  spring-gun.  We  have  supposed  the 
deceased  to  be  a  poacher;  but  he  may  be  a  very 
innocent  man,  who  has  missed  his  way  —  an 
unfortunate  botanist,  or  a  lover.  We  have  sup- 
posed notice;  but  it  is  a  very  possible  event 
that  the  dead  man  may  have  been  utterly  igno- 
rant of  the  notice.  This  instrument,  so  highly 
approved  of  by  Mr.  Justice  Best  —  this  knitter 
together  of  the  different  orders  of  society  —  is 
levelled  promiscuously  against  the  guilty  or  the 
innocent,  the  ignorant  and  the  informed.  No 
man  who  sets  such  an  infernal  machine,  believes 
that  it  can  reason  or  discriminate ;  it  is  made  to 
murder  all  alike,  and  it  does  murder  all  alike. 

Blackstone  says,  that  the  law  of  England, 
like  that  of  every  other  well-regulated  commu- 
nity, is  tender  of  the  public  peace,  and  careful 
of  the  lives  of  the  subjects;  "that  it  will  not 
suffer  with  impunity  any  crime  to  be  prevented 
by  death,  unless  the  same,  if  committed,  would 
also  be  punished  by  death."  {Commentaries,  vol. 
iv.  182.)  "The  law  sets  so  high  a  value  upon 
the  life  of  a  man,  that  it  always  intends  some 
misbehaviour  in  the  person  who  takes  it  away, 
unless  by  the  command,  or  express  permission 
of  the  law." — "And  as  to  the  necessity  which 
excuses  a  man  who  kills  another  se  defendendo. 
Lord  Bacon  calls  even  that  necessitas  culpubHis." 
{Commentaries,  vol.  iv.  p.  187.)  So  far  this 
luminary  of  the  law. — But  the  very  amusements 
of  the  rich  are,  in  the  estimation  of  Mr.  Justice 
Best,  of  so  great  importance,  that  the  poor  are 
to  be  exposed  to  sudden  death  who  interfere 
with  them.  There  are  other  persons  of  the 
same  opinion  with  this  magistrate  respecting 
the  pleasures  of  the  rich.  In  the  last  session 
of  Parliament  a  bill  was  passed,  entitled  "  Au 
act  for  the  summary  punishment,  in  certain 
cases,  of  persons  wilfully  or  maliciously  damag- 
ing, or  committing  trespasses  on  public  or  pri- 
vate property."  Anno  prima — (a  bad  specimen 
of  what  is  to  happen) — Georgii  IV.  Regis,  cap. 
56.  In  this  act  it  is  provided,  that  "if  any  per- 
son shall  wilfully,  or  maliciously,  commit  any 
damage,  injury,  or  spoil,  upon  any  building, 
fence,  hedge,  gate,  stile,  guide-post,  milestone, 
tree,  wood,  underwood,  orchard,  garden,  nursery- 
ground,  crops,  vegetables,  plants,  land,  or  other 
matter  or  thing  growing  or  being  therein,  or  to 
or  upon  real  or  personal  property  of  any  nature 
or  kind  soever,  he  may  be  immediately  seized 
by  any  body,  without  a  warrant,  taken  before  a 
magistrate,  and  fined  (according  to  the  mischief 
he  has  done)  to  the  extent  of  5/.;  or,  in  default 
of  payment,  may  be  committed  to  the  jail  for 
three  months."  And  at  the  end  comes  a  clause, 
exempting  from  the  operation  of  this  act  all 
mischief  done  in  hunting,  and  by  shooters  who 
are  qualified.  This  is  surely  the  most  impudent 
piece  of  legislation  that  ever  crept  into  the  sta- 
tute-book; and,  coupled  with  Mr.  Justice  Best's 
declaration.constitutes  the  followingaffectionate 
relation  between  the  different  orders  of  society. 
Says  the  higher  link  to  the  lower,  "If  you  meddle 
with  my  game,  I  will  immediately  murder  you; 
— if  you  commit  the  slightest  injury  upon  my 
real  or  personal  property,  I  will  take  you  before 
a  magistrate,  and  fine  you  five  pounds.   I  am  ia 

*  Large  damagrs  have  been  given  for  wounds  inflicted 
by  spring-guns  set  in  a  garden  in  the  day-time,  where  the 
party  wounded  had  no  notice 


154 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Parliament,  and  you  are  not ;  and  I  have  just 
brought  in  an  act  of  Parliament  for  that  purpose. 
But  so  important  is  it  to  you  that  my  pleasures 
should  not  be  interrupted,  ihat  I  have  exempted 
myself  and  friends  from  the  operation  of  this 
act;  and  we  claim  the  right  (without  allowing 
you  any  such  summary  remedy)  of  riding  over 
your  fences,  hedges,  gales,  stiles,  guide-posts, 
milestones,  woods,  underwoods,  orchards,  gar- 
dens, nursery-grounds,  crops,  vegetables,  plants, 
lands  or  other  matters  or  things  growing  or 
being  thereupon — including  your  children  and 
yourselves,  if  you  do  not  get  out  of  the  way." 
Is  there,  upon  earth,  such  a  mockery  of  justice 
as  an  act  of  Parliament,  pretending  to  protect 
property,  sending  a  poor  hedge-breaker  to  jail, 
and  specially  exempting  from  its  operation  the 
accusing  and  the  judging  squire,  who,  at  the 
tail  of  the  hounds,  have  that  morning,  perhaps, 
ruined  as  much  wheat  and  seeds  as  would  pur- 
chase fuel  a  whole  year  for  a  whole  village? 

It  cannot  be  urged,  in  extenuation  of  such  a 
murder  as  we  have  described,  that  the  artificer 
of  death  had  no  particular  malice  against  the 
deceased;  that  his  object  was  general,  and  his 
indignation  leveled  against  offenders  in  the 
aggregate.  Every  body  knows  that  there  is  a 
malice  by  implication  of  law. 

"  In  general,  any  formal  design  of  doing  mis- 
chief may  be  called  malice;  and  therefore,  not 
such  killing  only  as  proceeds  from  premeditated 
hatred  and  revenge  against  the  person  killed, 
but  also,  in  many  other  cases,  such  as  is  ac- 
companied with  those  circumstances  that  show 
the  heart  to  be  perversely  wicked,  is  adjudged 
to  be  of  malice  prepense." — 2  Haw.  c  31. 

"For  where  the  law  makes  use  of  the  term, 
malice  aforethought,  as  descriptive  of  the  crime 
of  murder,  it  is  not  to  be  understood  in  that 
narrow  restrained  sense  in  which  the  modern 
use  of  the  word  malice  is  apt  to  lead  one,  a  prin- 
ciple of  malevolence  to  particulars;  for  the  law, 
by  the  term  malice,  malilia,  in  this  instance, 
meaneth,  that  the  fact  hath  been  attended  with 
such  circumstances  as  are  the  ordinary  symp- 
toms of  a  wicked  heart,  regardless  of  social 
duly,  and  fatally  bent  upon  mischief." — Fvst. 
256,  257. 

Ferocity  is  the  natural  weapon  of  the  com- 
mon people.  If  gentlemen  of  education  and 
property  contend  with  them  at  this  sort  of  war- 
fare, they  will  probably  be  defeated  in  the  end. 
If  spring-guns  are  generally  set — if  the  common 
people  are  murdered  by  them,  and  the  legisla- 
ture does  not  interfere,  the  posts  of  gamekeeper 
and  lord  of  the  manor  will  soon  be  posts  of 
honour  and  danger.  The  greatest  curse  under 
heaven  (witness  Ireland)  is  a  peasantry  demo- 
ralized by  the  barbarity  and  injustice  of  their 
rulers. 

It  is  expected  by  some  persons,  that  the  se- 
vere operation  of  these  engines  will  put  an  end 
to  the  trade  of  a  poacher.  This  has  always 
been  predicated  of  every  fresh  operation  of  se- 
verity, that  it  was  to  put  an  end  to  poaching. 
But  if  this  argument  is  good  for  one  thing,  it  is 
good  for  another.  Let  the  first  pickpocket  who 
is  taken  be  hung  alive  by  the  ribs,  and  let  him 


be  a  fortnight  in  wasting  to  death.  Let  us  seize 
a  little  grammar  boy,  who  is  robbing  orchards, 
tie  his  arms  and  legs,  throw  over  him  a  delicate 
puff  paste,  and  bake  him  in  a  bun-pan  in  aa 
oven.  If  poaching  can  be  extirpated  by  inten- 
sity of  punishment,  why  not  all  other  crimes? 
If  racks  and  gibbets  and  tenter-hooks  are  the 
best  method  of  bringing  back  the  golden  age, 
why  do  we  refrain  from  so  easy  a  receipt  for 
abolishing  every  species  of  wickedness?  The 
best  way  of  answering  a  bad  argument  is  not 
to  stop  it,  but  to  let  it  go  on  in  its  course  till  it 
leaps  over  the  boundaries  of  common  sense. 
There  is  a  little  book  called  Beccaria  on  Crimes 
and  Punishments,  which  we  strongly  recom- 
mend to  the  attention  of  Mr.  Justice  Best.  He 
who  has  not  read  it,  is  neither  fit  to  make  laws, 
nor  to  administer  them  when  made. 

As  to  the  idea  of  abolishing  poaching  altoge- 
ther, we  will  believe  that  poaching  is  abolished 
when  it  is  found  impossible  to  buy  game;  or 
when  they  have  risen  so  greatly  in  price,  that 
none  but  people  of  fortune  can  buy  them.  But 
we  are  convinced  this  never  can,  and  never 
will  happen.  All  the  traps  and  guns  in  the 
world  will  never  prevent  the  wealth  of  the  mer- 
chant and  manufacturer  from  commanding  the 
game  of  the  landed  gentleman.  You  may,  in 
the  pursuit  of  this  visionary  purpose,  render  * 
the  common  people  savage,  ferocious  and  vin- 
dictive ;  you  may  disgrace  your  laws  by  enor- 
mous punishments,  and  the  national  character 
by  these  new  secret  assassinations ;  but  you 
will  never  separate  the  wealthy  glutton  from 
his  pheasant.  The  best  way  is,  to  take  what 
you  want,  and  sell  the  rest  fairly  and  openly. 
This  is  the  real  spring-gun  and  steel  trap  which 
will  annihilate,  not  the  unlawful  trader,  but  the 
unlawful  trade. 

There  is  a  sort  of  horror  in  thinking  of  a 
whole  land  filled  with  lurking  engines  of  death 
— machinations  against  human  life  under  every 
green  tree — traps  and  guns  in  every  dusky  dell 
and  bosky  bourn — the /eras  naluru,  the  lords  of 
manors  eyeing  their  peasantry  as  so  many  butts 
and  marks,  and  panting  to  hear  the  click  ot  the 
trap,  and  to  see  the  flash  of  the  gun.  How  any 
human  being,  educated  in  liberal  knowledge 
and  Christian  feeling,  can  doom  to  certain  de- 
struction a  poor  wretch  tempted  by  the  sight 
of  animals  that  naturally  appear  to  him  to  be- 
long to  one  person  as  well  as  another,  we  are 
at  a  loss  to  conceive.  VJe  cannot  imagine  how 
he  could  live  in  the  same  village,  and  see  the 
widow  and  orphans  of  the  man  whose  blood  he 
had  shed  for  such  a  trifle.  We  consider  a  per- 
son who  could  do  this,  to  be  deficient  in  the  very 
elements  of  morals — to  want  that  sacred  regard 
to  human  life  which  is  one  of  the  corner  stones 
of  civil  society.  If  he  sacrifices  the  life  of  man 
for  his  mere  pleasures,  he  would  do  so,  if  he 
dared,  for  the  lowest  and  least  of  his  passions. 
He  may  be  defended,  perhaps,  by  the  abomi- 
nable injustice  of  the  game  laws — though  we 
think  and  hope  he  is  not.  But  there  rests  upon 
his  head,  and  there  is  marked  in  his  account, 
the  deep  and  indelible  sin  of  blood-guiltiness. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


155 


P  EI  SONS.* 

[Edinburgh  Retiew,  1821.] 


There  are,  in  every  county  in  England,  large 
public  schools,  maintained  at  the  expense  of 
the  county,  for  the  encouragement  of  profligacy 
and  vice,  and  for  providing  a  proper  succession 
of  house-breakers,  profligates  and  thieves.  They 
are  schools,  too,  conducted  without  the  smallest 
degree  of  partiality  or  favour;  there  being  no 
man  (however  mean  his  birth,  or  obscure  his 
situation,)  who  may  not  easily  procure  admis- 
sion to  them.  The  moment  any  young  person 
evinces  the  slightest  propensity  for  these  pur- 
suits, he  is  provided  with  food,  clothing  and 
lodging,  and  put  to  his  studies  under  the  most 
accomplished  thieves  and  cut-throats  the  county 
can  supply.  There  is  not,  to  be  sure,  a  formal 
arrangement  of  lectures,  after  the  manner  of  our 
universities;  but  the  petty  larcenous  stripling, 
being  left  destitute  of  every  species  of  employ- 
ment and  locked  up  with  accomplished  villains 
as  idle  as  himself,  listens  to  their  pleasant  nar- 
rative of  successful  crimes,  and  pants  for  the 
hour  of  freedom,  that  he  may  begin  the  same 
bold  and  interesting  career. 

This  is  a  perfectly  true  picture  of  the  prison 
establishments  of  many  counties  in  England, 
and  was  so,  till  very  lately,  of  almost  all;  and 
the  etfects  so  completely  answered  the  design, 
that,  in  the  year  1818,  there  were  committed  to 
the  jails  of  the  United  Kingdom  more  than  one 
hundred  and  seven  thousand  persons.'!  a  num- 
ber supposed  to  be  greater  than  that  of  all  the 
commitments  in  the  other  kingdoms  of  Europe 
put  together. 

The  bodily  treatment  of  prisoners  has  been 
greatly  improved  since  the  time  of  Howard. 
There  is  still,  however,  much  to  do;  and  the 
attention  of  good  and  humane  people  has  been 
lately  called  to  their  state  of  moral  discipline. 

It  is  inconceivable  to  what  a  spirit  of  party 
this  has  given  birth; — all  the  fat  and  sleek  peo- 
ple,— the  enjoyers, — the  mumpsimus,  and  "  well 
as  we  are"  people,  are  perfectly  outrageous  at 
being  compelled  to  do  their  duty,  and  to  sacri- 
fice time  and  money  to  the  lower  orders  of  man- 
kind. Their  first  resource  was,  to  deny  all  the 
facts  which  were  brought  forward  for  the  pur- 
poses of  amendment;  and  the  alderman's  sar- 
casm of  the  Turkey  carpet  in  jails  was  bandied 
from  one  hard-hearted  and  fat-witted  gentleman 


*1.  Thovghtsnn  the  Crimitial  Prisons  of  this  Country^oc- 
easioned  by  the  Bill  nov  in  the  House  of  Commons,  for  Con- 
tolicJating  and  amending  the  Laivs  relating  to  Prisons;  %oith 
t<y>}ie  Remarks  on  the  Practice  of  looking  to  t/te  Task-Master  of 
the  Prison  rather  il^n  to  the  Chaplain  for  the  Reformation  of 
Offenders;  and  of  purchasing  the  Work  of  those  whom,  the 
Lain  has  condemned  to  Hard  Labour  as  a  Punishmeitt.  by 
allowing  them  to  spend  a  Portion  of  their  Earnings  during 
their  Imprisonment.  By  George  llollbrd,  Esq.  M.  P.  Riv- 
iiigton.    1-21. 

2.  Gurney  on  Prisons.    Constable  and  Co.    1S19. 

3.  Report  of  Society  for  bettering  the  Condition  of  Prisons. 
Bensley.    IsSO. 

t  Report  of  Prison  Society,  xiv. 


to  another:  but  the  advocates  of  prison  improve- 
ment are  men  in  earnest — not  playing  at  reli- 
gion, but  of  deep  feeling,  and  of  indefatigable 
industry  in  charitable  pursuits.  Mr.  Buxton 
went  in  company  with  men  of  the  most  irre- 
proachable veracity;  and  found,  in  the  heart  of 
the  metropolis,  and  in  a  prison  of  which  the 
very  Turkey  carpet  alderman  was  an  official 
visitor,  scenes  of  horror,  filth  and  cruelly,  which 
would  have  disgraced  even  the  interior  of  a 
slave-ship. 

This  dislike  of  innovation  proceeds  sometimes 
from  the  disgust  excited  by  false  humanity,  cant- 
ing hypocrisy,  and  silly  enthusiasm.  It  pro- 
ceeds, also,  from  a  stupid  and  indiscriminate 
horror  of  change,  whether  of  evil  for  good,  or 
good  for  evil.  There  is  also  much  party  spirit 
in  these  matters.  A  good  deal  of  ihese  humane 
projects  and  institutions  originates  from  Dis- 
senters. The  plunderers  of  the  public,  the  job- 
bers, and  those  who  sell  themselves  to  some 
great  man,  who  sells  himself  to  a  greater,  all 
scent  from  afar  the  danger  of  political  change — 
are  sensible  that  the  correction  of  one  abuse  may 
lead  to  that  of  another — feel  uneasy  at  any  visi- 
ble operation  of  public  spirit  and  justice — hate 
and  tremble  at  a  man  who  exposes  and  rectifies 
abuses  from  a  sense  of  duty — and  think,  if  such 
things  are  suffered  to  be,  that  their  candle-ends 
and  cheese-parings  are  no  longer  safe :  and  these 
sagacious  persons,  it  must  be  said  for  them,  are 
not  very  wrong  in  this  feeling.  Providence, 
which  has  denied  to  them  all  that  is  great  and 
good,  has  given  them  a  fine  tact  for  the  pre- 
servation of  their  plunder:  their  real  enemy  is 
the  spirit  of  inquiry — the  dislike  of  wrong — the 
love  of  right — and  the  courage  and  diligence 
which  are  the  concomitants  of  these  virtues. 
When  once  this  spirit  is  up,  it  may  be  as  well 
directed  to  one  abuse  as  another.  To  say  you 
must  not  torture  a  prisoner  with  bad  air  and 
bad  food,  and  to  say  you  must  not  tax  me  with 
out  my  consent  or  that  of  my  representative,  are 
both  emanations  of  the  same  principle,  occur 
ring  to  the  same  sort  of  understanding,  congenial 
to  the  same  disposition,  published,  protected 
and  enforced  by  the  same  qualities.  This  it  is 
that  really  excites  the  horror  against  Mrs.  Fry, 
Mr.  Gurney,  Mr.  Bennet,  and  Mr.  Buxton. 
Alarmists  such  as  we  have  described  have  no 
particular  wish  that  prisons  should  be  dirty, 
jailers  cruel,  or  prisoners  wretched;  they  care 
little  about  such  matters  either  way ;  but  all  their 
malice  and  meanness  are  called  up  into  action 
when  they  see  secrets  brought  to  light,  and 
abuses  giving  way  before  the  diffusion  of  intel 
ligence,  and  the  aroused  feelings  of  justice  and 
compassion.  As  for  us,  we  have  neither  love 
of  change,  nor  fear  of  it;  but  a  love  of  what  is 
just  and  wise,  as  far  as  we  are  able  to  find  it 
out.   In  this  spirit  we  shall  offer  a  few  obse.rva- 


156 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


■.ions  upon  prisons,  and  upon  the  publications 
oefore  us. 

Tlie  new  law  should  keep  up  the  distinction 
between  jails  and  houses  of  correction.  One 
of  each  should  exist  in  every  country,  either  at 
a  distance  from  each  other,  or  in  such  a  state 
of  juxtaposition  that  they  mi<,'ht  be  under  the 
same  governor.  To  the  jail  should  be  committed 
all  persons  accused  of  capital  offences,  whose 
trials  would  come  on  at  the  assizes ;  to  the  house 
of  correction,  all  offenders  whose  cases  would 
be  cognizable  at  the  Quarter  Sessions.  Sen- 
tence of  imprisonment  in  the  house  of  cor- 
rection, after  trial,  should  carry  with  it  hard 
labour;  sentence  of  imprisonment  in  the  jail, 
after  trial,  should  imply  an  exemption  from 
compulsory  labour.  There  should  be  no  com- 
pulsory labour  in  jails — only  in  houses  of  cor- 
rection. In  using  the  terms  Jail  and  House  of 
Correction,  we  shall  always  attend  to  these  dis- 
tinctions. Prisoners  for  trial  should  not  only 
not  be  compelled  to  labour,  but  they  should  have 
every  indulgence  shown  to  them  compatible 
■with  safet3^  No  chains — much  better  diet  than 
they  commonly  have  —  all  possible  access  to 
their  friends  and  relations — and  means  of  earn- 
ing money  if  they  choose  it.  The  broad  and 
obvious  distinction  between  prisoners  before 
and  after  trial  should  constantly  be  attended  to; 
to  violate  it  is  gross  tyranny  and  cruelty. 

The  jails  for  men  and  women  should  be  so 
far  separated,  that  nothing  could  be  seen  or 
heard  from  one  to  the  other.  The  men  should 
be  divided  into  two  classes:  Is/,  those  who  are 
not  yet  tried;  2d,  those  who  are  tried  and  con- 
victed. The  first  class  should  be  divided  into 
those  who  are  accused  as  misdemeanants  and 
as  felons;  and  each  of  these  into  first  misde- 
meanants and  second  misdemeanants,  men  of 
better  and  worse  character;  and  the  same  with 
felons.  The  second  class  should  be  divided 
into,  l.s/,  persons  condemned  to  death;  2f//y,  per- 
sons condemned  for  transportation;  3 J/;/,  first 
class  of  confined,  or  men  of  the  best  character 
under  sentence  of  confinement;  4//i/y,  second 
confined,  or  men  of  worse  character  under  sen- 
tence of  confinement.  To  these  are  to  be  added 
separate  places  for  king's  evidence,  boys,  luna- 
tics, and  places  for  the  first  reception  of  prison- 
ers, before  they  can  be  examined  and  classed: 
— a  chapel,  hospital,  yards  and  workshops  for 
such  as  are  willing  to  work. 

The  classifications  in  jails  will  then  be  as 
follows : — 

Men  before  Trial.  Men  after  Trial. 

1st  Misdemeanants.       Sentenced  to  death. 

2rf  Ditto.  Ditto  transportation. 

1st  Felons.  1st  Confined. 

2d  Ditto.  2d  Confined. 

Other  Divisions  in  a  Jail. 
King's  Evidence. 
Criminal  Lunatics. 
Boys. 

Prisoners  on  their  first  reception. 
And  the  same  divisions  for  Women. 

But  there  is  a  division  still  more  important 
than  any  of  these;  and  that  is,  a  division  into 
much  smaller  numbers  than  are  gathered  to- 
gether in  prisons: — 40,  50  and  even  70  and  80 
feious.are  often  placed  together  in  one  yard  and 


live  together  for  months  previous  to  their  trial. 
Any  classification  of  ofl^ences,  while  there  is 
such  a  multitude  living  together  of  one  class,  is 
perfectly  nugatory  and  ridiculous  ;  no  character 
can  escape  from  corruption  and  extreme  vice 
in  such  a  school.  The  law  ought  to  be  peremp- 
tory against  the  confinement  of  more  than  fifteen 
persons  together  of  the  same  class.  Unless 
some  measure  of  this  kind  is  resorted  to,  all  re- 
formation in  prisons  is  impossible.* 

A  very  great,  and  a  very  neglected  object  in 
prisons,  is  diet.  There  should  be,  in  every  jail 
and  house  of  correction,  four  sorts  of  diet; — 1st, 
Bread  and  water;  2dli/,  Common  prison  diet,  to 
be  settled  by  the  magistrates;  3d/i/,  Best  prison 
diet,  to  be  settled  by  ditto;  ithlt/,  Free  diet,  from 
which  spirituous  liquors  altogether  and  fer- 
mented liquors  in  excess,  are  excluded.  All 
prisoners,  before  trial,  should  be  allowed  best 
prison  diet  and  be  upon  free  diet  if  they  could 
aflx3rd  it.  Every  sentence  for  imprisonment 
should  expressly  mention  to  which  diet  the  pri-" 
soner  is  confined;  and  no  other  diet  should  be, 
on  any  account,  allowed  to  such  prisoner  after 
his  sentence.  Nothing  can  be  so  preposterous 
and  criminally  careless  as  the  way  in  which  per- 
sons confined  upon  sentence  are  suffered  to  live 
in  prison.  Misdemeanants,  who  have  money 
in  their  pockets,  may  be  seen  in  many  of  our 
prisons  with  fish,  buttered  veal,  rump  steaks 
and  every  other  kind  of  luxury;  and  as  the 
practice  prevails  of  allowing  them  to  purchase 
a  pint  of  ale  each,  the  rich  prisoner  purchases 
many  pints  of  ale  in  the  name  of  his  poorer 
brethren  and  drinks  them  himself.  A  jail  should 
be  a  place  of  punishment,  from  which  men  re- 
coil with  horror — a  place  of  real  suffering,  pain- 
ful to  the  memory,  terrible  to  the  imagination; 
but  if  men  can  live  idly,  and  live  luxuriously, 
in  a  clean,  well-aired,  well-warmed,  spacious 
habitation,  is  it  any  wonder  that  they  set  the 
law  at  defiance,  and  brave  that  magistrate  who 
restores  them  to  their  former  luxury  and  easel 
There  are  a  set  of  men  well  known  to  jailers, 
called  FamUymen,  who  are  constantly  returning 
to  jail,  and  who  may  be  said  to  spend  the  greater 
part  of  their  life  there, — up  to  the  time  whea 
they  are  hanged. 

Minutes  of  Evidence  taken  before  Select  Com' 
mi f tee  on  Gaols 

"Mr.  WiLtiAM  Bf.eht,  Keeper  of  the  New 
Clerkenwell  Prison. — Have  you  many  prisoners 
that  return  to  you  on  re-commitment?  A  vast 
number;  some  of  them  are  frequently  dis- 
charged in  the  morning  and  I  have  them  back 
again  in  the  evening;  or  they  have  been  dis- 
charged in  the  evening,  and  I  have  had  them 
back  in  the  morning." — Evidencebefore  the  Conv 
mitlee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1819,  p.  278. 

"Francis  Const,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  the  Mid* 
dlesex  Quarter-sessions. — Has  that  opinion  been 
confirmed  by  any  conduct  you  have  observed 
in  prisoners  that  have  come  before  you  for 
triah  I  only  judge  from  the  opposite  thing,  that, 
going  into  a  place  where  they  can  be  idle,  and 
well  protected  from  any  inconveniences  of  the 
weather  and  other  things  that  poverty  is  open 


*  We  sliould  much  prefer  solitary  imprisonment;  but 
are  at  present  speaking  of  the  regulations  in  jails  where 
that  system  is  excludeU. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


157 


to,  tliey  are  not  amended  at  all ;  they  laugh  at  it 
frequently,  and  desire  to  go  to  the  house  of  cor- 
rection. Once  or  twice,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
winter,  upon  sending  a  prisoner  for  two  months, 
he  has  asked  whether  he  could  not  stay  longer, 
or. words  to  that  effect.  It  is  an  insulting  way 
of  saying  they  like  \\.."--Evidence  before  the  Com- 
nnttee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1819,  p.  285. 

The  fact  is,  that  a  thief  is  a  very  dainty  gen- 
tleman. Male  parta  cifo  dilabuntur.  He  does 
not  rob  to  lead  a  life  of  mortification  and  self- 
denial.  The  difficulty  of  controlling  his  appe- 
tites, in  all  probability,  first  led  him  to  expenses, 
•which  made  him  a  thief  to  support  them.  Hav- 
ing lost  character  and  become  desperate,  he 
orders  crab  and  lobster  and  veal  cutlets  at  a 
public  house,  while  a  poor  labourer  is  refresh- 
ing himself  with  bread  and  cheese.  The  most 
vulnerable  part  of  a  thief  is  his  belly;  and  there 
is  nothing  he  feels  more  bitterly  in  confinement 
than  a  long  course  of  water-gruel  and  flour- 
puddings.  It  is  a  mere  mockery  of  punishment 
to  say,  that  such  a  man  shall  spend  his  money  in 
luxurious  viands,  and  sit  down  to  dinner  with 
fetters  on  his  feet,  and  fried  pork  in  his  stomach. 

Restriction  to  diet  in  prisons  is  still  more 
necessary,  when  it  is  remembered  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  avoid  making  a  prison,  in  some 
respects,  more  eligible  than  the  home  of  a  cul- 
prit. It  is  almost  always  more  spacious, cleaner, 
better  ventilated,  better  warmed.  All  these  ad- 
vantages are  inevitable  on  the  side  of  the  prison. 
The  means,  therefore,  that  remain  of  making  a 
prison  a  disagreeable  place,  are  not  to  be  ne- 
glected; and  of  these,  none  are  more  powerful 
than  the  regulation  of  diet.  If  this  is  neglected, 
the  meaning  of  sentencing  a  man  to  prison  will 
be  this — and  it  had  better  be  put  in  these 
words — 

"  Prisoner  at  the  bar,  you  are  fairly  convicted, 
by  a  jury  of  your  country,  of  having  feloniously 
stolen  two  pigs,  the  property  of  Stephen  Muck, 
farmer.  The  court  having  taken  into  conside- 
ration the  frequency  and  enormity  of  this  of- 
fence, and  the  necessity  of  restraining  it  with 
the  utmost  severity  of  punishment,  do  order  and 
adjudge  that  you  be  confined  for  six  months  in 
a  house  larger,  better  aired,  and  warmer  than 
your  own,  in  company  with  20  or  30  young  per- 
sons in  as  good  health  and  spirits  as  yourself. 
You  need  do  no  work,  and  you  may  have  any 
thing  for  breakfast,  dinner  and  supper,  you  can 
buy.  In  passing  this  sentence,  the  court  hope 
that  your  example  will  be  a  warning  to  others ; 
and  that  evil-disposed  persons  will  perceive, 
from  your  sulfering,  that  the  laws  of  their 
country  are  not  to  be  broken  with  impunity." 

As  the  diet,  according  to  our  plan,  is  always 
to  be  a  part  of  the  sentence,  a  judge  will,  of 
course,  consider  the  nature  of  the  oflTence  for 
which  the  prisoner  is  committed,  as  well  as  the 
quality  of  the  prisoner:  and  we  have  before 
stated,  that  all  prisoners,  before  trial,  should  be 
upon  the  best  prison  diet,  and  unrestricted  as  to 
what  they  could  purchase,  always  avoiding  in- 
temperance. 

These  gradations  of  diet  being  fixed  in  all 
prisons,  and  these  definitions  of  Jail  and  House 
of  Correction  being  adhered  to,  the  punishment 
of  imprisonment  may  be  apportioned  with  the 
greatest  nicety,  either  by  the  statute,  or  at  the 


discretion  of  the  judge,  if  the  law  chooses  to 
give  him  that  discretion.     There  will  be — 

Imprisonment  for  different  degrees  of  time. 

Imprisonment  solitary,  or  in  company,  or  in 
darkness. 

In  jails  without  labour. 

In  houses  of  correction  with  labour. 

Imprisonment  with  diet  on  bread  and  water. 

Imprisonment  with  common  prison  diet. 

Imprisonment  with  best  prison  diet. 

Imprisonment  with  free  diet. 

Every  sentence  of  the  judge  should  state  diet, 
as  well  as  light  or  darkness,  time,  place,  solitude, 
society,  labour  or  ease;  and  we  are  strongly  of 
opinion,  that  the  punishment  in  prisons  should 
be  sharp  and  short.  We  would,  in  most  cases, 
give  as  much  of  solitary  confinement  as  would 
not  injure  men's  minds,  and  as  much  of  bread 
and  water  diet  as  would  not  injure  their  bodies. 
A  return  to  prison  should  be  contemplated  with 
horror — horror,  not  excited  by  the  ancient  filth, 
disease  and  extortion  of  jails;  but  by  calm, 
well-regulated,  well-watched  austerity — by  the 
gloom  and  sadness  wisely  and  intentionally 
thrown  over  such  an  abode.  Six  weeks  of 
such  sort  of  imprisonment  would  be  much 
more  efficacious  than  as  many  months  of  jolly 
company  and  veal  cutlets. 

It  appears,  by  the  Times  newspaper  of  the 
24th  of  June,  1821,  that  two  persons,  a  man  and 
his  wife,  were  committed  at  the  Surrey  Sessions 
for  three  years.  If  this  county  jail  is  bad,  to 
three  years  of  idleness  and  good  living — if  it  is 
a  manufacturing  jail,  to  three  years  of  regular 
labour,  moderate  living  and  accumulated  gains. 
They  are  committed  principally  for  a  warning 
to  others,  partly  for  their  own  good.  Would  not 
these  ends  have  been  much  more  effectually 
answered,  if  they  had  been  committed  for  nine 
months,  to  solitary  cells  upon  bread  and  water; 
the  first  and  last  month  in  dark  cells'?  If  this 
is  too  severe,  then  lessen  the  duration  still 
more,  and  give  them  more  light  days  and  fewer 
dark  ones;  but  we  are  convinced  the  whole 
good  sought  may  be  better  obtained  in  much 
shorter  periods  than  are  now  resorted  to. 

For  the  purpose  of  making  jails  disagreeable, 
the  prisoners  should  remain  perfectly  alone  all 
nighf,  if  it  is  not  thought  proper  to  render  their 
confinement  entirely  solitary  during  the  whole 
period  of  their  imprisonment.  Prisoners  dis- 
like this — and  therefore  it  should  be  done;  it 
would  make  their  residence  in  jails  more  dis- 
agreeable, and  render  them  unwilling  to  return 
there.  At  present,  eight  or  ten  women  sleep  in 
a  room  with  a  good  fire,  pass  the  night  in 
sound  sleep  or  pleasant  conversation;  and  this 
is  called  confinement  in  a  prison.  A  prison  is 
a  place  where  men,  alter  trial  and  sentence, 
should  be  made  unhappy  by  public  lawful  enact- 
ments, not  so  severe  as  to  injure  the  soundness 
of  mind  or  body.  If  this  is  not  done,  prisons 
are  a  mere  invitation  to  the  lower  classes  to 
wade  through  felony  and  larceny  to  better  ac- 
commodations than  they  can  procure  at  home. 
And  here,  as  it  appears  to  us,  is  the  mistake  of 
the  many  excellent  men  who  busy  themselves 
(and  wisely  and  humanely  busy  themselves; 
about  prisons.  Their  first  object  seems  to  be 
the  reformation  of  the  prisoners,  not  the  refor- 
mation of  the  public;  whereas  the  first  object 
O 


158 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


should  be, the  discomfort  and  discontent  of  their 
prisoners;  that  they  should  become  a  warning, 
ieel  unhappy,  and  resolve  never  to  act  so  again 
as  to  put  themselves  in  the  same  predicament; 
and  then  as  much  reformation  as  is  compatible 
■with  this  the  better.  If  a  man  says  to  himself, 
this  prison  is  a  comfortable  place,  while  he  says 
to  the  chaplain  or  the  visitor  that  he  will  come 
there  no  more,  we  confess  we  have  no  great 
confidence  in  his  public  declaration;  but  if  he 
says  "this  is  a  place  of  misery  and  sorrow,  you 
shall  not  catch  me  here  again,"  there  is  much 
reason  to  believe  he  will  be  as  good  as  his 
word;  and  he  then  becomes  (which  is  of  much 
more  consequence  than  his  own  reformation) 
a  warning  to  others.  Hence  it  is  we  object  to 
that  spectacle  of  order  and  decorum — carpen- 
ters in  one  shop,  tailors  in  another,  weavers  in 
a  third,  sitting  down  to  a  meal  by  ring  of  bell, 
and  receiving  a  regular  portion  of  their  earnings. 
We  are  afraid  it  is  better  than  real  life  on  the 
other  side  of  the  wall,  or  so  very  little  worse 
that  nobody  will  have  any  fear  to  encounter  it. 
In  Bury  jail,  which  is  considered  as  a  pattern 
jail,  the  prisoners  under  a  sentence  of  confine- 
ment are  allowed  to  spend  their  weekly  earnings 
(two,  three,  and  four  shillings  per  week)  in  fish, 
tobacco  and  vegetables ;  so  states  the  jailer  in 
his  examination  before  the  House  of  Commons 
— and  we  have  no  doubt  it  is  well  meant ;  but 
is  it  punishment?  We  were  most  struck,  in 
reading  the  evidence  of  the  jail  committee  be- 
fore the  House  of  Commons,  with  the  opinions 
of  the  jailer  of  the  Devizes  jail,  and  with  the  prac- 
tice of  the  magistrates  who  superintend  it.* 

"Mr.  T.  BuuTTOJf,  Governor  of  the  Gaol  at 
Devizes. — Does  this  confinement  in  solitude 
make  prisoners  more  averse  to  return  to  pri- 
son? I  think  it  does. — Does  it  make  a  strong 
impression  upon  them]  I  have  no  doubt  of  it. 
— Does  it  make  them  more  obedient  and  orderly 
while  in  gaol?  I  have  no  doubt  it  does. — Do 
you  consider  it  the  most  effectual  punishment 
you  can  make  use  of?  I  do. — Do  you  think  it 
has  a  greater  effect  upon  the  minds  of  prisoners 
than  any  apprehensions  of  personal  punishment? 
I  have  no  doubt  of  it.— Have  you  any  dark  cells  for 
the  punishmentof  refractory  prisoners?  I  have. 
— Do  you  find  it  necessary  occasionally  to  use 
them  ?  Very  seldom. — Have  you,  in  any  in- 
stance, been  obliged  to  use  the  dark  cell,  in  the 
case  of  the  same  prisoner  twice?  Only  on  one 
occasion,  I  think. — What  length  of  time  is  it 
necessary  to  confine  a  refractory  prisoner  to 
bring  him  to  his  senses?  Less  than  one  day. — 
Do  you  think  it  essential,  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  up  the  discipline  of  the  prison,  that  you 
shopld  have  it  in  your  power  to  have  recourse 
ta>  t^e  punishment  of  dark  cells  ?  I  do ;  I  con- 
sider punishment  in  a  dark  cell  for  one  day,  has 
a  greater  effect  upon  a  prisoner  than  to  keep 
him  on  bread  and  water  for  a  month." — Evi- 
dence before  the  Committee  of  tlie  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1819,  p.  359. 

The  evidence  of  the  governor  of  Gloucester 
jail  is  to  the  same  effect. 

"  Mr.  Thomas  Cunningham,  Keeper  of  Glouces- 
ter Gaol. — Do  you  attribute  the  want  of  those 


*  The  Winchester  and  Devizes  jails  seem  to  us  to  be 
eondueted  upon  lietter  principles  llian  any  other,  though 
even  tliuso  are  by  no  means  what  jails  should  be 


certificates  entirely  to  the  neglect  of  enforcing 
the  means  of  solitary  confinement?  I  do  most 
certainly.  Sometimes,  where  a  certificate  has 
not  been  granted,  and  a  prisoner  has  brought  a 
certificate  of  good  behaviour  for  one  year.  Sir 
George  and  the  committee  ordered  one  pound 
or  a  guinea  from  the  charity. — Does  that  arise 
from  your  apprehension  that  the  prisoners  have 
not  been  equally  reformed,  or  only  from  the 
want  of  the  means  of  ascertaining  such  refor- 
mation? It  is  for  want  of  not  knowing;  and 
we  cannot  ascertain  it,  from  their  working  in 
numbers. — They  may  be  reformed?  Yes,  but 
we  have  not  the  means  of  ascertaining  it.  There 
is  one  thing  I  do  which  is  not  provided  for  by 
the  rules,  and  which  is  the  only  thing  in  which 
I  deviate  from  the  rules.  When  a  man  is  com- 
mitted for  a  month,  I  never  give  him  any  work; 
he  sits  in  solitude,  and  walks  in  the  yard  by  him- 
self for  air;  he  has  no  other  food  but  his  bread 
and  water,  except  twice  a  week  a  pint  of  peas 
soup.  I  never  knew  an  instance  of  a  man  com- 
ing in  a  second  time  who  had  been  committed 
for  a  month.  I  have  done  that  for  these  seventeen 
or  eighteen  years. — What  has  been  the  result? 
They  dread  so  much  coming  in  again.  If  a  man 
is  committed  for  six  weeks  we  give  him  work. 
Do  you  apprehend  that  solitary  confinement  for 
a  month,  without  employment,  is  the  most  bene- 
ficial means  of  working  reform  ?  I  conceive  it 
is. — Can  it  operate  as  the  means  of  reform,  any 
more  than  it  operaies  as  a  system  of  punish- 
ment? It  is  only  for  small  offences  they  com- 
mit for  a  month. — Would  not  the  same  effect  be 
produced  by  corporeal  punishment?  Corporeal 
punishment  may  be  absolutely  necessary  some- 
times; but  I  do  not  think  corporeal  punishment 
would  reform  them  so  much  as  solitary  confine- 
ment.— Would  not  severe  corporeal  punishment 
have  the  same  effect?  No,  it  would  harden 
them  more  than  any  thing  else. — Do  you  think 
benefit  is  derived  from  the  opportunity  of  reflec- 
tion afforded  by  solitary  confinement?  Yes. — 
And  very  low  diet  also?  Yes." — Evidence  be- 
fore the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in 
1819,  p.  391. 

We  must  quote,  also,  the  evidence  of  the  go- 
vernor of  Horsley  jail. 

"Mr.  William  Stokes,  Governor  of  the  House 
of  Correction  at  Horsley. — Do  you  observe  any 
difference  in  the  conduct  of  prisoners  who  are 
employed,  and  those  who  have  no  employment? 
Yes,  a  good  deal;  I  look  upon  it,  from  what  judg- 
ment I  can  form,  and  I  have  been  a  long  while 
in  it,  that  to  take  a  prisoner  and  discipline  him 
according  to  the  rules  as  the  law  allows,  and  if 
he  have  no  work,  that  that  man  goes  through 
more  punishment  in  one  month  than  a  man  who 
is  employed  and  receives  a  portion  of  his  labour 
three  months ;  but  still  I  should  like  to  have  em- 
ployment, because  a  great  number  of  times  I 
took  men  away,  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
earning  sixpence  a  week  to  buy  a  loaf,  and  put 
them  in  solitary  confinement;  and  the  punish- 
ment is  a  great  deal  more  without  work. — Which 
of  the  prisoners,  those  that  have  been  employed, 
or  those  unemployed,  do  you  think  would  go  out 
of  the  prison  the  better  men?  I  think,  that  let 
me  have  a  prisoner,  and  I  never  treat  any  one 
with  severity,  any  further  than  that  they  should 
be  obedient,  and  to  let  them  see  that  I  will  do 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


159 


my  duty,  T  have  reason  to  believe,  that,  if  a  pri- 
soner is  committed  under  my  care,  or  any  other 
man's  care,  to  a  house  of  correction,  and  he  has 
to  go  under  the  discipline  of  the  law,  if  he  is  in 
for  the  value  of  a  month  or  six  weeks,  that  man 
is  in  a  great  deal  better  state  than  though  he 
stays  for  six  months ;  he  gets  hardened  by  being 
in  so  long,  from  one  month  to  another. — You  are 
speaking  now  of  solitude  without  labour;  do  you 
think  he  would  go  out  better,  if  he  had  been  em- 
ployed during  the  month  you  speak  of?  No, 
nor  half;  because  I  never  task  those  people,  in 
order  that  they  should  not  say  I  force  them  to 
do  more  than  they  are  able,  that  they  should  not 
slight  it;  for  if  they  perform  any  thing  in  the 
bounds  of  reason,  I  never  find  fault  with  them. 
The  prisoner  who  is  employed,  his  time  passes 
smooth  and  comfortable,  and  he  has  a  propor- 
tion of  his  earnings,  and  he  can  buy  additional 
diet ;  but  if  he  has  no  labour,  and  kept  under  the 
discipline  of  the  prison,  it  is  a  tight  piece  of 
punishment  to  go  through. — Which  of  the  two 
should  you  think  most  likely  to  return  immedi- 
ately to  habits  of  labour  on  their  own  account! 
The  dispositions  of  all  men  are  not  alike;  but 
my  opinion  is  this,  if  they  are  kept  and  disci- 
plined according  to  the  rules  of  the  prison,  and 
have  no  labour,  that  one  month  will  do  more 
than  six;  I  am  certain,  that  a  man  who  is  kept 
there  without  labour  once,  will  not  be  very  ready 
to  come  there  again." — Evidence  before  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  pp.  398,  399. 

Mr.  Gurney  and  Mr.  Buxton  both  lay  a  great 
stress  upon  the  quiet  and  content  of  prisoners, 
upon  their  subordination  and  the  absence  of  all 
plans  of  escape;  but,  where  the  happiness  of 
prisoners  is  so  much  consulted,  we  should  be 
much  more  apprehensive  of  a  conspiracy  to 
break  into,  than  to  break  out  of,  prison.  The 
mob  outside  may,  indeed,  envy  the  wicked  ones 
within ;  but  the  felon  who  has  left,  perhaps, 
a  scolding  wife,  a  battered  cottage,  and  six 
starving  children,  has  no  disposition  to  escape 
from  regularity,  sufficient  food,  employment 
which  saves  him  money,  warmth,  ventilation, 
cleanliness  and  civil  treatment.  These  symp- 
toms, upon  which  these  respectable  and  excel- 
lent men  lay  so  much  stress,  are  by  no  means 
proofs  to  us  that  prisons  are  placed  upon  the 
best  possible  footing. 

The  governor  of  Bury  jail,  as  well  as  Mr. 
Gurney,  insist  much  upon  the  few  prisoners 
who  return  to  the  jail  a  second  time,  the  manu- 
Acturing  skill  which  they  acquire  there,  and  the 
complete  reformation  of  manners  for  which  the 
prisoner  has  afterwards  thanked  him  the  go- 
vernor. But  this  is  not  the  real  criterion  of  the 
excellence  of  a  jail,  nor  the  principal  reason 
why  jails  were  instituted.  The  great  point  is, 
not  the  average  recurrence  of  the  same  prison- 
ers, but  the  paucity  or  frequency  of  commit- 
ments, upon  the  whole.  You  may  make  a  jail 
such  an  admirable  place  of  education,  that  it 
may  cease  to  be  infamous  to  go  there.  Mr. 
Hoiford  tells  us  (and  a  very  curious  anecdote  it 
is,)  that  parents  actually  accuse  their  children 
falsely  of  crimes,  in  order  to  get  them  into  the 
Philanthropic  Charity!  and  that  it  is  conse- 
quently a  rule  with  the  governors  of  that  cha- 
rity never  to  receive  a  child  upon  the  accusa- 
tion of  the  parents  alone.    But  it  is  quite  obvious 


what  the  next  step  will  be,  if  the  parents  cannot 
get  their  children  in  by  fibbing.  They  will  take 
good  care  that  the  child  is  real/y  qualified  for  the 
Philanthropic,  by  impelling  him  to  those  crimes 
which  are  the  passport  to  so  good  an  education. 

"  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  offender  is  to  be  pun- 
ished simply  by  being  placed  in  a  prison,  where 
he  is  to  be  well  lodged,  well  clothed,  and  well 
fed,  to  be  instructed  in  reading  and  writing,  to 
receive  a  moral  and  religious  education,  and  to 
be  brought  up  to  a  trade  ;  and  if  this  prison  is 
to  be  within  the  reach  of  the  parents,  so  that  they 
may  occasionally  visit  their  child,  and  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing,  from  time  to  time,  that 
all  these  advantages  are  conferred  upon  him, 
and  that  he  is  exposed  to  no  hardships,  although 
the  confinement  and  the  discipline  of  the  prison 
may  be  irksome  to  the  boy ;  yet  the  parents  may 
be  apt  to  congratulate  themselves  on  having 
got  him  off  their  hands  into  such  a  good  berth, 
and  may  be  considered  by  other  parents  as  hav- 
ing drawn  a  prize  in  the  lottery  of  human  life 
by  their  son's  conviction.  This  reasoning  is  not 
theoretical,  but  is  founded  in  some  degree  upon 
experience.  Those  who  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  attending  the  committee  of  the  Philanthropic 
Society  know,  that  parents  have  often  accused 
their  children  of  crimes  falsely,  or  have  exag- 
gerated their  real  offences,  for  the  sake  of  induc- 
ing that  society  to  take  them ;  and  so  frequent 
has  been  this  practice,  that  it  is  a  rule  with 
those  who  manage  that  institution,  never  to 
receive  an  object  upon  the  representation  of  its 
parents,  unless  supported  by  other  strong  testi- 
mony."— Hoiford,  pp.  44,  45. 

It  is  quite  obvious  that,  if  men  were  to  appear 
E^gain,  six  months  after  they  were  hanged,  hand- 
somer, richer,  and  more  plump  than  before  exe- 
cution, the  gallows  would  cease  to  be  an  object 
of  terror.  But  here  are  men  who  come  out  of 
jail,  and  say,  'Look  at  us, — we  can  read  and 
write,  we  can  make  baskets  and  shoes,  and  we 
went  in  ignorant  of  every  thing:  and  we  have 
learnt  to  do  without  strong  liquors,  and  have  no 
longer  any  objection  to  work;  and  we  did  work 
in  the  jail,  and  have  saved  money,  and  here  it  is." 
What  is  there  of  terror  and  detriment  in  all  this  1 
and  how  are  crimes  to  be  lessened  if  they  are 
thus  "rewarded  1  Of  schools  there  cannot  be 
too  many.  Penitentiaries,  in  the  hands  of  wise 
men,  may  be  rendered  excellent  institutions ; 
but  a  prison  must  be  a  prison — a  place  of  sor- 
row and  wailing;  which  should  be  entered  with 
horror,  and  quitted  with  earnest  resolution  never 
to  return  to  such  misery;  with  that  deep  impres- 
sion, in  short,  of  the  evil  which  breaks  out  into 
perpetual  warning  and  exhortation  to  others. 
This  great  point  effected,  all  other  reformation 
must  do  the  greatest  good. 

There  are  some  very  sensible  observations 
upon  this  point  in  Mr.  Holford's  book,  who  upon 
the  whole  has,  we  think,  best  treated  the  sub- 
ject of  prisons,  and  best  understands  them. 

"Inibrmer  times,  men  were  deterred  from 
pursuing  the  road  that  led  to  a  prison,  by  the  ap- 
prehension of  encountering  there  disease  and 
hunger,  of  being  loaded  with  heavy  irons,  and 
of  remaining  without  clothes  to  cover  them,  or 
abed  to  lie  on;  we  have  done  no  more  than 
what  justice  required  in  relieving  the  inmates 
of  a  prison  from  these  hardships;  but  there  is 


160 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


no  reason  ihat  they  should  be  freed  from  the  fear 
of  all  other  sufferings  and  privations.  And  I 
hope  that  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  take  up  the 
consideration  of  these  subjects,  will  see,  that  in 
penitentiaries,  offenders  should  be  subjected  to 
separate  confinement,  accompanied  by  such 
work  as  may  be  found  consistent  with  that  sys- 
tem of  imprisonment ;  that  in  jails  or  houses  of 
correction,  they  should  perform  that  kind  of  la- 
bour which  the  law  has  enjoined;  and  that  in 
prisons  of  both  descriptions,  instead  of  being 
allowed  to  cater  for  themselves,  they  should  be 
sustained  by  such  food  as  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  establishment  should  have  provided 
for  them ;  in  short,  that  prisons  should  be  con- 
sidered as  places  of  punishment,  and  not  as 
scenes  of  cheerful  industry,  where  a  compro- 
mise must  be  made  with  the  prisoner's  appetite 
to  make  him  do  the  common  workof  a  journey- 
man or  manufacturer,  and  the  labours  of  the 
spinning-wheel  and  the  loom  must  be  alleviated 
by  indulgence."* 

This  is  good  sound  sense;  and  it  is  a  pity 
that  it  is  preceded  by  the  usual  nonsense  about 
"  the  tide  of  blasphemy  and  sedition."  If  Mr.  Hol- 
ford  is  an  observer  of^  tides  and  currents,  whence 
comes  it  that  he  observes  only  those  which  set 
one  wayl  Whence  comes  it  that  he  says  no- 
thing of  the  tides  of  canting  and  hypocrisy 
which  are  flowing  with  such  rapidity"? — of  abject 
political  baseness  and  sycophancy — of  the  dis- 
position so  prevalent  among  Englishmen,  to  sell 
their  conscience  and  their  country  to  the  Mar- 
quis of  Londonderry  for  a  living  for  the  second 


*  "  That  I  am  g^jilty  of  no  exaggeration  in  thus  describ- 
ing a  prison  conducted  upon  tlie  principles  now  coming 
into  fashion,  will  be  evident  to  any  person  who  will  turn 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  article,  '  Penitentiary.  MiUbank,' 
in  Mr.  Buxton's  Book  on  Prisons.  He  there  states  what 
passed  in  conversation  between  himself  and  the  gover- 
nor of  Bury  jail,  {whichjail,  by  the  bye,  he  praises  as  one 
of  the  three  best  prisons  he  has  ever  seen,  and  strongly 
recommends  to  our  imitation  at  Millbank.)  Having  ob- 
served that  the  governor  of  Bury  jail  had  mentioned  his 
.having  counted  34  spinning-wheels  in  full  activity  when 
he  left  that  jail  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  preced- 
ing day,  Mr.  Buxton  proceeds  as  follows  : — '  After  he  had 
seen  the  Millbank  Penitentiary,  I  asked  him  what  would 
be  the  consequence,  if  the  regulations  there  used  were 
adopted  by  him  V  '  The  consequence  would  be,'  he  replied, 
'  that  every  wheel  would  be  stopped.'  Mr.  Buxton  then 
adds,  'I would  not  be  considered  as  supposing  that  the 
prisoners  will  altogether  refuse  to  work  at  Millbank — 
they  will  work  dunng  the  stated  hours;  but  the  present 
incentive  being  wanting,  the  labour  will,  I  apprehend,  be 
languid  and  desultory.'  I  sliail  not,  on  my  part,  under- 
take to  say  that  they  will  do  as  much  work  as  will  be 
done  in  those  prisons  in  ^vhich  work  is  the  primary  ob- 
ject; but,  besides  the  encotiragement  of  the  portion  of 
earnings  laid  up  for  them,  they  know  that  diligence  is 
among  the  qualities  that  will  recommend  them  to  the  mer- 
cy of  the  crown,  and  that  the  want  of  it  is,  by  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  prison,  an  offence  to  be  punished.  The 
governor  of  Bury  jail,  who  is  a  very  intelligent  man, 
must  have  spoken  hastily,  in  his  eagerness  to  support  his 
o^vn  system,  and  did  not,  I  conceive,  give  himself  credit 
for  as  much  power  and  authority  in  his  prison  as  he 
really  possesses.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the 
keepers  of  prisons  should  like  the  new  system:  there  is 
less  trouble  in  the  care  of  a  manufactory  than  in  that  of  a 
jail ;  but  I  am  surprised  to  find  tliat  so  much  reliance  is 
placed  in  argument  on  the  declaration  of  some  of  these 
officers,  that  the  prisoners  are  quieter  where  their  work 
is  encouraged,  by  allowing  them  to  spend  a  portion  of 
their  earnings.  It  may  naturally  be  expected,  that 
offenders  will  be  least  discontented,  and  consequently 
least  turbulent,  where  their  punishment  is  lightest,  or 
where,  to  u.se  Mr.  Buxton's  own  words,  '  by  making 
labour  productive  of  comfort  or  convenience,  you  do 
much  towards  rendering  it  agreeable  ;'  but  I  must  be  per- 
mitted to  doubt,  whether  these  are  the  prisons  of  which 
men  will  live  in  most  dread." — Holford,  pp.  78 — 80. 


son — or  a  silk  gown  for  the  nephew — or  for  a 
frigate  for  my  brother  the  captain  1  How  comes 
bur  loyal  careerist  to  forget  all  these  sorts  of 
tides'? 

There  is  a  great  confusion,  as  the  law  now 
stands,  in  the  government  of  jails.  The  justice.^ 
are  empowered,  by  several  statutes,  to  make 
subordinate  regulations  for  the  government  of 
the  jails  ;  and  the  sheriff  supersedes  those  regu- 
lations. Their  respective  jurisdictions  and 
powers  should  be  clearly  arranged. 

The  female  prisoners  should  be  under  the 
care  of  a  matron,  with  proper  assistants.  Where 
this  is  not  the  case,  ihe  female  part  of  the  prison 
is  often  a  mere  brothel  for  the  turnkeys.  Can 
any  thing  be  so  repugnant  to  all  ideas  of  re- 
formation, as  a  male  turnkey  visiting  a  solitary 
female  prisoner  1  Surely,  women  can  take  care 
of  women  as  effectually  as  men  can  take  care 
of  men  ;  or,  at  least,  women  can  do  so  properly 
assisted  by  men.  This  want  of  a  matron  is  a 
very  scandalous  and  immoral  neglect  in  any 
prison  S3'Stem. 

The  presence  of  female  visitors,  and  instruc- 
tors for  the  women,  is  so  obviously  advantageous 
and  proper,  that  the  ofl^er  of  forming  such  an 
institution  must  be  gladly  and  thankfully  re- 
ceived by  any  body  of  magistrates.  That  they 
should  feel  any  jealousy  of  such  interference  is 
too  absurd  a  supposition  to  be  made  or  agreed 
upon.  Such  interference  may  not  efl^ect  all  that 
zealous  people  suppose  it  will  elfect;  but,  if  it 
does  any  good,  it  had  better  be. 

Irons  should  never  be  put  upon  prisoners 
before  trial;  after  trial,  we  cannot  object  to  the 
humiliation  and  disgrace  which  irons  and  a 
parti-coloured  prison  dress  occasion.  Let  them 
be  a  part  of  solitary  confinement,  and  let  the 
words  "Solitary  Confinement,"  in  the  sentence, 
imply  permission  to  use  them.  The  judge  then 
knows  what  he  inflicts. 

We  object  to  the  office  of  prison  inspector,  for 
reasons  so  very  obvious,  that  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary to  enumerate  them.  The  prison  inspector 
would,  of  course,  have  a  good  salary;  that,  in 
England,  is  never  omitted.  It  is  equally  matter 
of  course  that  he  would  be  taken  from  among 
treasury  retainers ;  and  that  he  never  would  look 
at  a  prison.  Every  sort  of  attention  should  be 
paid  to  the  religious  instruction  of  these  unhappy 
people;  but  the  poor  chaplain  should  be  paid  a 
little  better; — every  possible  duty  is  expected 
from  him — and  he  has  one  hundred  per  annum. 

Whatever  money  is  given  to  prisoners,  should 
be  lodged  with  the  governor  for  their  benefit,  to 
be  applied  as  the  visiting  magistrates  point  out 
— no  other  donations  should  be  allowed  or  ac- 
cepted. 

If  voluntary  work  before  trial,  or  compulsory 
work  after  trial,  is  the  system  of  a  prison,  there 
should  be  a  task-master;  and  it  should  be  re- 
membered, that  the  principal  object  is  not  profit. 

Wardsmen,  selected  in  each  yard  among  the 
best  of  the  prisoners,  are  very  serviceable.  If 
prisoners  work,  they  should  work  in  silence.  At 
all  times,  the  restrictions  upon  seeing  friends 
should  be  very  severe;  and  no  food  should  be 
sent  from  friends. 

Our  general  system  then  is — that  a  prison 
should  be  a  place  of  real  punishment;  but 
of  known,  enacted,  measurable  and  measure 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


161 


punishment.  A  prisoner  (not  for  assault,  or 
refusing  to  pay  parish  dues,  but  a  bad  felonious 
prisoner),  should  pass  a  part  of  his  three  months 
in  complete  darkness;  the  rest  in  complete  soli- 
tude, perhaps  in  complete  idleness,  (for  solitary 
idleness  leads  to  repentance,  idleness  in  com- 
pany to  vice.)  He  should  be  exempted  from 
cold,  be  kept  perfectly  clean,  have  sufficient 
food  to  prevent  hunger  or  illness,  wear  the 
prison  dress  and  moderate  irons,  have  no  com- 
munication with  any  body  but  the  officers  of 
the  prison  and  the  magistrates,  and  remain 
otherwise  in  the  most  perfect  solitude.  We 
strongly  suspect  this  is  the  way  in  which  a  bad 
man  is  to  be  made  afraid  of  prisons;  nor  do  we 
think  that  he  would  be  less  inclined  to  receive 
moral  and  religious  instruction  than  any  one 
of  seven  or  eight  carpenters  in  jail,  working  at 
a  common  bench,  receiving  a  part  of  their  earn- 
ings, and  allowed  to  purchase  with  them  the 
delicacies  of  the  season.  If  this  system  is  not 
resorted  to,  the  next  best  system  is  severe  work, 
ordinary  diet,  no  indulgences,  and  as  much 
seclusion  and  solitude  as  are  compatible  with 
work;  —  always  remarking,  that  perfect  sanity 
of  mind  and  body  are  to  be  preserved. 

To  this  system  of  severity  in  jails  there  is 
but  one  objection.  The  present  duration  of 
punishments  was  calculated  for  prisons  con- 
ducted upon  very  different  principles; — and  if 
the  disciplineofprisons  was  rendered  more  strict, 
we  are  not  sure  that  the  duration  of  imprison- 
ment would  be  practically  shortened ;  and  the 
punishments  would  then  be  quite  atrocious  and 
disproportioned.  There  is  a  very  great  disposi- 
tion, both  in  judges  and  magistrates,  to  increase 
the  duration  of  imprisonment;  and,  if  that  is 
done,  it  will  be  dreadful  cruelty  to  increase  the 
bitterness  as  well  as  the  time.  We  should  think, 
for  instance,  six  months'  solitary  imprisonment 
to  be  a  punishment  of  dreadful  severity;  but 
we  find,  from  the  House  of  Commons'  report, 
that  prisoners  are  sometimes  committed  by 
county  magistrates  for  two  years*  of  solitary 
confinement.  And  so  it  may  be  doubted,  whe- 
ther it  is  not  better  to  wrap  up  the  rod  in  flannel, 
and  make  it  a  plaything,  as  it  really  now  is,  than 
to  show  how  it  may  be  wielded  with  effectual 
severity.  For  the  pupil,  instead  of  giving  one 
or  two  stripes,  will  whip  his  patient  to  death. — 
But  if  this  abuse  were  guarded  against,  the  real 
■way  to  improve  would  be,  now  we  have  made 
prisons  healthy  and  airy,  to  make  them  odious 
and  austere  —  engines  of  punishment  and  ob- 
jects of  terror. 

In  this  age  of  charity  and  of  prison  improve- 
ment, there  is  one  aid  to  prisoners  which  appears 


to  be  wholly  overlooked ;  and  that  is,  the  means 
of  regulating  their  defence,  and  providing  them 
witnesses  for  their  trial.  A  man  is  tried  for 
murder,  or  for  house-breaking  or  robbery  with- 
out a  single  shilling  in  his  pocket.  The  non- 
sensical and  capricious  institutions  of  the  Eng- 
lish law  prevent  him  from  engaging  counsel  to 
speak  in  his  defence,  if  he  had  the  wealth  of 
Croesus;  but  he  has  no  money  to  employ  even 
an  attorney,  or  to  procure  a  single  witness,  or 
to  take  out  a  subpoena.  The  judge,  we  are  told,  \ 
is  his  counsel; — this  is  sufficiently  absurd;  but 
it  is  not  pretended  that  the  judge  is  his  witness. 
He  solemnly  declares  that  he  has  three  or  four 
witnesses  who  could  give  a  completely  different 
colour  to  the  transaction ; — but  they  are  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  distant,  working  for  their  daily 
bread,  and  have  no  money  for  such  a  journey, 
nor  for  the  expense  of  a  residence  of  some  days 
in  an  assize  town.  They  do  not  know  even  the 
time  of  the  assize,  nor  the  modes  of  tendering 
their  evidence  if  they  could  come.  When  every 
thing  is  so  well  marshaled  against  him  on  the 
opposite  side,  it  would  be  singular  if  an  inno- 
cent man,  with  such  an  absence  of  all  means 
of  defending  himself,  should  not  occasionally 
be  hanged  or  transported:  and  accordingly  we 
believe  that  such  things  have  happened.*  Let 
any  man,  immediately  previous  to  the  assizes, 
visit  the  prisoners  for  trial,  and  see  the  many 
wretches  who  are  to  answer  to  the  most  serious 
accusations,  without  one  penny  to  defend  them- 
selves. If  it  appeared  probable,  upon  inquiry, 
that  these  poor  creatures  had  important  evidence 
which  they  could  not  bring  into  court  for  want 
of  money,  would  it  not  be  a  wise  application  of 
compassionate  funds,  to  give  them  this  fair 
chance  of  establishing  their  innocence?  —  It 
seems  to  us  no  bad  finale  of  the  pious  labours 
of  those  who  guard  the  poor  from  ill-treatment 
during  their  imprisonment,  to  take  care  that 
they  are  not  unjustly  hanged  at  the  expiration 
of  the  term. 


*  House  of  Commons'  Report,  355. 


*  From  the  Clonmell  Advertiser  it  appears,  that  John 
Brien,  alias  Captain  Wheeler,  was  found  guilty  of  murder 
at  the  late  assizes  for  the  county  of  Waterlbrd.  Previous 
to  his  execution  he  made  the  following  confession : — 

"  I  now  again  most  solemnly  aver,  in  the  presence  of 
that  God  by  whom  I  will  soon  be  judged,  and  who  sees 
the  secrets  of  my  heart,  that  only  three,  viz  ,  Morgan 
Brien,  Patrick  Brien  and  my  unfortunate  self,  committed 
the  horrible  crimes  of  murder  and  burning  at  Bally- 
garron,  and  that  the  four  unfortunate  men  who  have  be- 
fore suffered  for  them,  were  not  m  the  smallest  degree 
accessary  to  them.  I  have  been  the  cause  for  which  they 
have  iiuiocently  suffered  death.  I  have  contracted  a 
death  of  justice  with  them — and  the  only  and  least  re- 
stitution I  can  make  them,  is  tlms  publicly,  solemnly,  and 
with  death  before  my  eyes,  to  acquit  their  memory  ol^any 
guilt  in  the  crimes  for  which  I  shall  deservedly  sutler!  1  '* 
—Philanthropist,  No.  6.  208. 

Ptreunt  et  imputantxir. 


21 


02 


m 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


PRISONS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1822.] 


There  never  was  a  society  calculated,  upon 
the  whole,  to  do  more  good  than  the  Society  for 
the  Improvement  of  Prison  Discipline;  and, 
hitherto,  it  has  been  conducted  with  equal  en- 
ergy and  prudence.  If  now,  or  hereafter,  there- 
fore, we  make  any  criticisms  on  their  proceed- 
ings, these  must  not  be  ascribed  to  any  defi- 
ciency of  good  will  or  respect.  We  may  dilfer 
from  the  society  in  the  means — our  ends,  we 
are  proud  to  say,  are  the  same. 

In  the  improvement  of  prisons,  they  consider 
the  small  number  of  recommitments  as  the  great 
test  of  amelioration.  Upon  this  subject  we 
have  ventured  to  differ  from  them  in  a  late 
number;  and  we  see  no  reason  to  alter  our 
opinion.  It  is  a  mistake,  and  a  very  serious 
and  fundamental  mistake,  to  suppose  that  the 
principal  object  in  jails  is  the  reformation  of  the 
offender.  The  principal  object  undoubtedly  is, 
to  prevent  the  repetition  of  the  offence  by  the 
punishment  of  the  ofl'ender;  and,  therefore,  it 
is  quite  possible  to  conceive  that  the  offender 
himself  may  be  so  kindl}^  gently  and  agreeably 
led  to  reformation,  by  the  efforts  of  good  and 
amiable  persons,  that  the  efiect  of  the  punish- 
ment may  be  destroyed,  at  the  same  time  that 
the  punished  may  be  improved.  A  prison  may 
lose  its  terror  and  discredit,  though  the  prisoner 
may  return  from  it  a  better  scholar,  a  better 
artificer,  and  a  better  man.  The  real  and  only 
test,  in  short,  of  a  good  prison  system  is,  the 
diminution  of  offences  by  the  terror  of  the  pun- 
ishment. If  it  can  be  shown,  that  in  propor- 
tion as  attention  and  expense  have  been  em- 
ployed upon  the  improvement  of  prisons,  the 
number  of  commitments  has  been  diminished, 
this  indeed  would  be  a  convincing  proof  that 
such  care  and  attention  were  well  emploj'ed. 
But  the  very  reverse  is  the  case;  the  number 
of  commitments  within  these  last  ten  years 
having  nearly  doubled  all  over  England. 

The  following  are  stated  to  be  the  committals 
in  Norfolk  county  jail.  From  1796  to  1815,  the 
number  averaged  about  80. 

In  1816    it  was    134 

1817  -    142 

1818  -    159 

1819  -    161 

1820  -  223.— i?f;?or/,p.57. 
In  Staffordshire,  the  commitments  have  gradu- 
ally increased  from  195  to  1815,  to  443  in  1820 
—though  the  jail  has  been  built  since  How- 
ard's time,  at  an  expense  of  30,000/. — (Report, 
p.  67.)     In  Wiltshire,  in  a  prison  which  has 


*  1.  The  Third  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  Society  for 
the  Improvement  of  Prison  Discipline,  and  for  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Jvvenile  Offenders.    London,  1621. 

2.  Remarks  upon  Prison  Discipline,  ^c  SfC,  in  a  Letter 
addressed  to  the  Lord-Lieutenant  and  Magistrates  of  the 
County  of  Essex.  By  C.  C.  Western,  Esq.  M.  P.  London, 
182L 


cost  the  county  40,000/.,  the  commitments  have 
increased  from  207  in  1817  to  504  in  1821. 
Within  this  perriod,  to  the  eternal  scandal  and 
disgrace  of  our  laws,  378  persons  have  been 
committed  for  game  ofl^ences — constituting  a 
sixth  part  of  all  the  persons  committed; — so 
much  for  what  our  old  friend,  Mr.  Justice  Best, 
would  term  the  unspeakable  advantages  of 
country  gentlemen  residing  upon  their  own 
property! 

When  the  committee  was  appointed  in  the 
county  of  Essex,  in  the  year  1818,  to  take  into 
consideration  the  state  of  the  jail  and  houses 
of  correction,  they  found  that  the  number  of 
prisoners  annually  committed  had  increased, 
within  the  ten  preceding  years,  from  559  to 
1993;  and  there  is  little  doubt  (adds  Mr.  West- 
ern) of  this  proportion  being  a  tolerable  speci- 
men of  the  whole  kingdom.  We  are  far  from 
attributing  this  increase  solely  to  the  imper- 
fection of  prison  discipline.  Increase  of  popu- 
lation, new  statutes,  the  extension  of  the  breed 
of  pheasants,  landed  and  mercantile  distress, 
are  very  operative  causes.  But  the  increase 
of  commitments  is  a  stronger  proof  against  the 
present  state  of  prison  discipline,  than  the  de- 
crease of  recommitments  is  in  its  favour. — 
We  may,  possibly,  have  made  some  progress 
in  the  art  of  teaching  him  who  has  done 
wrong  to  do  so  no  more ;  but  there  is  no  proof 
that  we  have  learnt  the  more  important  art  of  de- 
terring those  from  doing  wrong  who  are  doubt- 
ing whether  they  shall  do  it  or  not,  and  who,  of 
course,  will  be  principally  guided  in  their  de- 
cision by  the  sufferings  of  those  who  have  pre- 
viously yielded  to  temptation. 

There  are  some  assertions  in  the  report  of 
the  society,  to  which  we  can  hardly  give 
credit, — not  that  we  have  the  slightest  sus- 
picion of  any  intentional  misrepresentation,  but 
that  we  believe  there  must  be  some  uninten- 
tional error. 

"  The  Ladies'  Committees  visiting  Newgate 
and  the  Borough  Compter,  have  continued  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  improvement  of  the 
female  prisoners,  in  a  spirit  worthy  of  their 
enlightened  zeal  and  Christian  charity.  The 
beneficial  effects  of  their  exertions  have  been 
evinced  by  the  progressive  decrease  in  the 
number  of  female  prisoners  recommitted,  which 
has  diminished,  since  the  visits  of  the  ladies  to 
Newgate,  no  less  than  40  per  cent." 

That  is,  that  Mrs.  Fry  and  her  friends  have 
reclaimed  forty  women  out  of  every  hundred, 
who,  but  for  them,  would  have  reappeared  in 
jails.  Nobody  admires  and  respects  Mrs.  Fry 
more  than  we  do;  but  this  fact  is  scarcely  cre- 
dible; and,  if  accurate,  ought,  in  justice  to  the 
reputation  of  the  society  and  its  real  interests, 
to  have  been  thoroughly  substantiated  by  names 
and  documents.    The  ladies  certainly  lay  claim 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


103 


to  no  such  extraordinary  success  in  their  own 
report  quoted  in  the  Appendix:  but  speak 
■with  becoming  modesty  and  moderation  of  the 
result  of  their  labours.  The  enemies  of  all 
these  reforms  accuse  the  reformers  of  enthu- 
siasm and  exaggeration.  It  is  of  the  greatest 
possible  consequence,  therefore,  that  their  state- 
ments should  be  correct,  and  their  views  prac- 
tical; and  that  all  strong  assertions  should  be 
supported  by  strong  documents.  The  English 
are  a  calm,  reflecting  people;  they  will  give 
time  and  money  when  they  are  convinced;  but 
they  love  dates,  names  and  certificates.  In  the 
midst  of  the  most  heart-rending  narratives. 
Bull  requires  the  daj'^  of  the  month,  the  year 
of  our  Lord,  the  name  of  the  parish  and  the 
countersign  of  three  or  four  respectable  house- 
holders. After  these  affecting  circumstances, 
he  can  no  longer  hold  out;  but  gives  way  to 
the  kindness  of  his  nature — puffs,  blubbers  and 
subscribes: 

A  case  is  stated  in  the  Hertford  house  of 
correction,  which  so  much  more  resembles  the 
sudden  conversions  of  the  Methodist  Maga- 
zine, than  the  slow  and  uncertain  process  by 
which  repentance  is  produced  in  real  life,  that 
we  are  a  little  surprised  the  society  should  have 
inserted  it. 

"Two  notorious  poachers,  as  well  as  bad  men, 
■were  committed  for  three  months,  for  not  pay- 
ing the  penalty  after  conviction,  but  who,  in 
consequence  of  extreme  contrition  and  good 
conduct,  were,  at  the  intercession  of  the  clergy- 
men of  their  parish,  released  before  the  expira- 
tion of  their  term  of  punishment.  Upon  leaving 
the  house  of  correction,  they  declared  that  they 
had  been  completely  brought  to  their  senses — 
spoke  with  gratitude  of  the  benefit  they  had 
derived  from  the  advice  of  the  chaplain,  and 
promised,  upon  their  return  to  their  parish,  that 
fhey  would  go  to  their  minister,  express  their 
thanks  for  his  interceding  for  them;  and  more- 
over that  they  would,  for  the  future,  attend  their 
duty  regularly  at  church.  It  is  pleasing  to  add, 
that  these  promises  have  been  faithfully  fulfil- 
led."—^yD/7.  to  Third  Report,  pp.  29, 30. 

Such  statements  prove  nothing,  but  that  the 
clergyman  who  makes  them  is  an  amiable  man, 
and  probably  a  college  tutur.  Their  introduction 
however,  in  the  report  of  a  society  depending 
upon  public  opinion  for  success,  is  very  detri- 
mental. 

It  is  not  fair  to  state  the  recommitments  of 
one  prison,  and  compare  them  with  those  of 
another,  perhaps  very  differently  circumstanced, 
—the  recommitments,  for  instance,  of  a  county 
jail,  where  offences  are  generally  of  serious 
magnitude,  with  those  of  a  borough,  where  the 
most  trifling  faults  are  punished.  The  import- 
ant thing  would  be,  to  give  a  table  of  recom- 
mitments, in  the  same  prison,  for  a  series  of 
years, — the  average  of  recommitments,  for  ex- 
ample, every  five  years  in  each  prison  for  twen- 
ty years  past.  If  the  society  can  obtain  this,  it 
will  be  a  document  of  some  importance,  (though 
of  less,  perhaps,  than  they  would  consider  it  to 
be.)  At  present  they  tell  us,  that  the  average 
of  recommitments  in  certain  prisons  is  3  per 
cent.:  in  certain  other  prisons  5  per  cent.:  but 
what  were  they  twenty  years  ago  in  the  same 
prison? — what  wer*!  they  five  years  ago?     If 


recommitments  are  to  be  the  test,  we  miistkno-nr 
whether  these  are  becoming,  w  any  given  pri' 
son,  more  or  less  frequent,  before  we  can  deter- 
mine whether  that  prison  is  better  or  worse 
governed  than  formerly.  Recommitments  will 
of  course  be  more  numerous  where  prisoners 
are  received  from  large  towns,  and  from  the 
resorts  of  soldiers  and  sailors  ;  because  it  is  ia 
these  situations  that  we  may  expect  the  most 
hardened  offenders.  The  different  nature  of  the 
two  soils  which  grow  the  crimes,  must  be  con- 
sidered before  the  produce  gathered  into  prisons 
can  be  justly  compared. 

The  quadruple  column  of  the  state  of  prisons 
for  each  year,  is  a  very  useful  and  important 
document;  and  we  hope,  in  time,  the  society 
will  give  us  a  general  and  particular  table  of 
commitments  and  recommitments  carried  back 
for  twenty  or  thirty  years;  so  that  the  table  may 
contain  (of  Gloucester  jail,  for  instance,)  1st, 
the  greatest  number  it  can  contain ;  2dly,  the 
greatest  number  it  did  contain  at  any  one  period 
in  each  year;  3dly,  its  classification;  4thly,  the 
greatest  number  committed  in  any  given  year; 
5thly,  four  averages  of  five  years  each,  taken 
from  the  twenty  years  preceding,  and  stating 
the  greatest  number  of  commitments;  6lhly,  the 
greatest  number  of  recommitments  in  the  year 
under  view ;  and  four  averages  of  recommit- 
ments, made  in  the  same  manner  as  the  average 
of  the  commitments  ;  and  then  totals  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  columns.  Tables  so  constructed 
would  throw  great  light  upon  the  nature  and 
efficacy  of  imprisonment. 

We  wish  the  society  would  pay  a  little  more 
attention  to  the  question  of  solitary  imprison- 
ment, both  in  darkness  and  in  light;  and  to  the 
extent  to  which  it  may  be  carried.  Mr.  West- 
ern has  upon  this  subject  some  ingenious  ideas. 

"It  appears  to  me,  that  if  relieved  from  these 
impediments,  and  likewise  from  any  idea  of  the 
necessity  of  making  the  labour  of  prisoners 
profitable,  the  detail  of  corrective  prison  discip- 
line would  not  be  difficult  for  any  body  to  chalk 
out.  I  would  first  premise,  that  the  only  pun- 
ishment for  refractory  conduct,  or  any  misbe- 
haviour in  the  gaol,  should,  in  my  opinion,  be 
solitary  confinement;  and  that,  instead  of  being 
in  a  dark  hole,  it  should  be  in  some  part  of  the 
house  where  they  could  fully  see  the  light  of  the 
day;  and  I  am  not  sure  that  it  might  not  be 
desirable,  in  some  cases,  if  possible,  that  the/ 
should  see  the  surrounding  country  and  mov 
ing  objects  at  a  distance,  and  every  thing  that 
man  delights  in,  removed,  at  the  same  time, 
from  any  intercourse  or  word  or  look  with  any 
human  being,  and  quite  out  of  the  reach  of  beuig 
themselves  seen.  I  consider  such  confinement 
would  be  a  punishment  very  severe,  and  calcu- 
lated to  produce  a  far  better  effect  than  dark- 
ness. All  the  feelings  that  are  good  in  men 
would  be  much  more  likely  to  be  kept  alive;  the 
loss  of  liberty,  and  all  the  blessings  of  life  which 
honesty  will  insure,  more  deeply  to  be  felt. 
There  would  not  be  so  much  danger  of  any  de- 
linquent sinking  into  that  state  of  sullen,  insen- 
sible condition,  of  incorrigible  obstinacy,  which 
sometimes  occurs.  If  he  does,  under  those 
circumstances,  we  have  a  right  to  keep  him  out 
of  the  way  of  mischief,  and  let  him  there  remain. 
But  I  believe  such  solitary  confinement  as  I 


164 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


have  described,  with  scanty  fare,  would  very 
rarely  fail  of  its  effect." —  Western's  Remarks,  pp. 
59,  60. 

There  is  a  good  deal  in  this ;  it  is  well  worth 
the  trial;  and  we  hope  the  society  will  notice  it 
in  their  next  report. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  hit  upon  degrees;  but  we 
cannot  help  thinking  the  society  lean  too  much 
to  a  system  of  indulgence  and  education  in  jails. 
We  shall  be  very  glad  to  see  them  more  stern 
and  Spartan  in  their  discipline.  They  recom- 
mend work,  and  even  hard  work;  but  they  do 
not  insist  upon  it,  that  the  only  work  done  in 
jails  by  felons  should  be  hard,  dull  and  uninte- 
resting; they  do  not  protest  against  the  conver- 
sion of  jails  into  schools  and  manufactories. 
Look,  for  example,  to  "  Preston  House  of  Cor- 
rection." 

"  Preston  House  of  Correction  is  justly  distin- 
guished by  the  industry  which  prevails.  Here 
an  idle  hand  is  rarely  to  be  found.  There  were 
lately  150  looms  in  full  employ,  from  each  of 
which  the  average  weekly  earnings  are  bs. 
About  150  pieces  of  cotton  goods  are  worked 
ofTper  week.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the 
looms  are  of  the  prisoners'  own  manufacture. 
In  one  month,  an  inexperienced  workman  will 
be  able  to  earn  the  cost  of  his  gaol  allowance 
of  food.  Weaving  has  these  advantages  over 
other  prison  labour:  the  noise  of  the  shuttle 
prevents  conversation,  and  the  progress  of  the 
work  constantly  requires  the  eye.  The  ac- 
counts of  this  prison  contained  in  the  Appen- 
dix, deserve  particular  attention,  as  there  ap- 
pears to  be  a  balance  of  clear  profit  to  the 
county,  from  the  labour  of  the  prisoners,  in  the 
year,  of  1398/.  9s.  id.  This  sum  was  earned  by 
weaving  and  cleaning  cotton  only;  the  prison- 
ers being  besides  employed  in  tailoring,  white- 
washing, flagging,  slating,  painting,  carpenter- 
ing and  labourers'  work,  the  earnings  of  which 
are  not  included  in  the  above  account." — Third 
Report,  pp.21,  22. 

"At  Worcester  county  gaol,  the  system  of 
employment  is  admirable.  Every  article  of 
dress  worn  by  the  prisoners  is  made  from  the 
raw  material;  sacking  and  bags  are  the  only 
articles  made  for  sale." — lb.  p.  23. 

"In  many  prisons,  the  instruction  of  the  pri- 
soners in  reading  and  writing  has  been  attend- 
ed with  excellent  effects.  Schools  have  been 
formed  at  Bedford,  Durham,  Chelmsford,  Win- 
chester, Hereford,  Maidstone,  Leicester  house 
of  correction,  Shrewsbury,  Warwick,  Worces- 
ter, &c.  Much  valuable  assistance  has  been 
derived  in  this  department  from  the  labours  of 
respectable  individuals,  especially  females,  act- 
ing under  the  sanction  of  the  magistrates,  and 
direction  of  the  chaplain." — lb.  pp.  30,  31. 

We  again  enter  our  decided  protest  against 
these  modes  of  occupation  in  prisons;  they  are 
certainly  better  than  mere  idleness  spent  in  so- 
ciety; but  they  are  not  ihe  kind  of  occupations 
which  render  prisons  terrible.  We  would  ban- 
ish all  the  looms  of  Preston  jail,  and  substitute 
nothing  but  the  tread-wheel,  or  the  capstan,  or 
some  species  of  labour  where  the  labourer 
could  not  see  the  results  of  his  toil, — where  it 
was  as  monotonous,  irksome  and  dull  as  pos- 
sible,— pulling  and  pushing,  instead  of  reading 
and  writing, — no  share  of  the  profits — not  a  sin- 


gle shilling.  There  should  be  no  tea  and  sugar, 
— no  assemblage  of  female  felons  round  the 
washing-tub, — Nothing  but  beating  hemp,  and 
pulling  oakum,  and  pounding  bricks, — no  work 
iDut  what  was  tedious,  unusual  and  unfeminine. 
Man,  woman,  boy  and  girl,  should  all  leave  the 
jail,  unimpaired,  indeed,  in  health,  but  heartily 
wearied  of  their  residence;  and  taught,  by  sad 
experience,  to  consider  it  as  the  greatest  misfor- 
tune of  their  lives  to  return  to  it.  We  have  the 
strongest  belief  that  the  present  lenity  of  jails, 
the  education  carried  on  there — the  cheerful 
assemblage  of  workmen  —  the  indulgence  in 
diet — the  shares  of  earnings  enjoyed  by  prison- 
ers, are  one  great  cause  of  the  astonishingly 
rapid  increase  of  commitments. 

Mr.  Western,  who  entirely  agrees  with  us 
upon  these  points,  has  the  following  judicious 
observations  upon  the  severe  system: — 

"  It  may  be  imagined  by  some  persons,  that 
the  rules  here  prescribed  are  too  severe;  but. 
such  treatment  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  tenderest 
mercy,  compared  with  that  indulgence  which  is 
so  much  in  practice,  and  which  directly  tends 
to  ruin,  instead  of  saving,  its  unfortunate  vic- 
tim. This  severity  it  is  which  in  truth  forms 
the  sole  effective  means  which  imprisonment 
gives;  only  one  mitigation,  therefore,  if  such  it 
may  be  termed,  can  be  admissible,  and  that  is, 
simply  to  shorten  the  duration  of  the  imprison- 
ment. The  sooner  the  prisoner  comes  out  the 
belter,  if  fully  impressed  with  dread  of  what  he 
has  suffered,  and  communicates  information  to 
his  friends  what  they  may  expect  if  they  get 
there.  It  appears  to  me,  indeed,  that  one  great 
and  primary  object  we  ought  to  have  in  view 
is,  generally,  to  shorten  the  duration  of  impri- 
sonment, at  the  same  time  that  we  make  it  such 
a  punishment  as  is  likely  to  deter,  correct  and 
reform;  shorten  the  duration  of  imprisonment 
before  trial,  which  we  are  called  upon,  by  every 
principle  of  moral  and  political  justice,  to  do; 
shorten  also  the  duration  of  imprisonment  after 
trial,  by  the  means  here  described;  and  I  am 
satisfied  our  prisons  would  soon  lose,  or  rather 
would  never  see,  half  the  number  of  their  pre- 
sent inhabitants.  The  long  duration  of  impri- 
sonment, where  the  discipline  is  less  severe, 
renders  it  perfectly  familiar,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, not  only  destitute  of  any  useful  influ- 
ence, but  obviously  productive  of  the  worst 
effects;  yet  this  is  the  present  practice;  and  I 
think,  indeed,  criminals  are  now  sentenced  to  a 
longer  period  of  confinement  than  formerly. 

"The  deprivation  of  liberty  certainly  is  a 
punishment  under  any  circumstances;  but  ihe 
system  generally  pursued  in  our  gaols  might 
rather  be  considered  as  a  palliative  of  that  pun- 
ishment, than  to  make  it  effectual  to  any  good 
purpose.  An  idle  life,  society  unrestrained, 
with  associates  of  similar  character  and  habits, 
better  fare  and  lodgings  in  many  cases,  and 
in  few,  if  any,  worse  than  falls  to  the  lot  of 
the  hard-working  and  industrious  peasant;  and 
very  often  much  better  than  the  prisoners  were 
in  the  enjoyment  of  before  they  were  appre- 
hended. 

"  I  do  not  know  what  could  be  devised  more 
agreeable  to  all  the  different  classes  of  offenders 
than  this  sort  of  treatment:  the  old  hardened 
sinner,  the  juvenile  offender,  or  the  idle  vaga- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


166 


bond,  who  runs  away  and  leaves  a  sick  wife 
and  family  to  be  provided  for  by  his  parish, 
alike  have  little  or  no  apprehension,  at  present, 
of  any  imprisonment  to  which  they  may  be  sen- 
tenced; and  thus  are  the  most  effective  means 
we  possess  to  correct  and  reform  rendered 
totally  unavailable,  and  even  perverted,  to  the 
more  certain  ruin  of  those  who  might  be  restored 
to  society  good  and  valuable  members  of  it. 

"There  are,  it  is  true,  various  occupations 
now  introduced  into  many  prisons,  but  which,  I 
confess,  I  think  of  very  little  use;  drawing  and 
preparing  straws,  platting,  knitting,  heading 
pins,  &c.,  weaving  and  working  at  a  trade  even, 
as  it  is  generally  carried  on — prisoners  coaxed 
to  the  performance  of  it,  the  task  easy,  the  re- 
ward immediate — afford  rather  the  means  of 
passing  away  the  time  agreeably.  These  occu- 
pations are,  indeed,  better  than  absolute  idleness, 
notwithstanding  that  imprisonment  may  be  ren- 
dered less  irksome  thereby.  I  am  far  from 
denying  the  advantage,  still  less  would  I  be  sup- 
posed to  derogate  from  the  merits  of  those  who, 
with  every  feeling  of  humanity,  and  with  inde- 
fatigable pains,  in  many  instances,  have  esta- 
blished such  means  of  employment;  and  some 
of  them  for  women,  with  washing,  &c.,  amount 
to  hard  labour;  but  I  contend  that, for  men, they 
are  applicable  only  to  a  house  of  industry  and 
by  no  means  suited  to  the  corrective  discipline 
which  should  be  found  in  a  prison.  Individuals 
are  sent  here  to  be  punished  and  for  that  sole 
purpose;  in  many  cases  for  crimes  which  have 
induced  the  forfeiture  of  life:  they  are  not  sent 
to  be  educated,  or  apprenticed  to  a  trade.  The 
horrors  of  dungeon  imprisonment,  to  the  credit 
of  the  age,  no  longer  exist.  But,  if  no  cause  of 
dread  is  substituted,  by  what  indication  of  com- 
mon sense  is  it  that  we  send  criminals  there  at 
ain  If  prisons  are  to  be  made  into  places  in 
which  persons  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  may 
be  well  fed,  clothed,  lodged,  educated  and  taught 
a  trade,  where  they  may  find  pleasant  society, 
and  are  required  not  to  take  heed  for  the  mor- 
row, the  present  inhabitants  should  be  tuined 
out,  and  the  most  deserving  and  industrious  of 
our  poorest  fellow-subjects  should  be  invited  to 
take  their  place,  which  I  have  no  doubt  they 
would  be  eager  to  do." — Wester?!,  pp.  13-17. 

In  these  sentiments  we  most  cordially  agree. 
They  are  well  worth  the  most  serious  attention 
of  the  society. 

The  following  is  a  sketch  from  Mr.  Western's 
book  of  what  a  prison  life  should  be.  It  is  im- 
possible to  write  with  more  good  sense,  and  a 
more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject. 

"The  operations  of  the  day  should  begin  with 
the  greatest  punctuality  at  a  given  hour;  and  as 
soon  as  the  prisoners  have  risen  from  their 
beds,  they  should  be,  according  to  their  several 
classes,  marched  to  the  workhouses,  where  they 
should  be  kept  to  hard  labour  two  hours  at 
least;  from  thence  they  should  be  taken  back  to 
wash,  shave,  comb  and  clean  themselves;  thence 
to  the  chapel  to  hear  a  short  prayer,  or  the  go- 
vernor or  deputy  should  read  to  them  in  their 
respective  day-rooms;  and  then  their  breakfast, 
which  may,  altogether,  occupy  an  hour  and  a 
half  or  more.  I  have  stated,  in  a  former  part  of 
my  letter,  that  the  hours  of  meals  and  leisure 
should  be  in  solitude,  in  the  sleeping  cells  of  the 


prison  ;  but  I  presume,  for  the  moment,  this  may 
not  always  be  practicable.  I  will,  therefore, 
consider  the  case  as  if  the  classes  assembled  at 
meal-times  in  the  different  day-rooms.  After 
breakfast  they  should  return  to  hard  labour  for 
three  or  four  hours,  and  then  take  another  hour 
for  dinner;  labour  after  dinner  two  or  three 
hours,  and  their  supper  given  them  to  eat  in 
solitude  in  their  sleeping  cells. 

"This  marching  backwards  and  forwards  to 
chapel  and  mill-house,  &c.,  may  appear  objec- 
tionable, but  it  has  not  been  so  represented  to 
me  in  the  prisons  where  it  actually  now  takes 
place;  and  it  is,  to  my  apprehension,  materially 
useful  in  many  respects.  The  object  is  to  keep 
the  prisoners  in  a  state  of  constant  motion,  so 
that  there  shall  be  no  lounging  time  or  loitering, 
which  is  always  favourable  to  mischief  or  cabal. 
For  the  same  reason  it  is  I  propose  two  hours' 
labour  the  moment  they  are  up,  and  before 
washing,  &c.,  that  there  may  be  no  time  lost, 
and  that  they  may  begin  the  day  by  a  portion 
of  labour,  which  will  tend  to  keep  them  quiet 
and  obedient  the  remainder  of  it.  Each  interval 
for  meal,  thus  occurring  between  labour  hours, 
has  also  a  tendency  to  render  the  mischief  of  in- 
tercourse less  probable,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
evening  association,  which  is  most  to  be  appre- 
hended in  this  respect,  is  entirely  cut  off.  The 
frequent  moving  of  the  prisoners  from  place  to 
place  keeps  the  governor  and  sub-officers  of  the 
prison  in  a  similar  state  of  activity  and  atten- 
tion, which  is  likewise  of  advantage,  though 
their  numbers  should  be  such  as  to  prevent 
their  duty  becoming  too  arduous  or  irksome. 
Their  situation  is  not  pleasant  and  their  resp.on- 
sibility  is  great.  An  able  and  attentive  governor, 
who  executes  all  his  arduous  duties  with  unre- 
mitting zeal  and  fidelity,  is  a  most  valuable 
public  servant  and  entitled  to  the  greatest  re- 
spect. He  must  be  a  man  of  no  ordinary  capa- 
city, with  a  liberal  and  comprehensive  mind, 
possessing  a  control  over  his  own  passions, 
firm  and  undaunted,  acharacter  that  commands 
from  those  under  him,  instinctively,  as  it  were, 
respect  and  regard.  In  vain  are  our  buildings, 
and  rules,  and  regulations,  if  the  choice  of  a 
governor  is  not  made  an  object  of  primary  and 
most  solicitous  attention  and  consideration. 

"It  does  not  appear  to  me  necessary  for  the 
prisoners  to  have  more  than  three  hours'  leisure, 
inclusive  of  meal-times;  and  I  am  convinced 
the  close  of  the  day  must  be  in  solitude.  Eight 
or  ten  hours  will  have  passed  in  company  with 
their  fellow-prisoners  of  the  same  class  (for  I 
am  presuming  that  a  separate  compartment  of 
the  workhouse  will  be  allotted  to  each)  where, 
though  they  cannot  associate  to  enjoy  society 
as  they  would  wish,  no  gloom  of  solitude  can 
oppress  them:  there  is  more  danger  even  then 
of  too  close  an  intercourse  and  conversation, 
though  a  ready  cure  is  in  that  case  to  be  found 
by  a  wheel  put  in  motion,  the  noise  of  which 
speedily  overcomes  the  voice.  Some  time  after 
Saturday  night  should  be  allowed  to  them,  more 
particularly  to  cleanse  themselves  and  their 
clothes,  and  they  should  have  a  bath,  cold  or 
warm,  if  necessary;  and  on  the  Sunday  they 
should  be  dressed  in  their  best  clothes,  and  the 
day  should  be  spent  wholly  in  the  chapel,  the 
cell,  and  the  airing-ground;  the  latter  in  presence 


166 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


of  a  day-watchman,  as  I  have  described  to  be  in 
practice  at  Warwick.  I  say  nothing  about 
teaching  to  read,  write,  work,  &c.  &c.;  any  pro- 
portion of  time  necessary  for  any  useful  pur- 
pose may  be  spared  from  the  hours  of  labour  or 
of  rest,  according  to  circumstances  ;  but  I  do  not 
place  any  reliance  upon  improvement  in  any 
branch  of  education:  they  would  not,  indeed,  be 
there  long  enough.  All  I  want  them  to  learn  is, 
that  there  exists  the  means  of  punishment  for 
crime,  and  be  fully  impressed  with  dread  of  re- 
petition of  what  they  have  undergone;  and  a 
short  time  will  suffice  for  that  purpose.  Now, 
if  each  successive  day  was  spent  in  this  manner, 
can  it  be  doubted  that  the  frequent  commission 
of  crime  would  be  checked,  and  more  done  to 
deter,  correct  and  reform  than  could  be  accom- 
plished by  any  other  punishment  ]  A  period  of 
such  discipline,  longer  or  shorter,  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  otfence,  would  surely  be  suffi- 
cient for  any  violation  of  the  law  short  of  mur- 
der, or  that  description  of  outrage  which  is  likely 
to  lead  on  to  the  perpetration  of  it.  This  sort  of 
treatment  is  not  to  be  overcome:  it  cannot  be 
braved,  or  laughed  at,  or  disregarded,  by  any 
force  of  animal  spirits,  however  strong  or  vigo- 
rous of  mind  or  body  the  individual  may  be. 
The  dull,  unvarying  course  of  hard  labour,  with 
hard  fare  and  seclusion,  must  in  time  become 
so  painfully  irksome,  and  so  wear  and  distress 
him,  that  he  will  inevitably,  in  the  end,  be  sub- 
dued."—  Western,  pp.  64-69. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Report  of  the  Prison 
Society  so  good  as  this. 

The  society  very  properly  observe  upon  the 
badness  of  town  jails,  and  the  necessity  for 
their  suppression.  Most  towns  cannot  spare  the 
funds  necessary  for  building  a  good  jail.  Shop- 
keepers cannot  spare  the  time  for  its  superin- 
leiidence;  and  hence  it  happens  that  town  jails 
are  almost  always  in  a  disgraceful  state.  The 
society  frequently  allude  to  the  diffusion  of 
tracts.  If  education  is  to  be  continued  in  jails, 
and  tracts  are  to  be  dispersed,  we  cannot  help 
lamenting  that  the  tracts,  though  full  of  good 
principles,  are  so  intolerably  stupid — and  all 
apparently  constructed  upon  the  supposition, 
that  a  thief  or  a  peccant  ploughman  is  inferior 
in  common  sense  to  a  boy  of  five  years  old.  The 
story  generally  is,  that  a  labourer  with  six  chil- 
dren has  nothing  to  live  upon  but  mouldy  bread 
and  dirty  water;  yet  nothing  can  exceed  his 
cheerfulness  and  content — no  murmurs — no 
discontent:  of  mutton  he  has  scarcely  heard — 
of  bacon  he  never  dreams:  furfurous  bread 
and  the  water  of  the  pool  constitute  his  food, 
establish  his  felicity,  and  excite  his  warmest 
gratitude.  The  squire  or  parson  of  the  parish 
always  happens  to  be  walking  by  and  overhears 
him  praying  for  the  king  and  the  members  for 
the  county,  and  for  all  in  authority ;  and  it  gene- 
rally ends  with  their  offering  him  a  shilling, 
which  this  excellent  man  declares  he  does  not 
want,  and  will  not  accept!  These  are  the 
pamphlets  which  Goodies  and  Noodles  are  dis- 
persing with  unwearied  diligence.  It  would  be 
a  great  blessing  if  some  genius  would  arise  who 
had  a  talent  of  writing  for  the  poor.  He  would 
be  of  more  value  than  many  poets  living  upon 
the  banks  of  lakes — or  even  (though  we  think 
highly  of  ourselves)  of  greater  value  than  many 


reviewing  men  living  in  the  garrets  of  the 
north. 

The  society  offer  some  comments  upon  the 
prison  bill  now  pending,  and  which  unfortu- 
nately* for  the  cause  of  prison  improvement, 
has  been  so  long  pending  in  the  legislature.  In 
the  copy  of  this  bill,  as  it  stands  at  present, 
nothing  is  said  of  the  limitation  of  numbers  in 
any  particular  class.  We  have  seen  forty  felons 
of  one  class  in  one  yard  before  trial.  If  this 
is  to  continue,  all  prison  improvement  is  a  mere 
mockery.  Separate  sleeping  cells  should  be 
enacted  positively,  and  not  in  words,  which 
leave  this  improvement  optional.  If  any  visit- 
ing justice  dissents  from  the  majority,-)-  it  should 
be  lawful  for  him  to  give  a  separate  report  upon 
the  state  of  the  prison  and  prisoners  to  the  judge 
or  the  quarter  sessions.  All  such  reports  of 
any  visiting  magistrate  or  magistrates,  not  ex- 
ceeding a  certain  length,  should  be  pu'blished 
in  the  county  papers.  The  chairman's  report 
to  the  secretary  of  state  should  be  published  in 
the  same  manner.  The  great  panacea  is  pub- 
licity; it  is  this  which  secures  compliance  with 
wise  and  just  laws,  more  than  all  the  penalties 
they  contain  for  their  own  preservation. 

We  object  to  the  reading  and  writing  clause. 
A  poor  man,  who  is  lucky  enough  to  have  his 
son  committed  for  a  felony,  educates  him,  under 
such  a  system,  for  nothing;  while  the  virtuous 
simpleton  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall  is  pay- 
ing by  the  quarter  for  these  attainments.  He 
sees  clergymen  and  ladies  busy  with  the  larce- 
nous pupil;  while  the  poor  lad,  who  respects 
the  eighth  commandment,  is  consigned,  in  some 
dark  alley,  to  the  frowns  and  blows  of  a  ragged 
pedagogue.  It  would  be  the  safest  way,  where 
a  prisoner  is  kept  upon  bread  and  water  alone, 
to  enact  that  the  allowance  of  bread  should  not 
be  less  than  a  pound  and  a  half  for  men,  and  a 
pound  for  women  and  boys.  We  strongly  re- 
commend, as  mentioned  in  a  previous  number, 
that  four  sorts  of  diet  should  be  enacted  for 
every  prison;  1st,  Bread  and  water;  2d,  Better 
prison  diet;  3d,  Best  prison  diet;  4th,  Free  diet 
— the  second  and  third  to  be  defined  by  the 
visiting  magistrates.  All  sentences  of  impri- 
sonment should  state  to  which  of  these  diets  the 
prisoner  is  to  be  confined ;  and  all  deviation 
from  it  on  the  part  of  the  prison  officers  should 
be  punished  with  very  severe  penalties.  The 
regulation  of  prison  diet  in  a  prison  is  a  point 
of  the  very  highest  importance  ;  and  to  ask  of 
visiting  magistrates  that  they  should  doom  to 
bread  and  water  a  prisoner  whom  the  law  has 
left  at  liberty  to  purchase  whatever  he  has  the 
money  to  procure,  is  a  degree  of  severity  which 
it  is  hardly  fair  to  expect  from  country  gentle- 
men, and,  if  expected,  those  expectations  will 
not  be  fulfilled.  The  whole  system  of  diet,  one 
of  the  main-springs  of  all  prison  discipline,  will 
get  out  of  order,  if  its  arrangement  is  left  to  the 
interference  of  magistrates  and  not  to  the  sen- 
tence of  the  judge.  Free  diet  and  bread  diet 
need  no  interpretation  :  and  the  jailer  will  take 
care  to  furnish  the  judge  with  the  definitions  of 


*  Tlie  county  of  York,  with  a  prison  under  presentment, 
has  been  waitinsr  nearly  three  years  for  this  bill,  in  order 
to  proceed  upon  the  improvement  of  their  county  jail. 

fit  would  be  an  entertaining  change  in  human  affairn 
to  determine  every  thing  by  rm7iciTities.  They  are  almosi 
always  -i  the  right. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


167 


letter  prison  diet  and  best  prison  diet.  A  know- 
ledge of  the  diet  prescribed  in  a  jail  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  justice  of  the  case.  Diet  dif- 
fers so  much  in  different  prisons,  that  six  weeks 
in  one  prison  is  as  severe  a  punishment  as  three 
months  in  another.  If  any  country  gentleman, 
engaged  in  legislation  for  prisons,  is  inclined  to 
undervalue  the  importance  of  these  regulations, 
let  him  appeal  to  his  own  experience,  and  re- 
member, in  the  vacuity  of  the  country,  how 
often  he  thinks  of  his  dinner,  and  of  what  there 
will  be  for  dinner;  and  how  much  his  amenity 
and  courtesy  for  the  evening  depend  upon  the 
successful  execution  of  this  meal.  But  there  is 
nobody  so  gluttonous  and  sensual  as  a  thief; 
and  he  will  feel  much  more  bitterly  fetters  on 
his  mouth  than  his  heels.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  a  gentleman  is  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment for  manslaughter  in  a  duel,  or  for  a  libel. 
Are  visiting  justices  to  doom  such  a  prisoner  to 
bread  and  water,  or  are  they  to  make  an  invidi- 
ous distinction  between  him  and  the  other  pri- 
soners? The  diet  should  be  ordered  by  the  judge, 
or  it  never  will  be  well  ordered — or  ordered  at 
all: 

The  most  extraordinary  clause  in  the  bill  is 
the  following — 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  in  case  any 
criminal  prisoner  shall  be  guilty  of  any  repeated 
offence  against  the  rules  of  the  prison,  or  shall 
be  guilty  of  any  greater  offence  which  the  jailer 
or  keeper  is  not  by  this  act  empowered  to  pun- 
ish, the  said  jailer  or  keeper  shall  report  the 
same  to  the  visiting  justices,  or  one  of  them,  for 
the  time  being;  and  such  justices,  or  one  of 
them,  shall  have  power  to  inquire  upon  oath, 
and  determine  concerning  any  such  offence  so 
reported  to  him  or  them,  and  shall  order  the 
offender  to  be  punished,  either  by  moderate 
whipping,  repeated  whippings,  or  by  close  con- 
finement, for  any  term  not  exceeding  .' — 
^c/,  p.  21. 

Upon  this  clause,  any  one  justice  may  order 
repeated  whippings  for  any  offence  greater  than 
that  which  the  jailer  may  punish.  Our  respect 
for  the  committee  will  only  allow  us  to  say,  that 
we  hope  this  clause  will  be  reconsidered.  We 
beg  leave  to  add,  that  there  should  be  a  return 
to  the  principal  secretary  of  state  of  recommit- 
ments as  well  as  commitments. 

It  is  no  mean  pleasure  to  see  this  attention  to 
jail-discipline  travelling  from'  England  to  the 
detestable  and  despotic  governments  of  the  con- 
tinent,— to  see  the  health  and  life  of  captives 
admitted  to  be  of  any  importance, — to  perceive 
that  human  creatures  in  dungeons  are  of  more 
consequence  than  rats  and  black  beetles.  All 
this  is  new — is  some  little  gained  upon  ty- 
ranny; and  for  it  we  are  indebted  to  the  labours 
of  the  Prison  Society.  Still  the  state  of  prisons, 
on  many  parts  of  the  continent,  is  shocking  be- 
yond all  description. 

It  is  a  most  inconceivable  piece  of  cruelty  and 
absurdity  in  the  English  law,  that  the  prisoner's 
counsel,  when  he  is  tried  for  any  capital  felony, 
is  not  allowed  to  speak  for  him;  and  this  we 
hope  the  new  prison  bill  will  correct.  Nothing 
can  be  more  ridiculous  in  point  of  reasoning,  or 
more  atrociously  cruel  and  unjust  in  point  of 
fact.  Any  number  of  counsel  may  be  employed 
to  take  away  the  poor  man's  life.    They  are  at 


full  liberty  to  talk  as  long  as  they  like;  but  not 
a  syllable  is  to  be  uttered  in  his  defence — not  a 
sentence  to  show  why  the  prisoner  is  not  to  be 
hung.  This  practice  is  so  utterly  ridiculous  to 
any  body  but  lawyers  (to  whom  nothing  that  is 
customary  is  ridiculous),  that  men  not  versant 
with  courts  of  justice  will  not  believe  it.  It  is, 
indeed,  so  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  common 
cant  of  the  humanity  of  the  English  law,  that  it 
is  often  considered  to  be  the  mistake  of  the  nar- 
rator, rather  than  the  imperfection  of  the  sys- 
tem. We  must  take  this  opportunity,  therefore, 
of  making  a  ievj  observations  on  this  very 
strange  and  anomalous  practice. 

The  common  argument  used  in  its  defence  is 
that  the  judge  is  counsel  for  the  prisoner.  But 
the  defenders  of  this  piece  of  cruel  and  barbar- 
ous nonsense  must  first  make  their  election, 
whether  they  consider  the  prisoner  to  be,  by 
this  arrangement,  in  a  better,  a  worse  or  aa 
equally  good  situation  as  if  his  counsel  were 
allowed  to  plead  for  him.  If  he  is  in  a  wc/rse 
situation,  why  is  he  so  placed?  Why  is  a  man, 
in  a  solemn  issue  of  life  or  death,  deprived  of 
any  fair  advantage  which  any  suitor  in  any 
court  of  justice  possesses''  This  is  a  plea  of 
guilty  to  the  charge  we  make  against  the  prac- 
tice; and  its  advocates,  by  such  concession,  are 
put  out  of  court.  But,  if  it  is  an  advantage,  or 
no  disadvantage,  whence  comes  it  that  the 
choice  of  this  advantage,  in  the  greatest  of  all 
human  concerns,  is  not  left  to  the  party  or  to 
his  friends]  If  the  question  concerns  a  foot- 
path— or  a  fat  ox — every  man  may  tell  his  own 
story,  or  employ  a  barrister  to  tell  it  for  him. 
The  law  leaves  the  litigant  to  decide  on  the 
method  most  conducive  to  his  own  interest. 
But,  when  the  question  is  whether  he  is  to  Hv« 
or  die,  it  is  at  once  decided  for  him  that  his 
counsel  are  to  be  dumb!  And  yet,  so  ignorant 
are  men  of  their  own  interests,  that  there  is  not 
a  single  man  tried  who  would  not  think  it  a 
great  privilege  if  counsel  were  allowed  to  speak 
in  his  favour,  and  who  would  not  be  supremely 
happy  to  lay  aside  the  fancied  advantage  of 
their  silence.  And  this  is  true  not  merely  ot 
ignorant  men;  but  there  is  not  an  Old  Bailey 
barrister  who  would  not  rather  employ  another 
Old -Bailey  barrister  to  speak  for  him,  than  en- 
joy the  advantage  (as  the  phrase  is)  of  having 
the  judge  for  his  counsel.  But  in  what  sense, 
after  all,  is  the  judge  counsel  for  the  prisoner? 
He  states,  in  his  summing  up,  facts  as  they 
have  been  delivered  in  evidence;  and  he  tells 
the  jury  upon  what  points  they  are  to  decide: 
he  mentions  what  facts  are  in  favour  of  the 
prisoner,  and  what  bear  against  him;  and  he 
leaves  the  decision  to  the  jury.  Does  he  do 
more  than  this  in  favour  of  the  prisoner?  Does 
he  misstate?  does  he  mislead?  does  he  bring 
forward  arguments  on  one  side  of  the  question, 
and  omit  equally  important  arguments  on  the 
other?  If  so,  he  is  indeed  counsel  for  the  pri- 
soner; but  then  who  is  judge?  who  takes  care 
of  the  interests  of  the  public?  But  the  truth  is, 
he  does  no  such  thing;  he  does  merely  what  we 
have  stated  him  to  do;  and  would  he  do  less, 
could  he  do  less,  if  the  prisoner's  counsel  spoke 
for  him?  If  an  argument  was  just,  or  an  in- 
ference legitimate,  he  would  not  omit  the  one,  or 
refute  the  other,  because  they  had  been  put  or 


168 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


drawn  in  the  speech  of  the  prisoner's  counsel. 
He  would  be  no  more  prejudiced  against  the 
defendant  in  a  criminal  than  in  a  civil  suit.  He 
would  select  from  the  speeches  of  both  counsel 
all  that  could  be  fairly  urged  for  or  against  the 
defendant,  and  he  would  reply  to  their  fallacious 
reasonings.    The  pure  administration  of  justice 
requires  of  him,  in  either  case,  the  same  con- 
duct.    Whether  the  whole  bar  spoke  for   the 
prisoner,  or  whether  he  was  left  to  defend  him- 
self, what  can  the  judge  do,  or  what  ought  he  to 
do,  but  to  state  to  the  jury  the  facts  as  they  are 
given  in   evidence,  and   the   impression  these 
facts  have  made  upon  his  own  mind?     In  the 
mean  time,  while  the  prisoner's  counsel  have 
been  compelled  to  be  silent,  the  accuser's,  the 
opposite  party,  have  enjoyed  an  immense  ad- 
vantage.   In   considering  what  bears   against 
the  prisoner,  the  judge  has  heard,  not  only  the 
suggestions  of  his  own  understanding,  but  he 
has  been  exposed  to  the  able  and  artful  reason- 
ing of  a  practised  advocate,  who  has  been  pre- 
viously instructed  in   the   case   of  which   the 
judge  never  heard  a  syllable  before  he  came 
into  court.     Suppose  it  to  be  a  case  depending 
upon  circumstantial   evidence;   in  how  many 
new  points  of  view  may  a  man  of  genius  have 
placed  those  circumstances,  which  would  not 
have   occurred   to   the   judge   himself!      How 
many  inferences  may  he  have  drawn,  which 
would  have  been  unnoticed  but  for  the  efforts 
of  a  man  whose  bread  and  fame  depend  upon 
his  exertions,  and  who  has  purposely,  and  on 
contract,  flung  the  whole  force  of  his  under- 
standing into  one  scale!     In  the  mean  time,  the 
prisoner  can  say  nothing,  for  he  has  not  the  gift 
of  learned  speech;  his  counsel  can  say  nothing, 
though  he  has  communicated  with  the  prisoner, 
and  could  place  the  whole  circumstances,  per- 
haps, in  the  fairest  and   clearest  point  of  view 
for  the  accused  party.    By  the  courtesy  of  Eng- 
land this  is  called  /ws/fce — we  in  the  north  can- 
not admit  of  the  correctness  of  the  appellation. 
It  seems  utterly  to  be  forgotten,  in  estimating 
this  practice,  that  two  understandings  are  better 
than  one.  The  judge  must  inevitably  receive  many 
new  views  against  the  prisoner  by  the  speech 
of  one  counsel,  and  lose  many  views  in  favour 
of  the  prisoner  by  the  silence  of  the  other.    We 
are  not  to  suppose  (like  ladies  going  into  court 
in  an  assize  town)  that  the  judge  would  have 
thought  of  every  thing  which  the  counsel  against 
the  prisoner  has  said,  and  which  the  counsel 
for  the  prisoner  would  have  said.    The  judge, 
wigged  and  robed  as  he  is,  is  often  very  inferior 
in  acuteness  to  either  of  the  persons  who  are 
pleading  under  him — a  cold,  slow,  parchment 
and   precedent  man,  without  passions  or  prse- 
cordia, — perhaps  a  sturdy  brawler  for  church 
and  king, — or  a  quiet  man  of  ordinary  abilities, 
steadily,   though   perhaps  conscientiously,  fol- 
lowing those  in  power  through  thick  and  thin — 
through  right  and  wrong.     Whence  comes  it 
that  the  method  of  getting  at  truth,  which  is  so 
excellent  on  all  common  occasions,  should  be 
considered  as  so  improper  on  the  greatest  of  all 
occasions,  where  the  life  of  a  man  is  concerned? 
If  an  acre  of  land  is  to  be  lost  or  won,  one  man 
says  all  that  can  be  said  on  one  side  of  the  ques- 
tion— another  on  the  other;  and  the  jury,  aided 
by  the  impartiality  of  the  judge,  decide.    The 


wit  of  man  can  devise  no  better  method  of  disen- 
tangling difficulty,  exposing  falsehood,  and  de- 
tecting truth.  "  Tell  me  why  lam  hurried  away  to 
a  premature  death,  and  no  man  suffered  to  speak  in 
my  defence,  when  at  this  very  moment,  and  in  my 
hearing,  all  the  eloquence  of  the  bar,  on  the  other 
side  of  your  justice  hall,  is  employed  in  defending 
a  path  or  a  hedge?  Is  a  foot  of  land  dearer  to  any 
man  than  my  life  is  to  me?  The  civil  plaintiff  has 
not  trusted  the  smallest  part  of  his  fate  or  for^ 
tune  to  his  own  efforts;  and  will  you  grant  me  no 
assistance  of  superior  wisdom,  who  have  suffered  a 
long  famine  to  purchase  it — who  am  broken  by 
prison — broken  by  chains — and  so  shamed  by  this 
dress  of  guilt,  and  abashed  by  the  presence  if  my 
superiors,  that  I  have  no  words  which  you  could 
hear  without  derision — that  I  could  not  give  way 
for  a  moment  to  the  fulness  and  agitation  of  my 
rude  heart  without  moving  your  contempt?"  So 
spoke  a  wretched  creamre  to  a  judge  in  our 
hearing!  and  what  answer  could  be  given  but 
"Jailer,  take  him  away?" 

We  are  well  aware  that  a  great  decency  of 
language  is  observed  by  the  counsel  employed 
against  the  prisoner,  in  consequence  of  the 
silence  imposed  upon  the  opposite  counsel ;  but 
then,  though  there  is  a  decency  as  far  as  con- 
cerns impassioned  declamation,  yet  there  is  no 
restraint,  and  there  can  be  no  restraint,  upon 
the  reasoning  powers  of  a  counsellor.  He  may 
put  tog:ether  the  circumstances  of  an  imputed 
crime  in  the  most  able,  artful  and  ingenious 
manner,  without  the  slightest  vehemence  or 
passion.  We  have  no  objection  to  this,  if  any 
counter  statement  were  permitted.  We  want 
only  fair  play.  Speech  for  both  sides,  or  speech 
for  none.  The  first  would  be  the  wiser  system; 
but  the  second  would  be  clear  from  the  intolera- 
ble cruelty  of  the  present.  We  see  no  harm 
that  would  ensue,  if  both  advocates  were  to  fol- 
low their  own  plan  without  restraint.  But,  if 
the  feelings  are  to  be  excluded  in  all  causes  of 
this  nature  (which  seems  very  absurd),  then  let 
the  same  restraint  be  exacted  from  boih  sides. 
It  might  very  soon  be  established,  as  the  eti- 
quette of  the  bar,  that  the  pleadings  on  both 
sides  were  expected  to  be  calm,  and  to  consist 
of  reasoning  upon  the  facts.  In  high  treason, 
where  the  partiality  of  the  judge  and  power  of 
the  court  are  suspected,  this  absurd  incapacity 
of  being  heard  by  counsel  is  removed.  No 
body  pretends  to  say,  in  such  cases,  that  the 
judge  would  be  counsel  for  the  prisoner;  and 
yet,  how  many  thousand  cases  are  there  in  a 
free  country  which  have  nothing  to  do  with  high 
treason,  and  where  the  spirit  of  party,  unknown 
to  himself,  may  get  possession  of  a  judge? 
Suppose  any  trial  for  murder  to  have  taken 
place  in  the  Manchester  riots, — will  any  man 
say  that  the  conduct  of  many  judges  on  such  a 
question  ought  not  to  have  been  watched  with 
the  most  jealous  circumspection?  Would  any 
prisoner — would  any  fair  mediator  between  the 
prisoner  and  the  public — be  satisfied  at  such  a 
j)eriod  with  the  axiom  that  the  judge  is  counsel 
for  the  prisoner?  We  are  not  saying  that  there  is 
no  judge  who  might  not  be  so  trusted,  but  that 
all  judges  are  not,  at  all  times,  to  be  so  intrusted. 
We  are  not  saying  that  any  judge  would  wil- 
fully do  wrong;  but  that  many  might  be  led  to 
do  wrong  by  passions  and  prejudices  of  which 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITIT. 


169 


they  were  unconscious;  and  that  the  real  safe- 
guard to  the  prisoner,  the  best,  the  only  safe- 
guard, is  full  liberty  of  speech  for  the  counsel 
he  has  employed. 

What  would  be  the  discipline  of  that  hospi- 
tal where  medical  assistance  was  allowed  in  all 
trifling  complaints,  and  withheld  in  every  case 
of  real  danger  1  where  Bailey  and  Halford  were 
lavished  upon  stomach-aches  and  refused  in 
typhus  fever?  where  the  dying  patient  beheld 
the  greatest  skill  employed  upon  trifling  evils  of 
others,  and  was  told,  because  his  was  a  case  of 
life  and  death,  that  the  cook  or  the  nurse  was  to 
be  his  physician? 

Suppose  so  intolerable  an  abuse  (as  the  at- 
torney and  solicitor-general  would  term  it)  had 
been  established,  and  that  a  law  for  its  correc- 
tion was  now  first  proposed,  entitled  an  Ad  to 
prevent  the  Counsel  fur  Prisoners  fmn  being  heard 
in  their  Defence  !  !  ! 

What  evil  would  result  from  allowing  counsel 
to  be  heard  in  defence  of  prisoners  ?  Would 
too  many  people  be  hung  from  losing  that  valu- 
able counsellor,  the  judge  ?  or  would  too  few 
people  be  hung?  or  would  things  remain  much 
as  they  are  at  present?  We  never  could  get 
the  admirers  of  this  practice  to  inform  us  what 
the  results  would  be  of  deviating  from  it;  and 
we  are  the  more  particularly  curious  upon  this 
point,  because  our  practice  is  decidedly  the  re- 
verse, and  we  find  no  other  results  from  it  than 
a  fair  administration  of  criminal  justice.  In  all 
criminal  cases  that  require  the  intervention  of 
a  jury  in  Scotland,  a  prisoner  must  have,  1st,  a 
copy  of  the  indictment,  which  must  contain  a 
minute  specification  of  the  offence  charged; 
2dly,  a  list  of  witnesses;  3dly,  a  list  of  the  as- 
size; and,  4thly,  in  every  question  that  occurs, 
and  in  all  addresses  to  the  jury,  the  prisoner's 
counsel  has  the  last  word.  Where  is  the  boasted 
mercy  of  the  English  law  after  this  ? 

The  truth  is,  it  proceeds  from  the  error  which, 
in  all  dark  ages,  pervades  all  codes  of  laws,  of 
confounding  the  accused  with  the  guilty.  In  the 
early  part  of  our  state  trials,  the  prisoners  were 
not  allowed  to  bring  evidence  against  the  wit- 
nesses of  the  crown.  For  a  long  period  after 
this,  the  witnesses  of  the  prisoner  were  not  suf- 
fered to  be  examined  upon  oath.  One  piece  of 
cruelty  and  folly  has  given  way  after  another. 
Each  has  been  defended  by  the  attorney  and 
solicitor-general  for  the  time,  as  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  existence  of  the  state,  and  the 
most  perfect  performance  of  our  illustrious  an- 
cestors. The  last  grand  hope  of  every  foolish 
fierson  is  the  silence  of  the  prisoner's  counsel, 
n  the  defence  of  this,  it  will  be  seen  what  stu- 
pidity driven  to  despair  can  achieve.  We  beg 
pardon  for  this  digression;  but  flesh  and  blood 
cannot  endure  the  nonsense  of  lawyers  upon 
this  subject. 

The  society  have  some  very  proper  remarks 
upon  the  religious  instructions  of  the  chaplain — 
an  appointment  of  vast  imporiance  and  utility; 
unfortunately  very  ill  paid,  and  devolving  en- 
tirely upon  the  lower  clergy.  It  is  said  that  the 
present  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  Dr.  Ryder,  goes 
into  jails  and  busies  himself  with  the  temporal 
wretchedness  and  the  eternal  welfare  of  the 
prisoners.  If  this  is  so,  it  does  him  great 
honour,  and  is  a  noble  example  to  all  ranks  of 


clergy  who  are  subject  to  him.  Above  all,  do 
not  let  us  omit  the  following  beautiful  anecdote, 
while  we  are  talking  of  good  and  pious  men. 

"The  committee  cannot  refrain  from  extract- 
ing from  the  report  of  the  Paris  Society,  the 
interesting  anecdote  of  the  excellent  P6re  Jous- 
sony,  who  being  sent,  by  the  Consul  at  Algiers, 
to  minister  to  the  slaves,  fixed  his  residence  in 
their  prison;  and,  during  a  period  of  thirty 
years,  never  quitted  his  post.  Being  compelled 
to  repair  to  France,  for  a  short  period,  he  re- 
turned again  to  the  prison,  and  at  length  resign- 
ed his  breath  in  the  midst  of  those  for  whose 
interests  he  had  laboured,  and  who  were  dearer 
to  him  than  life." — Report,  p.  30. 

It  seems  to  be  a  very  necessary  part  of  the 
prison  system,  that  any  poor  person,  when  ac- 
quitted, should  be  passed  to  his  parish  ;  and 
that  all  who  are  acquitted  should  be  imntediately 
liberated.  At  present,  a  prisoner,  after  acquit- 
tal, is  not  liberated  till  the  grand  jury  are  dis- 
missed,* in  case  (as  it  is  said)  any  more  bills 
should  be  preferred  against  him.  This  is  really 
a  considerable  hardship;  and  we  do  not  see, 
upon  the  same  principle,  why  the  prisoner  may 
not  be  detained  for  another  assize.  To  justify 
such  a  practice,  notice  should,  at  all  events.  Be 
given  to  the  jailer  of  intention  to  prefer  other 
charges  against  him.  To  detain  a  man  who  is 
acquitted  of  all  of  which  he  has  been  accused, 
and  who  is  accused  of  nothing  more,  merely 
because  he  may  be  accused  of  something  more, 
seems  to  be  a  great  perversion  of  justice.  The 
greatest  of  all  prison  improvements,  however, 
would  be  the  delivery  of  jails  four  times  in  the 
year.  It  would  save  expense;  render  justice 
more  terrible,  by  rendering  it  more  prompt; 
facilitate  classification,  by  lessening  numbers; 
keep  constantly  alive,  in  the  minds  of  wicked 
men,  the  dread  of  the  law ;  and  diminish  the 
unjust  suiferings  of  those  who,  after  long  im- 
prisonment, are  found  innocent. 

"  From  documents,"  says  Mr.  Western,  "upon 
the  table  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1819, 1 
drew  out  an  account,  which  I  have  already  ad- 
verted to  in  part,  but  which  I  shall  restate  here, 
as  it  places,  in  a  strong  point  of  view,  the  ex- 
tent of  injustice,  and  inconsistency,  too,  arising 
out  of  the  present  system.  It  appeared  that,  at 
the  Maidstone  Lent  Assizes  of  that  year  there 
were  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  prisoners 
for  trial ;  of  these,  seventeen  were  in  prison  be- 
fore the  1st  of  October,  eighty-three  before  the 
1st  of  January,  the  shortest  period  of  confine- 
ment before  trial  being  six  months  of  the  former, 
three  months  of  the  latter.  Nothing  can  show 
us  more  plainly  the  injustice  of  such  confine- 
ment than  the  known  fact  of  six  months'  impri- 
sonment being  considered  a  sufficient  punish- 
ment for  half  the  felonies  that  are  committed* 
but  the  case  is  stronger,  when  we  consider  the 
number  acquitted;  seventeenof  the  twenty-seven 
first  mentioned  were  acquitted,  nineof  the  seven 
teen  were  discharged,  not  being  prosecuted,  or 
having  no  bill  found  against  them.  On  the 
other  side  it  appeared,  that  twenty-five  cou 
victed  felons  were  sentenced  to  six  months'  im 
prisonment,  or  under,  the  longest  period  of 
whose  confinement  did  not,  therefore,  exceed 


*  This  has  since  been  done  away  with, 
P 


170 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


the  shortest  of  the  seventeen  acquitted,  or  that 
of  the  nine,  against  whom  no  charge  was  ad- 
duced; there  were  three,  who,  after  being  about 
seven  months  in  prison,  were  then  discharged, 
whilst  various  convicted  felons  suffered  six- 
sevenths  only  of  the  punishment,  including  the 
time  before  trial  as  well  as  after  condemnation. 
By  the  returns  from  the  Lent  Assizes  at  Chelms- 
ford, the  same  year,  the  cases  were  not  less 
striking  than  those  of  Maidstone:  the  total  num- 
ber was  one  hundred  and  sixty-six;  of  these, 
twenty-five  were  in  prison  before  the  1st  of  Oc- 
tober, of  whom  eleven  were  acquitted,  and  of 
these  eleven,  six  were  discharged  without  any 
indictment  preferred;  two  were  in  prison  eight 
months ;  three,  seven  months  and  fifteen  days, 
three,  six  months  and  fifteen  days.  On  the  other 
hand,  sixteen  convicted  of  felony,  were  consi- 
dered to  be  sufficiently  punished  by  imprisonment 
under  six  months.  Upon  the  whole,  it  appeared 
that  four  hundred  and  five  persons  had  been  in 
gaol  before  the  1st  of  October,  whilst  eight  hun- 
dred convicted  felons  were  sentenced  to  a  lighter 
■punishment,  to  a  shorter  duration  of  imprison- 
ment, than  these  four  hundred  and  five  had  ac- 
tually undergone. 

"It  is  a  curious  fact,  that,  upon  an  average, 
more  than  one-third  of  the  total  number  com- 
mitted for  trial  are  acquitted.  In  the  seven 
years  ending  1819,  seventy-two  thousand  two 
hundred  and  sixteen  persons  were  committed  ; 
of  these,  fourteen  thousand  two  hundred  and 
ninety-one  were  acquitted  on  trial,  eleven  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  seventy-four  were  dis- 
charged, there  being  no  prosecutions,  or  no  bills 
found  against  them.  This  large  proportion  of 
acquittals  aggravates  the  evil  and  injustice  of 
long  confinement  before  trial;  but  were  it  other- 
wise,  what  possible  right  can  we  have  to  detain 
a  man  in  custody  six  months,  upon  any  charge 
exhibited  against  him,  before  he  is  brought  to 
trial  1  What  excuse  or  palliation  can  be  found 
for  so  barbarous  a  violation  of  all  the  principles 
of  justice  and  humanity]  How  contemptible 
it  is,  by  way  of  defence,  to  talk  of  the  inexpe- 
diency of  increasing  the  number  of  the  judges, 
the  expense,  inconvenience,  trouble,  &c.!  It  is 
wrong  to  contend  with  such  arguments  against 
the  unanswerable  claims  of  justice,  as  it  is  only 
to  admit  they  are  entitled  to  weight.  The  fact 
is,  we  are  so  completely  under  the  influence  of 
habitual  respect  for  established  practice,  that 
we  do  not  stop  to  question  the  possibility  of  the 
existence  of  any  serious  defects  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law  that  can  be  capable  of  remedy. 
The  public  attention  has  never  been  earnestly 
and  steadily  fixed  and  devoted  to  the  attainment 
of  a  better  system." — Western,  pp.  80 — 83. 

The  public  cannot  be  too  grateful  to  Mr. 
Western  for  his  labours  on  this  subject.  We 
strongly  recommend  his  tract  for  general  cir- 
culation. It  is  full  of  stout  good  sense,  without 
one  panicle  of  nonsense  or  fanaticism: — good 
English  stuff,  of  the  most  improved  and  best 
sort.  Lord  Londonderry  has  assented  to  the 
measure;  and  his  assent  does  him  and  the 
government  very  great  credit.  It  is  a  measure 
of  first-rate  importance.  The  multiplicity  of 
imprisonments  is  truly  awful. 

Within  the  distance  of  ten  miles  round  Lon- 
don, thirty-one  fairs  are  annually  held,  which 


continue  eighty  days  within  the  space  of  seven 
months.  The  effect  of  these  fairs,  in  filling 
the  prisons  of  the  metropolis,  it  is  easy  to  ima- 
gine; and  the  topic  is  very  wisely  and  properly 
brought  forward  by  the  society. 

Nothing  can  be  so  absurd  as  the  reasoning 
used  about  Jla.sk  houses.  They  are  suffered  to 
exist,  it  seems,  because  it  is  easy  to  the  officers 
of  justice  to  find,  in  such  places,  the  prisoners 
of  whom  they  are  in  search !  But  the  very 
place  where  the  thief  is  found  is  most  probably 
the  place  which  made  him  a  thief.  If  it  facili- 
tates the  search,  it  creates  the  necessity  for 
searching,  and  multiplies  guilt  while  it  pro- 
motes detection.  Wherever  thieves  are  known 
to  haunt,  that  place  should  be  instantly  purged 
of  thieves. 

We  have  pushed  this  article  to  a  length 
which  will  prevent  us  from  dwelling  upon  that 
part  of  the  plan  of  the  Prison  Society  which 
embraces  the  reformation  of  juvenile  delin- 
quents, of  whom  it  is  calculated  there  are 
not  less  than  8000  in  London  who  gain  their 
livelihood  by  thieving.  To  this  subject  we 
may,  perhaps,  refer  in  some  future  number. 
We  must  content  ourselves  at  present  with  a 
glimpse  at  the  youthful  criminals  of  the  metro- 
polis. 

"  Upon  a  late  occasion  (in  company  with  Mr. 
Samuel  Hoare,  the  chairman  of  the  Society  for 
the  Reform  of  Juvenile  Delinquents),  I  visited, 
about  midnight,  many  of  those  receptacles  of 
thieves  which  abound  in  this  metropolis.  We 
selected  the  night  of  that  day  in  which  an  exe- 
cution had  taken  place;  and  our  object  was,  to 
ascertain  whether  that  terrible  demonstration 
of  rigour  could  operate  even  a  short  suspen^ 
sion  of  iniquity,  and  keep  for  a  single  nigh 
the  votaries  of  crime  from  their  accustomed 
orgies.  In  one  room,  I  recollect,  we  found  a 
large  number  of  children  of  both  sexes,  the 
oldest  under  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  in  the 
centre  of  these  a  man  who  had  been  described 
to  me  by  the  police  as  one  of  the  largest  sellers 
of  forged  bank-notes.  At  another  part,  we  were 
shown  a  number  of  buildings,  into  which  only 
children  were  allowed  to  enter,  and  in  which, 
if  you  could  obtain  admission,  which  you  can- 
not, you  would  see  scenes  of  the  most  flagrant, 
the  most  public,  and  the  most  shocking  de- 
bauchery. Have  I  not,  then,  a  right  to  say, 
that  you  are  growing  crimes  at  a  terrible  rate, 
and  producing  those  miscreants  who  are  to  dis- 
turb the  public  peace,  plunder  the  public  pro- 
perty, and  to  become  the  scourge  and  the  dis- 
grace of  the  country]" — Buxton,  pp.  66,  67. 

Houses  dedicated  to  the  debauchery  of  chil- 
dren, where  it  is  impossible  to  enter ! ! !  Whence 
comes  this  impossibility] 

To  show  that  their  labours  are  not  needlessly 
continued,  the  society  make  the  following  state- 
ment of  the  present  state  of  prisons: — 

"  But  although  these  considerations  are  highly 
encouraging,  there  is  yet  much  to  accomplish 
in  this  work  of  national  improvement.  So  ex- 
tensive are  the  defects  of  classification,  that  in 
thirty  gaols,  constructed  for  the  confinement  of 
2985  persons,  there  were,  at  one  time  in  the  last 
year,  no  fewer  than  5837  prisoners;  and  the 
whole  number  imprisoned  ii  those  gaols,  dur- 
ing that  period,  amounted  to  2o.703     There  are 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


171 


yet  prisons  where  idleness  and  its  attendant 
evils  reign  unrestrained — where  the  sexes  are 
not  separated— where  all  distinctions  of  crime 
are  confounded — where  few  can  enter,  if  uncor- 
rupted,  without  pollution;  and,  if  guilty,  with- 
out incurring  deeper  stains  of  criminality. — 
There  are  yet  prisons  which  receive  not  the 
pious  visits  of  a  Christian  minister — which  the 
light  of  knowledge  never  enters — and  where 
the  truths  and  consolations  of  the  Gospel  are 
never  heard. — There  are  yet  prisons  where,  for 
the  security  of  the  prisoners,  measures  are  re- 
sorted to  as  revolting  to  British  feeling  as  they 
are  repugnant  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  English 
law." — Report,  pp.  63,  64. 

With  this  statement  we  take  our  leave  of  the 
subject  of  prisons,  thoroughly  convinced  that, 
since  the  days  of  their  cleanliness  and  salu- 


brity, they  have  been  so  managed  as  to  become 
the  great  school  for  crimes  and  wretchedness  ; 
and  that  the  public,  though  beginning  to  awake, 
are  not  yet  sufficiently  aware  of  this  fact,  and 
sufficiently  alarmed  at  it.  Mrs.  Fry  is  an  ami- 
able, excellent  woman,  and  ten  thousand  times 
belter  than  the  infamous  neglect  that  preceded 
her;  but  hers  is  not  the  method  to  stop  crimes. 
In  prisons,  which  are  really  meant  to  keep  the 
multitude  in  order,  and  to  be  a  terror  to  evil 
doers,  there  must  be  no  sharing  of  profits — no 
visiting  of  friends — no  education  but  religious 
education — no  freedom  of  diet — no  weavers' 
looms  or  carpenters'  benches.  There  must  be 
a  great  deal  of  solitude  ;  coarse  food ;  a  dress 
of  shame;  hard,  incessant,  irksome,  eternal  la- 
bour; a  planned  and  regulated  and  unrelenting 
exclusion  of  happiness  and  comfort. 


178 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


PERSECUTING  bishops; 


[Edinburgh   Review,  1S22.] 


It  is  a  great  point  in  any  question  to  clear 
away  encumbrances,  and  to  make  a  naked 
circle  about  the  object  in  dispute,  so  that  there 
may  be  a  clear  view  of  it  on  every  side.  In 
pursuance  of  this  disencumbering  process,  we 
shall  first  acquit  the  bishop  of  all  wrong  inten- 
tions. He  has  a  very  bad  opinion  of  the  prac- 
tical effects  of  high  Calvinistic  doctrines  upon 
the  common  people ;  and  he  thinks  it  his  duty 
to  exclude  those  clergymen  who  profess  them 
from  his  diocese.  There  is  no  moral  wrong 
in  this.  He  has  accordingly  devised  no  fewer 
than  eighty-seven  interrogatories,  by  which  he 
thinks  he  can  detect  the  smallest  taint  of  Cal- 
vinism that  may  lurk  in  the  creed  of  the  can- 
didate ;  and  in  this  also,  whatever  we  may 
think  of  his  reasoning,  we  suppose  his  pur- 
pose to  be  blameless.  He  believes,  finally, 
that  he  has  legally  the  power  so  to  in- 
terrogate and  exclude ;  and  in  this  perhaps 
he  is  not  mistaken.  His  intentions,  then,  are 
good,  and  his  conduct,  perhaps,  not  amenable 
to  the  law.  All  this  we  admit  in  his  favour: 
but  against  him  we  must  maintain,  that  his 
conduct  upon  the  points  in  dispute  has  been 
singularly  injudicious,  extremely  harsh,  and, 
in  its  effects  (though  not  in  its  intentions), 
very  oppressive  and  vexatious  to  the  clergy. 

We  have  no  sort  of  intention  to  avail  our- 
selves of  an  anonymous  publication  to  say 
unkind,  uncivil,  or  disrespectful  things  to  a 
man  of  rank,  learning,  and  character — we 
hope  to  be  guilty  of  no  such  impropriety;  but 
we  cannot  believe  we  are  doing  wrong  in 
ranging  ourselves  on  the  weaker  side,  in  the 
cause  of  propriety  and  justice.  The  mitre 
protects  its  wearer  from  indignity ;  but  it  does 
not  secure  impunity. 

It  is  a  strong  presumption  that  a  man  is 
wrong,  when  all  his  friends,  whose  habits  na- 

*  1.  ^n  Appeal  to  the  Leg-islature  and  Public;  or,  the  Le- 
gality of  the  Kifslitti-sepeH  Queatinns  proposed  by  Dr.  Her- 
bert Marsh,  the  Bishop  of  Peterborougli,  to  Candidates  for 
Holy  Orders,  and  for  Licenses,  irithin  that  Diocese,  consi- 
dered.   2d  Edition,    London,  Seely,  1821. 

2.  ./?  Speech,  delirered  in  the  House  of  Lords,  on  Friday, 
June  7,  1822,  by  Herbert,  Lord  Bishop  of  Peterboroush,  on 
the  Presentation  of  a  Petition  ofrainst  his  Examination 
Questions  :  with  Kxplanaiory  J^nlcs,  a  Supplement,  and  a 
Copy  of  the  Questions.     London,  Uivinf;ton.     182'2. 

3.  The  IVroncrs  of  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Peterbo- 
rough stated  and  illustrated.  By  tlie  Rev.  T.  S.  Grim- 
BHAWR,  M.  A.,  Rector  of  Burton,  Nortliainptonshire  ;  and 
Vicar  of  Biddenham,  Bedfordshire.     London,  Seely,  1822. 

4.  Episcopal  Innovation  :  or,  the  Test  of  Modern  Ortho- 
doxy, in  Eighty-seven  Questions,  imposed,  as  Jlrticles  of 
Faith,  upon  Candidates  for  Licenses  and  for  Holy  Orders, 
in  the  Diocese  of  Peterborough  ,"  with  a  distinct  Answer  to 
each  Question,  and  General  Reflections  Relative  to  their  II- 
le.iral  Structure  and  Pernicious  Tendency.  London,  Seely, 
1820. 

5.  Official  Correspondence  between  the  Right  Rev.  Her- 
bert, Lord  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  and  the  Rev.  John 
Oreen,  respecting  his  JVomination  to  the  Curacy  of  Bla- 
therwycke,  in  the  Diocese  of  Peterborough,  and  County  of 
JVorthampton :  Also,  betjseen  His  Grace  Charles,  Lord 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  William 
JVemle,  M.  A.,  Rector  of  Blatherwycke,  and  of  Cottesmore 
in  the  County  of  Rutland.    182L 


I  turally  lead  them  to  coincide  with  him,  think 
him  wrong.  If  a  man  were  to  indulge  in 
taking  medicine  till  the  apothecary,  the  drug- 
gist, and  the  physician,  all  called  upon  him  to 
abandon  his  philo-cathartic  propensities — if  he 
were  to  gratify  his  convivial  habits  till  the 
landlord  demurred  and  the  waiter  shook  his 
head — we  should  naturally  imagine  that  ad- 
vice so  wholly  disinterested  was  not  given  be- 
fore it  was  wanted,  and  that  it  merited  some 
little  attention  and  respect.  Now,  though  the 
Bench  of  Bishops  certainly  love  power,  and 
love  the  church,  as  well  as  the  Bishop  of 
Peterborough,  yet  not  one  defended  him — not 
one  rose  to  say,  "I  have  done,  or  I  would  do 
the  same  thing."  It  Avas  impossible  to  be  pre- 
sent at  the  last  debate  on  this  question,  without 
perceiving  that  his  lordship  stood  alone — and 
this  in  a  very  gregarious  profession,  that  ha- 
bitually combines  and  butts  against  an  oppo- 
nent with  a  very  extended  front.  If  a  lawyer 
is  wounded,  the  rest  of  the  profession  pursue 
him,  and  put  him  to  death.  If  a  churchman  is 
hurt,  the  others  gather  round  for  his  protection, 
stamp  with  their  feet,  push  with  their  horns, 
and  demolish  the  dissenter  who  did  the  mis- 
chief. 

The  bishop  has  at  least  done  a  very  un- 
usual thing  in  his  Eight3^-seven  Questions. 
The  two  archbishops,  and  we  believe  every 
other  bishop,  and  all  the  Irish  hierarchy,  ad- 
mit curates  into  their  dioceses  without  any 
such  precautions.  The  necessitjr  of  such  se- 
vere and  scrupulous  inquisition,  in  short,  has 
been  apparent  to  nobody  but  the  Bishop  of 
Peterborough;  and  the  authorities  by  wliich  he 
seeks  to  justify  it  are  any  thing  but  satisfac- 
tory. His  lordship  states,  that  forty  years  ago, 
he  was  himself  examined  by  written  inter- 
rogatories, and  that  he  is  not  the  only  bishop 
who  has  done  it;  but  he  mentions  no  names; 
and  it  was  hardly  worth  while  to  state  such 
extremely  slight  precedents  for  so  strong  a  de- 
viation from  the  common  practice  of  the 
church. 

The  bishop  who  rejects  a  curate  upon  the 
Eighty-seven  Questions  is  necessarily  and  in- 
evitably opposed  to  the  bishop  who  ordained 
him.  The  Bishop  of  Gloucester  ordains  a 
young  man  of  twenty-three  years  of  age,  not 
thinking  it  necessary  to  put  to  him  these  inter- 
rogatories, or  putting  them  perhaps,  and  ap- 
proving of  answers  diametrically  opposite  to 
those  that  are  required  by  the  Bishop  of  Peter- 
borough. The  young  clergyman  then  comes 
to  the  last-mentioned  bishop,  and  the  bishop, 
after  putting  him  to  the  question,  says,  "You 
are  unfit  for  a  clergyman," — though,  ten  days 
before,  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  has  made  him 
one  !  It  is  bad  enough  for  ladies  to  pull  caps, 
but  still  worse  for  bishops  to  pull  mitres. 
Nothing  can  be  more  mischievous  or  indecent 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


173 


than  such  scenes;  and  no  man  of  common 
prudence,  or  knowledge  of  the  world,  but  must 
see  that  they  ought  immediately  to  be  put  a 
stop  to.  If  a  man  is  a  captain  in  the  army  in 
one  part  of  England,  he  is  a  captain  in  all. 
The  general  who  commands  north  of  the 
Tweed  does  not  say,  You  shall  never  appear 
in  my  district,  or  exercise  the  functions  of  an 
officer,  if  you  do  not  answer  eighty-seven 
questions  on  the  art  of  war,  according  to  my 
notions.  The  same  officer  who  commands  a 
ship  of  the  line  in  the  Mediterranean,  is  con- 
sidered as  equal  to  the  same  office  in  the 
North  Seas.  The  sixth  commandment  is  sus- 
pended, by  one  medical  diploma,  from  the 
north  of  England  to  the  south.  But,  by  this 
new  system  of  interrogation,  a  man  may  be 
admitted  into  orders  at  Barnet,  rejected  at 
Stevenage,  re-admitted  at  Brogden,  kicked  out 
as  a  Calvinist  at  Witham  Common,  and  hail- 
ed as  an  ardent  Arminian  on  his  arrival  at 
York. 

It  matters  nothing  to  say  that  sacred  things 
must  not  be  compared  w-ith  profane.  In  their 
importance,  we  allow, they  cannot ;  but  in  their 
order  and  discipline  they  may  be  so  far  com- 
pared as  to  say,  that  the  discrepancy  and  con- 
tention which  would  be  disgraceful  and  per- 
nicious in  worldly  affairs,  should,  in  common 
prudence,  be  avoided  in  the  affairs  of  religion. 
Mr.  Greenough  has  made  a  map  of  England, 
according  to  its  geological  varieties; — blue  for 
the  chalk,  green  for  the  clay,  red  for  the  sand, 
and  so  forth.  Under  this  system  of  Bishop 
Marsh,  we  must  petition  for  the  assistance  of 
the  geologist  in  the  fabrication  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical map.  All  the  Arminian  districts  must 
be  purple.  Green  for  one  theological  extre- 
mity— sky-blue  for  another — as  many  colours 
as  there  are  bishops — as  many  shades  of  these 
colours  as  there  are  archdeacons — a  tailor's 
pattern  card — the  picture  of  vanity,  fashion, 
and  caprice! 

The  bishop  seems  surprised  at  the  resist- 
ance he  meets  with;  and  yet,  to  what  purpose 
has  he  read  ecclesiastical  history,  if  he  expects 
to  meet  with  any  thing  but  the  most  determined 
opposition  1  Does  he  think  that  every  sturdy  su- 
pralapsarian  bullock  whom  he  tries  to  sacrifice 
to  the  genius  of  orthodoxy,  will  not  kick,  and 
push,  and  toss ;  that  he  will  not,  if  he  can, 
shake  the  axe  from  his  neck,  and  hurl  his 
mitred  butcher  into  the  air?  His  lordship  has 
undertaken  a  task  of  which  he  little  knows  the 
labour  or  the  end.  We  know  these  men  fully 
as  well  as  the  bishop ;  he  has  not  a  chance  of 
success  against  them.  If  one  motion  in  Par- 
liament will  not  do,  they  will  have  twenty. 
They  will  ravage,  roar,  and  rush,  till  the  very 
chaplains,  and  the  masters  and  Misses  Peter- 
borough request  his  lordship  to  desist.  He  is 
raising  up  a  storm  in  the  English  church,  of 
which  he  has  not  the  slightest  conception ; 
and  which  will  end,  as  it  ought  to  end,  in  his 
lordship's  disgrace  and  defeat. 

The  longer  we  live,  the  more  we  are  con- 
vinced of  the  justice  of  the  old  saying,  that  an 
ounce  of  mother  wit  is  worth  a  pound  of  clergy  ,• 
that  discretion,  gentle  manners,  common  sense, 
and  good  nature,  are,  in  men  of  high  ecclesias- 
tical station,  of  far  greater  importance  than 


the  greatest  skill  in  discriminating  between 
sublapsarian  and  supralapsarian  doctrines. 
Bishop  Marsh  should  remember,  that  all  men 
wearing  the  mitre  work  by  character,  as  well 
as  doctrine ;  that  a  tender  regard  to  men's 
rights  and  feelings,  a  desire  to  avoid  sacred 
squabbles,  a  fondness  for  quiet,  and  an  ardent 
wish  to  make  eveiybody  happy,  would  be  of 
far  more  value  to  the  Church  of  England  than 
all  his  learning  and  vigilance  of  inquisition. 
The  Irish  tithes  will  probably  fall  next  session 
of  Parliament;  the  common  people  are  regu- 
larly receding  from  the  Church  of  England — 
baptizing,  burying,  and  confirming  for  them- 
selves. Under  such  circumstances,  what 
would  the  worst  enemy  of  the  English  church 
require  ? — a  bitter,  bustling,  theological  bishop, 
accused  by  his  clergy  of  tyranny  and  oppres- 
sion— the  cause  of  daily  petitions  and  daily 
debates  in  the  House  of  Commons — the  idone- 
ous  vehicle  of  abuse  against  the  Establish- 
ment— a  stalking-horse  to  bad  men  for  the 
introduction  of  revolutionary  opinions,  mis- 
chievous ridicule,  and  irreligious  feelings. 
Such  will  be  the  advantages  which  Bishop 
Marsh  will  secure  for  the  Enghsh  Establish- 
ment in  the  ensuing  session.  It  is  inconceiv- 
able how  such  a  prelate  shakes  all  the  upper 
works  of  the  church,  and  ripens  it  for  dissolu- 
tion and  decay.  Six  such  bishops,  multiplied 
by  eighty-seven,  and  working  with  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  questions,  would  fetch 
every  thing  to  the  ground  in  less  than  six 
months.  But  what  if  it  pleased  Divine  Provi- 
dence to  afliict  every  prelate  with  the  spirit  of 
putting  eighty-seven  queries,  and  the  two 
archbishops  with  the  spirit  of  putting  twice  as 
many,  and  the  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man  with 
the  spirit  of  putting  only  forty-three  queries  ? — 
there  would  then  be  a  grand  total  of  two  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  thirty-five  interroga- 
tions flying  about  the  English  church ;  and 
sorely  vexed  would  the  land  be  with  Question 
and  Answer. 

We  will  suppose  this  learned  prelate,  with- 
out meanness  or  undue  regard  to  his  worldly 
interests,  to  feel  that  fair  desire  of  rising  in  his 
profession,  which  any  man,  in  any  profession, 
may  feel  without  disgrace.  Does  he  forget  that 
his  character  in  the  ministerial  circles  will 
soon  become  that  of  a  violent,  impracticable 
man — whom  it  is  impossible  to  place  in  the 
highest  situations — who  has  been  trusted  with 
too  much  already,  and  must  be  trusted  with  no 
more  ?  Ministers  have  something  else  to  do 
with  their  time,  and  with  the  time  of  Parlia- 
ment, than  to  waste  them  in  debating  squabbles 
between  bishops  and  their  clergy.  They  natu- 
rally wish,  and,  on  the  whole,  reasonably 
expect,  that  every  thing  should  go  on  silently 
and  quietly  in  the  church.  They  have  no  ob- 
jection to  a  learned  bishop;  but  they  deprecate 
one  atom  more  of  learning  than  is  compatible 
with  moderation,  good  sense,  and  the  soundest 
discretion.  It  must  be  the  grossest  ignorance 
of  the  world  to  suppose,  that  the  cabinet  has 
any  pleasure  in  watching  Calvinisls. 

The  bishop  not  only  puts  the  question,  but 

he  actually  assigns   the   limits  within  which 

they  are  to  be  answered.   Spaces  are  left  in  the 

paper  of  interrogations,  to  which   limits   tb/f 

72 


174 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


ansv/er  is  to  be  confined; — two  inches  to  ori- 
ginal sin;  an  inch  and  a  half  to  justification; 
three  quarters  to  predestination ;  and  to  free 
will  only  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  But  if  his  lord- 
ship gives  thetn  an  inch  they  will  take  an  ell. 
His  lordship  is  himself  a  theological  writer, 
and  by  no  means  remarkable  for  his  concise- 
ness. To  deny  space  to  his  brother  theologians, 
who  are  writing  on  the  most  difficult  subjects, 
not  from  choice,  but  necessity;  not  for  fame, 
but  for  bread;  and  to  award  rejection  as  the 
penalty  of  prolixity,  does  appear  to  us  no  slight 
deviation  from  Christian  gentleness.  The 
tyranny  of  calling  for  such  short  answers  is 
very  strikingly  pointed  out  in  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Thurtell  to  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough  ;  the 
style  of  which  pleads,  we  think,  very  power- 
fully in  favour  of  the  writer. 

"Beccles,  Suffolk,  Jugust  28lh,  1821. 

"My  Lord — I  ought,  in  the  first  place,  to 
apologise  for  delaying  so  long  to  answer  your 
lordship's  letter :  but  the  difficulty  in  which  I 
was  involved,  by  receiving  another  copy  of 
your  lordship's  Questions,  with  positive  direc- 
tions to  give  short  answers,  may  be  sufficient  to 
account  for  that  delay. 

"It  is  my  sincere  desire  to  meet  your  lord- 
ship's wishes,  and  to  obey  your  lordship's  di- 
rections in  every  particular;  and  I  would 
therefore  immediately  have  returned  answers, 
without  any  'restrictions  or  modifications,'  to 
the  Questions  which  your  lordship  has  thought 
fit  to  send  me,  if,  in  so  doing,  I  could  have  dis- 
charged the  obligations  of  my  conscience,  by 
showing  what  my  opinions  really  are.  But  it 
appears  to  me,  that  the  Questions  proposed  to 
me  by  your  lordship  are  so  constructed  as  to 
elicit  only  two  sets  of  opinions ;  and  that  by 
answering  them  in  so  concise  a  manner,  I 
should  be  representing  myself  to  your  lordship 
as  one  who  believes  in  either  of  two  particular 
creeds,  to  neither  of  which  I  do  really  subscribe. 
For  instance,  to  answer  Question  I.  chap,  ii.,  in 
the  manner  your  lordship  desires,  I  am  reduced 
to  the  alternative  of  declaring,  either  that '  man- 
kind are  a  mass  of  mere  corruption,'  which 
expresses  more  than  I  intend,  or  of  leaving 
room  for  the  inference,  that  they  are  only  par- 
tially corrupt,  which  is  opposed  to  the  plainest 
declarations  of  the  Homilies;  such  as  these, 
'  Man  is  altogether  spotted  and  defiled'  (Horn,  on 
Nat.),  '  without  a  spark  of  goodness  in  him' 
(Serm.  on  Mis.  of  Man,  &c.). 

"Again,  by  answering  the  Quest'ons  com- 
prised in  the  chapter  on  'Free  Will,'  according 
to  your  lordship's  directions,  I  am  compelled 
to  acknowledge  either  that  man  has  such  a 
share  in  the  work  of  his  own  salvation  as  to 
exclude  the  sole  agency  of  God,  or  that  he  has 
no  share  whatever;  when  the  Homilies  for  Ro- 
gation Week  and  Whitsunday  positively  de- 
clare, that  God  is  the  'only  Worker,'  or,  in 
other  words,  sole  Agent;  and  at  the  same  time 
assign  to  man  a  certain  share  in  the  work  of 
his  own  salvation.  In  short,  I  could,  with  your 
lordship's  permission,  point  out  twenty  Ques- 
tions, involving  doctrines  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, which  I  am  unable  to  answer,  so  as  to 
convey  my  real  sentiments,  without  more  room 
for  explanation  than  the  printed  sheet  affords. 


"In  this  view  of  the  subject,  therefore,  and 
in  the  most  deliberate  exercise  of  my  judgment, 
I  deem  it  indispensable  to  my  acting  with  that 
candour  and  truth  with  which  it  is  my  wish 
and  duty  to  act,  and  with  which  I  cannot  but 
believe  your  lordship  desires  I  should  act,  to 
state  my  opinions  in  that  language  which  ex- 
presses them  most  fully,  plainly,  and  unre- 
servedly. This  I  have  endeavoured  to  do  in 
the  answers  now  in  the  possession  of  your 
lordship.  If  any  further  explanation  be  re- 
quired, I  am  most  willing  to  give  it,  even  to  a 
minuteness  of  opinion  beyond  what  the  Arti- 
cles require.  At  the  same  time,  I  would  humbly 
and  respectfully  appeal  to  your  lordship's  can- 
dour, whether  it  is  not  hard  to  demand  my  decided 
opinion  upon  points  ivhich  have  been  the  themes  of 
volumes ;  upon  which  the  most  pious  and  learned 
men  of  the  church  have  conscientiously  differed;  and 
upon  ivhich  the  Articles  in  the  judgment  of  Bishop 
Burnet  have  pronounced  no  definite  sentence.  To 
those  Articles,  my  lord,  I  have  already  sub- 
scribed; and  I  am  willing  again  to  subscribe 
to  every  one  of  them,  'in  its  literal  and  gram- 
matical sense,'  according  to  his  majesty's  decla- 
ration prefixed  to  them. 

"  I  hope,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  the 
above  statement,  that  your  lordship  will  not 
compel  me,  by  the  conciseness  of  my  answers, 
to  assent  to  the  doctrines  which  I  do  not  be- 
lieve, or  to  expose  myself  to  inferences  which 
do  not  fairly  and  legitimately  follow  from  my 
opinions.  "  I  am,  my  Lord,  &c.  &c." 

We  are  not  much  acquainted  with  the  prac- 
tices of  courts  of  justice;  but,  if  we  remember 
right,  when  a  man  is  going  to  be  hanged,  the 
judge  lets  him  make  his  defence  in  his  own 
way,  without  complaining  of  its  length.  We 
should  think  a  Christian  bishop  might  be 
equally  indulgent  to  a  man  who  is  going  to  be 
ruined.  The  answers  are  required  to  be  clear, 
concise,  and  correct — short,  plain,  and  positive. 
Inother  words,  a  poor  curate,  extremely  agitated 
at  the  idea  of  losing  his  livelihood,  is  required 
to  write  with  brevity  and  perspicuity  on  the  fol- 
lowing subjects  ; — Redemption  by  Jesus  Christ 
— Original  Sin — Free  Will — Justification — Jus- 
tification in  reference  to  its  causes — Justifica- 
tion in  reference  to  the  time  when  it  takes 
place — Everlasting  Salvation — Predestination 
— Regeneration  on  the  New  Birth — Renova- 
tion, and  the  Holy  Trinity.  As  a  specimen  of 
these  questions,  the  answer  to  which  is  required 
to  be  so  brief  and  clear,  we  shall  insert  the  fol- 
lowing quotation : — 

"  Section  II. — Of  Jusiificalion  in  reference   to  its 
cause. 

"  1.  Does  not  the  eleventh  Article  declare,  that 
we  are  'justified  by  Faith  only.>' 

"  2.  Does  not  the  expression  '  Faith  only'  derive 
additional  strength  from  the  negative  ex- 
pression in  the  same  Article 'and  7iot  for 
our  own  works'?' 

Does  not  therefore  the  eleventh  Article  ex- 
clude good  works  from  all  share  in  the  office 
of  Justifying?  Or  can  we  so  construe  the 
term  'Faith'  in  that  Article,  as  to  make  it 
include  good  works  7 

Do  not  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  Articles 
further  exclude  them,  the  one  by  asserting 


"3 


"4. 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


175 


that  good  works  follow  after  Justification, 
the  other  by  maintaining  that  they  cannot 
precede  it  1 
"  5.  Can  that,  which  never  precedes  an  effect, 
be  reckoned  among  the  catcses  of  that  effect  T 
"  6.  Can  we  then, consistently  with  our  Articles, 
reckon  the  performance  of  good  works 
among  the  causes  of  Justification,  whatever 
qualifying  epithet  be  used  with  the  term 
cause. ''" 
We  entirely  deny  that  the  Calvinistical 
clergy  are  bad  members  of  their  profession. 
We  maintain  that  as  many  instances  of  good, 
serious,  and  pious  men — of  persons  zealously 
interesting  themselves  in  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  welfare  of  their  parishioners  are  to 
be  found  among  them,  as  among  the  clergy 
who  put  an  opposite  interpretation  on  the 
Articles.  The  Articles  of  Religion  are  older 
than  Arminianism,  eo  nomine.  The  early  re- 
formers leant  to  Calvinism  ;  and  would,  to  a 
man,  have  answered  the  bishop's  questions  in 
a  way  which  would  have  induced  him  to  refuse 
them  ordination  and  curacies;  and  those  who 
drew  up  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  if  they  had 
not  prudently  avoided  all  precise  interpretation 
of  their  creed  on  free-will,  necessity,  absolute 
decrees,  original  sin,  reprobation,  and  election, 
would  have,  in  all  probability,  given  an  inter- 
pretation of  them  like  that  which  the  bishop 
considers  as  a  disqualification  for  holy  orders. 
Laud's  Lambeth  Articles  were  illegal,  mis- 
chievous, and  are  generally  condemned.  The 
Irish  clergy  in  1641  drew  up  one  hundred  and 
four  articles  as  the  creed  of  their  church  ;  and 
these  are  Calvinistic,  and  not  Arminian.  They 
were  approved  and  signed  by  Usher,  and  never 
abjured  by  him  ;  though  dropped  as  a  test  or 
qualification.  Usher  was  promoted  (even  in 
the  days  of  Arminianism)  to  bishoprics  and 
archbishoprics — so  little  did  a  Calvinistic  inter- 
pretation of  the  Articles  in  a  man's  own  breast, 
or  even  an  avowal  of  Calvinism,  beyond  what 
was  required  by  the  Articles,  operate  even  then 
as  a  disqualification  for  the  cure  of  souls,  or 
of  any  other  office  in  the  church.  Throughout 
Charles  II.  and  William  III.'s  time,  the  best 
men  and  greatest  names  of  the  church  not  only 
allowed  latitude  in  interpreting  the  Articles, 
but  thought  it  would  be  wise  to  diminish  their 
number,  and  render  them  more  lax  than  they 
are;  and  be  it  observed,  that  these  latitudina- 
rians  leant  to  Arminianism  rather  than  to  high 
Calvinism  ;  and  thought,  consequently,  that  the 
Articles,  if  objectionable  at  all,  were  exposed 
to  the  censure  of  being  "  too  Calvinistic," 
rather  than  too  Arminian.  How  preposterous, 
therefore,  to  twist  them,  and  the  subscription 
to  them  required  by  law,  by  the  machinery  of 
a  long  string  of  explanatory  questions,  into  a 
barrier  against  Calvinists,  and  to  give  the 
Arminians  a  monopoly  in  the  church! 

Archbishop  Wake,  in  1716,  after  consulting 
all  the  bishops  then  attending  Parliament, 
thought  it  incumbent  on  him  "to  employ  the 
authority  tchich  the  ecclesiastical  laws  then  in  force, 
and  the  custom  and  laws  of  the  realm,  vested  in  him," 
and  taking  care  that  "  no  unworthy  person  might 
hereafter  be  admitted  into  the  sacred  ministry  of  the 
church;"  and  he  drew  up  twelve  recommenda- 
tions to  the  bishops  of  England,  in  which  he 


earnestly  exhorts  them  not  to  ordain  persons 
of  bad  conduct  or  character,  or  incompetent 
learning;  but  he  does  not  require  from  the 
candidates  for  holy  orders  or  preferment,  any 
explanation  whatever  of  the  Articles  which 
they  had  signed. 

The  correspondence  of  the  same  eminent 
prelate  with  Professor  Turretin  in  1718,  and 
with  Mr.  Le  Clerc  and  the  pastors  and  profes- 
sors of  Geneva  in  1719,  printed  in  London, 
1782,  recommends  union  among  Protestants, 
and  the  omission  of  controverted  points  ia 
confessions  of  faith,  as  a  means  of  obtaining 
that  union  ;  and  a  constant  reference  to  the 
practice  of  the  Church  of  England  is  made  in 
elucidation  of  the  charity  and  wisdom  of  such 
policy.  Speaking  of  men  who  act  upon  a 
contrary  principle  he  says,  O  quantum  potuit 
insana  (piKoLvri-j. ! 

These  passages,  we  think,  are  conclusive 
evidence  of  the  practice  of  the  church  till 
1719.  For  Wake  was  not  only  at  the  time 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  but  both  in  his 
circular  recommendations  to  the  bishops  of 
England,  and  in  his  correspondence  with  fo- 
reign churches,  was  acting  in  the  capacity  of 
metropolitan  of  the  Anglican  church.  He,  a 
man  of  prudence  and  learning,  publicly  boasts 
to  Protestant  Europe,  that  his  church  does  not 
exact,  and  that  he  dc  fucto  has  never  avowed, 
and  never  will,  his  opinions  on  those  very 
points  upon  which  Bishop  Marsh  obliges  every 
poor  curate  to  be  explicit,  upon  pain  of  expul- 
sion from  the  church. 

It  is  clear,  then,  the  practice  was,  to  extract 
subscription  and  nothing  else,  as  the  test  of 
orthodoxy — to  that  Wake  is  an  evidence.  As 
far  as  he  is  authority  on  a  point  of  opinion,  it 
is  his  conviction  that  his  practice  was  whole- 
some, wise,  and  intended  to  preserve  peace  in 
the  church;  that  it  would  be  wrong  at  least, 
if  not  illegal,  to  do  otherwise ;  and  that  the  ob- 
servance of  this  forbearance  is  the  only  method 
of  preventing  schism.  The  Bishop  of  Peter- 
borough, however,  is  of  a  different  opinion ; 
he  is  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  pernicious 
effects  of  Calvinistic  doctrines,  that  he  does 
what  Yio  other  bishop  does,  or  ever  did  do,  for 
their  exclusion.  This  may  be  either  wise  or 
injudicious,  but  it  is  at  least  zealous  and  bold; 
it  is  to  encounter  rebuke,  and  opposition,  from 
a  sense  of  duty.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  this 
merit  to  his  lordship.  And  we  have  no  doubt, 
that,  in  pursuance  of  the  same  theological 
gallantry,  he  is  preparing  a  set  of  interroga- 
tories for  those  clergymen  who  are  presented 
to  benefices  in  his  diocese.  The  patron  will 
have  his  action  of  Quore  impedit,  it  is  true;  and 
the  judge  and  jury  will  decide  whether  the 
bishop  has  the  right  of  interrogation  at  all; 
and  whether  Calvinistical  answers  to  his  inter- 
rogatories disqualify  any  man  from  holding 
preferment  in  the  Church  of  England.  If 
either  of  these  points  are  given  against  the 
Bishop  of  Peterborough,  he  is  in  honour  and 
conscience  bound  to  give  up  his  examination 
of  curates.  If  Calvinistic  ministers  are,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  bishops,  so  dangerous  as 
curates,  they  are  of  course  m  uch  more  dangerous 
as  rectors  and  vicars.  He  has  as  much  right  to 
examine  one  as  the  other.     Why  then  does  he 


176 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pass  over  the  greater  danger,  and  guard  against 
the  lessl  Why  does  he  not  show  his  zeal 
when  he  would  run  some  risk,  and  where  the 
excluded  person  (if  excluded  unjustly)  could 
appeal  to  the  laws  of  his  country"!  If  his  con- 
duct is  just  and  right,  has  he  any  thing  to  fear 
from  that  appeal  1  What  should  we  say  of  a 
police  officer  who  acted  in  all  cases  of  petty 
larceny,  where  no  opposition  was  made,  and 
let  off  all  persons  guilty  of  felony  who  threat- 
ened to  knock  him  down  1  If  the  bishop  values 
his  own  character,  he  is  bound  to  do  less, — or 
to  do  more.  God  send  his  choice  may  be  right ! 
The  law,  as  it  stands  at  present,  certainly  af- 
fords very  unequal  protection  to  rector  and 
to  curate;  but  if  the  bishop  will  not  act  so  as 
to  improve  the  law,  the  law  must  he  so  changed 
as  to  improve  the  bishop  ;  an  action  of  Quare 
impedit  must  be  given  to  the  curate  also — and 
then  the  fury  of  interrogation  will  be  calmed. 

We  are  aware  that  the  Bishop  of  Peterbo- 
rough, in  his  speech,  disclaims  the  object  of 
excluding  the  Calvinists  by  this  system  of  in- 
terrogation. We  shall  take  no  other  notice  of 
his  disavowal,  than  expressing  our  sincere 
regret  that  he  ever  made  it;  but  the  question 
is  not  at  all  altered  by  the  intention  of  the  inter- 
rogator. Whether  he  aims  at  the  Calvinists 
only,  or  includes  them  with  other  heterodox 
respondents — the  fact  is,  they  are  included  in 
the  proscription,  and  excluded  from  the  church. 
The  practical  effect  of  the  practice  being,  that 
men  are  driven  out  of  the  church,  who  have 
as  much  right  to  exercise  the  duties  of  cler- 
gymen as  the  bishop  himself.  If  heterodox 
opinions  are  the  great  objects  of  the  bishop's 
apprehensions,  he  has  his  ecclesiastical  courts, 
where  regular  process  may  bring  the  offender 
to  punishment,  and  from  whence  there  is  no  ap- 
peal to  higher  courts.  This  would  be  the  fair 
thing  to  do.  The  curate  and  the  bishop  would 
be  brought  into  the  light  of  day,  and  subjected 
to  the  wholesome  restraint  of  public  opinion. 

His  lordship  boasts  that  he  has  excluded 
only  two  curates.  So  the  Emperor  of  Hayti 
boasted  that  he  had  only  cut  off  two  persons' 
heads  for  disagreeable  behaviour  at  his  table. 
In  spite  of  the  paucity  of  the  visitors  executed, 
the  example  operated  as  a  considerable  impe- 
diment to  conversation;  and  the  intensity  of 
the  punishment  was  found  to  be  a  full  compen- 
sation for  its  rarity.  How  many  persons  have 
been  deprived  of  curacies  which  they  might 
have  enjoyed,  but  for  the  tenour  of  these  in- 
terrogatories 1  How  many  respectable  cler- 
gymen have  been  deprived  of  the  assistance  of 
curates  connected  with  them  by  blood,  friend- 
ship, or  doctrine,  and  compelled  to  choose  per- 
sons, for  no  other  qualification  than  that  they 
could  pass  through  the  eye  of  the  bishop's 
needle?  Violent  measures  are  not  to  be 
judged  of  merely  by  the  number  of  times  they 
have  been  resorted  to,  but  by  the  terror,  mise- 
ry, and  restraint  which  the  severity  is  likely  to 
have  produced. 

We  never  met  with  any  style  so  entirely 
clear  of  all  redundant  and  vicious  ornament, 
as  that  which  the  ecclesiastical  Lord  of  Peter- 
borough has  adopted  towards  his  clergy.  It, 
in  fact,  may  be  all  reduced  to  these  few 
words — "  Reverend    Sir,   I    shall    do   what   I 


please.  Peterborough." — Even  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  he  speaks  what  we  must  call  very 
plain  language.  Among  other  things,  he  says, 
that  the  allegations  of  the  petitions  are  false. 
Now,  as  every  bishop  is,  besides  his  other 
qualities,  a  gentleman ;  and  as  the  word  false 
is  used  only  by  laymen,  who  mean  to  hazard 
their  lives  by  the  expression ;  and  as  it  cannot 
be  supposed  that  foul  language  is  ever  used 
because  it  can  be  used  with  personal  impunity, 
his  lordship  must,  therefore,  be  intended  to 
mean  not  false,  but  mistaken — not  a  wilful  de- 
viation from  truth,  but  an  accidental  and  un- 
intended departure  from  it. 

His  lordship  talks  of  the  drudgery  of  wading 
through  ten  pages  of  answers  to  his  eighty- 
seven  questions.  Who  has  occasioned  this 
drudgery,  but  the  person  who  means  to  be  so 
much  more  active,  useful,  and  important,  than 
all  other  bishops,  by  proposing  questions 
which  nobody  has  thought  to  be  necessary  but 
himself]  But  to  be  intolerably  strict  and 
harsh  to  a  poor  curate,  who  is  trying  to  earn  a 
morsel  of  hard  bread,  and  then  to  complain  of 
the  drudgerv  of  reading  his  answers,  is  much 
like  knocking  a  man  down  with  a  bludgeon, 
and  then  abusing  him  for  splashing  you  with 
his  blood,  and  pestering  you  with  his  groans. 
It  is  quite  monstrous,  that  a  man  who  inflicts 
eighty-seven  new  questions  in  theology  upon 
his  fellow-creatures,  should  talk  of  the  drudgery 
of  reading  their  answers. 

A  curate — there  is  something  which  excites 
compassion  in  the  very  name  of  a  curate  !  ! ! 
How  any  man  of  purple,  palaces,  and  prefer- 
ment, can  let  himself  loose  against  this  poor 
workman  of  God,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive, 
— a  learned  man  in  a  hovel,  with  sermons  and 
saucepans,  lexicons  and  bacon,  Hebrew  books 
and  ragged  children — good  and  patient — a  com- 
forter and  a  preacher — the  first  and  purest 
pauper  in  the  hamlet,  and  yet  showing,  that, 
in  the  midst  of  his  worldly  misery,  he  has  the 
heart  of  a  gentleman,  and  the  spirit  of  a  Chris- 
tian, and  the  kindness  of  a  pastor ;  and  this 
man,  though  he  has  exercised  the  duties  of  a 
clergyman  for  twenty  years — though  he  has 
most  ample  testimonies  of  conduct  from  cler- 
gymen as  respectable  as  any  bishop — though 
an  archbishop  add  his  name  to  the  list  of  wit- 
nesses, is  not  good  enough  for  Bishop  Marsh ; 
but  is  pushed  out  in  the  street,  with  his  wife 
and  children,  and  his  little  furniture,  to  sur- 
render his  honour,  his  faith,  his  conscience, 
and  his  learning — or  to  starve  1 

An  obvious  objection  to  these  innovations 
is,  that  there  can  be  no  end  to  them.  If  eighty- 
seven  questions  are  assumed  to  be  necessary 
by  one  bishop,  eight  hundred  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  minimum  of  interrogation  by 
another.  When  once  the  ancient  faith-marks 
of  the  church  are  lost  sight  of  and  despised, 
any  misled  theologian  may  launch  out  on  the 
boundless  sea  of  polemical  vexation. 

The  Bishop  of  Peterborough  is  positive,  that 
the  Arminian  interpretation  of  the  articles  is 
the  right  interpretation,  and  that  Calvinists 
should  be  excluded  from  it;  but  the  country 
gentlemen  who  are  to  hear  these  matters  de- 
bated in  the  Lower  House,  are  to  remember, 
that  other  bishops  have  written  upon  these 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


177 


points  before  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  and 
have  arrived  at  conclusions  diametrically  op- 
posite. When  curates  are  excluded  because 
their  answers  are  Calvinistical,  a  careless  lay- 
man might  imagine  that  this  interpretation  of 
the  Articles  had  never  been  heard  of  before  in 
the  church — that  it  was  a  gross  and  palpable 
perversion  of  their  sense,  which  had  been 
scouted  by  all  writers  on  church  matters,  from 
the  day  the  Articles  were  promulgated,  to 
this  hour — that  such  an  unheard-of  monster 
as  a  Calvinistical  curate  had  never  leapt  over 
the  pale  before,  and  been  detected  browsing 
in  the  sacred  pastures. 

The  following  is  the  testimony  of  Bishop 
Sherlock : — 

" '  The  church  has  left  a  latitude  of  sense  to 
prevent  schisms  and  breaches  upon  every 
different  opinion.  It  is  evident  the  Church  of 
England  has  so  done  in  some  articles,  which 
are  most  liable  to  the  hottest  disputes  ;  which 
yet  are  penned  with  that  temper  as  to  be  will- 
ingly subscribed  by  men  of  different  apprehen- 
sions in  those  matters.' — Sherlock's  Defence  of 
Stillingjleefs  Unreasonableness  of  Separation." 

Bishop  Cleaver,  describing  the  difficulties 
attending  so  great  an  undertaking  as  the  for- 
mation of  a  national  creed,  observes  : — 

" '  These  difficulties,  however,  do  not  seem 
to  have  discouraged  the  great  leaders  in  this 
work  from  forming  a  design  as  wise  as  it  was 
liberal,  that  of  framing  a  confession,  which, 
in  the  enumeration  and  method  of  its  several 
articles,  should  meet  the  approbation,  and  en- 
gage the  consent,  of  the  whole  reformed  world. 

" '  If,  upon  trial,  it  was  found  that  a  compre- 
hension so  extensive  could  not  be  reduced  to 
practice,  still  as  large  a  comprehension  as 
could  be  contrived,  within  the  narrower  limits 
of  the  kingdom,  became,  for  the  same  reasons 
which  first  suggested  the  idea,  at  once  an  ob- 
ject of  prudence  and  duty,  in  the  formation 
and  government  of  the  English  church.' 

"  After  dwelling  on  the  means  necessary  to 
accomplish  this  object,  the  bishop  proceeds  to 
remark :— '  Such  evidently  appears  to  have 
been  the  origin,  and  such  the  actual  complexion 
of  the  confession  comprised  in  the  Articles  of 
our  church  ;  the  true  scope  and  design  of  which 
will  not,  I  conceive,  be  correctly  apprehended  in 
any  other  view  than  that  of  one  drawn  up  and 
adjusted  loith  an  intentian  to  comprehend  the  as- 
sent of  all,  rather  than  to  exclude  that  of  any 
who  concurred  in  the  necessity  of  a  reformation. 

"'The  means  of  comprehension  intended 
were,  not  any  general  ambiguity  or  equivoca- 
tion of  terms,  but  a  prudent  forbearance  in  all 
parties  not  to  insist  mi  the  full  extent  of  their 
opinions  in  matters  not  essential  or  fundamental  ,- 
and  in  all  cases  to  wave,  as  much  as  possible, 
tenets  which  might  divide,  where  they  wish  to 
unite.' — Remarks  on  the  Design  and  Formation 
of  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  by 
William,  Lord  Bishop  of  Bangor,  1802." — 
pp.  23—25. 

We  will  finish  with  Bishop  Horsley. 

"  It  has  been   the   fashion   of  late   to  talk 

about  Arminianism   as    the    system    of   the 

Church  of  England,   and   of   Calvinism    as 

something  opposite  to  it,  to  which  the  church 

23 


is  hostile.  That  I  may  not  be  misunderstood 
in  what  I  have  stated,  or  may  have  occasion 
further  to  say  upon  this  subject,  I  must  here 
declare,  that  I  use  the  words  Arminianism  and 
Calvinism  in  that  restricted  sense  in  which 
they  are  now  generally  taken,  to  denote  the 
doctrinal  part  of  each  system,  as  unconnected 
with  the  principles  either  of  Arminians  or 
Calvinists  upon  church  discipline  and  church 
government.  This  being  premised,  I  assert, 
what  I  often  have  before  asserted,  and  by 
God's  grace  I  will  persist  in  the  assertion  to 
my  dying  day,  that  so  far  is  it  from  the  truth 
that  the  Church  of  England  is  decidedly  Ar- 
minian,  and  hostile  to  Calvinism,  that  the  truth 
is  this,  that  upon  the  principal  poiiits  in  dispute 
between  the  Arminians  and  the  Calvinists  upon 
all  the  points  of  doctrine  characteristic  of  the  two 
sects,  the  Church  of  England  maintains  an  ab- 
solute neutrality  ,-  her  articles  explicitly  assert 
nothing  but  what  is  believed  both  by  Arminians 
and  by  Calvinists.  The  Calvinists  indeed  hold 
some  opinions  relative  to  the  same  points, 
which  the  Church  of  England  has  not  gone 
the  length  of  asserting  in  her  Articles ;  but 
neither  has  she  gone  the  length  of  explicitly 
contradicting  those  opinions ;  insomuch  that 
there  is  nothing  to  hinder  the  Arminian  and  the 
highest  suprulapsurian  Calvinists  from  ivalking 
together  in  the  Church  of  England  and  Ireland 
as  friends  and  brothers,  if  they  both  approve  the 
discipline  of  the  church,  and  both  are  willing  to 
submit  to  it.  Her  discipline  has  been  approved ; 
it  has  been  submitted  to;  it  has  been  in  former 
times  most  ably  and  zealously  defended  by  the 
highest  supralapsarian  Calvinists.  Such  was 
the  great  Usher ;  such  was  Whitgift ;  such 
were  many  more,  burning  and  shinmg  lights 
of  our  church  in  her  early  days  (when  first 
she  shook  off  the  Papal  tyranny),  long  since 
gone  to  the  resting  place  of  the  spirits  of  the 
just. — Bishop  Horslet's  Charges,  p.  216." — 
pp.  25,  26. 

So  that  these  unhappy  curates  are  turned 
out  of  their  bread  for  an  exposition  of  the  Ar- 
ticles which  such  men  as  Sherlock,  Cleaver, 
and  Horsley  think  may  be  fairly  given  of  their 
meaniiig.  We  do  not  quote  their  authority  to 
show  that  the  right  interpretation  is  decided, 
but  that  it  is  doubtful — that  there  is  a  balance 
of  authorities — that  the  opinion  which  Bishop 
Marsh  has  punished  with  pnvert)'  and  degra- 
dation, has  been  considered  to  be  legitimate, 
by  men  at  least  as  wise  and  learned  as  him- 
self. In  fact,  it  is  to  us  perfectly  clear,  that 
the  Articles  were  originally  framed  to  prevent 
the  very  practices  which  Bishop  Marsh  has 
used  for  their  protection — they  were  purpose- 
ly so  worded,  that  Arminians  and  Calvinists 
could  sign  them  without  blame.  They  were 
intended  to  combine  both  these  descriptions 
of  Protestants,  and  were  meant  principally  for 
a  bulwark  against  Catholics. 

"Thus,"  says  Bishop  Burnet,  "was the  doc- 
trine of  the  church  cast  into  a  short  and  plain 
form ;  in  which  they  took  care  both  to  esta- 
blish the  positive  articles  of  religion,  and  to 
cut  off  the  errors  formerly  introduced  in  the 
time  of  popery,  or  of  late  broached  by  the 
Anabaptists    and    enthusiasts    of   Germany; 


178 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


avoiding  the  niceties  of  schoolmen,  or  the  peremp- 
toriness  of  the  writers  of  controversy ,-  leaving,  in 
matters  that  are  more  justly  controvertible,  a 
liberty  to  divines  to  follow  their  private  opinions, 
without  thereby  disturbing  the  peace  of  the 
church." — History  of  the  Reformation,  Book  I. 
part  ii.  p.  168,  folio  edition. 

The  next  authority  is  that  of  Fuller. 

"In  the  convocation  now  sitting,  wherein 
Alexander  Nowel,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  was  pro- 
locutor, the  nine-and-thirty  Articles  were  com- 
posed. For  the  main  they  agree  with  those 
set  forth  in  the  reign  of  King  Edward  the 
Sixth,  though  in  some  particulars  allowing 
more  liberty  to  dissenting  judgments.  For 
instance,  in  this  King's  Articles  it  is  said,  that 
it  is  to  be  believed  that  Christ  went  doAvn  to 
hell  (to  preach  to  the  spirits  there) ;  which 
last  clause  is  left  out  in  these  Articles,  and 
men  left  to  a  latitude  concerning  the  cause, 
time,  and  manner  of  his  descent. 

"Hence  some  have  unjustly  taxed  the  com- 
posers for  too  much  favour  extended  in  their 
large  expressions,  clean  through  the  contex- 
ture of  these  Articles,  which  should  have  tied 
men's  consciences  up  closer,  in  more  strict 
and  particularizing  propositions,  which  indeed 
proceeded  from  their  commei^dablc  moderation. 
Children's  clothes  ought  to  be  made  of  the 
biggest,  because  afterwards  their  bodies  will 
grow  up  to  their  garments.  Thus  the  Articles 
of  this  English  Protestant  Church,  in  the  in- 
fancy thereof,  they  thought  good  to  draw  up  in 
general  terms,  foreseeing  that  posterity  would 
grow  up  to  fill  the  same :  I  mean  these  holy 
men  did  prudently  prediscover,  that  differences 
in  judgments  would  unavoidably  happen  in  the 
church,  a7id  were  loath  to  unchurch  any,  and 
drive  them  off  from  an  ecclesiastical  communion, 
for  such  petty  dJfferences,  ivhich  made  them  pen 
the  Articles  in  comprehensive  words,  to  take  in 
all  who,  differing  in  the  branches,  meet  in  the 
root  of  the  same  religion. 

"Indeed  most  of  them  had  formerly  been 
sufferers  themselves,  and  cannot  be  said,  in 
compiling  these  Articles,  (an  acceptable  ser- 
vice, no  doubt,)  to  offer  to  God  what  cost  them 
nothing,  some  having  paid  imprisonment, 
others  exile,  all  losses  in  their  estates,  for  this 
their  experimental  knowledge  in  religion, 
which  made  them  the  more  merciful  and  tender 
in  stating  those  points,  seeing  such  who  them- 
selves have  been  most  patient  in  bearing,  will 
be  most  pitiful  in  burdening  the  consciences 
of  others." — See  Fulier's  Church  History, 
book  ix.  p.  72,  folio  edit. 

But  this  generous  and  pacific  spirit  gives 
no  room  for  the  display  of  zeal  and  theologi- 
cal learning.  The  gate  of  admission  has  been 
left  too  widely  open.  I  may  as  well  be  without 
power  at  all,  if  I  cannot  force  my  opinions 
upon  other  people.  What  was  purposely  left 
indefinite,  I  must  make  definite  and  exclusive. 
Questions  of  contention  and  difference  must 
be  laid  before  the  servants  of  the  church,  and 
nothing  like  neutrality  in  theological  metaphy- 
sics allowed  to  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  I 
mme  not  to  bring  peace,  «&c. 

The  bishop,  however,  seems  to  be  quite  sa- 


tisfied with  himself,  when  he  states,  that  he 
has  a  right  to  do  what  he  has  done — just  as  if 
a  man's  character  with  his  fellow-creatures 
depended  upon  legal  rights  alone,  and  not 
upon  a  discreet  exercise  of  those  rights.  A 
man  may  persevere  in  doing  what  he  has  a 
right  to  do,  till  the  chancellor  shuts  him  up  in 
Bedlam,  or  till  the  mob  pelt  him  as  he  passes. 
It  must  be  presumed,  that  all  men  whom  the 
law  has  invested  with  rights,  nature  has  in- 
vested with  common  sense,  to  use  those  rights. 
For  these  reasons,  children  have  no  rights  till 
they  have  gained  common  sense,  and  old  men 
have  no  rights  after  they  lose  their  common 
sense.  All  men  are  at  all  times  accountable 
to  their  fellow-creatures  for  the  discreet  exer- 
cise of  ever}'  right  they  possess. 

Prelates  are  fond  of  talking  of  my  see,  my 
clergy,  my  diocese,  as  if  these  things  belonged 
to  them,  as  their  pigs  and  dogs  belonged  to 
them.  They  forget  that  the  clergy,  the  dio- 
cese, and  the  bishops  themselves,  all  exist 
only  for  the  public  good  ;  that  the  public  are  a 
third,  and  principal  party  in  the  whole  con- 
cern. It  is  not  simply  the  tormenting  Bishop 
versus  the  tormented  Curate,  but  the  public 
against  the  system  of  tormenting;  as  tending 
to  bring  scandal  upon  religion  and  religious 
men.  By  the  late  alteration  in  the  laws,  the 
labourers  in  the  vineyard  are  given  up  to  the 
power  of  the  inspectors  of  the  vineyard.  If 
he  has  the  meanness  and  malice  to  do  so,  an 
inspector  may  worry  and  plague  to  death  any 
labourer  against  whom  he  may  have  conceived 
an  antipathy.  As  often  as  such  cases  are  de- 
tected, we  believe  they  will  meet,  in  either 
House  of  Parliament,  with  the  severest  repre- 
hension. The  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of 
England  will  never  allow  their  parish  clergy 
to  be  treated  with  cruelty,  injustice,  and  ca- 
price, by  men  who  were  parish  clergymen 
themselves  yesterday,  and  who  were  trusted 
with  power  for  very  different  purposes. 

The  Bishop  of  Peterborough  complains  of 
the  insolence  of  the  answers  made  to  him. 
This  is  certainly  not  true  of  Mr.  Grimshawe, 
Mr.  Neville,  or  of  the  author  of  the  Appeal. 
They  have  answered  his  lordship  with  great 
force,  great  manliness,  but  with  perlect  re- 
spect. Does  the  bishop  expect  that  humble 
men,  as  learned  as  himself,  are  to  be  driven 
from  their  houses  and  homes  by  his  new  the- 
ology, and  then  to  send  him  letters  of  thanks 
for  the  kicks  and  cuffs  he  has  bestowed  upon 
them?  Men  of  very  small  incomes,  be  it 
known  unto  his  lordship,  have  very  often  very 
acute  feelings ;  and  a  curate  trod  on  feels  a 
pang  as  great  as  when  a  bishop  is  refuted. 

We  shall  now  give  a  specimen  of  some  an- 
swers, which,  we  believe,  would  exclude  a 
curate  from  the  diocese  of  Peterborough,  and 
contrast  these  answers  with  the  articles  of  the 
church  to  which  they  refer.  The  9th  Article 
of  the  Church  of  England  is  upon  Original 
Sin.  Upon  this  point  his  lordship  puts  the 
following  question : — 

"Did  the  Fall  of  Adam  produce  such  an 
effect  on  his  posterity,  that  mankind  became 
thereby  a  mass  of  mere  corruption,  or  of  abso- 
lute and  entire  depravity"!  Or  is  the  effect 
only  such,  that  we  are  very  far  gone  from  or:- 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


179 


ginal  righteousness,  and  of  our  own  nature 

inclined  to  evil  ?" 

Excluding  Answer.  The  Jfinth  Article. 

"The     fall    of        "Original  Sin  standeth  not  in  the 
Adam      produced    following  of  Adam    (as  the   Pela- 
such  an  effect  on    gians  do  vainly  talk)  ;  but  it  is  the 
his  posteritj',  that    fault  or  corruption  of  the  nature  of 
mankind     became    every  man,  that  naturally  Is  engen- 
thereby  a  mass  of     dered  of  the    oflspring   of  Adam, 
mere     corruption,    whereby  man  is  very  far  gone  from 
or  of  absolute  and    original  righteousness,  and  is  of  his 
entire  depravity."    own  nature  inclined  to  evil,  so  that 
the  flesh  lusteth  always  contrary  to 
the  spirit ;  and  therefore,  in  every 
person  born  into  the  world,  it  de- 
serveth  God's  wrath  and  damna- 
tion." 

The  9th  Question,  Cap.  3d,  on  Free  Will,  is 
as  follows: — Is  it  not  contrary  to  Scripture  to 
say,  that  man  has  no  share  in  the  work  of  his 
salvation! 

Excluding-  Answer.  Tenth  Article. 

"It       is     quite        "The  condition  of  man  after  the 

agreeable  to  Scrip-    fall  of  Adam  is  such,  that  he  cannot 

ture    to  say,    that     turn  and   prepare   himself,    by   his 

man  has  no  share    own    nat\iral     strength    and    good 

in  the  work  of  his    works,  to  faith,   and  calling  upon 

own  salvation."        God.      Wherefore,     we     have    no 

power  to  do  good  works  pleasant 

and  acceptable  to  God,  without  the 

grace  of  God   by  Christ  preventing 

us,  that  we  may  have  a  good  will, 

and  working  with  us  when  we  have 

that  good  will." 

On  Redemption,  his  lordship  has  the  follow- 
ing   question,    Cap.    1st,   Question    1st: — Did 
Christ  die  for  all  men,  or  did  he  die  only  for  a 
chosen  few? 
Excluding  Answer.  Part  of  Article  Seventeenth. 

"  Chri.st  did  not        "Predestination  to  life  is  the  ever- 
die    for   all    men,    lastingpurposeofGod,  whereby  (be- 


but  only  for  a  cho-    fore  the  foundations  of  the  world 
sen  few."  were  laid)  he  hath  constantlydecreed 

by  his  counsel,  secret  to  us,  to  deli- 
ver from  curse  and  damnation  those 
whom  he  hath  chosen  in  Christ  out 
of  mankind,  and  to  bring  them  by 
Christ  unto  everlasting  salvation, 
as  vessels  made  to  honour." 

Now,  whether  these  answers  are  right  or 
wrong,  we  do  not  presume  to  decide;  but  we 
cannot  help  saying,  there  appears  to  be  some 
little  colour  in  the  language  of  the  Articles  for 
the  errors  of  the  respondent.  It  does  not  ap- 
pear at  first  sight  to  be  such  a  deviation  from 
the  plain,  literal,  and  grammatical  sense  of 
the  Articles,  as  to  merit  rapid  and  ignomi- 
nious ejectment  from  the  bosom  of  the  church. 

Now  we  have  done  with  the  Bishop.  We 
giv^e  him  all  he  asks  as  to  his  legal  right ;  and 
only  contend,  that  he  is  acting  a  very  indis- 
creet and  injudicious  part — fatal  to  his  quiet — 
fatal  to  his  reputation  as  a  man  of  sense — 
blamed  by  ministers — blamed  by  all  the  Bench 
of  Bishops — vexatious  to  the  clergy,  and 
highly  injurious  to  the  church.  We  mean  no 
personal  disrespect  to  the  Bishop;  we  are  as 
ignorant  of  him  as  of  his  victims.  We  should 
have  been  heartily  glad  if  the  debate  in  Parlia- 
ment had  put  an  end  to  these  blameable  ex- 
cesses; and  our  only  object,  in  meddling  with 
the  question,  is  to  restrain  the  arm  of  power 
within  the  limits  of  moderation  and  justice — 
one  of  the  great  objects  which  first  led  to  the 
establishment  of  this  Journal,  and  which,  we 
hope,  will  always  continue  to  characterize  its 
efforts. 


BOTANY  bay; 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1823.] 


Mh.  Bigge's  Report  is  somewhat  long,  and 
a  little  clumsy;  but  it  is  altogether  the  pro- 
duction of  an  honest,  sensible,  and  respectable 
man,  who  has  done  his  duty  to  the  public,  and 
justified  the  expense  of  his  mission  to  the  fifth 
or  pickpocket  quarter  of  the  globe. 

What  manner  of  man  is  Governor  Mac- 
quarrie  ?— Is  all  that  Mr.  Bennet  says  of  him 
in  the  House  of  Commons  truel  These  are 
the  questions  which  Lord  Bathurst  sent  Mr. 
Bigge,  and  very  properly  sent  him,  28,000 
miles  to  answer.  The  answer  is,  that  Go- 
vernor Macquarrie  is  not  a  dishonest  man, 
nor  a  jobber;  but  arbitrary,  in  many  things 
scandalously  negligent,  very  often  wrong- 
headed,  and,  upon  the  whole,  very  defi- 
cient in  that  good  sense,  and  vigorous  under- 
standing, which  his  new  and  arduous  situation 
so  manifestly  requires. 


*  1.  Letter  to  Earl  Bathurst,  By  the  Honourable  H. 
Grey  Bennet,  M.  P. 

2.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Inquiry  into  the  state 
cf  the  Colony  of  J\'eu)  South  Wales.  Ordered  by  the 
House  of  Commons  to  be  printed,  I9th  June,  1822. 


Ornamental  architecture  in  Botany  Bay! 
how  it  could  enter  into  the  head  of  any  human 
being  to  adorn  public  buildings  at  the  Ba}^  or 
to  aim  at  any  other  architectural  purpose  but 
the  exclusion  of  wind  and  rain,  we  are  utterly 
at  a  loss  to  conceive.  Such  an  expense  is  not 
only  lamentable  for  the  waste  of  property  it 
makes  in  the  particular  instance,  but  because 
it  destroys  that  guarantee  of  sound  sense 
which  the  government  at  home  must  require 
in  those  who  preside  over  distant  colonies  \ 
man  who  thinks  of  pillars  and  pilasters,  when 
half  the  colony  are  wet  through  for  want  of 
any  covering  at  all,  cannot  be  a  wise  or  pru 
dent  person.  He  seems  to  be  ignorant,  that 
the  prevention  of  rheumatism  in  all  young 
colonies  is  a  much  more  important  object 
than  the  gratification  of  taste,  or  the  display 
of  skill. 

"I  suggested  to  Governor  Macquarrie  the  ex 
pediency  of  stopping  all  work  then  in  progress 
that  was  merely  of  an  ornamental  nature,  and 
of  postponing  its  execution  till  other  more  im- 


180 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


portant  buildings  were  finished.  With  this 
view  it  was,  that  I  recommended  to  the  go- 
vernor to  stop  the  progress  of  a  large  church, 
the  foundation  of  which  had  been  laid  pre- 
vious to  my  arrival,  and  which,  by  the  esti- 
mate of  Mr.  Greenway  the  architect,  would 
have  required  six  years  to  complete.  By  a 
change  that  I  recommended,  and  which  the 
governor  adopted,  in  the  destination  of  the 
new  court-house  at  Sydney,  the  accommodation 
of  a  new  church  is  probably  by  this  time 
secured.  As  I  conceived  that  considerable 
advantage  had  been  gained  by  inducing  Go- 
vernor Macquarrie  to  suspend  the  progress  of 
the  larger  church,  I  did  not  deem  it  necessary 
to  make  any  pointed  objection  to  the  addition 
of  these  ornamental  parts  of  the  smaller  one; 
though  I  regretted  to  observe  in  this  instance, 
as  well  as  in  those  of  the  new  stables  at  Syd- 
ney, the  turnpike-gate  house  and  the  new 
fountain  there,  as  well  as  in  the  repairs  of  an 
old  church  at  Paramatta,  how  much  more  the 
embellishment  of  these  places  had  been  consi- 
dered by  the  governor  than  the  real  and  press- 
ing wants  of  the  colony.  The  buildings  that  I 
had  recommended  to  his  early  attention  in 
Sydney  were,  a  new  gaol,  a  school-house,  and 
a  marifet-house.  The  defects  of  the  first  of 
these  buildings  will  be  more  particularly 
pointed  out  when  I  come  to  describe  the  build- 
ings that  have  been  erected  in  New  South 
Wales.  It  is  sufficient  for  me  now  to  observe, 
that  they  were  striking,  and  of  a  nature  not  to 
be  remedied  by  additions  or  repairs.  The 
other  two  were  in  a  state  of  absolute  ruin; 
they  were  also  of  undeniable  importance  and 
necessit3%  Having  left  Sydney  in  the  month 
of  November,  1820,  with  these  impressions, 
and  with  a  belief  that  the  suggestions  I  had 
made  to  Governor  Macquarrie  respecting  them 
had  been  partly  acted  upon,  and  would  con- 
tinue to  be  so  during  my  absence  in  Van  Die- 
men's  Land,  it  was  not  without  much  surprise 
and  regret  that  I  learnt,  during  my  residence 
in  that  settlement,  the  resumption  of  the  work 
at  the  large  church  in  Sydney,  and  the  steady 
continuation  of  the  others  that  I  had  objected 
to,  especially  the  governor's  stables  at  Sydney. 
I  felt  the  greater  surprise  in  receiving  the  in- 
formation respecting  this  last-mentioned  struc- 
ture, during  my  absence  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  as  the  governor  himself  had,  upon 
many  occasions,  expressed  to  me  his  own 
regret  at  having  ever  sanctioned  it,  and  his 
consciousness  of  its  extravagant  dimensions 
and  ostentatious  character." — Report,  pp.  51, 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  Botany  Bay 
is  to  find  proper  employment  for  the  great 
mass  of  convicts  who  are  sent  out.  Governor 
Macquarrie  selects  all  the  best  artisans,  of 
every  description,  for  the  use  of  government; 
and  puts  the  poets,  attorneys,  and  politicians, 
up  to  auction.  The  evil  consequences  of  this 
are  manifold.  In  the  first  place,  from  possess- 
ing so  many  of  the  best  artificers,  the  gover- 
nor is  necessarily  turned  into  a  builder ;  and 
immense  drafts  are  drawn  upon  the  treasury 
at  home,  for  buildings  better  adapted  for  Re- 
gent street  than  the  Bay.  In  the  next  place, 
the  poor  settler,  finding  that  the  convict  attor- 


ney is  very  awkward  at  cutting  timber,  or 
catching  kangaroos,  soon  returns  him  upon 
the  hands  of  government,  in  a  much  worse 
plight  than  that  in  which  he  was  received. 
Not  only  are  governors  thus  debauched  into 
useless  and  expensive  builders,  but  the  colo- 
nists, who  are  scheming  and  planning  with  all 
the  activity  of  new  settlers,  cannot  find  work- 
men to  execute  their  designs. 

What  two  ideas  are  more  inseparable  than 
beer  and  Britannia] — what  event  more  aw- 
fully important  to  an  English  colony  than  the 
erection  of  its  first  brewhouse  1 — and  yet  it 
required,  in  Van  Diemen's  land,  the  greatest 
solicitation  to  the  government,  and  all  the  in- 
fluence of  Mr.  Bigge,  to  get  it  eff'ected.  The 
government,  having  obtained  possession  of 
the  best  workmen,  keep  them ;  their  manu- 
mission is  much  more  infrequent  than  that 
of  the  useless  and  unprofitable  convicts ;  in 
other  words,  one  man  is  punished  for  his  skill, 
and  another  rewarded  for  his  inutility.  Guilty 
of  being  a  locksmith — guilty  of  stone-masonry, 
or  brick-making ; — these  are  the  second  ver- 
dicts brought  in,  in  New  South  Wales ;  and 
upon  them  is  regulated  the  duration  or  miti- 
gation of  punishment  awarded  in  the  mother 
country.  At  the  very  period  when  the  gover- 
nor assured  Lord  Bathurst,  in  his  despatches, 
that  he  kept  and  employed  so  numerous  a 
gang  of  workmen,  only  because  the  inhabit- 
ants could  not  employ  them,  Mr.  Bigge  in- 
forms us,  that  their  services  would  have  been 
most  acceptable  to  the  colonists.  Most  of  the 
settlers,  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Bigge's  arrival, 
from  repeated  refusals  and  disappointments, 
had  been  so  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of 
obtaining  workmen,  that  they  had  ceased  to 
make  application  to  the  governor.  Is  it  to  be 
believed  that  a  governor,  placed  over  a  land 
of  convicts,  and  capable  of  guarding  his  limbs 
from  any  sudden  collision  with  odometrous 
stones,  or  vertical  posts  of  direction,  should 
make  no  distinction  between  the  simple  con- 
vict and  the  double  and  treble  convict — the 
man  of  three  juries,  who  has  three  times  ap- 
peared at  the  Bailey,  trilarcenous — three  times 
driven  over  the  seas  1 

"I  think  it  necessary  to  notice  the  want  of 
attention  that  has  prevailed,  until  a  very  late 
period,  at  Sydney,  to  the  circumstances  of 
those  convicts  who  have  been  transported  a 
second  and  a  third  time.  Although  the  know- 
ledge of  these  facts  is  transmitted  to  the  hulk 
lists,  or  acquired  without  difficulty  during  the 
passage,  it  never  has  occurred  to  Governor 
Macquarrie  or  to  the  superintendent  of  con- 
victs, to  make  any  difference  in  the  condition 
of  these  men,  not  even  to  disappoint  the  views 
that  they  may  be  supposed  to  have  indulged 
by  the  success  of  a  criminal  enterprise  in  Eng- 
land, and  by  transferring  the  fruits  of  it  to 
New  South  Wales. 

"To  accomplish  this  very  simple  but  im- 
portant object,  nothing  more  is  necessary  than 
to  consign  these  men  to  any  situation  rather 
than  that  which  their  friends  had  selected  for 
them,  and  distinctly  to  declare  in  the  presence 
of  their  comrades  at  the  first  muster  on  their 
arrival,  that  no  consideration  or  favour  woulf* 
be  shown  to  those  who  had  violated  the  law  a 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


181 


second  time,  and  that  the  mitigation  of  their 
sentences  must  be  indefinitely  postponed." — 
Report,  p.  19. 

We  were  not  a  little  amused  at  Governor 
Macquarrie's  laureate — a  regular  Mr.  Southey 
— who,  upon  the  king's  birth-day,  sings  the 
praises  of  Governor  Macquarrie.*  The  case 
of  this  votary  of  Apollo  and  Mercury  was  a 
case  for  life ;  the  offence  a  menacing  epistle, 
or,  as  low  people  call  it,  a  threatening  letter. 
He  has  been  pardoned,  however — bursting  his 
shackles,  like  Orpheus  of  old,  with  song  and 
metre,  and  is  well  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Bigge, 
but  no  specimen  of  his  poetry  given.  One  of 
the  best  and  most  enlightened  men  in  the  set- 
tlement appears  to  be  Mr.  Marsden,  a  clergy- 
man at  Paramatta.  Mr.  Bennet  represents 
him  as  a  gentleman  of  great  feeling,  whose 
life  is  embittered  by  the  scenes  of  horror  and 
vice  it  is  his  lot  to  witness  at  Paramatta.  In- 
deed, he  says  of  himself,  that,  in  consequence 
of  these  things,  "  he  does  not  enjoy  one  happy 
moment  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
week !"  This  letter,  at  the  time,  produced  a 
very  considerable  sensation  in  this  country. 
The  idea  of  a  man  of  refinement  and  feeling 
wearing  away  his  life  in  the  midst  of  scenes 
of  crime  and  debauchery  to  which  he  can 
apply  no  corrective,  is  certainly  a  very  me- 
lancholy and  affecting  picture ;  but  there  is 
no  story,  however  elegant  and  eloquent,  which 
does  not  require,  for  the  purposes  of  justice, 
to  be  turned  to  the  other  side,  and  viewed  in 
reverse.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Marsden  (says  Mr. 
Bigge),  being  himself  accustomed  to  traffic  in 
spirits,  must  necessarily  feel  displeased  at 
having  so  many  public  houses  licensed  in  the 
neighbourhood. — (p.  14.) 

"  As  to  Mr.  Marsden's  troubles  of  mind 
(says  the  governor),  and  pathetic  display  of 
sensibility  and  humanity,  they  must  be  so 
deeply  seated,  and  so  far  removed  from  the 
surface,  as  to  escape  all  possible  observation. 
His  habits  are  those  of  a  man  for  ever  en- 
gaged in  some  active,  animated  pursuit.  No 
man  travels  more  from  town  to  town,  or  from 
house  to  house.  His  deportment  is  at  all 
times  that  of  a  person  the  most  gay  and  happy. 
When  I  was  honoured  with  his  society,  he 
was  by  far  the  most  cheerful  person  I  met  in 
the  colony.  Where  his  hours  of  sorrow  were 
spent,  it  is  hard  to  divine ;  for  the  variety  of 
his  pursuits,  both  in  his  own  concerns,  and  in 
those  of  others,  is  so  extensive,  in  farming, 
grazing,  manufactories,  transactions,  that,  with 
his  clerical  duties,  he  seems,  to  use  a  common 
phrase,  to  have  his  hands  full  of  work.  And 
the  particular  subject  to  which  he  imputes 
this  extreme  depression  of  mind,  is,  besides, 
one  for  which  few  people  here  will  give  him 
much  credit." — Macquarrie's  Letter  to  Lord  Sid- 
mouth,  p.  18. 

There  is  certainly  a  wide  difference  between 
a  man  of  so  much  feeling  that  he  has  not  a 
moment's  happiness  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  week,  and  a  little,  merry,  bustling 
clergyman,  largely  concerned  in  the  sale  of 
rum,  and  brisk  at  a  bargain  for  barley.  Mr. 
Bigge's  evidence,  however,  is  very  much  in 


*  yide  Report,  p.  146. 


favour  of  Mr.  Marsden.  He  seems  to  think 
him  a  man  of  highly  respectable  character 
and  superior  understanding,  and  that  he  has 
been  dismissed  from  the  magistracy  by  Gover- 
nor Macquarrie,  in  a  very  rash,  unjustifiable, 
and  even  tyrannical  manner;  and  in  these 
opinions,  we  must  say,  the  facts  seem  to  bear 
out  the  report  of  the  commissioner. 

Colonel  Macquarrie  not  only  dismisses  ho- 
nest and  irreproachable  men  in  a  country 
where  their  existence  is  scarce,  and  their  ser- 
vices inestimable,  but  he  advances  convicts 
to  the  situation  and  dignity  of  magistrates. 
Mr.  Bennet  lays  great  stress  upon  this,  and 
makes  it  one  of  his  strongest  charges  against 
the  governor;  and  the  commissioner  also 
takes  part  against  it.  But  we  confess  we 
have  great  doubts  on  the  subject;  and  are  by 
no  means  satisfied  that  the  system  of  the  go- 
vernor was  not,  upon  the  whole,  the  wisest 
and  best  adapted  to  the  situation  of  the  colony. 
Men  are  governed  by  words ;  and  by  the  infa- 
mous word  convict  are  comprehended  crimes 
of  the  most  ditlerent  degrees  and  species  of 
guilt.  One  man  is  transported  for  stealing 
three  hams  and  a  pot  of  sausages  ;  and  in  the 
next  berth  to  him  on  board  the  transport  is  a 
young  surgeon,  who  has  been  engaged  in  the 
mutiny  at  the  Nore ;  the  third  man  is  for  ex- 
torting money ;  the  fourth  was  in  a  respecta- 
ble situation  of  life  at  the  time  of  the  Irish 
rebellion,  and  was  so  ill  read  in  history  as  to 
imagine  that  Ireland  had  been  ill-treated  by 
England,  and  so  bad  a  reasoner  as  to  sixppose 
that  nine  Catholics  ought  not  to  pay  tithes  to 
one  Protestant.  Then  comes  a  man  who  set 
his  house  on  fire,  to  cheat  the  Phosnix  office ; 
and,  lastly,  the  mo3t  glaring  of  all  human  vil- 
lains, a  poacher,  driven  from  Europe,  wife  and 
child,  by  thirty  lords  of  manors,  at  the  Quarter 
Sessions,  for  killing  a  partridge.  Now,  all 
these  are  crimes  no  doubt — particularly  the 
last;  but  they  are  surely  crimes  of  very  dif- 
ferent degrees  of  intensity,  to  which  different 
degrees  of  contempt  and  horror  are  attached — 
and  from  which  those  who  have  committed 
them  may,  by  subsequent  morality,  emanci- 
pate themselves,  with  different  degrees  of  diffi- 
culty, and  with  more  or  less  of  success.  A 
warrant  granted  by  a  reformed  ba,con  stealer 
wc'ttld  be  absurd ;  but  there  is  hardly  any  rea- 
son why  a  foolish,  hot-brained  young  block- 
head, who  chose  to  favour  the  mutineers  at 
the  Nore,  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age, 
may  not  make  a  very  loyal  subject,  and  a  very 
respectable  and  respected  magistrate  when  he 
is  forty  years  of  age,  and  has  cast  his  Jacobin 
teeth,  and  fallen  into  the  practical  jobbing  and 
loyal  baseness  which  so  commonly  developes 
itself  about  that  period  of  life.  Therefore,  to 
say  that  a  man  must  be  placed  in  no  situation 
of  trust  or  elevation,  as  a  magistrate,  merely 
because  he  is  a  convict,  is  to  govern  mankind 
with  a  dictionary,  and  to  surrender  sense  and 
usefulness  to  sound.  Take  the  following  case, 
for  instance,  from  Mr.  Bigge  : — 

"The  next  person,  from  the  same  class,  that 
was  so  distinguished  by  Governor  Macquarrie, 
was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fulton.  He  was  transported 
by  the  sentence  of  a  court  martial  in  Ireland, 
during  the  Rebellion ;  and  on  his  arrival  iii 

Q 


182 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


New  South  Wales  in  the  year  1800,  was  sent 
to  Norfolk  Island  to  officiate  as  chaplain. 
He  returned  to  New  South  Wales  in  the  year 
1804,  and  performed  the  duties  of  chaplain  at 
Sydney  and  Paramatta. 

"In  the  divisions  that  prevailed  in  the  colo- 
ny previous  to  the  arrest  of  Governor  Bligh, 
Mr.  Fulton  took  no  part ;  but,  happening  to 
form  one  of  his  family  when  the  person  of  the 
governor  was  menaced  with  violence,  he  cou- 
rageousl}''  opposed  himself  to  the  military 
party  that  entered  the  house,  and  gave  an  ex- 
ample of  courage  and  devotion  to  the  authority 
of  Governor  Bligh,  which,  if  partaken  either 
by  the  oflicer  or  his  few  adherents,  would 
have  spared  him  the  humiliation  of  a  personal 
arrest,  and  rescued  his  authority  from  the  dis- 
grace of. open  and  violent  suspension." — Re- 
port, pp.  83,  84. 

The  particular  nature  of  the  place,  too,  must 
be  remembered.  It  is  seldom,  we  suspect, 
that  absolute  dunces  go  to  the  Bay,  but  com- 
monly men  of  active  minds,  and  considerable 
talents  in  their  various  lines — who  have  not 
learnt,  indeed,  the  art  of  self-discipline  and 
control,  but  who  are  sent  to  learn  it  in  the 
bitter  school  of  adversity.  And  when  this 
medicine  produces  its  proper  effect — when 
sufficient  time  has  been  given  to  show  a  tho- 
rough change  in  character  and  disposition — a 
young  colony  really  cannot  atibrd  to  dispense 
with  the  services  of  any  person  of  superior 
talents.  Activity,  resolution,  and  acuteness, 
are  of  such  immense  importance  in  the  hard 
circumstances  of  a  new  state,  that  they  must 
be  eagerly  caught  at,  and  employed  as  soon  as 
they  are  discovered.  Though  all  may  not  be 
quite  so  unobjectionable  as  could  be  wished — 

"Res  dura,  et  regni  novitas  ine  talia  coguiit 
Moliri" — 

as  Colonel  Macquarrie  probably  quoted  to 
Mr.  Commissioner  Bigge.  As  for  the  conduct 
of  those  extra-moralists,  who  come  to  settle  in 
a  land  of  crime,  and  refuse  to  associate  with 
a  convict  legally  pardoned,  however  light  his 
original  offence,  however  perfect  his  subse- 
quent conduct — we  have  no  toleration  for  such 
folly  and  fopper3^  To  sit  down  to  dinner  with 
men  who  have  not  been  tried  for  their  lives  is 
a  luxury  which  cannot  be  enjoyed  in  such  a 
country.  It  is  entirely  out  of  the  question ; 
and  persons  so  dainty,  and  so  truly  admirable, 
had  better  settle  at  Clapham  Common  than  at 
Botany  Bay.  Our  trade  in  Australasia  is  to 
turn  scoundrels  into  hone  ;t  men.  If  you  come 
among  us,  and  bring  with  you  a  good  charac- 
ter, and  will  lend  us  your  society,  as  a  stimu- 
lus and  reward  to  men  recovering  from  degra- 
dation, you  will  confer  the  greatest  possible 
benefit  upon  the  colony ;  but  if  you  turn  up 
your  nose  at  repentance,  insult  those  unhappy 
people  with  your  character,  and  fiercely  stand 
up  as  a  moral  bully,  and  a  virtuous  braggado- 
cio, it  would  have  been  far  better  for  us  if 
Providence  had  directed  you  to  any  other  part 
of  the  globe  than  to  Botany  Bay — which  was 
colonized,  not  to  gratify  the  insolence  of  Pha- 
risees, but  to  heal  the  contrite  spirit  of  repent- 
ant sinners.  Mr.  Marsden,  who  has  no  hap- 
piness from  six  o'clock  Monday  morning,  till 


the  same  hour  the  week  following,  will  not 
meet  pardoned  convicts  in  society.  We  have 
no  doubt  Mr.  Marsden  is  a  very  respectable 
clergyman ;  but  is  there  not  something  very 
different  from  this  in  the  Gospel  ]  The  most 
resolute  and  inflexible  persons  in  the  rejection 
of  pardoned  convicts  were  some  of  the  march- 
ing regiments  stationed  at  Botany  Bay — men, 
of  course,  who  had  uniformly  shunned,  in  the 
Old  World,  the  society  of  gamesters,  prosti- 
tutes, drunkards,  and  blasphemers — who  had 
ruined  no  tailors,  corrupted  no  wives,  and  had 
entitled  themselves,  by  a  long  course  of  so- 
lemnity and  decorum,  to  indulge  in  all  the  in- 
solence of  purity  and  virtue. 

In  this  point,  then,  of  restoring  convicts  to 
society,  we  side,  as  far  as  the  principle  goes, 
with  the  governor;  but  we  are  far  from  under- 
taking to  say  that  his  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple has  been  on  all  occasions  prudent  and 
judicious.  Upon  the  absurdity  of  his  con- 
duct in  attempting  to  force  the  society  of  the 
pardoned  convicts  upon  the  undetected  part 
of  the  colony,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  These 
are  points  upon  which  every  body  must  be 
allowed  to  judge  for  themselves.  The  great- 
est monarchs  of  Europe  cannot  control  opinion 
upon  tliose  points — sovereigns  far  exceeding 
Colonel  Lachlan  Macqiiarrie,  in  the  antiquity 
of  tlieir  dynasty,  and  the  extent,  wealth,  and 
importance  of  their  empire. 

"  It  was  in  vain  to  assemble  them"  (the  par- 
doned convicts),  "  even  on  public  occasions,  at 
Government  House,  or  to  point  them  out  to  the 
especial  notice  and  favour  of  strangers,  or  to 
favour  them  with  particular  marks  of  his  own 
attention  upon  these  occasions,  if  they  still 
continued  to  be  shunned,  or  disregarded  by  the 
rest  of  the  company. 

"With  the  exception  of  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Fulton,  and,  on  some  occasions,  of  Mr.  Red- 
fern,  I  never  observed  that  the  other  persons 
of  this  class  participated  in  the  general  atten- 
tions of  the  company;  and  the  evidence  of 
Mr.  Judge-Advocate  Wylde  and  Major  Bell 
both  prove  the  embarrassment  in  which  they 
were  left  on  occasions  that  came  within  their 
notice. 

"  Nor  has  the  distinction  that  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  them  by  Governor  Macquarrie 
produced  any  eflTect  in  subduing  the  prejudices 
or  objections  of  the  class  of  free  inhabitants 
to  associate  with  them.  One  instance  only 
has  occurred,  in  which  the  wife  of  a  respecta- 
ble individual,  and  a  magistrate,  has  been 
visited  by  the  wives  of  the  officers  of  the  gar- 
rison, and  by  a  few  of  the  married  ladies  of 
the  colony.  It  is  an  instance  that  reflects 
equal  credit  upon  the  individual  herself,  as 
upon  the  feelings  and  motives  of  those  by 
whom  she  has  been  so  noticed;  but  the  cir- 
cumstances of  her  case  were  very  peculiar, 
and  those  that  led  to  her  introduction  to  society 
Avere  very  much  of  a  personal  kind.  It  has 
generally  been  thought,  that  such  instances 
would  have  been  more  numerous  if  Governor 
Macquarrie  had  allowed  every  person  to  have 
followed  the  dictates  of  their  own  judgment 
upon  a  subject,  on  which,  of  all  others,  men 
are  least  disposed  to  be  dictated  to,  and  most 
disposed  to  judge  for  themselves. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


183 


"  Although  the  emancipated  convicts,  whom 
he  has  selected  from  their  class,  are  persons 
who  generally  bear  a  good  character  in  New 
South  Wales,  yet  that  opinion  of  them  is  by 
no  means  universal.  Those,  however,  who 
entertained  a  good  opinion  of  them  would 
have  proved  it  by  their  notice,  as  Mr.  M' Arthur 
has  been  in  the  habit  of  doing,  by  the  kind  and 
marked  notice  that  he  took  of  Mr.  Fitzgerald  ; 
and  those  who  entertained  a  different  opinion, 
would  not  have  contracted  an  aversion  to  the 
principle  of  their  introduction,  from  being 
obliged  to  "ndtness  what  they  considered  to  be 
an  indiscreet  and  erroneous  application  of 
it:'— Report,  p.  150. 

We  do  not  think  Mr.  Bigge  exactly  seizes 
the  sense  of  Colonel  Macquarrie's  phrase, 
when  the  colonel  speaks  of  restoring  men  to 
the  rank  of  societ}''  they  have  lost.  Men  may 
either  be  classed  by  wealth  and  education,  or 
by  character.  All  hor  est  men,  whether  counts 
or  cobblers,  are  of  the  same  rank,  if  classed 
by  moral  distinctions.  It  is  a  common  phrase 
to  say  that  such  a  man  can  no  longer  be 
ranked  among  honest  men;  that  he  has  been 
degraded  from  the  class  of  respectable  per- 
sons ;  and,  therefore,  by  restoring  a  convict  to 
the  rank  he  has  lost,  the  governor  may  very 
fairly  be  supposed  to  mean  the  moral  rank. 
In  discussing  the  question  of  granting  offices 
of  trust  to  convicts,  the  importance  of  the 
Scekrati  must  not  be  overlooked.  Their  num- 
bers are  very  considerable.  They  have  one- 
eighth  of  all  the  granted  land  in  the  colony ; 
and  there  are  among  them  individuals  of  very 
large  fortune.  Mr.  Redfern  has  2600  acres, 
Mr.  Lord  4365  acres,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Terry 
19,000  acres.  As  this  man's  history  is  a  spe- 
cimen of  the  mud  and  dirt  out  of  which  great 
families  often  arise,  let  the  Terry  Filii,  the 
future  warriors,  legislators,  and  nobility  of 
the  Bay,  learn  from  what,  and  whom,  they 
sprang. 

"  The  first  of  f^ese  individuals,  Samuel 
Terry,  was  transported  to  the  colony  when 
young.  He  was  placed  in  a  gang  of  stone- 
masons at  Paramatta,  and  assisted  in  the 
building  of  the  gaol.  Mr.  Marsden  states,  that 
during  this  period  he  was  brought  before  him 
for  neglect  of  duty,  and  punished;  but,  by  his 
industry  in  other  ways,  he  was  enabled  to  set 
up  a  small  retail  shop,  in  which  he  continued 
till  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service.  He 
then  repaired  to  Sydney,  where  he  extended 
his  business,  and,  b)^  marriage,  increased  his 
capital.  He  for  many  years  kept  a  public 
house  and  retail  shop,  to  which  the  smaller 
settlers  resorted  from  the  country,  and  where, 
after  intoxicating  themselves  with  spirits,  they 
signed  obligations  and  powers  of  attorney  to 
confess  judgment,  which  were  always  kept 
ready  for  execution.  By  these  means,  and  by 
an  active  use  of  the  common  arts  of  over- 
reaching ignorant  and  worthless  men,  Samuel 
Terry  has  been  able  to  accumulate  a  consider- 
able capital,  and  a  quantity  of  land  in  New 
South  Wales,  inferior  only  to  that  which  is 
held  by  Mr.  D'Arcy  Wentworth.  He  ceased, 
at  the  late  regulations  introduced  bj'  the  ma- 
gistrates at  Sydney,  in  February,  1820,  to  sell 


spirituous  liquors,  and  he  is  now  become  one 
of  the  principal  speculators  in  the  pui^chase 
of  investments  at  Sydne)',  and  lately  esta- 
blished a  water-mill  in  the  swampy  plains  be- 
tween that  tOM^i  and  Botany  Bay,  which  did 
not  succeed.  Out  of  the  19,000  acres  of  land 
held  by  Samuel  Terry,  140  only  are  said  to  be 
cleared  ;  but  he  possesses  1450  head  of  horned 
cattle,  and  3800  sheep." — Report,  p.  141. 

Upon  the  sitbject  of  the  New  South  Wales 
Bank,  Mr.  Bigge  observes, — 

"Upon  the  first  of  these  occasions,  it  became 
an  object  both  with  Governor  Macquarrie  and 
Mr.  Judge-Advocate  Wyld,  who  took  an  active 
part  in  the  establishment  of  the  bank,  to  unite 
in  its  favour  the  support  and  contributions  of 
the  individuals  of  all  classes  of  the  colony. 
Governor  Macquarrie  felt  assured  that,  without 
such  co-operation,  the  bank  could  not  be  esta- 
blished; for  he  was  convinced  that  the  eman- 
cipated convicts  were  the  most  opulent  mem- 
bers of  the  communit}'.  A  committee  was 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up  the 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  establishment,  in 
which  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  George 
Howe,  the  printer  of  the  Sydney  Gazette,  who 
was  also  a  retail  dealer;  Mr.  Simon  Lord,  and 
Mr.  Edward  Eager,  all  emancipated  convicts, 
and  the  last  only  conditionally. 

"  Governor  Macquarrie  had  always  under- 
stood, and  strongly  wished,  that  in  asking  for 
the  co-operation  of  all  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity in  the  formation  of  the  bank,  a  share  in 
its  direction  and  management  should  also  be 
communicated  to  them." — Report,  p.  1 50. 

In  the  discussion  of  this  question,  we  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  piece  of  military 
etiquette,  of  which  Ave  were  previously  igno- 
rant. An  officer,  invited  to  dinner  by  the 
governor,  cannot  refuse,  unless  in  case  of 
sickness.  This  is  the  most  complete  tyranny 
we  ever  heard  of.  If  the  officer  comes  out  to 
his  duty  at  the  proper  minute,  with  his  proper 
number  of  buttons  and  epaulettes,  what  mat- 
ters it  to  the  governor  or  any  bod)'  else,  where 
he  dines  1  He  may  as  well  be  ordered  what 
to  eat,  as  where  to  dine — be  confined  to  the 
upper  or  under  side  of  the  meat — be  denied 
gravy,  or  refused  melted  butter.  But  there  is 
no  end  to  the  small  tyranny  and  puerile  vexa- 
tions of  a  military  life. 

The  mode  of  employing  convicts  upon  their 
arrival  appears  to  us  very  objectionable.  If  a 
man  is  skilful  as  a  mechanic,  he  is  added  to 
the  government  gangs;  and  in  proportion  to 
his  skill  and  diligence,  his  chance  of  manu- 
mission, or  of  remission  of  labour,  is  lessened. 
If  he  is  not  skilful,  or  not  skilful  in  any  trade 
wanted  by  government,  he  is  applied  for  by 
some  settler,  to  whom  he  pays  from  5s.  to  IQs. 
a  week ;  and  is  then  left  at  liberty  to  go  where, 
and  work  for  whomsoever,  he  pleases.  In  the 
same  manner,  a  convict  who  is  rich  is  applied 
for,  and  obtains  his  weekly  liberty  and  idle- 
ness by  the  purchased  permission  of  the  per- 
son to  whom  he  is  consigned. 

The  greatest  possible  inattention  or  igno- 
rance appears  to  have  prevailed  in  manumit- 
ting convicts  for  labour — and  for  such  labour! 
not  for  cleansing  Augean  stables,  or  drain'ng 


184 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


Pontine  marshes,  or  damming  out  a  vast 
length  of  the  Adriatic,  but  for  working  five 
weeks  with  a  single  horse  and  cart  in  making 
the  road  to  Bathurst  Plains.  Was  such  labour 
worth  five  pounds  1  And  is  it  to  be  under- 
stood, that  liberty  is  to  be  restored  to  any  man 
who  will  do  five  pounds'  worth  of  work  in 
Australasia  1  Is  this  comment  upon  trans- 
portation to  be  circulated  in  the  cells  of  New- 
gate, or  in  the  haunts  of  those  persons  who 
are  doomed  to  inhabit  them  1 

"Another  principle  by  which  Governor 
Macquarrie  has  been  guided  in  bestowing 
pardons  and  indulgences,  is  that  of  considering 
them  as  rewards  for  any  particular  labour  or 
enterprise.  It  was  upon  this  principle,  that 
the  men  who  were  employed  in  working  upon 
the  Bathurst  road,  in  the  year  1815,  and  those 
who  contributed  to  that  operation  by  the  loan 
of  their  own  carts  and  horses,  or  of  those  that 
they  procured,  obtained  pardons,  emancipa- 
tions, and  tickets  of  leave.  To  39  men  who 
were  employed  as  labourers  in  this  work, 
three  free  pardons  were  given,  one  ticket  of 
leave,  and  35  emancipations  ;  and  two  of  them 
only  had  held  tickets  of  leave  before  they  com- 
menced their  labour.  Seven  convicts  received 
emancipations  for  supplying  horses  and  carts 
for  the  carriage  of  provisions  and  stores  as 
the  party  was  proceeding;  six  out  of  this 
number  having  previously  held  tickets  of 
leave. 

"Eight  other  convicts  (four  of  whom  held 
tickets  of  leave)  received  emancipations  for 
assisting  with  carts,  and  one  horse  to  each,  in 
the  transport  of  provisions  and  baggage  for 
the  use  of  Governor  Macquarrie  and  his  suite, 
on  their  journey  from  the  river  Nepean  to 
Bathurst,  in  the  year  1816;  a  service  that  did 
not  extend  beyond  the  period  of  five  weeks, 
and  was  attended  with  no  risk,  and  very  little 
exertion. 

"Between  the  months  of  January,  1816,  and 
June,  1818,  nine  convicts,  of  whom  six  held 
ticJkets  of  leave,  obtained  emancipations  for 
sending  carts  and  horses  to  convey  provisions 
and  baggage  from  Paramatta  to  Bathurst,  tor 
the  use  of  Mr.  Oxley,  the  surveyor-general,  in 
his  two  expeditions  into  the  interior  of  the 
co-iiitry.  And  in  the  same  period,  23  convict 
labourers  and  mechanics  obtained  emancipa- 
tions for  labour  and  service  performed  at 
Bathurst. 

"  The  nature  of  the  services  performed  by 
these  convicts,  and  the  manner  in  which  some 
of  them  were  recommended,  excited  much 
surprise  in  the  colony,  as  well  as  great  suspi- 
cion of  the  purity  of  the  channels  through 
whicn  the  recommendations  passed." — Report, 
pp.  122,  123. 

If  we  are  to  judge  from  the  number  of  jobs 
detected  by  Mr.  Bigge,  Botany  Bay  seems  very 
likely  to  do  justice  to  the  mother-country  from 
whence  it  sprang.  Mr.  Redfern,  surgeon, 
seems  to  use  the  public  rhubarb  for  his  pri- 
vate practice.  Mr.  Hutchinson,  superintend- 
ent, makes  a  very  comfortable  thing  of  the 
assignment  of  convicts.  Major  Druit  was 
lound  selling  their  own  cabbasres  to  govern- 


ment in  a  very  profitable  manner ;  and  many 
comfortable  little  practices  of  this  nature  are 
noticed  by  Mr.  Bigge. 

Among  other  sources  of  profit,  the  superin- 
tendent of  convicts  was  the  banker  ;  two 
occupations  which  seem  to  be  eminently  com- 
patible with  each  other,  inasmuch  as  they 
afford  to  the  superintendent  the  opportunity 
of  evincing  his  impartiality  and  loading  with 
equal  labour  every  convict,  without  reference 
to  their  banking  accounts,  to  the  profit  they 
atford,  or  the  trouble  they  create.  It  appears, 
however  (very  strangely),  from  the  report, 
that  the  money  of  convicts  was  not  always 
recovered  with  the  same  readiness  it  was 
received. 

Mr.  Richard  Fitzgerald,  in  September,  1819, 
was  comptroller  of  provisions  in  Emu  Plains, 
storekeeper  at  Windsor,  and  superintendent 
of  government  works  at  the  same  place.  He 
was  also  a  proprietor  of  land  and  stock  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  kept  a  public  house  in 
Windsor,  of  which  an  emancipated  Jew  was 
the  ostensible  manager,  upon  whom  Fitzgerald 
gave  orders  for  goods  and  spirits  in  payment 
for  labour  on  the  public  works.  These  two 
places  are  fifteen  miles  distant  from  each 
other,  and  convicts  are  to  be  watched  and 
managed  at  both.  It  cannot  be  imagined  that 
the  convicts  are  slow  in  observing  or  follow- 
ing these  laudable  examples ;  and  their  con- 
duct will  add  another  instance  of  the  vigilance 
of  Macquarrie's  government. 

"The  stores  and  materials  used  in  the  dif- 
ferent buildings  at  Sydney  are  kept  in  a  ma- 
gazine in  the  lumber  yard,  and  are  distributed 
according  to  the  written  requisitions  of  the 
different  overseers  that  are  made  during  the 
day,  and  that  are  addressed  to  the  storekeeper 
in  the  lumber  yard.  They  are  conveyed  from 
thence  to  the  buildings  by  the  convict  mecha- 
nics;  and  no  account  of  the  expenditure  or 
employment  of  the  stores  is  kept  by  the  over- 
seers, or  rendered  to  the  storekeeper.  It  was 
only  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1820  that  an 
account  was  opened  by  him  of  the  different 
materials  used  in  each  work  or  building;  and 
in  February,  1821,  this  account  was  consider- 
ably in  arrear.  The  temptation,  therefore,  that 
is  afforded  to  the  convict  mechanics  who 
work  in  the  lumber  yard,  in  secreting  tools, 
stores,  and  implements,  and  to  those  who  work 
at  the  different  buildings,  is  very  great,  and 
the  loss  to  government  is  considerable.  The 
tools,  moreover,  have  not  latterly  been  mus- 
tered as  they  used  to  be  once  a  month,  except 
where  one  of  the  convicts  is  removed  from 
Sydney  to  another  station." — Report,  pp.  36, 
37. 

If  it  was  right  to  build  fine  houses  in  a  new 
colony,  common  sense  seems  to  point  out  a 
control  upon  the  expenditure,  with  such  a  de- 
scription of  workmen.  What  must  become 
of  that  country  where  the  buildings  are  use- 
less, the  governor  not  wise,  the  public  the 
paymaster,  the  accounts  not  in  existence,  and 
all  the  artisans  thieves  1 

An  horrid  practict  prevailed,  of  the  convicts 
accepting  a  sum  of  money  from  the  captain, 
in  their  voyage  out,  in  lieu  of  their  regular 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY    SMITH. 


185 


ration  of  provisions.    This  ought  to  be  re- 
strained by  the  severest  penalties. 

What  is  it  that  can  be  urged  for  Governor 
Macquarrie,  after  the  following  picture  of  the 
hospital  at  Paramatta  1  It  not  only  justifies 
his  recall,  but  seems  to  require  (if  there  are 
means  of  reaching  such  neglect)  his  severe 
punishment. 

"  The  women,  who  had  become  most  pro- 
fligate and  hardened  by  habit,  were  associated 
in  their  daily  tasks  with  those  who  had  very 
lately  arrived,  to  whom  the  customs  and 
practices  of  the  colony  were  yet  unknown, 
and  who  might  have  escaped  the  consequences 
of  such  pernicious  lessons,  if  a  little  care,  and 
a  small  portion  of  expense,  had  been  spared 
in  providing  them  with  a  separate  apartment 
during  the  hours  of  labour.  As  a  place  of 
employment,  the  factory  of  Paramatta  was 
not  only  very  defective,  but  very  prejudicial. 
The  insufficient  accommodation  that  it  afforded 
to  those  females  who  might  be  well  disposed 
presented  ^n  early  incitement,  if  not  an  ex- 
cuse, for  their  resorting  to  indiscriminate 
prostitution;  and  on  the  evening  of  their 
arrival  at  Paramatta,  those  who  were  not 
deploring  their  state  of  abandonment  and  dis- 
tress, were  traversing  the  streets  in  search  of 
the  guilty  means  of  future  support.  The  state 
in  which  the  place  itself  was  kept,  and  the 
state  of  disgusting  filth  in  which  I  found  it, 
both  on  an  early  visit  after  my  arrival,  and  on 
one  preceding  my  departure  ;  the  disordered, 
unruly,  and  licentious  appearance  of  the 
women,  manifested  the  little  degree  of  control 
in  which  the  female  convicts  were  kept,  and 
the  little  attention  that  was  paid  to  any  thing 
beyond  the  mere  performance  of  a  certain 
portion  of  labour." — Report,  p.  70. 

It  might  naturally  be  supposed,  that  any 
man  sent  across  the  globe  with  a  good  salary, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  governing,  and,  if 
possible,  of  reforming  convicts,  would  have 
preferred  the  morals  of  his  convicts  to  the 
accommodation  of  his  horses.  Let  Mr.  Bigge, 
a  very  discreet  and  moderate  man,  be  heard 
upon  these  points. 

"  Having  observed,  in  Governor  Macquarrie's 
answer  to  Mr.  Marsden,  that  he  justified  the 
delay  that  occurred,  and  was  still  to  take  place, 
in  the  construction  of  a  proper  place  of  recep- 
tion for  the  female  convicts,  by  the  want  of 
any  specific  instructions  from  your  lordship 
to  undertake  such  a  building,  and  which  he 
states  that  he  solicited  at  an  early  period  of 
nis  government,  and  considered  indispensable, 
I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  call  to  the  recollection 
of  Governor  Macquarrie,  that  he  had  under- 
taken several  buildings  of  much  less  urgent 
necessity  than  the  factory  at  Paramatta,  with- 
out waiting  for  any  such  indispensable  author- 
ity: and  I  now  find  that  the  construction  of  it 
was  announced  by  him  to  your  lordship  in  the 
year  1817,  as  then  in  his  contemplation,  with- 
out making  any  specific  allusion  to  the  evils 
which  the  want  of  it  had  so  long  occasioned; 
that  the  contract  for  building  it  was  announced 
to  the  public  on  the  21st  May,  1818,  and  that 
your  lordship's  approval  of  it  was  not  signified 
until  the  24th  August,  1818,  and  could  not 
24 


have  reached  Governor  Macquarrie's  hands 
until  nearly  a  year  after  the  work  had  been 
undertaken.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  if  want 
of  authority  had  been  the  sole  cause  of  the 
delay  in  building  the  factory  at  Paramatta, 
that  cause  would  not  only  have  operated  in  the 
month  of  March,  1818,  but  it  would  have  con- 
tinued to  operate  until  the  want  of  authority 
had  been  formally  supplied.  Governor  Mac- 
quarrie, however,  must  be  conscious,  that  after 
he  had  stated  to  Mr.  Marsden  in  the  year  1815, 
and  with  an  appearance  of  regret,  that  the 
want  of  authority  prevented  him  from  under- 
taking the  construction  of  a  building  of  such 
undeniable  necessity  and  importance  as  the 
factory  at  Paramatta,  he  had  undertaken  sev- 
eral buildings,  which,  though  useful  in  them- 
selves, were  of  less  comparative  importance; 
and  had  commenced,  in  the  month  of  August, 
1817,  the  laborious  and  expeiuive  construction 
of  his  own  stables  at  Sydney,  to  lohich  I  have 
already  alluded,  without  any  previous  commu- 
nication to  your  lordship,  and  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  an  instruction  that  must  have  then 
reached  him,  and  that  forcibly  warned  him  of 
the  consequences." — Report,  p.  71. 

It  is  the  fashion  very  much  among  the  tories 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  all  those  who 
love  the  effects  of  public  liberty,  without  know- 
ing or  caring  how  it  is  preserved,  to  attack 
every  person  who  complains  of  abuses,  and  to 
accuse  him  of  gross  exaggeration.  No  sooner 
is  the  name  of  any  public  thief,  or  of  any  tor- 
mentor, or  oppressor,  mentioned  in  that  hon- 
ourable house,  than  out  bursts  the  spirit  of 
jobbing  eulogium,  and  there  is  not  a  virtue 
under  heaven  which  is  not  ascribed  to  the  de- 
linquent in  question,  and  vouched  for  by  the 
most  irrefragable  testimony.  If  Mr.  Bennet  or 
Sir  Francis  Burdett  had  attacked  them,  and 
they  had  now  been  living,  how  many  honour- 
able members  would  have  vouched  for  the 
honesty  of  Dudley  and  Empson,  the  gentleness 
of  Jeffries,  or  the  genius  of  Blackmore  1  What 
human  virtue  did  not  Aris  and  the  governor  of 
Ilchester  gaol  possess  1  Who  was  not  ready 
to  come  forward  to  vouch  for  the  attentive 
humanity  of  Governor  Macquarrie  1  What 
scorn  and  wit  would  it  have  produced  from 
the  treasury  bench,  if  Mr.  Bennet  had  stated 
the  superior  advantages  of  the  horses  over  the 
convicts? — and  all  tlie  horrors  and  immorali- 
ties, the  filth  and  wretchedness,  of  the  female 
prison  of  Paramatta  1  Such  a  case,  proved 
as  this  now  is  be)'ond  the  power  of  contradic- 
tion, ought  to  convince  the  most  hardy  and 
profligate  scoffers,  that  there  is  really  a  great 
deal  of  occasional  neglect  and  oppression  in 
the  conduct  of  public  servants;  and  that  in 
spite  of  all  the  official  praise,  which  is  ever 
ready  for  the  perpetrators  of  crime,  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  real  malversation  which  should 
be  dragged  to  the  light  of  day,  by  the  exertions 
of  bold  and  virtuous  men.  If  we  had  found, 
from  the  report  of  Mr.  Bigge,  that  the  charges 
of  Mr.  Bennet  were  without  any,  or  without 
adequate  foundation,  it  would  have  given  us 
great  pleasure  to  have  vindicated  the  governor; 
but  Mr.  Bennet  has  proved  his  indictment.  It 
is  impossible  to  read  the  foregoing  quotation^ 
0.3 


186 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


and  not  to  perceive  that  the  condnct  and  pro- 
ceedings of  Governor  Macquarrie  imperiously 
required  the  exposure  they  have  received  ;  and 
that  it  would  have  been  much  to  the  credit  of 
government  if  he  had  been  removed  long  ago 
from  a  situation  Avhich,  but  for  the  exertions 
of  Mr.  Bennet,  we  believe  he  would  have  held 
to  this  day. 

The  sick,  from  Mr.  Bigge's  report,  appear 
to  have  fai"ed  as  badly  as  the  sinful.  Good 
water  was  scarce,  proper  persons  to  wait  upon 
the  patients  could  not  be  obtained;  and  so  nu- 
merous were  the  complaints  from  this  quarter, 
that  the  governor  makes  an  order  for  the  ex- 
clusion of  all  hospital  grievances  and  com- 
plaints, except  on  one  day  in  the  month — dropsy 
swelling,  however,  fever  burning,  and  ague 
shaking,  in  the  mean  time,  without  waiting  for 
the  arrangements  of  Governor  Macquarrie,  or 
consulting  the  Mollia  tempora  fandi. 

In  permitting  individuals  to  distil  their  own 
grain,  the  government  of  Botany  Bay  appears 
to  us  to  be  quite  right.  It  is  impossible,  in 
such  a  colony,  to  prevent  unlawful  distillation 
to  a  considerable  extent;  and  it  is  as  well  to 
raise  upon  spirits  (as  something  must  be 
taxed)  that  slight  duty  which  renders  the  con- 
traband trade  not  worth  following.  Distilla- 
tion, too,  always  insures  a  magazine  against 
famine,  by  which  New  South  Wales  has  more 
than  once  been  severely  visited.  It  opens  a 
market  for  grain  where  markets  are  very  dis- 
tant, and  where  redundance  and  famine  seem 
Very  often  to  succeed  each  other.  The  cheap- 
ness of  spirits,  to  such  working  people  as  know 
how  to  use  them  with  moderation,  is  a  great 
blessing;  and  we  doubt  whether  that  modera- 
tion, after  the  first  burst  of  ebriety,  is  not  just 
as  likely  to  be  learnt  in  plenty  as  in  scarcity. 

We  were  a  little  surprised  at  the  scanty 
limits  allowed  to  convicts  for  sleeping  on  board 
the  transports.  Mr.  Bigge  (of  whose  sense 
and  humanity  we  really  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt)  states  eighteen  inches  to  be  quite  sulfi- 
cient — twice  the  length  of  a  small  sheet  of 
letter-paper.  The  printer's  devil,  who  carries 
our  works  to  the  press,  informs  us,  that  the 
allowance  to  the  demons  of  the  type  is  double 
foolscap  length,  or  twenty-four  inches.  The 
great  city  upholsterers  generally  consider  six 
feet  as  barely  sutRcient  for  a  person  just  rising 
in  business,  and  assisting  occasionally  at  offi- 
cial banquets. 

Mrs.  Fry's*  system  is  well  spoken  of  by  Mr. 
Bigge;  and  its  useful  effect  in  promoting  order 
and  decency  among  floating  convicts  fully  ad- 
mitted. 


*  We  are  sorry  it  should  have  been  imagined,  from 
some  of  our  late  observations  on  prison  discipline,  that 
we  meant  to  disparage  the  exertions  of  Mrs.  Fry.  For 
prisoners  before  trial,  it  is  perfect;  hut  where  imprison- 
ment is  intended  for  punishment,  and  not  for  detention, 
it  requires,  as  we  have  endeavoured  to  show,  a  very 
different  system.  The  Prison  Society  (an  excellent,  ho- 
nourable, and  most  useful  institution  of  some  of  the  best 
men  in  Eni^land)  have  certainly,  in  their  first  numbers, 
fallen  into  the  conmion  mistake  of  supposing  that  the  re- 
formation of  the  culprit,  and  not  the  prevention  of  the 
crime,  was  the  main  object  of  imprisonment ;  and  have, 
in  consequence,  taken  some  false  views  of  the  method 
of  treating  prisoners— the  exposition  of  which,  after  the 
usual  manner  of  flesh  and  blood,  makes  them  a  little 
angry.  But,  in  objects  of  so  high  a  nature,  what  matters 
■who  is  right— the  only  question  is,  whaX  ia  right  1 


In  a  voyage  to  Botany  Bay  by  Mr.  Read,  he 
states  that,  while  the  convict  vessel  lay  at 
anchor,  about  to  sail,  a  boat  from  shore  reached 
the  ship,  and  from  it  stepped  a  clerk  of  the 
Bank  of  England.  The  convicts  felicitated 
themselves  upon  the  acquisition  of  so  gentle- 
man-like a  companion;  but  it  soon  turned  cut 
that  the  visitant  had  no  intention  of  making  so 
long  a  voyage.  Finding  that  the)^  were  not  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  his  companj^  the  convicts 
very  naturally  thought  of  picking  his  pockets  ; 
the  necessity  of  which  professional  measure 
was  prevented  by  a  speedy  distribution  of  their 
contents.  Forth  from  his  bill-case,  this  votary 
of  Plutus  drew  his  nitid  Newlands ;  all  the 
forgers  and  utterers  were  mustered  on  deck; 
and  to  each  of  them  was  well  and  truly  paid 
into  his  hand  a  five  pound  note ;  less  accepta- 
ble, perhaps,  than  if  privately  removed  from 
the  person,  but  still  joyfully  received.  This 
was  well  intended  on  the  part  of  the  directors:  . 
but  the  consequences  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  enumerate ;  a  large  stock  of  rum  was  im- 
mediately laid  in  from  the  circumambient  slop 
boats;  and  the  materials  of  constant  intoxica- 
tion secured  for  the  rest  of  the  voyage. 

The  following  account  of  pastoral  convict.s 
is  striking  and  picturesque : — 

"  I  observed  that  a  great  many  of  the  con 
victs  in  Van  Diemen's  Land  wore  jackets  and 
trowsers  of  the  kangaroo  skin,  and  sometimes 
caps  of  the  same  material,  which  they  obtain 
from  the  stock-keepers  who  are  employed  in 
the  interior  of  the  country.  The  labour  of  se- 
veral of  them  diff"ers,  in  this  respect,  from  that 
of  the  convicts  in  New  South  Wales,  and  is 
rather  pastoral  than  agricultural.  Permission 
having  been  given,  for  the  last  five  years,  to 
the  settlers  to  avail  themselves  of  the  ranges 
of  open  plains  and  valleys  that  lie  on  eitlier 
side  of  the  road  leading  from  Austin's  Ferry 
to  Launceston,  a  distance  of  120  miles,  their 
flocks  and  herds  have  been  committed  to  the 
care  of  convict  shepherds  and  stock-keepers, 
who  are  sent  to  these  cattle  ranges,  distant 
sometimes  thirty  or  forty  miles  from  their  mas- 
ters' estates. 

"The  boundaries  of  these  tracts  are  de- 
scribed in  the  tickets  of  occupation  by  which 
they  are  held,  and  which  are  made  renewable 
every  year,  on  payment  of  a  fee  to  the  lieute- 
nant governor's  clerk.  One  or  more  convicts 
are  stationed  on  them,  to  attend  to  the  flocks 
and  cattle,  and  are  supplied  with  wheat,  tea, 
and  sugar,  at  the  monthly  visits  of  the  owner. 
They  are  allowed  the  use  of  a  musket  and  a 
{&yn  cartridges  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  natives ;  and  they  have  also  dogs,  with 
which  they  hunt  the  kangaroos,  whose  flesh 
they  eat,  and  dispose  of  their  skins  to  persons 
passing  from  Hobart  Town  to  Launceston,  in 
exchange  for  tea  and  sugar.  They  thus  obtain 
a  plentiful  supply  of  food,  and  sometimes  suc- 
ceed in  cultivating  a  few  vegetables.  Their 
habitations  are  made  of  turf  and  thatched,  as 
the  bark  of  the  dwarf  eucah^ptus,  or  gum-trees 
of  the  plains ;  and  the  interior,  in  Van  Die- 
men's  Land,  is  not  of  sufficient  expanse  to  form 
covering  or  shelter." — Report,  pp.  107,  108. 

A  London  thief,  clothed  in  kangaroo's  skin?, 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


187 


lodged  Tinder  the  bark  of  the  dwarf  eucalyptus, 
and  keeping  sheep,  fourteen  thousand  nailes 
from  Piccadilly,  with  a  crook  bent  into  the 
shape  of  a  picklock,  is  not  an  uninteresting 
picture ;  and  an  engraving  of  it  might  have  a 
very  salutary  effect — provided  no  engraving 
w^ere  made  of  his  convict  master,  to  whom  the 
sheep  belong. 

The  Maroon  Indians  were  hunted  by  dogs — 
the  fugitive  convicts  are  recovered  by  the 
natives. 

"  The  native  blacks  that  inhabit  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Port  Hunter  and  Port  Stephens 
have  become  very  active  in  retaking  the  fugi- 
tive convicts.  They  accompany  the  soldiers 
■who  are  sent  in  pursuit,  and,  by  the  extraordi- 
nary strength  of  sight  they  possess,  improved 
by  their  daily  exercise  of  it  in  pursuit  of  kan- 
garoos and  opossums,  they  can  trace  to  a 
great  distance,  and  with  wonderful  accuracy, 
the  impressions  of  the  human  foot.  Nor  are 
they  afraid  of  meeting  the  fugitive  convicts  in 
the  woods,  when  sent  in  their  pursuit,  without 
the  soldiers;  by  their  skill  in  throwing  their 
long  and  pointed  wooden  darts,  they  wound 
and  disable  them,  strip  them  of  their  clothes, 
and  bring  them  back  as  prisoners,  by  un- 
known roads  and  paths,  to  the  Coal  river. 

"  They  are  rewarded  for  these  enterprizes 
by  presents  of  maize  and  blankets ;  and,  not- 
withstanding the  apprehensions  of  revenge 
from  the  convicts  whom  they  bring  back,  they 
continue  to  live  in  Newcastle  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood ;  but  are  observed  to  prefer  the  so- 
cict}'  of  the  soldiers  to  that  of  the .  convicts." 
— Report,  p.  117. 

Of  the  convicts  in  New  South  Wales,  Mr. 
Bigge  found  about  eight  or  nine  in  an  hundred 
to  be  persons  of  respectable  character  and 
conduct,  though  the  evidence  respecting  them 
is  not  quite  satisfactory.  But  the  most  strik- 
ing and  consolatory  passage  in  the  w-hole  re- 
port is  the  following : — 

"  The  marriages  of  the  native-born  youths 
with  female  convicts  are  very  rare ;  a  circum- 
stance that  is  attributable  to  the  general  disin- 
clination to  earl}'^  marriage  that  is  observable 
amongst  them,  and  partly  to  the  abandoned 
and  dissolute  habits  of  the  female  convicts; 
but  chiefly  to  a  sense  of  pride  in  the  native- 
born  youths,  approaching  to  contempt  for  the 
vices  and  depravity  of  the  convicts,  even  when 
manifested  in  the  persons  of  their  own  pa- 
rents."— Report,  p.  105. 

Every  thing  is  to  be  expected  from  these 
feelings.  They  convey  to  the  mother-country 
the  first  proof  that  the  foundations  of  a  mighty 
empire  are  laid. 

We  were  somewhat  surprised  to  find  Go- 
vernor Macquarrie  contending  wath  Mr.  Bigge, 
that  it  was  no  part  of  his,  the  governor's  duty, 
to  select  and  separate  the  useless  from  the 
useful  convicts,  or  to  determine,  except  in  par- 
ticular cases,  to  whom  they  are  to  be  assigned. 
In  other  words,  he  wishes  to  effect  the  cus- 
tomary separation  of  salary  and  duty — the 
grand  principle  which  appears  to  pervade  all 
human  institutions,  and  to  be  the  most  invin- 
cible of  all  human  abuses.      Not   only   are 


church,  king,  and  state,  allured  by  this  prin- 
ciple of  vicarious  labour,  but  the  pot-boy  has 
a  lower  pot-boy,  who,  for  a  small  portion  of 
the  small  gains  of  his  principal,  arranges,  with 
inexhaustible  sedulity,  the  subdivided  portions 
of  drink,  and,  intensely  perspiring,  disperses, 
in  bright  pewter,  the  fpothy  elements  of  joy. 

There  is  a  very  awkward  story  of  a  severe 
flogging  inflicted  upon  three  freemen  by  Go- 
vernor Macquarrie,  without  complaint  to,  or 
intervention  of,  any  magistrate;  a  fact  not  de- 
nied by  the  governor,  and  for  M'hich  no  ade- 
quate apology,  nor  any  thing  approaching  to  an 
adequate  apology,  is  offered.  These  Asiatic 
and  Satrapical  proceedings,  however,  we  have 
reason  to  think,  are  exceedingly  disrelished  by 
London  juries.  The  profits  of  having  been 
unjustly  flogged  at  Botany  Bay  (Scarlett  for 
the  plaintiff)  is  good  property,  and  would  fetch 
a  very  considerable  sum  at  the  auction  mart. 
The  governor,  in  many  instances,  appears  to 
have  confounded  diversity  of  opinion  upon 
particular  measures,  with  systematic  opposi- 
tion to  his  government,  and  to  have  treated  as 
disaffected  persons  those  whom,  in  favourite 
measures,  he  could  not  persuade  by  his  argu- 
ments, nor  influence  by  his  example,  and  on 
points  where  every  man  has  a  right  to  judge 
for  himself,  and  where  authority  has  no  legi- 
timate right  to  interfere,  much  less  to  dictate. 

To  the  charges  confirmed  hy  the  statement  of 
Mr.  Bigge,  Mr.  Bennet  adds,  from  the  evidence 
collected  by  the  gaol  committee,  that  the  fees 
in  the  governor's  court,  collected  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  governor,  are  most  exorbitant 
and  oppressive;  and  that  illegal  taxes  are  col- 
lected under  the  sole  authority  of  the  governor. 
It  has  been  made,  by  colonial  regulations,  a 
capital  ofl^ence  to  steal  the  wild  cattle  ;  and,  in 
1816,  three  persons  were  convicted  of  stealing 
a  wild  bull,  the  property  of  our  sovereign  lord 
the  king.  Now  our  sovereign  lord  the  king 
(whatever  be  his  other  merits  or  demerits)  is 
certainly  a  very  good-natured  man,  and  would 
be  the  first  to  lament  that  an  unhappy  convict 
was  sentenced  to  death  for  killing  one  of  his 
wild  bulls  on  the  other  side  of  the  world.  The 
cases  of  Mr.  Moore  and  of  William  Stewart, 
as  quoted  by  Mr.  Bennet,  are  very  strong.  If 
they  are  answerable,  they  should  be  answered. 
The  concluding  letter  to  Mr.  Stewart  is,  to  us, 
the  most  decisive  proof  of  the  unfitness  of 
Colonel  Macquarrie  for  the  situation  in  which 
he  was  placed.  The  ministry  at  home,  after 
the  authenticity  of  the  letter  was  proved,  should 
have  seized  upon  the  first  decent  pretext  of 
recalling  the  governor,  of  thanking  him,  in  the 
name  of  his  sovereign,  for  his  valuable  ser- 
vices (not  omitting  his  care  of  the  wild  bulls), 
and  of  dismissing  him  to  half  pay — and  in- 
significance. 

As  to  the  trial  by  jury,  we  cannot  agree  with 
Mr.  Bennet,  that  it  would  be  right  to  introduce 
it  at  present,  for  reasons  we  have  given  in  a 
previous  article,  and  which  we  see  no  reason 
for  altering.  The  time  of  course  will  come 
when  it  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  unjust 
and  absurd  to  refuse  to  that  settlement  the  be- 
nefit of  popular  institutions.  But  they  are  too 
young,  too  few,  and  too  deficient  for  such  civi- 
lized machinery  at  present.  "  I  cannot  come  to 


188 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


serve  upon  the  jury — the  waters  of  the  Hawks- 
bury  are  out,  and  I  have  a  mile  to  swim— the  kan- 
garoos will  break  into  my  corn — the  convicts 
have  robbed  me — my  little  boy  has  been  bitten 
by  an  ornithorynchus  paradoxus — I  have  sent 
a  man  fifty  miles  with  a  sack  of  flour  to  buy 
a  pair  of  breeches  for  the  assizes,  and  he  is 
not  returned."  These  are  the  excuses  which, 
in  new  colonies,  always  prevent  trial  by  jury ; 
and  make  it  desirable  for  the  first  half  century 
of  their  existence,  that  they  should  live  under 
the  simplicity  and  convenience  of  despotism — 
such  modified  despotism  (we  mean)  as  a  Bri- 
tish House  of  Commons  (always  containing 
men  as  bold  and  honest  as  the  member  for 
Shrewsbury)  will  permit,  in  the  governors  of 
their  distant  colonies. 

Such  are  the  opinions  formed  of  the  conduct 
of  Governor  Macquarrie  by  Mr.  Bigge.  Not 
the  slightest  insinuation  is  made  against  the 
integrity  of  his  character.  Though  almost 
every  body  else  has  a  job,  we  do  not  perceive 
ihat  any  is  imputed  to  this  gentleman ;  but  he 
is  negligent,  expensive,  arbitrary,  ignorant, 
and  clearly  deficient  in  abilities  for  the  task 
committed  to  his  charge.  It  is  our  decided 
opinion,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Bennet  has  ren- 
dered a  valuable  service  to  the  public,  in  at- 
tacking and  exposing  his  conduct.  As  a  gen- 
tleman and  an  honest  man,  there  is  not  the 
smallest  charge  against  the  governor;  but  a 
gentleman,  and  a  very  honest  man,  may  very 
easily  ruin  a  very  fine  colony.  The  colony 
itself,  disencumbered  of  Colonel  Lachlan  Mac- 
quarrie, will  probably  become  a  very  fine  em- 
pire ;  but  we  can  scarcely  believe  it  is  of  any 
present  utility  as  a  place  of  punishment.  The 
history  of  emancipated  convicts,  who  have 
made  a  great  deal  of  money  by  their  industry 
and  their  speculations,  necessarily  reaches 
this  country,  and  prevents  men  who  are  goad- 
ed by  want,  and  hovering  between  vice  and 
virtue,  from  looking  upon  it  as  a  place  of  suf- 
fei'ing — perhaps  leads  them  to  consider  it  as 
the  land  of  hope  and  refuge,  to  them  unattain- 
able, except  by  the  commission  of  crime.  And 
so  they  lift  up  their  heads  at  the  bar,  hoping 
to  be  transported, — 

"Stabant  orantes  priini  transmittere  cursum 
Tendebaiitque  manus,  ripse  ulterioris  amore." 

It  is  not  possible,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
law,  that  these  enticing  histories  of  convict 
prosperity  should  be  prevented,  by  one  uniform 
system  of  severity  exercised  in  New  South 
Wales,  upon  all  transported  persons.  Such 
different  degrees  of  guilt  are  included  under 
the  term  of  convict,  that  it  would  violate  every 


feeling  of  humanity,  and  every  principle  of 
justice,  to  deal  out  one  measure  of  punish- 
ment to  all.  We  strongly  suspect  that  this  is 
the  root  of  the  evil.  We  want  new  gradations 
of  guilt  to  be  established  by  law — new  names 
for  those  gradations — and  a  different  measure 
of  good  and  evil  treatment  attached  to  those 
denominations.  In  this  manner,  the  mere 
convict,  the  rogue  and  convict,  and  the  incorrigi- 
ble convict,  would  expect,  upon  their  landing, 
to  be  treated  with  very  difterent  degrees  of  se- 
verity. The  first  might  be  merely  detained  in 
New  South  Wales  without  labour  or  coercion  ; 
the  second  compelled,  at  all  events,  to  work 
out  two-thirds  of  his  time,  without  the  possi- 
bility of  remission;  and  the  third  be  destined 
at  once  for  the  Coal  River.*  If  these  conse- 
quences steadily  followed  these  gradations  of 
conviction,  they  would  soon  be  understood  by 
the  felonious  world  at  home.  At  present,  the 
prosperity  of  the  best  convicts  is  considered 
to  be  attainable  by  all;  and  transportation  to 
another  hemisphere  is  looked  upon  as  the  re- 
novation of  fallen  fortunes,  and  the  passport 
to  wealth  and  power. 

Another  circumstance,  which  destroys  all 
idea  of  punishment  in  transportation  to  New 
South  Wales,  is  the  enormous  expense  which 
that  settlement  would  occasion,  if  it  really 
was  made  a  place  of  punishment.  A  little 
wicked  tailor  arrives,  of  no  use  to  the  ar- 
chitectural projects  of  the  governor.  He  is 
turned  over  to  a  settler,  who  leases  this  sarto- 
rial Borgia  his  liberty  for  five  shillings  per 
week,  and  allows  him  to  steal  and  snip,  wliat, 
when,  and  where  he  can.  The  excuse  for  all 
this  mockery  of  law  and  justice  is,  that  the 
expense  of  his  maintenance  is  saved  to  the 
government  at  home.  But  the  expense  is  not 
saved  to  the  country  at  large.  The  nefarious 
needleman  writes  home,  that  he  is  as  com- 
fortable as  a  finger  in  a  thimble !  that  though 
a  fraction  only  of  humanity,  he  has  several 
wives,  and  is  filled  every  day  with  rum  and 
kangaroo.  This,  of  course,  is  not  lost  upon 
the  shop-board ;  and,  for  the  saving  of  fifteen 
pence  per  day,  the  foundation  of  many  crimi- 
nal tailors  is  laid.  What  is  true  of  tailors,  is 
true  of  tinkers  and  all  other  trades.  The 
chances  of  escape  from  labour,  and  of  manu- 
mission in  the  Bay,  we  may  depend  upon  it, 
are  accurately  reported,  and  perfectly  under- 
stood in  the  flash-houses  of  St.  Giles ;  and, 
while  Earl  Bathurst  is  full  of  jokes  and  joy, 
public  morals  are  thus  sapped  to  their  foun- 
dation. 


*  This  practice  is  now  resorted  to. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


189 


GAME  LAWS.^ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1823.] 


About  the  time  of  the  publication  of  this 
little  pamphlet  of  Mr.  Herbert,  a  committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons  published  a  Report  on 
the  Game  Laws,  containing  a  great  deal  of 
very  curious  information  respecting  the  sale  of 
game,  an  epitome  of  which  we  shall  now  lay 
before  our  readers.  The  country  higglers  who 
collect  poultry,  gather  up  the  game  from  the 
depots  of  the  poachers,  and  transmit  it  in  the 
same  manner  as  poultry,  and  in  the  same  pack- 
ages, to  the  London  poulterers,  by  whom  it  is 
distributed  to  the  public ;  and  this  traffic  is  car- 
ried on  (as  far  as  game  is  concerned)  even 
from  the  distance  of  Scotland.  The  same  bu- 
siness is  carried  on  by  the  porters  of  stage 
coaches  ;  and  a  great  deal  of  game  is  sold  clan- 
destinely by  lords  of  manors,  or  by  game- 
keepers, without  the  knowledge  of  lords  of 
manors  ;  and  principally,  as  the  evidence  states, 
from  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  the  great  schools  of 
steel  traps  and  spring  guns.  The  supply  of 
game,  too,  is  proved  to  be  quite  as  regular  as 
the  supply  of  poultry  ;  the  number  of  hares 
and  partridges  supplied  rather  exceeds  that  of 
pheasants;  but  any  description  of  game  may 
be  had  to  any  amount.  Here  is  a  part  of  the 
evidence. 

"  Can  you  at  any  time  procure  any  quantity 
of  game  ]  I  have  no  doubt  of  it. — If  you  were 
to  receive  almost  an  unlimited  order,  could  you 
execute  ill  Yes,  I  would  supply  the  whole 
city  of  London,  any  fixed  day  once  a  week,  all 
the  year  through,  so  that  every  individual  in- 
habitant should  have  game  for  his  table. — Do 
you  think  j^ou  could  procure  a  thousand  phea- 
sants 1  Yes ;  I  would  be  bound  to  produce  ten 
thousand  a  week. — You  would  be  bound  to  pro- 
vide every  family  in  London  with  a  dish  of 
game  1  Yes ;  a  partridge,  or  a  pheasant,  or  a 
hare,  or  a  grouse,  or  something  or  other. — How 
would  you  set  about  doing  it  1  I  should,  of 
course,  request  the  persons  with  whom  I  am 
in  the  habit  of  dealing,  to  use  their  influence  to 
bring  me  what  they  could  by  a  certain  day  ;  I 
should  speak  to  the  dealers  and  the  mail-guards, 
and  coachmen,  to  produce  a  quantity ;  and  I 
should  send  to  my  own  connections  in  one  or 
two  manors  where  I  have  the  privilege  of  sel- 
ling for  those  gentlemen :  and  should  send  to 
Scotland  to  say,  that  every  week  the  largest 
quantity  they  could  produce  was  to  be  sent. — 
Being  but  a  petty  salesman,  I  sell  a  very  small 
quantity ;  but  I  have  had  about  4000  head  direct 
from  one  man. — Can  you  state  the  quantity  of 
game  which  has  been  sent  to  you  during  the 
yearl  No;  I  may  say,  perhaps,  10,000  head; 
mine  is  a  limited  trade;  I  speak  comparatively 
to  that  of  others;  I  only  supply  private  fa- 
milies."— Report,  p.  20. 


♦  ^  Letter  to  theChairman.  of  the  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  on  the  Oame  Laws.  By  the  Hon.  and  Rev. 
William  Herbert.    Ridgway,  1823. 


Poachers  who  go  out  at  night  cannot,  of 
course,  like  regular  tradesmen,  proportion  the 
supply  to  the  demand,  but  having  once  made  a 
contract,  they  kill  all  they  can ;  and  hence  it 
happens  that  the  game  market  is  sometimes 
very  much  overstocked,  and  great  quantities 
of  game  either  thrown  away,  or  disposed  of 
by  Irish  hawkers  to  the  common  people  at  very 
inferior  prices. 

"  Does  it  ever  happen  to  you  to  be  obliged 
to  dispose  of  poultry  at  the  same  low  prices 
you  are  obliged  to  dispose  of  game  1  It  de- 
pends upon  the  weather ;  often,  when  there  is 
a  considerable  quantity  on  hand,  and  owing  to 
the  weather,  it  will  not  keep  till  the  following 
day,  I  am  obliged  to  take  any  price  that  is 
ofiered;  but  we  can  always  turn  either  poultry 
or  game  into  some  price  or  other ;  and  if  it 
was  not  for  the  Irish  hawkers,  hundreds  and 
hundreds  of  heads  of  game  would  be  spoiled 
and  thrown  away.  It  is  out  of  the  power  of 
any  person  to  conceive  for  one  moment  the 
quantity  of  game  that  is  hawked  in  the  streets. 
I  have  had  opportunity  more  than  other  per- 
sons of  knowing  this ;  for  I  have  sold,  I  may 
say,  more  game  than  any  other  person  in  the 
city;  and  we  serve  hawkers  indiscriminately, 
persons  who  come  and  purchase  probably  six 
fowls  or  turkeys  and  geese,  and  they  will  buy 
heads  of  game  with  them." — Report,  p.  22. 

Live  birds  are  sent  up  as  well  as  dead;  eggs 
as  well  as  birds.  The  price  of  pheasants* 
eggs  last  year  was  8s.  per  dozen ;  of  partridges' 
eggs,  2s.  The  price  of  hares  was  from  3s.  to 
5s.  6d. ;  of  partridges,  from  Is.  6d.  to  2s.  6cf. ;  of 
pheasants,  from  5s.  to  5s.  6d.  each,  and  some- 
times as  low  as  Is.  6d. 

".What  have  you  given  for  game  this  year? 
It  is  very  low  indeed ;  I  am  sick  of  it ;  I  do  not 
think  I  shall  ever  deal  again.  We  have  got 
game  this  season  as  low  as  half-a-crown  a 
brace  (birds),  and  pheasants  as  low  as  7s.  a 
brace.  It  is  so  plentiful  there  has  been  no  end 
to  spoiling  it  this  season.  It  is  so  plentiful,  it 
is  of  no  use.  In  war  time  it  was  worth  hav- 
ing ;  then  they  fetched  7s.  and  8s.  a  brace."— 
Report,  p.  33. 

All  the  poulterers,  too,  even  the  most  re- 
spectable, state  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
they  should  carry  on  this  illegal  traffic  in  the 
present  state  of  the  game  laws ;  because  their 
regular  customers  for  poultry  would  infallibly 
leave  any  poulterer's  shop  from  whence  they 
could  not  be  supplied  with  game. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  the  general  wish 
at  present  of  the  trade  not  to  deal  in  the  article ; 
but  they  are  all,  of  course,  compelled  from 
their  connections.  If  they  cannot  get  game 
from  one  person,  they  can  from  another. 

"  Do  you  believe  that  poulterers  are  not  to 
be  found  who  would  take  out  licenses,  and 


190 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


would  deal  with  those  very  persons,  for  the 
purposes  of  obtaining  a  greater  profit  than  they 
would  have  dealing  as  you  would  do  ]  I  think 
the  poulterers  in  general  are  a  respectable  set 
of  men,  and  wou,ld  not  countenance  such  a 
thing;  they  feel  now  that  they  are  driven  into 
a  corner;  that  there  may  be  men  who  would 
countenance  irregular  proceedings,  I  have  no 
doubt. — Would  it  be  their  interest  to  do  so, 
considering  the  penalty]  No,  I  think  not.  The 
poulterers  are  perfectly  well  aware  that  they 
are  committing  a  breach  of  the  law  at  present. 
— Do  you  suppose  that  those  persons,  respecta- 
ble as  they  are,  who  are  now  committing  a 
breach  of  the  law,  would  not  equally  commit 
that  breach  if  the  law  were  altered  1  No,  cer- 
tainly not;  at  present  it  is  so  connected  with 
their  business  that  they  cannot  help  it. — You 
said  just  now,  that  they  were  driven  into  a 
corner;  what  did  you  mean  by  that  1  We  are 
obliged  to  aid  and  abet  those  men  who  commit 
those  depredations,  because  of  the  constant 
demand  for  game,  from  different  customers 
whom  we  supply  with  poultry. — Could  you 
carry  on  your  business  as  a  poulterer,  if  you 
refused  to  supply  game  1  By  no  means  ;  be- 
cause some  of  the  first  people  in  the  land  re- 
quire it  of  me." — Report,  p.  15. 

When  that  worthy  errorist,  Mr.  Bankes, 
brought  in  his  bill  of  additional  severities 
against  poachers,  there  was  no  man  of  sense 
and  reflection  who  did  not  anticipate  the  fol- 
lowing consequences  of  the  measure. 

«  Do  you  find  that  less  game  has  been  sold 
in  consequence  of  the  bill  rendering  it  penal 
to  sell  game  1  Upon  my  word,  it  did  not  make 
the  slightest  difierence  in  the  world. — Not  im- 
mediately after  it  was  made?  No;  I  do  not 
think  it  made  the  slightest  difference. — It  did 
not  make  the  slightest  sensation  1  No,  I  never 
sold  a  bird  less. — Was  not  there  a  resolution 
of  the  poulterers  not  to  sell  game  1  I  was  Sec- 
retary to  that  committee. — What  was  the  con- 
sequence of  that  resolution  1  A  great  deal  of 
ill  blood  in  the  trade.  One  gentleman  who  just 
left  the  room  did  not  come  into  my  ideas.  I 
never  had  a  head  of  game  in  my  house  ;  all 
my  neighbours  sold  it;  and  as  we  had  people 
on  the  watch,  who  were  ready  to  watch  it  into 
the  houses,  it  came  to  this,  we  were  prepared 
to  bring  our  actions  against  certain  individuals, 
after  sitting,  perhaps  from  three  to  four  months, 
every  week,  which  we  did  at  the  Crown  and 
Anchor  in  the  Strand,  but  we  did  not  proceed 
with  our  actions,  to  prevent  ill  blood  in  the 
trade.  We  regularly  met,  and,  as  we  con- 
ceived at  the  time,  formed  a  committee  of  the 
most  respectable  of  the  trade.  I  was  secretary 
of  that  committee.  The  game  was  sold  in  the 
city,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Royal  Exchange, 
cheaper  than  ever  was  known,  because  the 
people  at  our  end  of  the  town  were  afraid.  I, 
as  a  point  of  honour,  never  had  it  in  my  house. 
I  never  had  a  head  of  game  in  my  house  that 
season. — What  was  the  consequence  ] — I  lost 
my  trade,  and  gave  offence  to  gentlemen  ;  a 
nobleman's  steward,  or  butler,  or  cook,  treated 
it  as  contumely ;  '  Good  God,  what  is  the  use 
of  your  running  your  head  against  the  wall  V — 
You  were  obliged  to  begin  the  trade  again  1 
Yes,  and  sold  more  than  ever." — Report,  p.  18. 


These  consequences  are  confirmed  by  the 
evidence  of  every  person  before  the  committee. 

All  the  evidence  is  very  strong  as  to  the  fact, 
that  dealing  in  game  is  not  discreditable;  that 
there  are  a  great  number  of  respectable  per- 
sons, and,  among;  the  rest,  the  first  poulterers  in 
London,  who  buy  game  knowing  it  to  have 
been  illegally  procured,  but  who  would  never 
dream  of  purchasing  any  other  article  procured 
by  dishonesty. 

"Are  there  not,  to  your  knowledge,  a  great 
many  people  in  this  town  who  deal  in  game, 
by  buying  or  selling  it,  that  would  not  on  any 
account  buy  or  sell  stolen  property  1  Cer- 
tainly ;  there  are  many  capital  tradesmen,  poul- 
terers, who  deal  in  game,  that  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  stolen  property;  and  yet  I 
do  not  think  there  is  a  poulterer's  shop  in  Lon- 
don where  they  could  not  get  game,  if  they 
wanted  it. — Do  you  think  any  discredit  attaches 
to  any  man  in  this  town  for  buying  or  selling  . 
game  1  I  think  none  at  all :  and  I  do  not  think 
that  the  men  to  whom  I  have  just  referred 
would  have  any  thing  to  do  with  stolen  goods. 
Would  it  not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  inhabitants 
of  London,  be  considered  a  very  different  thing 
dealing  in  stolen  game,  or  stolen  poultry] 
CertainI}-. — The  one  would  be  considered  dis- 
gracel\il,  and  the  other  not  1  Certainly ;  they 
think  nothing  of  dealing  in  game;  and  the 
farmers  in  the  country  will  not  give  informa- 
tion ;  they  will  have  a  hare  or  two  of  the  very 
men  who  work  for  them,  and  they  are  afraid  to 
give  us  information." — Report,  p.  31. 

The  evidence  of  Daniel  Bishop,  one  of  the 
Bow  Street  officers,  who  has  been  a  good  deal 
employed  in  the  apprehension  of  poachers,  is 
curious  and  important,  as  it  shows  the  enor- 
mous extent  of  the  evil,  and  the  ferocious  spirit 
which  the  game  laws  engender  in  the  common 
people.  "  The  poachers,"  he  says,  "  came  16 
miles.  The  whole  of  the  village  from  which 
they  were  taken  were  poachers ;  the  constable 
of  the  village,  and  the  shoemaker,  and  other 
inhabitants  of  the  village.  I  fetched  one  man 
22  miles.  There  was  the  son  of  a  respectable 
gardener;  one  of  these  was  a  sawyer,  and  an- 
other a  baker,  who  kept  a  good  shop  there.  If 
the  village  had  been  alarmed,  we  should  have 
had  some  mischief;  but  we  were  all  prepared 
with  fire-arms.  If  poachers  have  a  spite  with 
the  gamekeeper,  that  would  induce  them  to  go 
out  in  numbers  to  resist  him.  This  party  I 
speak  of  had  something  in  their  hats  to  distin- 
guish them.  They  take  a  delight  in  setting  to 
with  the  gamekeepers  ;  and  talk  it  over  after- 
wards how  they  served  so  and  so.  They 
fought  with  the  butt-ends  of  their  guns  at  Lord 
Howe's;  they  beat  the  gamekeepers  shocking- 
ly."— "Does  it  occur  to  you  (Bishop  is  asked) 
to  have  had  more  applications,  and  to  have  de- 
tected more  persons  this  season  than  in  any 
former  one  1  Yes  ;  I  think  within  four  months 
there  have  been  twenty-one  transported  that  I 
have  been  at  the  taking  of,  and  through  one 
man  turning  evidence  in  each  case,  and  without 
that  they  could  not  have  been  identified ;  the 
gamekeepers  could  not,  or  would  not,  identify 
them.  The  poachers  go  to  the  public  house 
and  spend  their  money;  if  they  have  a  good 
night's  work,  they  will  go  and  get  drunk  with 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


191 


the  money.  The  gangs  are  connected  together 
at  different  public  houses,  just  like  a  club  at  a 
public  house;  they  are  all  sworn  together.  If 
,  the  keeper  took  one  of  them,  they  would  go  and 
attack  him  for  so  doing." 

Mr.  Stafford,  chief  clerk  of  Bow  Street,  says, 
"All  the  offences  against  the  game  laws  which 
are  of  an  atrocious  description  I  think  are  gen- 
erally reported  to  the  public  oilce  in  Bow 
Street,  more  especially  in  cases  where  the 
keepers  have  either  been  killed,  or  dangerously 
wounded,  and  the  assistance  of  an  ofiicer  from 
Bow  Street  is  required.  The  applications  have 
been  much  more  numerous  of  late  years*  than 
they  were  formerly.  Some  of  them  have  been 
cases  of  murder  ;  but  I  do  not  think  many  have 
amounted  to  murder.  There  are  many  in- 
stances in  which  keepers  have  been  very  ill 
treated — they  have  been  wounded,  skulls  have 
been  fractured,  and  bones  broken ;  and  they 
have  been  shot  at.  A  man  takes  an  hare,  or  a 
pheasant,  with  a  very  different  feeling  from 
that  with  which  he  would  take  a  pigeon  or  a 
fowl  out  of  a  farm-yard.  The  number  of  per- 
sons that  assemble  together  is  more  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  themselves  against  those 
that  may  apprehend  them,  than  from  any  idea 
that  they  are  actually  committing  depredation 
upon  the  property  of  another  person  ;  they  do 
not  consider  it  as  property.  I  think  there  is  a 
sense  of  morality  and  a  distinction  of  crime  ex- 
isting in  the  men's  minds,  although  they  are 
mistaken  about  it.  Men  feel  that  if  they  go  in 
a  great  body  together,  to  break  into  a  house,  or 
to  rob  a  person,  or  to  steal  his  poultry,  or  his 
sheep,  they  are  committing  a  crime  against  that 
man's  property;  but  I  think  with  respect  to  the 
game,  they  do  not  feel  that  they  are  doing  any 
thing  which  is  wrong;  but  think  they  have 
committed  no  crime  when  they  have  done  the 
thing,  and  their  only  anxiety  is  to  escape  detec- 
tion." In  addition,  Mr.  Stafford  states  that  he 
remembers  not  one  single  conviction  under  Mr. 
Bankcs's  Jet  against  buying  game ;  and  not  one 
conviction  for  buying  or' selling  game  within 
the  last  year  has  been  made  at  Bow  Street. 

The  inferences  from  these  facts  are  exactly 
as  we  predicted,  and  as  every  man  of  common 
sense  must  have  predicted — that  to  prevent  the 
sale  of  game  is  absolutely  impossible.  If  game 
is  plentiful,  and  cannot  be  obtained  at  any  law- 
ful market,  an  illicit  trade  will  be  established, 
which  it  isutterty  impossible  to  prevent  by  any 
increased  severity  of  the  laws.  There  never  was 
a  more  striking  illustration  of  the  necessity  of 
attending  to  public  opinion  in  all  penal  enact- 
ments. Mr.  Bankes  (a  pei-fect  representative 
of  all  the  ordinary  notions  about  forcing  man- 
kind by  pains  and  penalties)  took  the  floor.  To 
buy  a  partridge  (though  still  considered  as  in- 
ferior to  murder)  was  visited  with  the  very 
heaviest  infliction  of  the  law  ;  and  yet,  though 
game  is  sold  as  openly  in  London  as  apples 
and  oranges,  though  three  years  have  elapsed 

*  It  is  only  of  late  years  that  men  have  been  trans- 
ported for  shooting  at  night.  There  are  instances  of 
men  who  have  been  transported  at  the  Sessions  for 
night  poaching,  who  made  no  resistance  at  all  when 
taken  ;  but  then  their  characters  as  old  poachers 
weighed  against  them— characters  estimated  probably 
fcy  the  very  lords  of  manors  who  had  lost  their  game. 
This  disgraceful  law  is  the  occasion  of  all  the  murders 
committed  for  game. 


since  this  legislative  mistake,  the  officers  of  the 
police  can  hardly  recollect  a  single  instance 
where  the  information  has  been  laid,  or  the 
penalty  levied :  and  why  1  because  every  man's 
feelings  and  every  man's  understanding  tell 
him,  that  it  is  a  most  absurd  and  ridiculous 
tyranny  to  prevent  one  man,  who  has  more 
game  than  he  wants,  from  exchanging  it  with 
another  man,  who  has  more  money  than  he 
wants — because  magistrates  will  not  (if  they 
can  avoid  it)  inflict  such  absurd  penalties — be- 
cause even  common  informers  know  enough  of 
the  honest  indignation  of  mankind,  and  are  too 
well  aware  of  the  coldness  of  pump  and  pond  to 
act  under  the  bill  of  the  Lycurgus  of  Corfe 
Castle. 

The  plan  now  proposed  is,  to  undersell  the 
poacher,  which  may  be  successful  or  unsuc- 
cessful ;  but  the  threat  is,  if  you  attempt  this 
plan  there  will  be  no  game — and  if  there  is  no 
game  there  will  be  no  country  gentlemen.  We 
deny  every  part  of  this  enthj-meme — the  last 
proposition  as  well  as  the  first.  We  really 
cannot  believe  that  all  our  rural  mansions  would 
be  deserted,  although  no  game  was  to  be  found 
in  their  neighbourhood.  Some  come  into  the 
country  for  health,  some  for  quiet,  for  agricul- 
ture, for  economy,  from  attachment  to  family 
estates,  from  love  of  retirement,  from  the  neces- 
sity of  keeping  up  provincial  interests,  and 
from  a  vast  variety  of  causes.  Partridges  and 
pheasants,  though  they  form  nine-tenths  of 
human  motives,  still  leave  a  small  residue, 
which  may  be  classed  under  some  other  head. 
Neither  is  a  great  proportion  of  those  whom 
the  love  of  shooting  brings  into  the  country  of 
the  smallest  value  or  importance  to  the  country. 
A  colonel  of  the  Guards,  the  second  son  just 
entered  at  Oxford,  three  diners  out  from  Pic- 
cadilly— Major  Rock,  Lord  John,  Lord  Charles, 
the  colonel  of  the  regiment  q\iartered  at  the 
neighbouring  town,  two  Irish  peers,  and  a  Ger- 
man baron ; — if  all  this  honourable  company 
proceed  with  fustian  jackets,  dog-whistles,  and 
chemical  inventions,  to  a  solemn  destruction  of 
pheasants,  how  is  the  country  benefited  by 
their  presence  1  or  how  would  earth,  air,  or 
sea;  be  injured  by  their  annihilation  1  There 
are  certainly  many  valuable  men  brought  into 
the  country  by  a  love  of  shooting,  who,  coming 
there  for  that  purpose,  are  useful  for  many  bet- 
ter purposes  ;  but  a  vast  multitude  of  shooters 
are  of  no  more  service  to  the  country  than  the 
ramrod  which  condenses  the  charge,  or  the 
barrel  which  contains  it.  We  do  not  deny  that 
the  annihilation  of  the  game  laws  would  thin 
the  aristocratical  population  of  the  country ;  but 
it  would  not  thin  that  population  so  much  as  is 
contended  ;  and  the  loss  of  many  of  the  persons 
so  banished  would  be  a  good  rather  than  a 
misfortune.  At  all  events,  we  cannot  at  all 
comprehend  the  policy  of  alluring  the  better 
classes  of  society  into  the  country,  by  the 
temptation  of  petty  tyranny  and  injustice,  or  of 
monopoly  in  sports.  How  absurd  it  would  be 
to  offer  to  the  higher  orders  the  exclusive  use 
of  peaches,  nectarines,  and  apricots,  as  the  pre- 
mium of  rustication — to  put  vast  quantities  of 
men  into  prison  as  apricot  eaters,  apricot  buy- 
ers, and  apricot  sellers — to  appoint  a  regular 
day  for  beginning  to  eat,  and  another  for  lea?" 


192 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


ingoff — to  have  a  lord  of  the  manor  for  green 
gages — and  to  rage  with  a  penalty  of  five 
pounds  against  the  unqualified  eater  of  the 
gage  !  And  yet  the  privilege  of  shooting  a  set 
of  wild  poultry  is  stated  to  be  the  bonus  for  the 
residence  of  country  gentlemen.  As  far  as 
this  immense  advantage  can  be  obtained  with- 
out the  sacrifice  of  justice  and  reason,  well  and 
good — but  we  would  not  oppress  any  order  of 
Society,  or  violate  right  and  wrong,  to  obtain  any 
population  of  squires,  however  dense.  It  is  the 
grossest  of  all  absurdities  to  say  the  present 
state  of  the  law  is  absurd  and  unjust;  but  it 
must  not  be  altered,  because  the  alteration 
would  drive  gentlemen  out  of  the  country  !  If 
gentlemen  cannot  breathe  fresh  air  without  in- 
justice, let  them  putrefy  in  Cranborne  Alley. 
Make  just  laws,  and  let  squires  live  and  die 
where  they  please. 

The  evidence  collected  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons respecting  the  game  laws  is  so  striking 
and  so  decisive  against  the  gentlemen  of  the 
trigger,  that  their  only  resource  is  to  represent 
it  as  not  worthy  of  belief  But  why  not  worthy 
of  belief]  It  is  not  stated  what  part  of  it  is 
incredible.  Is  it  the  plenty  of  game  in  London 
for  sale  ?  the  unfrequency  of  convictions  ?  the 
occasional  but  frequent  excess  of  supply  above 
demand  in  an  article  supplied  by  stealing  ?  or 
its  destruction  when  the  sale  is  not  without 
risk,  and  the  price  extremely  lowl  or  the  readi- 
ness of  grandees  to  turn  the  excess  of  their 
game  into  fish  or  poultry  1  All  these  circum- 
stances appear  to  us  so  natural  and  so  likely, 
that  we  should,  without  any  evidence,  have  but 
little  doubt  of  their  existence.  There  are  a 
few  absurdities  in  the  evidence  of  one  of  the 
poulterers ;  but,  with  this  exception,  we  see  no 
reason  whatever  for  impugning  the  credibility 
and  exactness  of  the  mass  of  testimony  pre- 
pared by  the  committee. 

It  is  utterly  impossible  to  teach  the  common 
people  to  respect  property  in  animals  bred  the 
possessor  knows  not  where — which  he  cannot 
recognize  by  any  mark,  which  may  leave  him 
the  next  moment,  which  are  kept,  not  for  his 
profit,  but  for  his  amusement.  Opinion  never 
■will  be  in  favour  of  such  property ;  if  the 
animus  furandi  exists,  the  propensity  will  be 
gratified  by  poaching.  It  is  in  vain  to  increase 
the  severity  of  the  protecting  laws.  They  make 
the  case  weaker,  instead  of  stronger ;  and  are 
more  resisted  and  worse  executed,  exactly  in 
proportion  as  they  are  contrary  to  public  opi- 
nion : — the  case  of  the  game  laws  is  a  memo- 
rable lesson  upon  the  philosophy  of  legisla- 
tion. If  a  certain  degree  of  punishment  does 
not  cure  the  offence,  it  is  supposed,  by  the 
Bankes  School,  that  there  is  nothing  to  be 
done  but  to  multiply  this  punishment  by  two, 
and  then  again  and  again,  till  the  object  is  ac- 
complished. The  efficient  maximum  of  pun- 
ishment, however,  is  not  what  the  legislature 
chooses  to  enact,  but  what  the  great  mass  of  man- 
kind think  the  maximum  ous;ht  to  be.  The  moment 
the  punishment  passes  this  Rubicon,  it  becomes 
less  and  less,  instead  of  greater  and  greater. 
Juries  and  magistrates  will  not  commit — in- 
formers* are  afraid  of  public   indignation — 

♦There  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  this  in  the  new 
Turnpike  Act.    The  penalty  for  taking  more  than  the 


!  poachers  will  not  submit  to  be  sent  to  Botany 
Bay  without  a  battle — blood  is  shed  for  phea- 
sants— the  public  attention  is  called  to  this  pre- 
posterous state  of  the  law — and  even  ministers 
— (whom  nothing  pesters  so  much  as  the  in- 
terests of  humanity)  are  at  least  compelled  to 
come  forward  and  do  what  is  right.  Apply 
this  to  the  game  laws.  It  was  before  penal  to 
sell  game  :  within  these  few  years  it  has  been 
made  penal  to  buy  it.  From  the  scandalous 
cruelty  of  the  law,  night  poachers  are  trans- 
ported for  seven  years.  And  yet,  never  was  so 
much  game  sold,  or  such  a  spirit  of  ferocious 
resistance  excited  to  the  laws.  One-fourth  of 
all  the  commitments  in  Great  Britain  are  for 
offences  against  the  game  laws.  There  is  a 
general  feeling  that  some  alteration  must  take 
place — a  feeling  not  only  among  Reviewers, 
who  never  see  nor  eat  game,  but  among  the 
double-barreled,  shot-belted  members  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  who  are  either  alarmed 
or  disgusted  by  the  vice  and  misery  which 
their  cruel  laws  and  childish  passion  for 
amusement  are  spreading  among  the  lower 
orders  of  mankind. 

It  is  said,  "  In  spite  of  all  the  game  sold, 
there  is  game  enough  left ;  let  the  laws  there- 
fore remain  as  they  are  ;"  and  so  it  was  said 
formerly,  "  There  is  sugar  enough ;  let  the 
slave  trade  remain  as  it  is."  But  at  what  ex- 
pense of  human  happiness  is  this  quantity  of 
game  or  of  sugar,  and  this  state  of  poacher 
law  and  slave  law,  to  remain  !  The  first  object 
of  a  good  government  is,  not  that  rich  men 
should  have  their  pleasures  in  perfection,  but 
that  all  orders  of  men  should  be  good  and 
happy;  and  if  crowded  covies  and  chuckling 
cock-pheasants  are  only  to  be  procured  by 
encouraging  the  common  people  in  vice,  and 
leading  them  into  cruel  and  disproportionate 
punishment,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  government 
to  restrain  the  cruelties  which  the  country 
members,  in  reward  for  their  assiduous  loyalty, 
have  been  allowed  to  introduce  into  the  game 
laws. 

The  plan  of  the  new  bill  (long  since  antici- 
pated, in  all  its  provisions,  by  the  acute  author 
of  the  pamphlet  before  us,)  is,  that  the  public 
at  large  should  be  supplied  by  persons  licensed 
by  magistrates,  and  that  all  qualified  persons 
should  be  permitted  to  sell  their  game  to  these 
licensed  distributors  ;  and  there  seems  a  fair 
chance  that  such  a  plan  would  succeed.  The 
questions  are,  Would  sufficient  game  come  into 
the  hands  of  the  licensed  salesman?  Would 
the  licensed  salesman  confine  himself  to  the 
purchase  of  game  from  qualified  persons  ? — 
Would  buyers  of  game  purchase  elsewhere 
than  from  the  licensed  salesman  ]  Would  the 
poacher  be  under-sold  by  the  honest  dealer? — • 
Would  game  remain  in  the  same  plenty  as  be- 
fore ?  It  is  understood  that  the  game  laws  are 
to  remain  as  they  are ;  with  this  only  differ- 


legal  number  of  outside  passengers  is  ten  pounds  per 
head,  if  the  coachman  is  in  part  or  wholly  the  owner. 
This  will  rarely  be  levied  ;  because  it  is  too  much.  A 
penalty  of  lOOl.  would  produce  perfect  impunity.  The 
maximum  of  practical  severity  would  have  been  about 
five  pounds.  Any  magistrate  would  cheerfully  levy 
this  sum  ;  while  doubling  it  will  produce  reluctance  in 
the  judge,  resistance  in  the  culprit,  and  unwillingness 
in  the  informer. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


193 


ence,  that  the  qualified  man  can  sell  to  the 
licensed  man,  and  the  licentiate  to  the  public. 

It  seems  probable  to  us,  that  vast  quantities 
of  game  would,  after  a  little  time,  find  their  way 
into  the  hands  of  licensed  poulterers.  Great 
people  are  very  often  half  eaten  up  by  their  es- 
tablisments.  The  quantity  of  game  killed  in  a 
large  shooting  party  is  very  great ;  to  eat  it  is 
impossible,  and  to  dispose  of  it  in  presents 
very  troublesome.  The  preservation  of  game 
is  very  expensive ;  and,  when  it  could  be  bought, 
it  would  be  no  more  a  compliment  to  send  it  as 
a  present  than  it  would  be  to  send  geese  and 
fowls.  If  game  were  sold,  very  large  shooting 
establishments  might  be  made  to  pay  their  own 
expenses.  The  shame  is  made  by  the  law ; 
there  is  a  disgrace  in  being  detected  and  fined. 
If  that  barrier  were  removed,  superfluous  par- 
tridges would  go  to  the  poulterers  as  readily 
as  superfluous  venison  does  to  the  venison 
butcher^or  as  a  gentleman  sells  the  corn  and 
mutton  off  his  farm  which  he  cannot  consume. 
For  these  reasons,  we  do  not  doubt  that  the 
shops  of  licensed  poulterers  would  be  full  of 
game  in  the  season ;  and  this  part  of  the  argu- 
ment, -we  think,  the  arch-enemy.  Sir  John  Shel- 
ley, himself  would  concede  to  us. 

The  next  question  is,  From  whence  they 
would  procure  it  1  A  license  for  selling  game, 
granted  by  country  magistrates,  would,  from 
their  jealousy  upon  these  subjects,  be  granted 
only  to  persons  of  some  respectability  and  pro- 
perty. The  purchase  of  game  from  unqualified 
persons  would,  of  course,  be  guarded  against 
by  very  heavy  penalties,  both  personal  and  pe- 
cuniary ;  and  these  penalties  would  be  inflicted, 
because  opinion  would  go  with  them.  "Here 
is  a  respectable  tradesman,"  it  would  be  said, 
"  who  might  have  bought  as  much  game  as  he 
pleased  in  a  lawful  manner,  but  who,  in  order 
to  increase  his  profits  by  buying  it  a  little 
cheaper,  has  encouraged  a  poacher  to  steal  it." 
Public  opinion,  therefore,  would  certainly  be 
in  favour  of  a  very  strong  punishment ;  and  a 
licensed  vender  of  game,  who  exposed  himself 
to  these  risks,  would  expose  himself  to  the  loss 
of  liberty,  property,  character,  and  license — 
The  persons  interested  to  put  a  stop  to  such  a 
practice,  would  not  be  the  paid  agents  of  gov- 
ernment, as  in  cases  of  smuggling  ;  but  all  the 
gentlemen  of  the  country,  the  customers  of  the 
tradesman  for  fish,  poultry,  or  whatever  else  he 
dealt  in,  would  have  an  interest  in  putting  down 
the  practice.  In  all  probability,  the  practice 
■would  become  disreputable,  like  the  purchase 
of  stolen  poultry  ;  and  this  would  be  a  stronger 
barrier  than  the  strongest  laws.  There  would, 
of  course,  be  some  exceptions  to  this  statement. 
A  few  shabby  people  would,  for  the  chance  of 
gaining  sixpence,  incur  the  risk  of  ruin  and  dis- 
grace ;  but  it  is  probable  that  the  general  prac- 
tice would  be  otherwise. 

For  the  same  reasons,  the  consumers  of 
game  would  rather  give  a  little  more  for  it  to  a 
licensed  poulterer,  than  expose  themselves  to 
severe  penalties  by  purchasing  from  poachers. 
The  great  mass  of  London  consumers  are  sup- 
plied now,  not  from  shabby  people,  in  whom 
they  can  have  no  confidence — not  from  hawk- 
ers and  porters,  but  from  respectable  trades- 
men, iu  whose  probity  they  have  the  most  per- 
25 


feet  confidence.  Men  will  brave  the  law  for 
pheasants,  but  not  for  sixpence  or  a  shilling; 
and  the  law  itself  is  much  more  difficult  to  be 
braved,  when  it  allows  pheasants  to  be  bought 
at  some  price,  than  when  it  endeavours  to  ren- 
der them  utterly  inaccessible  to  wealth.  All 
the  licensed  salesmen,  too,  would  have  a  direct 
interest  in  stopping  the  contraband  trade  of 
game.  They  would  lose  no  character  in  doing 
so ;  their  informations  would  be  reasonable  and 
respectable. 

If  all  this  is  true,  the  poacher  would  have 
to  compete  with  a  great  mass  of  game  fairly 
and  honestly  poured  into  the  market.  He 
would  be  selling  with  a  rope  about  his  neck,  to 
a  person  who  bought  with  a  rope  about  his 
neck;  his  description  of  customers  would  be 
much  the  same  as  the  customers  for  stolen 
poultry,  and  his  profits  would  be  very  materi- 
ally abridged.  At  present,  the  poacher  is  in 
the  same  situation  as  the  smuggler  would  be, 
if  rum  and  brandy  could  not  be  purchased  of 
any  fair  trader.  The  great  check  to  the  profits 
of  the  smuggler  are,  that  if  3'ou  want  his  com- 
modities, and  will  pay  an  higher  price,  you 
may  have  them  elsewhere  without  risk  or  dis- 
grace. But  forbid  the  purchase  of  these  luxu- 
ries at  any  price.  Shut  up  the  shop  of  the 
brandy  merchant,  and  you  render  the  trade  of 
the  smuggler  of  incalculable  value.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  intended  bill  is,  to  raise  up  precisely 
the  same  competition  to  the  trade  of  the  poach- 
er, by  giving  the  public  an  opportunity  of  buy- 
ing lawfully  and  honestly  the  tempting  articles 
in  which  he  now  deals  exclusively.  Such  an 
improvement  would  not,  perhaps,  altogether 
annihilate  his  trade;  hut  it  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, act  as  a  very  material  check  upon  it. 

The  predominant  argument  against  all  this 
is,  that  the  existing  prohibition  against  buying 
game,  though  partially  violated,  does  deter  many 
persons  from  coming  into  the  market;  that  if 
this  prohibition  were  removed,  the  demand  for 
game  would  be  increased,  the  legal  supply 
would  be  insufficient,  and  the  residue  would, 
and  must  be,  supplied  by  the  poacher,  whose 
trade  would,  for  these  reasons,  be  as  lucrative 
and  flourishing  as  before.  But  it  is  only  a  few 
years  smce  the  purchase  of  game  has  been 
made  illegal :  and  the  market  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  at  all  narrowed  by  the  prohibition ; 
not  one  head  of  game  the  less  has  been  sold  by 
the  poulterers;  and  scarcely  one  single  con- 
viction has  taken  place  under  that  law.  How, 
then,  would  the  removal  of  the  prohibition,  and 
the  alteration  of  the  law,  extend  the  market 
and  increase  the  demand,  when  the  enactment 
of  the  prohibition  has  had  no  effect  in  narrow- 
ing it  ]  But  if  the  demand  increases,  why  not 
the  legal  supply  also?  Game  is  increased 
upon  an  estate  by  feeding  them  in  winter,  by 
making  some  abatement  to  the  tenants  for 
guarding  against  depradations,  by  a  large  ap- 
paratus of  gamekeepers  and  spies — in  short  by 
expense.  But  if  this  pleasure  of  shooting,  so 
natural  to  country  gentlemen,  is  made  to  pay 
its  own  expenses,  by  sending  superfluous  game 
to  market,  more  men,  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose, will  thus  preserve  and  augment  their 
game.  The  love  of  pleasure  and  amusement 
will  produce  in  the  owners  of  game  that  desire 
R 


194 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


to  multiply  game,  which  the  love  of  gain  does 
in  the  farmer  to  multiply  poultry.  Many  gen- 
tlemen of  small  fortune  will  remember,  that 
they  cannot  enjoy  to  any  extent  this  pleasure 
without  this  resource;  that  the  legal  sale  of 
poultry  will  discountenance  poaching;  and 
they  will  open  an  account  with  the  poulterer, 
not  to  get  richer,  but  to  enjoy  a  great  pleasure 
without  an  expense,  in  which,  upon  other  terms, 
they  could  not  honourably  and  conscientiously 
indulge.  If  country  gentlemen  of  moderate 
fortune  will  do  this  (and  we  think  after  a  little 
time  they  will  do  it),  game  may  be  multiplied 
and  legally  supplied  to  any  extent.  Another 
keeper,  and  another  bean-stack,  will  produce 
their  proportional  supply  of  pheasants.  The 
only  reason  why  the  great  lord  has  more  game 


per  acre  than  the  little  squire  is,  that  he  spends 
more  money  per  acre  to  preserve  it. 

For  these  reasons,  we  think  the  experiment 
of  legalizing  the  sale  of  game  ought  to  be  tried. 
The  game  laws  have  been  carried  to  a  pitch 
of  oppression  which  is  a  disgrace  to  the  coun- 
try. The  prisons  are  half  filled  with  peasants, 
shut  up  for  the  irregular  slaughter  of  rabbits 
and  birds — a  sufficient  reason  for  killing  a 
weasel,  but  not  for  imprisoning  a  man.  Some- 
thing should  be  done ;  it  is  disgraceful  to  a 
government  to  stand  by,  and  see  such  enormous 
evils  without  interference.  It  is  true,  they  are 
not  connected  with  the  struggles  of  party;  but 
still,  the  happiness  of  the  common  people,  what- 
ever gentlemen  may  say,  ought  every  now  and 
then  to  be  considered. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


195 


CEUEL  TEEATMENT  OF  UNTRIED  PRISONEES.' 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1824.] 


It  has  been  the  practice,  all  over  England, 
for  these  last  fifty  years,-f-  not  to  compel  prison- 
ers to  work  before  guilt  was  proved.  Within 
these  last  three  or  four  years,  however,  the 
magistrates  of  the  North  Riding  of  Yorkshire, 
considering  it  improper  to  support  any  idle 
person  at  the  county  expense,  have  resolved, 
that  prisoners  committed  to  the  house  of  cor- 
rection for  trial,  and  requiring  county  support, 
should  work  for  their  livelihood;  and  no  sooner 
was  the  treadmill  brought  into  fashion,  than 
that  machine  was  adopted  in  the  North  Riding 
as  the  species  of  labour  by  which  such  prison- 
ers were  to  earn  their  maintenance.  If  these 
magistrates  did  not  consider  themselves  em- 
powered to  burden  the  county  rates  for  the 
support  of  prisoners  before  trial,  who  would 
not  contribute  to  support  themselves,  it  does 
not  appear,  from  the  publication  of  the  reve- 
rend chairman  of  the  sessions,  that  any  opi- 
nions of  counsel  were  taken  as  to  the  legality 
of  so  putting  prisoners  to  work,  or  of  refusing 
them  maintenance  if  they  choose  to  be  idle; 
but  the  magistrates  themselves  decided  that 
such  was  the  law  of  the  land.  Thirty  miles 
off,  however,  the  law  of  the  land  was  differently 
interpreted ;  and  in  the  Castle  of  York  large 
sums  were  annually  expended  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  idle  prisoners  before  trial,  and  paid 
by  the  different  Ridings,  without  remonstrance 
or  resistance. t 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  county 
of  York  before  the  enactment  of  the  recent 
prison  bill.  After  that  period,  enlargements 
and  alterations  were  necessary  in  the  county 
jail ;  and  it  was  necessaiy  also  for  these  ar- 
rangements, that  the  magistrates  should  know 
whether  or  not  they  were  authorized  to  main- 
tain such  prisoners  at  the  expense  of  the 
county,  as,  being  accounted  able  and  unwilling 
to  work,  still  claimed  the  county  allowance. 
To  questions  proposed  upon  these  points  to 
three  barristers,  the  following  answers  were 
returned : — 

"  2dly,  I  am  of  opinion,  that  the  magistrates 
are  empowered,  and  are  compelled  to  main- 
tain, at  the  expense  of  the  county,  such  prison- 
ers before  trial  as  are  able  to  work,  unable  to 
maintain  themselves,  and  not  willing  to  work; 
and  that  they  have  not  the  power  of  compell- 


*  \.  A  Letter  to  the  Right  Honourable  Robert  Peel, 'one 
of  His  Majestji's  Principal  Secretaries  of  Stale,  ^-c.  <^c.  ^c. 
nn  Prison  Labour.  By  John  Hbadi.am,  M.  A  ,  Chairmiin 
of  the  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  North  Ridinc  of  the 
County  of  York.     London.     Hatchard  and  Son,  1823. 

2.  fnfonnation  and  Observationrt,  respectincr  the  proposed 
Improvements  at  York  Castle.  Printed  by  Order  of  the 
Committee  of  Mai?istrates.     September,  1823. 

t  Headlam.  p.  6. 

%  We  mention  the  case  of  the  North  Riding,  to  convince 
our  readers  that  the  practice  of  condemnins;  prisoners  to 
work  before  trial  has  existed  in  some  parts  of  England  ; 
for  in  questions  like  this  we  have  always  found  it  more 
difficult  to  prove  the  e.xistence  of  the  facts,  than  to  prove 
that  they  were  mischievous  and  unjust. 


ing  such  prisoners  to  work,  either  at  the  tread- 
mill, or  any  other  species  of  labour. 

"J.  GURXET. 

"Lincoln  s  Inn  Fields,  ^d  September,  1823." 

"  I  think  the  magistrates  are  empowered, 
under  the  tenth  section  (explained  by  the  37th 
and  38th),  to  maintain  prisoners  before  triaL 
who  are  able  to  work,  unable  to  maintain 
themselves  by  their  own  means,  or  by  employ- 
ment which  they  themselves  can  procure,  and 
not  willing  to  work ;  and  I  think  also,  that  the 
words  "  shall  be  lawful,"  in  that  section,  do 
not  leave  them  a  discretion  on  the  subject,  but 
are  compulsory.  Such  prisoners  can  only  be 
employed  in  prison  labour  with  their  oiun 
consent;  and  it  cannot  be  intended  that  the 
justices  may  force  such  consent,  by  withhold- 
ing from  them  the  necessaries  of  life,  if  they 
do  not  give  it.  Even  those  who  are  convicted 
cannot  be  employed  at  the  treadmill,  which  I 
consider  as  a  species  of  severe  labour. 

"  September  Uh,  1823."  "J.Parke. 

"2dly,  As  to  the  point  of  compelling  prison- 
ers confined  on  criminal  charges,  and  receiv- 
ing relief  from  the  magistrates,  to  reasonable 
labour ;  to  that  of  the  treadmill  for  instance, 
in  which,  when  properly  conducted,  there  is 
nothing  severe  or  unreasonable  ;  had  the  ques- 
tion arisen  prior  to  the  late  act,  I  should  with 
confidence  have  said,  I  thought  the  magistrates 
had  a  compulsory  power  in  this  respect. 
Those  who  cannot  live  without  relief  in  a  jail, 
cannot  live  without  labour  out  of  it.  Labour 
then  is  their  avocation.  Nothing  is  so  injuri- 
ous to  the  morals  and  habits  of  the  prisoner 
as  the  indolence  prevalent  in  prisons  ;  nothing 
so  injurious  to  good  order  in  the  prison.  The 
analogy  between  this  and  other  cases  of  public 
support  is  exceedingly  strong;  one  may  almost 
consider  it  a  general  principle,  that  those  who 
live  at  the  charge  of  the  community  shall,  as 
far  as  they  are  able,  give  the  community  a 
compensation  through  their  labour.  But  the 
question  does  not  depend  on  mere  abstract 
reasoning.  The  stat.  19  Ch.  2,  c.  4,  sec.  1,  en- 
titled, 'An  Act  for  Relief  of  poor  Prisoner.s, 
and  setting  them  on  work,'  speaks  of  persons 
committed  for  felony  and  other  misdemeanours 
to  the  common  jail,  who  many  times  perish 
before  trial;  and  then  proceeds  as  to  setting 
poor  prisoners  on  work.  Then  stat.  31  G.  3, 
c.  46,  sec.  13,  orders  money  to  be  raised  for 
such  prisoners  of  every  description,  as,  being 
confined  within  the  said  jails,  or  other  places 
of  confinement,  are  not  able  to  wmk.  A  late 
stat.  (52  G.  3,  c.  160)  orders  parish  relief  to 
such  debtors  on  mesne  process  in  jails,  not 
county  jails,  as  are  not  able  to  support  them- 
selves;  but  says  nothing  of  finding  or  con> 
pelling  work.  Could  it  be  doubted,  that  if  the 
justices  were  to  provide  work,  and  the  prisoner 
refused  it,  such  debtors  might,  like  any  other 


196 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDIVEY   SMITH. 


parish  paupers,  be  refused  the  relief  mentioned 
by  the  statute  1  In  all  the  above  cases,  the 
authority  to  insist  on  the  prisoner's  labour,  as 
the  condition  and  consideration  of  relief  grant- 
ed him,  is,  I  think,  either  expressed,  or  neces- 
sarily implied;  and  thus  viewing  the  subject, 
I  think  it  was  in  the  power  of  magistrates, 
prior  to  the  late  statute,  to  coinpel  prisoners, 
subsisting  in  all  or  in  part  on  public  relief,  to 
work  at  the  treadmill.  The  objection  com- 
monly made  is,  that  prisoners,  prior  to  trial, 
are  to  be  accounted  innocent,  and  to  be  de- 
tained, merely  that  they  may  be  secured  for 
trial ;  to  this  the  answer  is  obvious,  that  the 
labour  is  neither  meant  as  a  punishment  or  a 
disgrace,  but  simply  as  a  compensation  for  the 
relief,  at  their  own  request,  afforded  them. 
Under  the  present  statute,  I,  however,  have  no 
doubt,  that  poor  prisoners  are  entitled  to  public 
support,  and  that  there  can  be  no  compulsory 
labour  prior  to  trial.  The  two  statutes  advert- 
ed to  (19  Ch.  2,  c,  4,  and  31  G.  3)  are,  as  far 
as  this  subject  is  concerned,  expressly  re- 
pealed. The  legislature  then  had  in  contem- 
plation the  existing  power  of  magistrates  to 
order  labour  before  trial,  and  having  it  in  con- 
templation, repeals  it;  substituting  (sec.  38)  a 
power  of  setting  to  labour  onli/  sentenced  per- 
sons. The  13th  rule,  too  (p.  177),  speaks  of 
labour  as  connected  with  convicted  prisoners, 
and  sec.  37  speaks  in  general  terms  of  persons 
committed  for  trial,  as  labouring  with  tlieir 
own  consent.  In  opposition  to  tliese  clauses, 
I  think  it  impossible  to  speak  of  implied 
power,  or  power  founded  on  general  reasoning 
or  analogy.  So  strong,  however,  are  the  argu- 
ments in  favour  of  a  more  extended  authority 
in  justices  of  the  peace,  that  it  is  scarcely  to 
be  doubted,  that  Parliament,  on  a  calm  revision 
of  the  subject,  would  be  willing  to  restore,  in 
a  more  distinct  manner  than  it  has  hitherto 
been  enacted,  a  general  discretion  on  the  sub- 
ject. Were  this  done,  there  is  one  observation 
I  will  venture  to  make,  which  is,  that  should 
some  unfortunate  association  of  ideas  render 
the  treadmill  a  matter  of  ignominy  to  common 
feelings,  an  enlightened  magistracy  would 
scarcely  compel  an  untried  prisoner  to  a  spe- 
cies of  labour  which  would  disgrace  him  in 
his  own  mind,  and  in  that  oi"  the  public. 

"  S.  W.  NiCOLL. 

"Yorli,  August  27th,  1823." 

In  consequence,  we  believe,  of  these  opinions, 
the  North  Riding  magistrates,  on  the  13th  of 
October  (the  new  bill  commencing  on  the  1st 
of  September),  passed  the  following  resolu- 
tion : — "That  persons  committed  for  trial,  who 
are  able  to  work,  and  have  the  means  of  em- 
ployment offered  them  by  the  visiting  magis- 
trates, by  which  they  may  earn  their  support, 
but  who  obstinately  refuse  to  work,  shall  be 
allowed  bread  and  M^ater  only." 

By  this  resolution  they  admit,  of  course, 
that  the  counsel  are  right  in  their  interpreta- 
tion of  the  present  law;  and  that  magistrates 
are  forced  to  maintain  prisoners  before  trial 
who  do  not  choose  to  Avork.  The  magistrates 
say,  however,  by  their  resolution,  that  the  food 
shall  be  of  the  plainest  and  humblest  kind, 
bread  and  water;   meaning,  of  course,  that 


such  prisoners  should  have  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  bread  and  water,  or  otherwise  the  evasion 
of  the  law  would  be  in  the  highest  degree 
mean  and  reprehensible.  But  it  is  impossible 
to  suppose  any  such  thing  to  be  intended  by 
gentlemen  so  highly  respectable.  Their  inten- 
tion is  not  that  idle  persons  before  trial  shall 
starve,  but  that  they  shall  have  barely  enough  of 
the  plainest  food  for  the  supportof  life  and  heal  th. 

Mr.  Headlam  has  written  a  pamphlet  to 
show  that  the  old  law  was  very  reasonable 
and  proper ;  that  it  is  quite  right  that  prisoners 
before  trial,  who  are  able  to  support  them- 
selves, but  unwilling  to  work,  should  be  com- 
pelled to  work,  and  at  the  treadmill,  or  that  all 
support  should  be  refused  them.  We  are  en- 
tirely of  an  opposite  opinion;  and  maintain 
that  it  is  neither  legal  nor  expedient  to  compel 
prisoners  before  trial  to  work  at  the  treadmill, 
or  at  any  species  of  labour,  and  that  those  who 
refuse  to  work  should  be  supported  upon  "a 
plain,  healthy  diet.  We  impute  no  sort  of 
blame  to  the  magistrates  of  the  North  Riding, 
or  to  Mr.  Headlam,  their  chairman.  We  have 
no  doubt  but  that  they  thought  their  measures 
the  wisest  and  the  best  for  correcting  evil,  and 
that  they  adopted  them  in  pursuance  of  what 
they  thought  to  be  their  duty.  Nor  do  we 
enter  into  any  discussion  with  Mr.  Headlam, 
as  chairman  of  a  Quarter  Sessions,  but  as  the 
writer  of  a  pamphlet.  It  is  only  in  his  capa- 
city of  author  that  we  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  him.  In  answering  the  arguments  of 
Mr.  Headlam,  we  shall  notice,  at  the  same 
time,  a  few  other  observations  commonly  re- 
sorted to  in  defence  of  a  system  which  we  be- 
lieve to  be  extremely  pernicious,  and  pregnant 
with  the  worst  consequences  ;  and  so  thinking, 
we  contend  against  it,  and  in  support  of  the 
law  as  it  now  stands. 

We  will  not  dispute  with  Mr.  Headlam, 
whether  his  exposition  of  the  old  law  is  right 
or  wrong:  because  time  cannot  be  more  un- 
profitably  employed  than  in  hearing  gentlemen 
who  are  not  lawyers  discuss  points  of  law. 
We  dare  to  say  Mr.  Headlam  knows  as  much 
of  the  laws  of  his  country  as  magistrates  in 
general  do ;  but  he  will  pardon  us  for  believ- 
ing, that  for  the  moderate  sum  of  three  guineas 
a  much  better  opinion  of  what  the  law  is  now, 
or  was  then,  can  be  purchased,  than  it  is  in  the 
power  of  Mr.  Headlam,  or  any  other  county 
magistrate,  to  give  for  nothing — Cuilibet  in  arte 
sua  crcdcndum  est.  It  is  concerning  the  expe- 
diency of  such  laws,  and  upon  that  point 
alone,  that  we  are  at  issue  with  Mr.  Headlam ; 
and  do  not  let  this  gentleman  suppose  it  to  be 
any  answer  to  our  remarks  to  state  what  is 
done  in  the  prison  in  which  he  is  concerned, 
now  the  law  is  altered.  The  question  is, 
whether  he  is  right  or  wrong  in  his  reasoning 
upon  what  the  law  ougld  to  be  ;  we  wish  to 
hold  out  such  reasoning  to  public  notice,  and 
think  it  important  it  should  be  refuted — doubly 
important,  when  it  comes  from  an  author,  the 
leader  of  the  quorum,  who  may  say  with  the 
pious  .^neas, — 

QuiBqiie  ipse  miserrima  vidi, 

Et  quorum  pars  magna  fui. 

If,  in  this  discussion,  we  are  forced  to  insist 
upon  the  plainest  and  most  elementary  truth.s. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


197 


the  fault  is  not  with  us,  but  with  those  who 
forget  them ;  and  who  refuse  to  be  any  longer 

-restrained  by  those  principles  which  have  hith- 
erto been  held  to  be  as  clear  as  they  are  im- 
portant to  human  happiness. 

To  begin,  then,  with  the  nominative  case 
and  the  verb — we  must  remind  those  advo- 
cates for  the  treadmill,  a  parte  ante  (for  which 

.the  millers  a  parte  post  we  have  no  quarrel), 
that  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  maxims  of  common 
sense,  common  humanity,  and  common  law, 
to  consider  every  man  as  innocent  till  he  is 
proved  to  be  guilty  ;  and  not  only  to  consider 
him  to  be  innocent,  but  to  treat  him  as  if  he 
was  so ;  to  exercise  upon  his  case  not  merely 
a  barren  speculation,  but  one  which  produces 
practical  effects,  and  which  secures  to  a  pri- 
soner the  treatment  of  an  honest,  unpunished 
man.  Now,  to  compel  prisoners  before  trial 
to  work  at  the  treadmill,  as  the  condition  of 
their  support,  must,  in  a  great  number  of  in- 
stances, operate  as  a  very  severe  punishment. 
A  prisoner  may  be  a  tailor,  a  watchmaker,  a 
bookbinder,  a  printer,  totally  unaccustomed  to 
any  such  species  of  labour.  Such  a  man  may 
be  cast  into  jail  at  the  end  of  x\ugust,*  and  not 
tried  till  the  March  following;  is  it  no  punish- 
ment to  such  a  man  to  walk  up  hill  like  a  turn- 
spit dog,  in  an  infamous  machine,  for  six 
months  1  and  yet  there  are  gentlemen  who 
suppose  that  the  common  people  do  not  con- 
sider this  as  punishment ! — that  the  gayest  and 
most  jo3'ous  of  human  beings  is  a  treader, 
untried  by  a  jury  of  his  countrymen,  in  the- 
fifth  month  of  lifting  up  the  leg,  and  striving 
against  the  law  of  gravity,  supported  by  the 
glorious  information  which  he  receives  from 
the  turnkey,  that  he  has  all  the  time  been 
grinding  flour  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall ! 
If  this  sort  of  exercise,  necessarily  painful  to 
sedentary  persons,  is  agreeable  to  persons  ac- 
customed to  labour-,  then  make  it  voluntary — 
give  the  prisoners  their  choice — give  more 
money  and  more  diet  to  those  who  can  and 
will  labour  at  the  treadmill,  if  the  treadmill 
(now  so  dear  to  magistrates)  is  a  proper  pun- 
ishment for  untried  prisoners.  The  position 
we  are  contending  against  is,  that  all  poor 
prisoners  who  are  able  to  work  should  be  put 
to  work  upon  the  treadmill,  the  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  which  practice  is,  a  repetition  of 
gross  injustice  by  the  infliction  of  undeserved 
punishment;  for  punishment,  and  severe  pun- 
ishment, to  such  persons  as  we  have  enume- 
rated, we  must  consider  it  to  be. 

But  punishments  are  not  merely  to  be  esti- 
mated by  pain  to  the  limbs,  but  by  the  feelings 
of  the  mind.  Gentlemen  punishers  are  some- 
tinkCs  apt  to  forget  that  the  common  people 
have  any  mental  feelings  at  all,  and  think,  if 
body  and  belly  are  attended  to,  that  persons 
under  a  certain  income  have  no  right  to  likes 
and  dislikes.  The  labour  of  the  treadmill  is 
irksome,  dull,  monotonous,  and  disgusting  to 
the  last  degree.    A  man  does  not  see  his  work, 

*Mr.  Headlam,  as  we  understand  him,  would  extend 
this  labour  to  all  poor  prisoners  before  trial  in  jails  which 
are  delivered  twice  a  year  at  the  assizes,  as  well  as  to 
houses  of  correction  delivered  four  times  a  year  at  the 
Sessions ;  i.  e.  not  to  extend  the  labour,  but  to  refuse  all 
support  to  those  who  refuse  the  labour — a  distinction, 
but  not  a  difference. 


does  not  know  what  he  is  doing,  what  progress 
he  is  making;  there  is  no  room  for  art,  con- 
trivance, ingenuity,  and  superior  skill — all 
which  are  the  cheering  circumstances  of  hu- 
man labour.  The  husbandman  sees  the  field 
gradually  subdued  by  the  plough ;  the  smith 
beats  the  rude  mass  of  iron  by  degrees  into 
its  meditated  shape,  and  gives  it  a  meditated 
utility;  the  tailor  accommodates  his  parallelo- 
gram of  cloth  to  the  lumps  and  bumps  of  the 
human  body,  and,  holding  it  up,  exclaims, 
"This  will  contain  the  lower  moiety  of  an  hu- 
man being."  But  the  treader  does  nothing  but 
tread;  he  sees  no  change  of  objects,  admires 
no  new  relation  of  parts,  imparts  no  new  qua- 
lities to  matter,  and  gives  to  it  no  new  ar- 
rangements and  positions ;  or,  if  he  does,  he 
sees  and  knows  it  not,  but  is  turned  at  once 
from  a  rational  being,  by  a  justice  of  peace, 
into  a  pj'imum  mobile,  and  put  upon  a  level 
with  a  rush  of  water  or  a  puflf  of  steam.  It 
is  impossible  to  get  gentlemen  to  attend  to  the 
distinction  between  raw  and  roasted  prisoners, 
without  which  all  discussion  on  prisoners  is 
perfectly  ridiculous.  Nothing  can  be  more 
excellent  than  this  kind  of  labour  for  persons 
to  whom  you  mean  to  make  labour  as  irksome 
as  possible ;  but  for  this  very  reason,  it  is  the 
labour  to  which  an  untried  prisoner  ought  not 
to  be  put. 

It  is  extremely  uncandid  to  say  that  a  man 
is  obstinately  and  incorrigibly  idle,  because 
he  will  not  submit  to  such  tiresome  and  de- 
testable labour  as  that  of  the  treadmill.  It  is 
an  old  feeling  among  Englishmen  that  there  is 
a  dilference  between  tried  and  untried  per- 
sons, between  accused  and  convicted  persons. 
These  old  opinions  were  in  fashion  before  this 
new  magistrate's  plaything  was  invented ;  and 
we  are  convinced  that  many  industrious  per- 
sons, feeling  that  they  have  not  had  their  trial, 
and  disgusted  with  the  nature  rf  the  labour, 
would  refuse  to  work  at  the  treadmill,  who 
would  not  be  averse  to  join  in  any  common 
and  fair  occupation.  Mr.  Headlam  says,  that 
labour  may  be  a  privilege  as  well  as  a  punish- 
ment. So  may  taking  physic  be  a  privilege, 
in  Cflses  where  it  is  asked  for  as  a  charitable 
relief,  but  not  if  it  is  stuffed  down  a  man's 
throat,  whether  he  say  yea  or  nay.  Certainly 
labour  is  not  necessarily  a  punishment:  no- 
body has  said  it  is  so ;  but  Mr.  Headlam's  la- 
bour is  a  punishment,  because  it  is  irksome, 
infamous,  unasked  for,  and  undeserved.  This 
gentleman,  however,  observes,  that  committed 
persons  have  offended  the  laws ,-  and  the  senti- 
ment expressed  in  these  words  is  the  true  key 
to  his  pamphlet  and  his  system — a  perpetual 
tendency  to  confound  the  convicted  and  the 
accused. 

"  With  respect  to  those  sentenced  to  labour 
as  a  punishment,  I  apprehend  there  is  no  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  All  are  agreed  that  it  is 
a  great  defect  in  any  prison  where  such  con- 
victs are  unemployed.  But  as  to  all  other  pri- 
soners, whether  debtors,  jDerso;is  committed  for 
trial,  or  convicts  not  sentenced  to  hard  labour, 
if  they  have  no  means  of  subsisting  them- 
selves, and  must,  if  discharged,  "ither  labour 
for  their  livelihood  or  apply  for  parochial  re- 
lief, it  seems  unfair  to  society  at  large,  and 
b2 


1^8 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


especially  to  those  who  maintain  themselves 
by  honest  industry,  that  those  who,  by  offend- 
ing the  laws,  have  subjected  themselves  to  impri- 
sonment, should  be  lodged,  and  clothed,  and 
led,  without  being  called  upon  for  the  same 
exertions,  which  others  have  to  use  to  obtain 
such  advantages." — Headlam,  pp.  23,  24. 

Now  nothing  can  be  more  unfair  than  to  say 
that  such  men  have  offended  the  laws.  That 
is  the  very  question  to  be  tried,  whether  they 
have  offended  the  laws  or  not  1  It  is  merely 
because  this  little  circumstance  is  taken  for 
granted,  that  we  have  any  quarrel  at  all  with 
Mr.  Headlam  and  his  school. 

"I  can  make,"  says  Mr.  Headlam,  "every 
delicate  consideration  for  the  rare  case  of  a 
person  perfectly  innocent  being  committed  to 
jail  on  suspicion  of  crime.  Such  person  is 
deservedly  an  object  of  compassion,  for  hav- 
ing fallen  under  circumstances  which  subject 
him  to  be  charged  with  crime,  and,  conse- 
quently, to  be  deprived  of  his  liberty :  but  if 
he  has  been  in  the  liabit  of  labouring  for  his 
bread  before  his  commitment,  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  any  addition  to  his  misfortune  in 
being  called  upon  to  work  for  his  subsistence 
in  prison." — Headlam,  p.  24, 

And  yet  Mr.  Headlam  describes  this  very 
punishment,  which  does  not  add  to  the  mis- 
fortunes of  an  innocent  man,  to  be  generally 
disagreeable,  to  be  dull,  irksome,  to  excite  a  strong 
dislike,  to  be  a  dull,  monotonous  labour,  to  be  a 
contrivance  which  connects  the  idea  of  discomfort 
with  a  jail.  (p.  36.)  So  that  Mr.  Headlam  looks 
upon  it  to  be  no  increase  of  an  innocent  man's 
misfortunes,  to  be  constantly  employed  upon 
a  dull,  irksome,  monotonous  labour,  which  ex- 
cites a  strong  dislike,  and  connects  the  idea  of 
discomfort  with  a  jail.  We  cannot  stop,  or 
stoop  to  consider,  whether  beating  hemp  is 
more  or  less  dignified  than  working  in  a  mill. 
The  simple  rule  is  this, — whatever  felons  do, 
men  not  yet  proved  to  be  felons  should  not  be 
compelled  to  do.  It  is  of  no  use  to  look  into 
laws  become  obsolete  by  alteration  of  man- 
ners. For  these  fifty  years  past,  and  before 
the  invention  of  treadmills,  untried  men  were 
not  put  upon  felons'  work ;  but  with  the  mill 
came  in  the  mischief.  Mr.  Headlam  asks, 
How  can  men  be  employed  upon  the  ancient 
trades  in  a  prison  1 — certainly  they  cannot; 
but  are  human  occupations  so  few,  and  is  the 
ingenuity  of  magistrates  and  jailers  so  limited, 
that  no  occupations  can  be  found  for  innocent 
men,  but  those  which  are  shameful  and  odious  1 
Does  Mr.  Headlam  really  believe,  that  grown 
up  and  baptized  persons  are  to  be  satisfied 
with  such  arguments,  or  repelled  by  such  dif- 
ficulties 1 

It  is  some  compensation  to  an  acquitted  per- 
son, that  the  labour  he  has  gone  through  un- 
justly in  jail  has  taught  him  some  trade,  given 
him  an  insight  into  some  species  of  labour  in 
which  he  may  hereafter  improve  himself;  but 
Mr.  Headlam's  prisoner,  after  a  verdict  of  ac- 
quittal, has  learnt  no  other  art  than  of  walking 
tip  hill ;  he  has  nothing  to  remember  or  re- 
compense him  but  three  months  of  undeserved 
and  unprofitable  torment.  The  verdict  of  the 
•uf^  ha£  pronounced  him  steady  in  his  morals ; 


the  conduct  of  the  justices  has  made  him  stiff 
in  his  joints. 

But  it  is  next  contended  by  some  persons, 
that  the  poor  prisoner  is  not  compelled  to 
work,  because  he  has  the  alternative  of  starv- 
ing, if  he  refuses  to  work.  You  take  up  a 
poor  man  upon  suspicion,  deprive  him  of  all 
his  usual  methods  of  getting  his  livelihood, 
and  then  giving  him  the  first  view  of  the  tread- 
mill, he  of  the  quorum  thus  addresses  him: — 
"  My  amiable  friend,  we  use  no  compulsion 
with  untried  prisoners.  You  are  free  as  air 
till  you  are  found  guilty  ;  only  it  is  my  duty  to 
inform  you,  as  you  have  no  money  of  your 
own,  that  the  disposition  to  eat  and  drink 
which  you  have  allowed  you  sometimes  feel, 
and  upon  which  I  do  not  mean  to  cast  any 
degree  of  censure,  cannot  possibly  be  grati- 
fied but  by  constant  grinding  in  this  machine. 
It  has  its  inconveniences,  I  admit ;  but  balance 
them  against  the  total  want  of  meat  and  drink, 
and  decide  for  yourself.  You  are  perfectly  at 
liberty  to  make  your  choice,  and  I  by  no  means 
wish  to  influence  your  judgment."  But  Mr. 
NicoU  has  a  curious  remedy  for  all  this  mise- 
rable tyranny;  he  says  it  is  not  meant  as  a 
punishment.  But  if  I  am  conscious  that  I 
never  have  committed  the  offence,  certain  that  I 
have  never  been  found  guilty  of  it,  and  find 
myself  tossed  into  the  middle  of  an  infernal 
machine,  by  the  folly  of  those  who  do  not 
know  how  to  use  the  power  entrusted  to  them, 
is  it  any  consolation  to  me  to  be  told,  that  it  is 
not  intended  as  a  punishment,  that  it  is  a  lucu- 
bration of  justices,  a  new  theory  of  prison  dis- 
cipline, a  valuable  county  experiment  going 
on  at  the  expense  of  my  arms,  legs,  back, 
feelings,  character,  and  rights  ?  We  must  tie 
those  prsegustant  punishers  down  by  one 
question.  Do  you  mean  to  inflict  any  degree 
of  punishment  upon  persons  merely  for  being 
suspected  1 — or  at  least  any  other  degree  of 
punishment  than  that  without  which  criminal 
justice  cannot  exist,  detentioni  If  you  do, 
why  let  any  one  out  upon  bail  1  For  the  ques- 
tion between  us  is  not,  how  suspected  persons 
are  to  be  treated,  and  whether  or  not  they  are 
to  be  punished;  but  how  suspected  poor  j>er- 
sons  are  to  be  treated,  who  want  county  sup- 
port in  prison.  If  to  be  suspected  is  deserving 
of  punishment,  then  no  man  ought  to  be  let 
out  upon  bail,  but  every  one  should  be  kept 
grinding  from  accusation  to  trial ;  and  so  ought 
all  prisoners  to  be  treated  for  offences  not  bail- 
able, and  who  do  not  want  the  county  allow- 
ance. And  yet  no  grinding  philosopher  con- 
tends, that  all  suspected  persons  should  be  put 
in  the  mill — but  only  those  who  are  too  poor 
to  find  bail,  or  buy  provisions. 

If  there  are,  according  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  millers,  to  be  two  punishments,  the  first  for 
being  suspected  of  committing  the  offence, 
and  the  second  for  committing  it,  there  should 
be  two  trials  as  well  as  two  punishments.  Is 
the  man  really  suspected,  or  do  his  accusers 
only  pretend  to  suspect  him?  Are  the  sus- 
pecting of  better  character  than  the  suspected  1 
Is  it  a  light  suspicion  which  may  be  atoned 
for  by  grinding  a  peck  a  day"?  Is  it  a  bushel 
caseT  or  is  it  one  deeply  criminal,  which  re- 
quires the  flour  to  be  ground  line  enough  for 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


199 


French  rolls  1     But  we  must  put  an  end  to 
such  absurdities. 

It  is  very  untruly  stated,  that  a  prisoner,  be- 
fore trial,  not  compelled  to  work,  and  kept 
upon  a  plain  diet,  merely  sufficient  to  main- 
tain him  in  health,  is  better  off  than  he  was 
previous  to  his  accusation;  and  it  is  asked, 
with  a  triumphant  leer,  whether  the  situation 
of  any  man  ought  to  be  improved,  merely  be- 
cause he  has  become  an  object  of  suspicion 
to  his  fellow-creatures  1  This  happy  and  for- 
tunate man,  however,  is  separated  from  his 
wife  and  family ;  his  liberty  is  taken  away ; 
he  is  confined  within  four  walls ;  he  has  the 
reflection  that  his  family  are  existing  upon  a 
precarious  parish  support,  that  his  little  trade 
and  property  are  wasting,  that  his  character 
has  become  infamous,  that  he  has  incurred 
ruin  by  the  malice  of  others,  or  by  his  own 
crimes,  that  in  a  few  weeks  he  is  to  forfeit  his 
life,  or  be  banished  from  every  thing  he  loves 
upon  earth.  This  is  the  improved  situation, 
and  the  redundant  happiness  which  requires 
the  penal  circumvolutions  of  the  justice's 
mill  to  cut  off  so  unjust  a  balance  of  gratifi- 
cation, and  bring  him  a  little  nearer  to  what 
he  was  before  imprisonment  and  accusation. 
It  would  be  just  as  reasonable  to  say,  that  an 
idle  man  in  a  fever  is  better  off  than  a  healthy 
man  who  is  well  and  earns  his  bread.  He 
may  be  better  off  if  you  look  to  the  idleness 
alone,  though  that  is  doubtful;  but  is  he  better 
off  if  all  the  aches,  agonies,  disturbances,  de- 
liriums, and  the  nearness  to  death,  are  added 
to  the  lotl 

Mr.  Headlam's  panacea  for  all  prisoners  be- 
fore trial  is  the  treadmill :  we  beg  his  pardon — 
for  all  poor  prisoners  ;  but  a  man  who  is  about 
to  be  tried  for  his  life,  often  wants  all  his  leisure 
time  to  reflect  upon  his  defence.  The  exertions 
of  every  man  within  the  walls  of  a  prison  are 
necessarily  crippled  and  impaired.  What  can 
a  prisoner  answer  who  is  taken  hot  and  reeking 
from  the  treadmill,  and  asked  what  he  has  to 
say  in  his  defence  ;  his  answer  naturally  is — 
"I  have  been  grinding  corn  instead  of  thinking 
of  my  defence,  and  have  never  been  allowed 
the  proper  leisure  to  think  of  protecting  my 
character  and  my  life."  This  is  a  very  strong 
feature  of  cruelty  and  tyranny  in  the  mill.  We 
ought  to  be  sure  that  every  man  has  had  the 
fullest  leisure  to  prepare  for  his  defence,  that 
his  mind  and  body  have  not  been  harassed  by 
vexations  and  compulsory  employment.  The 
public  purchase,  at  a  great  price,  legal  accu- 
racy, and  legal  talent,  to  accuse  a  man  who  has 
not,  perhaps,  one  shilling  to  spend  upon  his 
defence.  It  is  atrocious  cruelty  not  to  leave 
him  full  leisure  to  write  his  scarcely  legible 
letters  to  his  witnesses,  and  to  use  all  the 
melancholy  and  feeble  means  which  suspected 
poverty  can  employ  for  its  defence  against  the 
long  and  heavy  arm  of  power. 

A  prisoner,  upon  the  system  recommended 
by  Mr.  Headlam,  is  committed,  perhaps  at  the 
end  of  August,  and  brought  to  trial  the  March 
following;  and,  after  all,  the  bill  is  either  thrown 
out  by  the  grand  jury,  or  the  prisoner  is  fully 
acquitted  ;  and  it  has  been  found,  we  believe, 
by  actual  returns,  that,  of  committed  prisoners, 
about  a  half  are  actually  acquitted,  or  their  ac- 


cusations dismissed  by  the  grand  jury.  This 
may  be  very  true,  say  the  advocates  of  this 
system,  but  we  know  that  many  men  who  are 
acquitted  are  guilty.  They  escape  through 
some  mistaken  lenity  of  the  law,  or  some  cor- 
ruption of  evidence  ;  and  as  they  have  not  had 
their  deserved  punishment  after  trial,  we  are 
not  sorry  they  had  it  before.  The  English  law 
says,  better  many  guilty  escape,  than  that  one 
innocent  man  perish;  but  the  humane  notions 
of  the  mill  are  bottomed  upon  the  principle, 
that  all  had  better  be  punished  lest  any  escape. 
They  evince  a  total  mistrust  in  the  jurispru- 
dence of  the  country,  and  say  the  results  of 
trial  are  so  uncertain,  that  it  is  better  to  punish 
all  the  prisoners  before  they  come  into  court. 
Mr.  Headlam  forgets  that  general  rules  are  not 
beneficial  in  each  individual  instance,  but 
beneficial  upon  the  whole;  that  they  are  pre- 
served because  they  do  much  more  good  than 
harm,  though  in  some  particular  instances  they 
do  more  harm  than  good  ;  yet  no  respectable 
man  violates  them  on  that  account,  but  holds 
them  sacred  for  the  great  balance  of  advantage 
they  confer  upon  mankind.  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  crimes,  for  instance,  to  take  away  the 
life  of  a  man  ;  yet  there  are  many  men  whose 
death  would  be  a  good  to  society,  rather  than 
an  evil.  Every  good  man  respects  the  pro- 
perty of  others ;  yet  to  take  from  a  worthless 
miser,  and  to  give  it  to  a  virtuous  man  in  dis- 
tress, would  be  an  advantage.  Sensible  men 
are  never  staggered  when  they  see  the  excep- 
tion. They  know  the  importance  of  the  rule, 
and  protect  it  most  eagerly  at  the  very  moment 
when  it  is  doing  more  harm  than  good.  The 
plain  rule  of  justice  is,  that  no  man  should  be 
punished  till  he  is  found  guilty;  but  because 
Mr.  Headlam  occasionally  sees  a  bad  man 
acquitted  under  this  rule,  and  sent  out  unpun- 
ished upon  the  world,  he  forgets  all  the  general 
good  and  safety  of  the  principle  are  debauched 
by  the  exception,  and  applauds  and  advocates 
a  system  of  prison  discipline  which  renders 
injustice  certain,  in  order  to  prevent  it  from 
being  occasional. 

The  meaning  of  all  preHminary  imprison- 
ment is,  that  the  accused  person  should  be 
forthcoming  at  the  time  of  trial.  It  was  never 
intended  as  a  punishment.  Bail  is  a  far  better 
invention  than  imprisonment,  in  cases  where 
the  heavy  punishment  of  the  offence  would  not 
induce  the  accused  person  to  run  away  from 
any  bail.  Now,  let  us  see  the  enormous  dif- 
ference this  new  style  of  punishment  makes 
between  two  men,  whose  only  difference  is,  that 
one  is  poor  and  the  other  rich.  A  and  B  are 
accused  of  some  bailable  offence.  A  has  no 
bail  to  offer,  and  no  money  to  support  himself 
in  prison,  and  takes,  therefore,  his  four  or  five 
months  in  the  treadmill.  B  gives  bail,  appears 
at  his  trial,  and  both  are  sentenced  to  two 
months'  imprisonment.  In  this  case,  the  one 
suffers  three  limes  as  much  as  the  other  for  the 
same  offence  :  but  suppose  A  is  acquitted  and 
B  found  guilty, — the  innocent  man  has  then 
laboured  in  the  treadmill  five  months  because 
he  was  poor,  and  the  guilty  man  labours  two 
months  because  he  was  rich.  We  are  aware 
that  there  must  be,  even  without  the  treadmill, 
a  great  and  an  inevitable  difference  between 


200 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


men  (in  pari  delicto),  some  of  whom  can  give 
bail,  and  some  not ;  but  that  difference  becomes 
infinitely  more  bitter  and  objectionable,  in  pro- 
portion as  detention  before  trial  assumes  the 
character  of  severe  and  degrading  punishment. 

If  motion  in  the  treadmill  was  otherwise  as 
fascinating  as  millers  describe  it  to  be,  still  the 
mere  degradation  of  the  punishment  is  enough 
to  revolt  every  feeling  of  an  untried  person. 
It  is  a  punishment  consecrated  to  convicted 
felons — and  it  has  every  character  that  such 
punishment  ought  to  have.  An  untried  person 
feels  at  once,  in  getting  into  the  mill,  that  he  is 
put  to  the  labour  of  the  guilty  ;  that  a  mode  of 
employment  has  been  selected  for  him,  which 
renders  him  infamous  before  a  single  fact  or 
argument  has  been  advanced  to  establish  his 
guilt.  If  men  are  put  into  the  treadmill  before 
trial,  it  is  literally  of  no  sort  of  consequence 
whether  they  are  acquitted  or  not.  Acquittal 
does  not  shelter  them  from  punishment,  for 
they  have  already  been  punished.  It  does  not 
screen  them  from  infamy,  for  they  have  already 
been  treated  as  if  they  were  infamous;  and  the 
association  of  the  treadmill  and  crimes  is  not 
to  be  got  over.  This  machine  flings  all  the 
power  of  juries  into  the  hands  of  the  magis- 
trates, and  makes  every  simple  commitment 
more  terrible  than  a  conviction  ;  for,  in  a  con- 
viction, the  magistrate  considers  whether  the 
offence  has  been  committed  or  not;  and  does 
not  send  the  prisoner  to  jail  unless  he  thinks 
him  guilty;  but  in  a  simple  commitment,  a 
man  is  not  sent  to  jail  because  the  magistrate 
is  convinced  of  his  guilt,  but  because  he  thinks 
a  fair  question  may  be  made  to  a  jury  whether 
the  accused  person  is  guilty  or  not.  Still,  how- 
ever, the  convicted  and  the  suspected  both  go 
to  the  same  mill ;  and  he  who  is  there  upon  the 
doubt,  grinds  as  much  flour  as  the  other  whose 
guilt  is  established  by  a  full  examination  of 
conflicting  evidence. 

Where  is  the  necessity  for  such  a  violation 
of  common  sense  and  common  justice  1  No- 
body asks  for  the  idle  prisoner  before  trial  more 
than  a  very  plain  and  moderate  diet.  Offer  him, 
if  you  please,  some  labour  which  is  less  irk- 
some, and  less  infamous  than  the  treadmill, — 
bribe  him  by  improved  diet,  and  a  share  of  the 
earnings  ;  there  will  not  be  three  men  out  of  an 
hundred  who  would  refuse  such  an  invitation, 
and  spurn  at  such  an  improvement  of  their 
condition.  A  little  humane  attention  and  per- 
suasion, among  men  who  ought,  upon  every 
principle  of  justice,  to  be  considered  as  inno- 
cent, we  should  have  thought  much  more  con- 
sonant to  English  justice,  and  to  the  feelings 
of  English  magistrates,  than  the  rack  and  wheel 
of  Cubitt.* 

Prison  discipline  is  an  object  of  considerable 
importance;  but  the  common  rights  of  mankind, 
and  the  common  principles  of  justice,  and  hu- 
manity, and  liberty,  are  of  greater  consequence 
even  than  prison  discipline.  Right  and  wrong, 
innocence  and  guilt,  must  not  be  confounded, 
that  a  prison-fancying  justice  may  bring  his 
friend  into  the  prison  and  say,  "  Look  what  a 


*  It  is  singular  enough,  that  we  use  these  observations 
In  reviewing  the  pamphlet  and  system  of  a  gentleman 
remarkable  for  the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  and  the  mild- 
ness and  humanity  of  bis  disposition. 


spectacle  of  order,  silence,  and  decorum  we 
have  established  here !  no  idleness,  all  grind- 
ing ! — we  produce  a  penny  roll  every  second — 
our  prison  is  supposed  to  be  the  best  regulated 
prison  in  England, — Cubitt  is  making  us  a  new 
wheel  of  forty  felon  power, — look  how  white 
the  flour  is,  all  done  by  untried  prisoners — as 
innocent  as  lambs  !"  If  prison  discipline  is  to 
supersede  every  other  consideration,  why  are 
pennyless  prisoners  alone  to  be  put  into  the 
mill  before  triall  If  idleness  in  jails  is  so 
pernicious,  why  not  put  all  prisoners  in  the 
treadiTiill,  the  rich  as  well  as  those  who  are 
unable  to  support  themselves"?  Why  are  the 
debtors  left  out?  If  fixed  principles  are  to  be 
given  up,  and  prisons  turned  into  a  plaything 
for  magistrates,  nothing  can  be  more  unpictu- 
resque  than  to  see  one-half  of  the  prisoners 
looking  on,  talking,  gaping,  and  idling,  while 
their  poorer  brethren  are  grinding  for  dinners 
and  suppers. 

It  is  a  very  weak  argument  to  talk  of  the 
prisoners  earning  their  support,  and  the  ex- 
pense to  a  county  of  maintaining  prisoners 
before  trial, — as  if  any  rational  man  could  ever 
expect  to  gain  a  farthing  by  an  expensive  mill, 
where  felons  are  the  moving  power,  and  jus- 
tices the  superintendents,  or  as  if  such  a  trade 
must  not  necessarily  be  carried  on  at  a  great 
loss.  If  it  were  just  and  proper  that  prisoners, 
before  trial,  should  be  condemned  to  the  mill, 
it  would  be  of  no  consequence  whether  the 
county  gained  or  lost  by  the  trade.  But  the  in- 
justice of  the  practice  can  never  be  defended 
by  its  economy ;  and  the  fact  is,  that  it  increases 
expenditure,  while  it  violates  principle.  We 
are]  aware,  that  by  leaving  out  repairs,  altera- 
tions, and  first  costs,  and  a  number  of  little 
particulars,  a  very  neat  account,  signed  by  a 
jailer,  may  be  made  up,  which  shall  make  the 
mill  a  miraculous  combination  of  mercantile 
speculation  and  moral  improvement;  but  we 
are  too  old  for  all  this.  We  accuse  nobody  of 
intentional  misrepresentation.  This  is  quite 
out  of  the  question  with  persons  so  highly  re- 
spectable; but  men  are  constantly  misled  by 
the  spirit  of  system,  and  egregiously  deceive 
themselves — even  very  good  and  sensible 
men. 

Mr.  Headlam  compares  the  case  of  a  pri- 
soner before  trial,  claiming  support,  to  that  of 
a  pauper  claiming  relief  from  his  parish.  But 
it  seems  to  us  that  no  two  cases  can  be  more 
dissimilar.  The  prisoner  was  no  pauper  be- 
fore you  took  him  up,  and  deprived  him  of  his 
customers,  tools,  and  market.  It  is  by  your 
act  and  deed  that  he  is  fallen  into  a  state  of 
pauperism ;  and  nothing  can  be  more  prepos- 
terous, than  first  to  make  a  man  a  pauper,  and 
then  to  punish  him  for  being  so.  It  is  true, 
that  the  apprehension  and  detention  of  the  pri 
soner  were  necessary  for  the  purposes  of 
criminal  justice  ;  but  the  consequences  arising 
from  this  necessary  act  cannot  be  imputed  to 
the  prisoner.  He  has  brought  it  upon  him- 
self, it  will  be  urged;  but  that  remains  to  be 
seen,  and  will  not  be  known  till  he  is  tried; 
and  till  it  is  known  you  have  no  right  to  take 
it  for  granted,  and  to  punish  him  as  if  it  were 
proved. 

There  seems  to  be  ia  the  minds  of  some 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


201 


gentlemen  a  notion,  that  when  once  a  person 
is  in  prison,  it  is  of  little  consequence  how  he 
is  treated  afterwards.  The  tyranny  which  pre- 
vailed, of  putting  a  person  in  a  particular 
dress  before  trial,  now  abolished  by  act  of  Par- 
liament, was  justified  by  this  train  of  reason- 
ing:— The  man  has  been  rendered  infamous 
by  imprisonment.  He  cannot  be  rendered 
more  so,  dress  liim  as  you  will.  His  character 
is  not  rendered  worse  by  the  treadmill,  than  it 
is  by  being  sent  to  the  place  where  the  tread- 
mill is  at  work.  The  substance  of  this  way 
of  thinking  is,  that  when  a  fellow-creature  is 
in  the  frying-pan,  there  is  no  harm  in  pushing 
him  into  the  fire;  that  a  little  more  misery — a 
little  more  infamy — a  few  more  links,  are  of 
no  sort  of  consequence  in  a  prison-life.  If  this 
monstrous  style  of  reasoning  extended  to  hos- 
pitals as  well  as  prisons,  there  would  be  no 
harm  in  breaking  the  small  bone  of  a  man's 
leg,  because  the  large  one  was  fractured,  or  in 
peppering  with  small  shot  a  person  who  was 
wounded  with  a  cannon-ball.  The  principle 
is,  because  a  man  is  very  wretched,  there  is  no 
harm  in  making  him  a  little  more  so.  The 
steady  answer  to  all  this  is,  that  a  man  is  im- 
prisoned before  trial,  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  his  appearance  at  his  trial ;  and  that 
no  punishment  nor  privation,  not  clearly  and 
candidly  necessary  for  that  purpose,  should  be 
inflicted  upon  him.  I  keep  you  in  prison, 
because  criminal  justice  would  be  defeated  by 
your  flight,  if  I  did  not:  but  criminal  justice 
can  go  on  very  well  without  degrading  you  to 
hard  and  infamous  labour,  or  denying  you  any 
reasonable  gratification.  For  these  reasons, 
the  first  of  those  acts  is  just,  the  rest  are  mere 
tyranny. 

Mr.  Nicoll,  in  his  opinion,  tells  us,  that  he 
has  no  doubt  Parliament  would  amend  the 
bill,  if  the  omission  was  stated  to  them.  We, 
on  the  contrary,  have  no  manner  of  doubt  that 
Parliament  would  treat  such  a  petition  M^ith 
the  contempt  it  deserved.  Mr.  Peel  is  too  much 
enlightened  and  sensible  to  give  any  counte- 
nance to  such  a  great  and  glaring  error.  In 
this  case, — and  we  wish  it  were  a  more  fre- 
quent one — the  wisdom  comes  from  within, 
and  the  error  from  without  the  walls  of  Par- 
liament. 

A  prisoner  before  trial  who  can  support  him- 
self, ought  to  be  allowed  every  fair  and  rational 
enjoyment  which  he  can  purchase,  not  incom- 
patible with  prison  discipline.  He  should  be 
allowed  to  buy  ale  or  wine  in  moderation, — to 
use  tobacco,  or  any  thing  else  he  can  pay  for 
within  the  above-mentioned  limits.  If  he  can- 
not support  himself,  and  declines  work,  then 
he  should  be  supported  upon  a  very  plain,  but 
still  a  plentiful  diet  (something  better,  we  think, 
than  bread  and  water);  and  all  prisoners  be- 
fore trial  should  be  allowed  to  work.  By  a 
liberal  share  of  earnings  (or  rather  by  rewards, 
for  there  would  be  no  earnings),  and  also  by 
26 


an  improved  diet,  and  in  the  hands  of  humane 
magistrates,*  there  would  soon  appear  to  be  no 
necessity  for  appealing  to  the  treadmill  till 
trial  was  over. 

This  treadmill,  after  trial,  is  certainly  a  very 
excellent  method  of  punishment,  as  far  as  we 
are  yet  acquainted  with  its  effects.  We  think, 
at  present,  however,  it  is  a  little  abused;  and 
hereafter  it  is  our  intention  to  express  our 
opinion  upon  the  limits  to  which  it  ought  to  be 
confined.  Upon  this  point,  however,  we  do 
not  much  differ  from  Mr.  Headlam  ;  although, 
in  his  remarks  on  the  treatment  of  prisoners 
before  trial,  we  think  he  has  made  a  very 
serious  mistake,  and  has  attempted  (without 
knowing  what  he  was  doing,  and  meaning,  we 
are  persuaded,  nothing  but  what  was  honest 
and  just)  to  pluck  up  one  of  the  ancient  land- 
marks of  human  justice.f 


*  All  magistrates  should  remember,  that  nothing  ia 
more  easy  to  a  person  entrusted  with  power  than  to  con- 
vince himself  it  is  his  duty  to  treat  his  fellow-creaturea 
with  severity  and  rigour, — and  tlT^n  to  persuade  him- 
self that  he  is  doing  it  very  reluctantly,  and  contrary  to 
his  real  feeling. 

\  We  hope  this  article  will  conciliate  our  old  friend 
Mr.  Koscoe  ;  who  is  very  angry  with  us  for  some  of  our 
former  lucubrations  on  prison  discipline, — and,  above  all, 
because  we  are  not  grave  enough  for  him.  Tl)e  diflTer- 
ence  is  thus  stated  : — Six  ducks  are  stolen.  Mr.  Roscoe 
would  commit  the  man  to  prison  for  si.x  weeks,  perhaps, 
— reason  with  him.  argue  with  him,  give  him  tracts, 
send  clersymeri  to  him,  work  him  gently  at  some  useful 
trade,  and  try  to  turn  him  from  the  habit  of  stealing 
poultry.  H'e  would  keep  him  hard  at  work  twelve  houra 
every  day  at  the  treadmill,  feed  him  only  so  as  not  to 
impair  his  health,  and  then  give  him  as  much  of  Mr. 
Roscoe's  system  as  was  compatible  with  our  own  ;  and 
we  think  our  method  would  diminish  the  number  of 
duck-stealers  more  effectually  than  that  of  the  historian 
of  Leo  X,  The  primary  duck-stealer  would,  we  think, 
be  as  effectually  deterreli  from  repeating  the  offence  by 
the  terror  of  our  imprisonment,  as  by  the  excellence  of 
Mr.  Roscoe's  education — and,  what  is  of  infinitely  greater 
consequence,  innumerable  duck-stealers  would  be  pre- 
vented. Because  punishment  does  not  annihilate  crime, 
it  is  folly  to  say  it  does  not  lessen  it.  It  did  not  stop  the 
murder  of  Mrs.  Uonatty ;  but  how  many  Mrs.  Donattys 
has  it  kept  alive !  When  we  recommend  severity,  we 
recommend,  of  course,  that  degree  of  severity  wliich 
will  not  excite  compassion  for  the  sufferer,  and  lessen 
the  horror  of  the  crime.  This  is  why  we  do  not  recom- 
mend torture  and  amputation  of  limbs.  When  a  man 
has  been  proved  to  have  committed  a  crime,  it  is  e.\pe- 
dient  that  society  should  make  use  of  that  man  for  the 
diminution  of  crime  :  he  belongs  to  them  for  that  pur- 
pose. Our  primary  duty,  in  such  a  case,  is  so  to  treat 
the  culprit  that  many  other  persons  may  be  rendered 
better,  or  prevented  i^rom  being  worse  by  dread  of  the 
same  treatment;  and,  making  this  the  principal  object, 
to  combine  with  it  as  much  as  possible  the  improvement 
of  the  individual.  The  ruffian  who  killed  Mr.  Mumford 
was  hung  within  forty-eiglit  hours.  Upon  Mr.  Roscoe'3 
principles,  this  was  wrong;  for  it  certainly  was  not  the 
way  to  reclaim  the  man  : — We  say,  on  the  contrary,  the 
object  was  to  do  any  thing  with  the  man  which  would 
render  murders  less  frequent,  and  that  the  conversion  of 
the  man  was  a  mere  tritte  compared  to  this.  His  death 
probably  prevented  the  necessity  of  reclaiming  a  dozen 
murderers.  That  death  will  not,  indeed,  prevent  all 
murders  in  that  county;  but  many  who  have  seen  it, 
and  many  who  have  heard  of  it,  will  swallow  their  re- 
venge from  the  dread  of  being  hanged.  Mr.  Roscoe  is 
very  severe  upon  our  style ;  but  poor  dear  Mr.  Roscoe 
should  remember  that  men  have  different  tastes,  and 
different  methods  of  going  to  work.  We  feel  these  mat- 
ters as  deeply  aa  he  does.  But  why  so  cross  upan  thin 
or  any  other  subject  1 


Md 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


AMERICA; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1824.] 


There  is  a  set  of  miserable  persons  in 
England,  who  are  dreadfully  afraid  of  America 
and  every  thing  American — whose  great  de- 
light is  to  see  that  country  ridiculed  and 
vilified — and  who  appear  to  imagine  that  all 
tlie  abuses  which  exist  in  this  country  acquire 
additional  vigour  and  chance  of  duration  from 
every  book  of  travels  which  pours  forth  its 
venom  and  falsehood  on  the  United  States. 
We  shall  from  time  to  time  call  the  attention 
of  the  public  to  this  subject,  not  from  any 
party  spirit,  but  because  we  love  truth,  and 
praise  excellence  wherever  we  find  it ;  and 
because  we  think  the  example  of  America 
will  in  many  instances  tend  to  open  the  eyes 
of  Englishmen  to  their  true  interests. 

The  economy  of  America  is  a  great  and  im- 
portant object  for  our  imitation.  The  salary 
of  Mr.  Bagot,  our  late  ambassador,  was,  we 
believe,  rather  higher  than  that  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  The  vice-president 
receives  rather  less  than  the  second  clerk  of 
the  House  of  Commons  ;  and  all  salaries,  civil 
and  military,  are  upon  the  same  scale ;  and 
yet  no  country  is  better  served  than  America! 
Mr.  Hume  has  at  last  persuaded  the  English 
people  to  look  a  little  into  their  accounts,  and 
to  see  how  sadly  they  are  plundered.  But 
we  ought  to  suspend  our  contempt  for  Ame- 
rica, and  consider  whether  we  have  not  a 
very  momentous  lesson  to  learn  from  this 
wise  and  cautious  people  on  the  subject  of 
economy. 

A  lesson  upon  the  importance  of  religious 
toleration,  we  are  determined,  it  would  seem, 
not  to  learn, — either  from  America,  or  from 
any  other  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  High 
Sherifi"  of  New  York,  last  year,  was  a  Jew.  It 
was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  a  bill  was 
carried  this  year  to  allow  the  first  Duke  of 
England  to  carry  a  gold  stick  before  the  king 
— because  he  was  a  Catholic ! — and  yet  we 
think  ourselves  entitled  to  indulge  in  imperti- 
nent sneers  at  America, — as  if  civilization  did 
not  depend  more  upon  making  wise  laws  for 
the  promotion  of  human  happiness,  than  in 
having  good  inns,  and  post-horses,  and  civil 
waiters.  The  circumstances  of  the  Dissenters' 
marriage  bill  are  such  as  would  excite  the 
contempt  of  a  Choctaw  or  Cherokee,  if  he 
could  be  brought  to  understand  them.  A  cer- 
tain class  of  Dissenters  beg  they  may  not  be 
compelled  to  say  that  they  marry  in  the  name 
of  the  Trinity,  because  they  do  not  believe  in 


*  1.  Travels  throug-h  Part  of  the  United  States  avd 
Canada,  in  1818  and  1819.  By  John  M.  Duncan,  A.  B. 
Glasgow,  1823. 

2.  Letters  from  J^Torth  America,  written  during  a  Tour 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  By  Adam  Hodgson. 
Lonrlon,  1824. 

3.  Mn  Excursion  throusrh  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
during  the  years  1822-3.  By  an  English  Gentleman. 
London,  1824. 


the  Trinity.  Never  mind,  say  the  corruption- 
ists,  you  must  go  on  saying  you  marry  in  the 
name  of  the  Trinity,  whether  you  believe  in 
it  or  not.  We  know  that  such  a  protestation 
from  you  will  be  false:  but,  unless  you  make 
it,  your  wives  shall  be  concubines,  and  your 
children  illegitimate.  Is  it  possible  to  con- 
ceive a  greater  or  more  useless  tyranny  than 
thisl 

"  In  the  religious  freedom  which  America 
enjoys,  I  see  a  more  unquestioned  superiority. 
In  Britain  we  enjoy  toleration,  but  here  they 
enjoy  liberty.  If  government  has  a  right  to 
grant  toleration  to  any  particular  set  of  reli- 
gious opinions,  it  has  also  a  right  to  take  it 
away;  and  such  a  right  with  regard  to  opinions 
exclusively  religious  I  would  deny  in  all  cases, 
because  totally  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of 
religion,  in  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word, 
and  equally  irreconcilable  with  civil  liberty, 
rightly  so  called.  God  has  given  to  each  of 
us  his  inspired  word,  and  a  rational  mind  to 
which  that  word  is  addressed.  He  has  also 
made  known  to  us,  that  each  for  himself  must 
answer  at  his  tribunal  for  his  principles  and 
conduct.  What  man,  then,  or  body  of  men, 
has  a  right  to  tell  me,  '  You  do  not  think  aright 
on  religious  subjects,  but  we  will  tolerate  your 
error  ]'  The  answer  is  a  most  obvious  one, 
'  Who  gave  you  authority  to  dictate  1 — or  what 
exclusive  claim  have  )^ou  to  infallibility  V  If 
my  sentiments  do  not  lead  me  into  conduct 
inconsistent  with  the  welfare  of  my  fellow- 
creatures,  the  question  as  to  their  accuracy  or 
fallacy  is  one  between  God  and  my  own  con- 
science ;  and,  though  a  fair  subject  for  argu- 
ment, is  none  for  compulsion. 

"  The  Inquisition  undertook  to  regulate  as- 
tronomical science,  and  kings  and  parliaments 
have  with  equal  propriety  presumed  to  legis- 
late upon  questions  of  theology.  The  world 
has  outgrown  the  former,  and  it  will  one  day 
be  ashamed  that  it  has  been  so  long  of  out- 
growing the  latter.  The  founders  of  the 
American  republic  saw  the  absurdity  of  em- 
ploying the  attorney-general  to  refute  deism 
and  infidelity,  or  of  attempting  to  influence 
opinion  on  abstract  subjects  by  penal  enact- 
ment; they  saw  also  the  injustice  of  taxing 
the  whole  to  support  the  religious  opinions  of 
the  few,  and  have  set  an  example  which  older 
governments  will  one  day  or  other  be  com- 
pelled to  follow. 

"  In  America  the  question  is  not,  What  is 
his  creed  1 — but,  what  is  his  conduct  1  Jews 
have  all  the  privileges  of  Christians ;  Episco- 
palians, Presbyterians,  and  Independents,  meet 
on  common  ground.  No  religious  test  is  re- 
quired to  qualify  for  public  office,  except  in 
some  cases  a  mere  verbal  assent  to  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  religion ;  and  in  every  court 
throughout  the  country,  it  is  optional  whether 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


203 


you  give  your  affirmation  or  your  oath." — 
Duncan's  Travels,  II.  328—330. 

In  fact,  it  is  hardly  possible  for  any  nation 
to  show  a  greater  superiority  over  another 
than  the  Americans,  in  this  particular,  have 
done  over  this  country.  They  have  fairly  and 
completely,  and  probably  for  ever,  extinguished 
that  spirit  of  religious  persecution  which  has 
been  the  employment  and  the  curse  of  man- 
kind for  four  or  five  centuries ;  not  only  that 
persecution  which  imprisons  and  scourges 
for  religious  opinions,  but  the  tyranny  of  in- 
capacitation, which,  by  disqualifying  from 
civil  offices,  and  cutting  a  man  off  from  the 
lawful  objects  of  ambition,  endeavours  to 
strangle  religious  freedom  in  silence,  and  to 
enjoy  all  the  advantages,  without  the  blood, 
and  noise,  and  fire  of  persecution.  What 
passes  in  the  mind  of  one  mean  blockhead  is 
the  general  history  of  all  persecution.  "This 
man  pretends  to  know  better  than  me — I  can- 
not subdue  him  by  argument :  but  I  will  take 
care  he  shall  never  be  mayor  or  alderman  of 
the  town  in  which  he  lives;  I  will  never  con- 
sent to  the  repeal  of  the  test  act  or  to  Catholic 
emancipation  ;  I  will  teach  the  fellow  to  differ 
from  me  in  religious  opinions  !"  So  says  the 
Episcopalian  to  the  Catholic — and  so  the 
Catholic  says  to  the  Protestant.  But  the 
wisdom  of  America  keeps  them  all  down — 
secures  to  them  all  their  just  rights — gives  to 
each  of  them  their  separate  pews,  and  bells, 
and  steeples — makes  them  all  aldermen  in 
their  turns — and  quietly  extinguishes  the  fa- 
gots which  each  is  preparing  for  the  combus- 
tion of  the  other.  Nor  is  this  indifference  to 
religious  subjects  in  the  American  people,  but 
pure  civilization — a  thorough  comprehension 
of  what  is  best  calculated  to  secure  the  public 
happiness  and  peace — and  a  determination 
that  this  happiness  and  peace  shall  not  be 
violated  by  the  insolence  of  any  human  being, 
in  the  garb,  and  under  the  sanction,  of  reli- 
gion. In  this  particular,  the  Americans  are  at 
the  head  of  all  the  nations  of  the  world :  and 
at  the  same  time  they  are,  especially  in  the 
Eastern  and  Midland  States,  so  far  from  being 
indifferent  on  subjects  of  religion,  that  they 
may  be  most  justly  characterized  as  a  very 
religious  people :  but  they  are  devout  without 
being  unjust  (the  great  problem  in  religion) ; 
an  higher  proof  of  civilization  than  painted 
tea-cups,  water-proof  leather,  or  broadcloth  at 
two  guineas  a  yard. 

America  is  exempted,  by  its  very  newness 
as  a  nation,  from  many  of  the  evils  of  the  old 
governments  of  Europe.  It  has  no  mischiev- 
ous remains  of  feudal  institutions,  and  no 
violations  of  political  economy  sanctioned  by 
time,  and  older  than  the  age  of  reason.  If  a 
man  finds  a  partridge  upon  his  ground  eating 
his  corn,  in  any  part  of  Kentucky  or  Indiana, 
he  may  kill  it,  even  if  his  father  is  not  a  doc- 
.tor  of  divinit3%  The  Americans  do  not  exclude 
their  own  citizens  from  any  branch  of  com- 
merce which  they  leave  open  to  all  the  rest  of 
the  world. 

"  One  of  them  said,  that  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted v/ith  a  British  subject,  residing  at 
Newark,  Upper  Canada,  who  annually  smug- 


gl  d  from  500  to  1000  chests  of  tea  into  that 
province  from  the  United  States.  He  men- 
tioned the  name  of  this  man,  who  he  said  was 
growdng  very  rich  in  consequence ;  and  he 
stated  the  manner  in  which  the  fraud  was 
managed.  Now,  as  all  the  tea  ought  to  be 
brought  from  England,  it  is  of  course  very 
expensive;  and  therefore  the  Canadian  tea 
dealers,  after  buying  one  or  two  chests  at 
Montreal  or  elsewhere,  which  have  the  cus- 
tom-house mark  upon  them,  fill  them  up  ever 
afterwards  with  tea  brought  from  the  United 
States.  It  is  calculated  that  near  10,000  chests 
are  annually  consumed  in  the  Canadas,  of 
which  not  more  than  2000  or  3000  come  from 
Europe.  Indeed,  when  I  had  myself  entered 
Canada,  I  was  told  that  of  every  fifteen  pounds 
of  tea  sold  there  thirteen  were  smuggled.  The 
profit  upon  smuggling  this  article  is  from  50 
to  100  per  cent.,  and  with  an  extensive  and 
wild  frontier  like  Canada,  cannot  be  prevented. 
Indeed  it  every  year  increases,  and  is  brought 
to  a  more  perfect  system.  But  I  suppose  that 
the  English  government,  which  is  the  perfec- 
tion of  wisdom,  will  never  allow  the  Canadian 
merchants  to  trade  direct  to  China,  in  order 
that  (from  pure  charity)  the  whole  profit  of 
the  tea  trade  may  be  given  up  to  the  United 
States." — Excursion,  pp.  394,  395, 

"You  will  readily  conceive,  that  it  is  with 
no  small  mortification  that  I  hear  these  Ame- 
rican merchants  talk  of  sending  their  ships  to 
London  and  Liverpool,  to  take  in  goods  or 
specie,  with  which  to  purchase  tea  for  the 
supply  of  European  ports,  almost  within  sight 
of  our  own  shores.  They  often  taunt  me, 
asking  me  what  our  government  can  possibly 
mean  by  prohibiting  us  from  engaging  in  a 
profitable  trade,  which  is  open  to  them  and  to 
all  the  world]  or  where  can  be  our  boasted 
liberties,  while  we  tamely  submit  to  the  infrac- 
tion of  our  natural  rights,  to  supply  a  mono- 
poly as  absurd  as  it  is  unjust,  and  to  humour 
the  caprice  of  a  company  who  exclude  their 
fellow-subjects  from  a  branch  of  commerce 
which  they  do  not  pursue  themselves,  but 
leave  to  the  enterprise  of  foreigners,  or  com- 
mercial rivals  1  On  such  occasions  I  can 
only  reply,  that  both  our  governments  and 
people  are  growing  wiser ;  and  that  if  the 
charter  of  the  East  India  Company  be  renew- 
ed, when  it  next  expires,  I  will  allow  them  to 
infer,  that  the  people  of  England  have  little 
influence  iu  the  administration  of  their  own 
affairs."— i/o<%son's  Letters,  II.  128,  129. 

Though  America  is  a  confederation  of  re- 
publics, they  are  in  many  cases  much  more 
amalgamated  than  the  various  parts  of  Great 
Britain.  If  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  caa 
make  a  shoe,  he  is  at  liberty  to  make  a  shoe 
any  where  between  Lake  Ontario  and  New 
Orleans, — he  may  sole  on  the  Mississippi — 
heel  on  the  Missouri — measure  Mr.  Birkbeck 
on  the  little  Wabash,  or  take  (which  our  best 
politicians  do  not  find  an  easy  matter)  the 
length  of  Munroe's  foot  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac.  But  wo  to  the  cobbler,  who,  having 
made  Hessian  boots  for  the  aldermen  of  New- 
castle, should  venture  to  invest  with  these  co- 
riaceous integuments  the  leg  of  a  liege  subject 
at  York.    A  yellow  ant  in  a  nest  of  red  ants — 


204 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


a  butcher's  dog  in  a  fox-kennel — a  mouse  in  a 
bee-hive, — all  feel  the  effects  of  untimely  in- 
trusion ; — but  far  preferable  their  fate  to  that 
of  the  misguided  artisan,  who,  misled  by  six- 
penny histories  of  England,  and  conceiving 
his  country  to  have  been  united  at  the  Hept- 
archy, goes  forth  from  his  native  town  to  stitch 
freely  within  the  sea-girt  limits  of  Albion. 
Him  the  mayor,  him  the  alderman,  him  the 
recorder,  him  the  quarter  sessions  would  wor- 
ry. Him  ihe  justices  before  trial  would  long 
to  get  into  the  treadmill  ;*  and  would  much 
lament  that,  by  a  recent  act,  they  could  not  do 
so,  even  with  the  intruding  tradesman's  con- 
sent ;  but  the  moment  he  was  tried,  the}^  would 
push  him  in  with  redoubled  energy,  and  leave 
him  to  tread  himself  into  a  conviction  of  the 
barbarous  institutions  of  his  corporation- 
divided  country. 

Too  much  praise  cannot  be  given  to  the 
Americans  for  their  great  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  education.  All  the  public  lands  are 
.surveyed  according  to  the  direction  of  Con- 
gress. They  are  divided  into  townships  of 
.six  miles  square,  by  lines  running  with  the 
cardinal  points,  and  consequently  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles.  Every  township 
is  divided  into  36  sections,  each  a  mile  square, 
and  containing  640  acres.  One  section  in 
each  township  is  reserved,  and  given  in  per- 
petuity for  the  benefit  of  common  schools.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  states  of  Tennessee  and 
Ohio  have  received  grants  for  the  support  of 
colleges  and  academies.  The  appropriation 
generally  in  the  new  states  for  seminaries  of 
the  higher  orders,  amounts  to  one-fifth  of  those 
for  common  schools.  It  appears  from  Sey- 
bert's  Statistical  Annals,  that  the  land  in  the 
states  and  territories  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  in  which  appropriations  have 
been  made,  amounts  to  237,300  acres ;  and 
according  to  the  ratio  above  mentioned,  the 
aggregate  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi 
is  7,900,000.  The  same  system  of  appropria- 
tion applied  to  the  west,  -will  make,  for  schools 
and  colleges,  6,600,000 ;  and  the  total  appropria- 
tion for  literary  purposes,  in  the  new  states 
and  territories,  14,.500,000  acres,  which,  at  two 


*  This  puts  us  in  mind  of  our  fViend  Mr.  Headlam, 
who,  we  hear,  has  written  an  answer  to  our  Observa- 
tions on  the  Treadmill,  before  Trial.  It  would  have  been 
a  very  easy  thinjr  for  us  to  have  huns  Mr.  Headlam  up  as  a 
spectacle  to  the  United  Kinsdoms  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  the  principality  of  Wales,  and  the  town  of 
Berwick-on-Tweed  ;  hut  we  have  no  wish  to  make  a 
worthy  and  respectable  man  ridiculous.  For  these  rea- 
sons we  have  not  even  looked  at  his  pamphlet,  and  we 
decline  entering  into  a  controversy  upon  a  point,  where, 
among  men  of  sense  and  humanity  (who  have  not  heat- 
ed themselves  in  the  dispute),  there  cannot  possibly  be 
any  ditference  of  opinion.  All  members  of  both  houses 
of  Parliament  were  unanimous  in  their  condemnation 
of  the  odious  and  nonsensical  practice  of  working  pri- 
soners in  the  treadmill  before  trial.  It  had  not  one  single 
advocate.  Mr.  Headlam  and  the  magistrates  of  the 
North  Riding,  in  their  eagerness  to  save  a  relic  of  their 
prison  system,  forgot  themselves  so  far  as  to  petition  to 
be  entrusted  with  the  power  of  putting  prisoners  to  work 
before  trial,  with  thrir  own  consent — the  legislature  was, 
"  We  will  not  trust  you," — the  severest  practical  rebuke 
ever  received  by  any  puldic  body.  We  will  leave  it  to 
others  to  determine  whether  it  was  deserved.  We  have 
no  doubt  the  great  body  of  magistrates  meant  well.  They 
must  have  meant  well — but  they  have  been  sadly  misled, 
and  have  thrown  odium  on  the  subordinate  administra- 
tion of  justice,  which  it  is  far  from  deserving  on  other 
occasions,  in  their  hands.  This  strange  piece  of  nonsense 
is,  however,  now  well  ended.— Reguiescat  in  pace  I 


dollars  per  acre,  would  be  29,000,000  dollars. 
These  facts  are  very  properly  quoted  by  Mr. 
Hodgson;  and  it  is-  impossible  to  speak  too 
highly  of  their  value  and  importance.  They 
quite  put  into  the  back  ground  every  thing 
which  has  been  done  in  the  Old  World  for  the 
improvement  of  the  lower  orders,  and  confer 
deservedly  upon  the  Americans  the  character 
of  a  wise,  a  reflecting,  and  a  virtuous  people. 

It  is  rather  surprising  that  such  a  people, 
spreading  rapidly  over  so  vast  a  portion  of 
the  earth,  and  cultivating  all  the  liberal  and 
useful  arts  so  successfully,  should  be  so  ex- 
tremely sensitive  and  touchy  as  the  Ameri- 
cans are  said  to  be.  We  really  thought  at 
one  time  they  would  have  fitted  out  an  arma- 
ment against  the  Edinburgh  and  Quarterly 
Reviews,  and  burnt  down  Mr.  Murray's  and 
Mr.  Constable's  shops,  as  we  did  the  American 
Capitol.  We,  however,  remember  no  other 
anti-American  crime  of  which  we  were  guilty, 
than  a  preference  of  Shakspeare  and  Milton 
over  Joel  Barlow  and  Timothy  Dwight.  That 
opinion  we  must  still  take  the  liberty  of  retain- 
ing. There  is  nothing  in  Dwight  comparable 
to  the  finest  passages  of  Paradise  Lost,  nor  is 
Ml-.  Barlow  ever  humorous  or  pathetic,  as  the 
great  bard  of  the  English  stage  is  humorous 
and  pathetic.  We  have  always  been  strenu- 
ous* advocates  for,  and  admirers  of,  America 
— not  taking  our  ideas  from  the  overweening 
vanity  of  the  weaker  part  of  the  Americans 
themselves,  but  from  what  we  have  observed 
of  their  real  energy  and  Avisdom.  It  is  very 
natural  that  we  Scotch,  who  live  in  a  little, 
shabby,  scraggy  corner  of  a  remote  island, 
with  a  climate  which  cannot  ripen  an  apple, 
should  be  jealous  of  the  aggressive  pleasantry 
of  more  favoured  people  ;  but  that  Americans, 
who  have  done  so  much  for  themselves,  and 
received  so  much  from  nature,  should  be  flung 
into  such  convulsions  by  English  reviews  and 
magazines,  is  really  a  sad  specimen  of  Colum- 
bian juvenility.  We  hardly  dare  to  quote  the 
following  account  of  an  American  route,  for 
fear  of  having  our  motives  misrepresented, — 
and  strongly  suspect  that  there  are  but  few 
Americans  who  could  be  brought  to  admit  thai 
a  Philadelphia  or  Boston  concern  of  this  na- 
ture is  not  quite  equal  to  the  most  brilliant 
assemblies  of  London  or  Paris. 

"  A  tea  party  is  a  serious  thing  in  this  coun- 
try ;  and  some  of  those  at  which  I  have  been 
present,  in  New  York  and  elsewhere,  have  been 
on  a  very  large  scale.  In  the  modern  houses 
the  two  principal  apartments  are  on  the  first 
floor,  and  communicated  by  large  folding 
doors,  which  on  gala  days  throw  wide  their 
ample  portals,  converting  the  two  apartments 
into  one.     At  the  largest  party  which  I  have 


*  Ancient  women,  whether  in  or  out  of  breeches,  will 
of  course  imagine  that  we  are  the  enemies  of  the  insti- 
tiitions  of  our  country,  because  we  are  the  admirers  of 
the  institutions  of  America  :  hut  circumstances  differ. 
American  institutions  are  too  new,  English  institutions 
are  ready  made  to  our  hands.  If  we  were  to  build  the 
house  afresh,  we  might  perhaps  avail  ourselves  of  the 
improvements  of  a  new  plan  ;  hut  we  have  no  sort  of 
wish  to  pull  down  an  excellent  house,  strong,  warm,  and 
comfortable,  because,  upon  second  trial,  we  might  be 
able  to  alter  and  amend  it, — a  principle  which  would 
perpetuate  demolition  and  construction.  Our  plan, 
where  circumstances  are  tolerable,  is  to  sit  down  and 
enjoy  ourselves. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


205 


seen,  tliere  were  about  thirty  young  ladies 
present,  and  more  than  as  many  gentlemen. 
Every  sofa,  chair,  and  footstool,  were  occupied 
by  the  ladies,  and  little  enough  room  some  of 
them  appeared  to  have  after  all.  The  gentle- 
men were  obliged  to  be  content  with  walking 
up  and  down,  talking  now  with  one  lady,  now 
with  another.  Tea  was  brought  in  by  a  cou- 
ple of  blacks,  carrying  large  trays,  one  covered 
with  cups,  the  other  with  cake.  Slowly  making 
the  round,  and  retiring  at  intervals  for  addi- 
tional supplies,  the  ladies  were  gradually  gone 
over;  and  after  much  patience  the  gentlemen 
began  to  enjoy  the  beverage  '  which  cheers 
but  not  inebriates ;'  still  walking  about,  or 
leaning  against  the  wall,  with  the  cup  and 
saucer  in  their  hand. 

"  As  soon  as  the  first  course  was  over,  the 
hospitable  trays  again  entered,  bearing  a  chaos 
of  preserves — peaches,  pineapples,  ginger, 
oranges,  citrons,  pears,  &c.  in  tempting  dis- 
plaj%  A  few  of  the  young  gentlemen  now 
accompanied  the  revolution  of  the  trays,  and 
sedulously  attended  to  the  pleasure  of  the 
ladies.  The  party  was  so  numerous  that  the 
period  between  the  commencement  and  the 
termination  of  the  round  was  sufficient  to  jus- 
tify a  new  solicitation :  and  so  the  ceremony 
continued,  with  very  little  intermission,  during 
the  whole  evening.  Wine  succeeded  the  pre- 
serves, and  dried  fruit  followed  the  wine ; 
which,  in  its  turn,  was  supported  by  sand- 
wiches in  name  of  supper,  and  a  forlorn  hope 
of  confectionary  and  frost  work.  I  pitied  the 
poor  blacks,  who,  like  Tantalus,  had  such  a 
profusion  of  dainties  the  whole  evening  at 
their  finger  ends,  without  the  possibility  of 
partaking  of  them.  A  little  music  and  dancing 
gave  variety  to  the  scene ;  which  to  some  of 
us  was  a  source  of  considerable  satisfaction ; 
for  when  a  number  of  ladies  were  on  the  floor, 
those  who  cared  not  for  the  dance  had  the 
pleasure  of  getting  a  seat.  About  eleven 
o'clock  I  did  myself  the  honour  of  escorting  a 
lady  home,  and  was  well  pleased  to  have  an 
excuse  for  escaping." — Duncan's  Travels,  II. 
279,  280. 

The  coaches  must  be  given  up  ;  so  must 
the  roads,  and  so  must  the  inns.  They  are  of 
course  what  these  accommodations  are  in  all 
new  countries  ;  and  much  like  what  English 
great-grandfathers  talk  about  as  existing  in 
this  country  at  the  first  period  of  their  recol- 
lection. The  great  inconvenience  of  Ameri- 
can inns,  however,  in  the  eyes  of  an  English- 
man, is  one  which  more  sociable  travellers 
must  feel  less  acutely — we  mean  the  impossi- 
bility of  being  alone,  of  having  a  room  sepa- 
rate from  the  rest  of  the  company.  There  is 
nothing  which  an  Englishman  exijoys  more 
than  the  pleasure  of  sulkiness, — of  not  being 
forced  to  hear  a  word  from  any  body  which 
may  occasion  to  him  the  necessity  of  replying. 
It  is  not  so  much  that  Mr.  Bull  disdains  to 
talk,  as  that  Mr.  Bull  has  nothing  to  say.  His 
forefathers  have  been  out  of  spirits  for  six  or 
seven  hundred  years,  and,  seeing  nothing  but 
fog  and  vapour,  he  is  out  of  spirits  too ;  and 
when  there  is  no  selling  or  buying,  or  no  busi- 
ness to  settle,  he  prefers  being  alone  and  look- 
ing at  the  fire.    If  any  gentleman  was  in  dis- 


tress, he  would  willingly  lend  an  helping  hand ; 
but  he  thinks  it  no  part  of  neighbourhood  to 
talk  to  a  person  because  he  happens  to  be  near 
him.  In  short,  with  many  excellent  qualities, 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  English  are 
the  most  disagreeable  of  all  the  nations  of 
Eui"ope, — more  surly  and  morose,  with  less 
disposition  to  please,  to  exert  themselves  for 
the  good  of  society,  to  make  small  sacrifices, 
and  to  put  themselves  out  of  their  way.  They 
are  content  with  Magna  Charta  and  trial  by 
jury:  and  think  they  are  not  bound  to  excel 
the  rest  of  the  world  in  small  behaviour,  if 
they  are  superior  to  them  in  great  institutions. 

We  are  terribly  afraid  that  some  Americans 
spit  upon  the  floor,  even  when  that  floor  is 
covered  by  good  carpets.  Now,  all  claims  to 
civilization  are  suspended  till  this  secretion  is 
otherwise  disposed  of.  No  English  gentleman 
has  spit  upon  the  floor  since  the  Heptarchy. 

The  curiosity  for  which  the  Americans  are 
so  much  laughed  at,  is  not  only  venial,  but 
laudable.  Where  men  live  in  woods  and 
forests,  as  is  the  case,  of  course,  in  remote 
American  settlements,  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
man  to  gratify  the  inhabitants  by  telling  them 
his  name,  place,  age,  office,  virtues,  crimes, 
children,  fortune,  and  remarks  :  and  with  fel- 
low-travellers, it  seems  to  be  almost  a  matter 
of  necessity  to  do  so.  When  men  ride  toge- 
ther for  300  or  400  miles  through  the  woods 
and  prairies,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  they  should  be  able  to  guess  at  subjects 
most  agreeable  to  each  other,  and  to  multiply 
their  common  topics.  Without  knowing  wlio 
your  companion  is,  it  is  difficult  to  know  both 
what  to  say  and  what  to  avoid.  You  may  talk 
of  honour  and  virtue  to  an  attorney,  or  con- 
tend with  a  Virginia  planter  that  men  of  a  fair 
colour  have  no  right  to  buy  and  sell  men  of  a 
dusky  colour.  The  following  is  a  lively  de- 
scription of  the  rights  of  interrogation,  as  un- 
derstood and  practised  in  America. 

"As  for  the  m^w/s/Zu'e^ess  of  the  Americans, 
I  do  not  think  it  has  been  at  all  exaggerated. — 
They  certainly  are,  as  they  profess  to  be,  a 
very  inquiring  people  ;  and  if  we  may  some- 
times be  disposed  to  dispute  the  claims  of  their 
love  of  knowing  to  the  character  of  a  liberal 
curiosity,  we  must  at  least  admit  that  they 
make  a  most  liberal  use  of  every  means  in 
their  power  to  gratify  it.  I  have  seldom,  how- 
ever, had  any  difficulty  in  repressing  their 
home  questions,  if  I  wished  it,  and  without 
offending  them ;  but  I  more  frequently  amused 
myself  by  putting  them  on  the  rack ;  civilly, 
and  apparently  unconsciously,  eluded  their  in- 
quiries for  a  time,  and  then  awakening  their 
gratitude  by  such  a  discovery  of  myself  as  I 
might  choose  to  make.  Sometimes  a  man 
would  place  himself  at  my  side  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  ride  for  a  mile  or  two  without  the 
smallest  communication  between  us,  except 
a  slight  nod  of  the  head.  He  would  then,  per- 
haps, make  some  grave  remark  on  the  wea- 
ther, and  if  I  assented,  in  a  monosyllable,  he 
would  stick  to  my  side  for  anothei  mile  or 
two,  when  he  would  commence  his  attack. 
'  I  reckon,  stranger,  you  do  not  belong  to  these 
parts!' — 'No,  sir;  I  am  not  of  Alabama.' — 
'I  guess  you  are  from  the  north  1' — 'No,  sir, 
8 


206 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


I  am  not  from  the  north.' — '  I  guess  you  found 
the  roads  mighty  muddy,  and  the  creeks  swim- 
ming. You  are  come  a  long  way,  I  guess  V — 
'  No,  not  so  very  far;  we  have  travelled  a  few 
hundred  miles  since  we  turned  our  faces  west- 
ward.'— '  I  guess  you  have  seen  Mr. ,  or 

General  V    (mentioning   the    names    of 

some  well-known  individuals  in  the  middle 
and  southern  states,  who  were  to  serve  as 
guide-posts  to  detect  our  route) ;  but,  '  I  have 
not  the  pleasure  o^  knowing  any  of  them,'  or, 
'  I  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  all,'  equally 
defeated  his  purpose,  but  not  his  hopes.  '  I 
reckon,  stranger,  you  have  had  a  good  crop 
of  cotton  this  yearl' — 'I  am  told,  sir,  the 
crops  have  been  unusually  abundant  in  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia.' — 'You  grow  tobacco,  then, 
I  guess  r  (to  track  me  to  Virginia).  'No;  I 
do  not  grow  tobacco.'  Here  a  modest  in- 
quirer would  give  up  in  despair,  and  trust  to 
the  chapter  of  accidents  to  develope  my  name 
and  history;  but  I  generally  rewarded  his  mo- 
desty, and  excited  his  gratitude,  by  telling  him 
I  would  torment  him  no  longer. 

"  The  courage  of  a  thorough-bred  Yankee* 
would  rise  with  his  difficulties ;  and  after  a 
decent  interval,  he  would  resume:  'I  hope 
no  ofience,  sir ;  but  you  know  we  Yankees 
lose  nothing  for  want  of  asking.  I  guess, 
stranger,  you  are  from  the  old  country]' — 
'  Well,  my  friend,  you  have  guessed  right  at 
last,  and  I  am  sure  )'^ou  deserve  something  for 
your  perseverance ;  and  now  I  suppose  it  will 
save  us  both  trouble  if  I  proceed  to  the  second 
part  of  the  story,  and  tell  you  where  I  am  go- 
ing. I  am  going  to  New  Orleans.'  This  is 
really  no  exaggerated  picture:  dialogues,  not 
indeed  in  these  very  words,  but  to  this  effect, 
occurred  continually;  and  some  of  them  more 
minute  and  extended  than  I  can  venture  upon 
in  a  letter.  I  ought,  however,  to  say,  that 
many  questions  lose  much  of  their  familiarity 
when  travelling  in  the  wilderness.  'Where 
are  you  froml'  and  'whither  are  you  bound  1' 
do  not  appear  impertinent  interrogations  at 
sea;  and  often  in  the  western  wilds  I  found 
myself  making  inquiries  which  I  should  have 
thought  very  free  and  easy  at  home." — Hodg- 
son's Letters,  II.  32—35. 

In  all  new  and  distant  settlements  the  forms 
of  law  must,  of  course,  be  very  limited.  No 
justice's  warrant  is  current  in  the  Dismal 
Swamp ;  constables  are  exceedingly  puzzled 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Mississippi ;  and 
there  is  no  treadmill,  either  before  or  after 
trial,  on  the  Little  Wabash.  The  consequence 
of  this  is,  that  the  settlers  take  the  law  into 
their  own  hands,  and  give  notice  to  a  justice- 
proof  delinquent  to  quit  the  territory, — if  this 
notice  is  disobeyed,  they  assemble  and  whip 
the  culprit,  and  this  failing,  on  the  second  visit 
they  cut  off  his  ears.  In  short.  Captain  Rock 
has  his  descendants  in  America.  Mankind 
cannot  live  together  without  some  approxima- 
tion to  justice ;  and  if  the  actual  government 
will  not  govern  well,  or  cannot  govern  well, 
is  too  wicked  or  too  weak  to  do  so — then  men 
prefer  Rock  to  anarchy.    The  following  is  the 


*  "  In  America,  the  term  Yankee  is  applied  to  the  na- 
tives of  New  England  only,  and  is  cenerally  used  with 
an  air  of  pleasantry. 


best  account  we  have  seen  of  this  system  of 
irregular  justice. 

"After  leaving  Carlyle,  I  took  the  Shawnee- 
town  road,  that  branches  off  to  the  S.  E.,  and 
passed  the  Walnut  Hills,  and  Moore's  Prairie. 
These  two  places  had  a  year  or  two  before 
been  infested  by  a  notorious  gang  of  robbers 
and  forgers,  who  had  fixed  themselves  in  these 
wild  parts  in  order  to  avoid  justice.  As  the 
country  became  more  settled,  these  despera- 
does became  more  and  more  troublesome.  The 
inhabitants,  therefore,  took  that  method  of  get- 
ting rid  of  them  that  had  been  adopted  not 
many  years  ago  in  Hopkinson  and  Henderson 
counties,  Kentucky,  and  which  is  absolutely 
necessary  in  new  and  thinly  settled  districts, 
where  it  is  almost  impossible  to  punish  a 
criminal  according  to  legal  forms. 

"  On  such  occasions,  therefore,  all  the  quiet 
and  industrious  men  of  a  district  form  them- 
selves into  companies, underthenameof'Regu-  ■ 
lators.'  They  appoint  officers,  put  themselves 
under  their  orders,  and  bind  themselves  to 
assist  and  stand  by  each  other.  The  first  step 
they  then  take  is  to  send  notice  to  any  notori- 
ous vagabonds,  desiring  them  to  quit  the  state 
in  a  certain  number  of  days,  under  the  penalty 
of  receiving  a  domiciliary  visit.  Should  the 
person  who  receives  the  notice  refuse  to  com- 
ply, they  suddenly  assemble,  and,  when  unex- 
pected, go  in  the  night-time  to  the  rogue's 
house,  take  him  out,  tie  him  to  a  tree,  and 
give  him  a  severe  whipping,  every  one  of  the 
party  striking  him  a  certain  number  of  times. 

"This  discipline  is  generally  sufficient  to 
drive  off  the  culprit;  but  should  he  continue 
obstinate,  and  refuse  to  avail  himself  of  an- 
other warning,  the  Regulators  pay  him  a  se- 
cond visit,  inflict  a  still  severer  whipping,  with 
the  addition  probably  of  cutting  ofl'  both  his 
ears.  No  culprit  has  ever  been  known  to  re- 
main after  a  second  visit.  For  instance,  an 
old  man,  the  father  of  a  family,  all  of  whom 
he  educated  as  robbers,  fixed  himself  at 
Moore's  Prairie,  and  committed  numerous 
thefts,  &c.  &c.  He  was  hard  enough  to  re- 
main after  the  first  visit,  when  both  he  and 
his  sons  received  a  whipping.  At  the  second 
visit  the  Regulators  punished  him  very  severe- 
ly, and  cut  off  his  ears.  This  drove  him  off, 
together  with  his  whole  gang,  and  travellers 
can  now  pass  in  perfect  safety  where  it  was 
once  dangerous  to  travel  alone.  « 

"  There  is  also  a  company  of  Regulators 
near  Vincennes,  who  have  broken  up  a  noto- 
rious gang  of  coiners  and  thiev^es  who  had 
fixed  themselves  near  that  place.  These  ras- 
cals, before  they  were  driven  off,  had  parties 
settled  at  different  distances  in  the  woods,  and 
thus  held  communication  and  passed  horses 
and  stolen  goods  from  one  to  another,  from 
the  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie,  and  from  thence  into 
Canada  or  the  New  England  States.  Thus  it 
was  next  to  impossible  to  detect  the  robbers, 
or  to  recover  the  stolen  property. 

"  This  practice  of  Regulating  seems  very 
strange  to  an  European.  I  have  talked  with 
some  of  the  chief  men  of  the  Regulators,  who 
all  lamented  the  necessity  of  such  a  system. 
They  very  sensibly  remarked,  that  when  the 
coimtry  became  more  thickly  settled,  there 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


207 


would  no  longer  be  any  necessity  for  such 
proceedings,  and  that  they  should  all  be  de- 
lighted at  being  able  to  obtain  justice  "^n  a 
more  formal  manner.  I  forgot  to  mention, 
that  the  rascals  punished  have  sometimes  pro- 
secuted the  Regulators  for  an  assault.  The 
juries,  however,  knowing  the  bad  character 
of  the  pi'osecutors,  would  give  but  trifling 
damages,  which,  divided  among  so  many, 
amounted  to  next  to  nothing  for  each  indivi- 
dual."— Excursion,  pp.  233 — 236. 

This  same  traveller  mentions  his  having 
met  at  table  three  or  four  American  ex-kings — 
presidents  who  had  served  their  time,  and  had 
retired  into  private  life ;  he  observes  also  upon 
the  effect  of  a  democratical  government  in  pre- 
venting mobs.  Mobs  are  created  by  opposi- 
tion to  the  wishes  of  the  people : — iDut  when 
the  wishes  of  the  people  are  consulted  so  com- 
pletely as  they  are  consulted  in  America — all 
motives  for  the  agency  of  mobs  are  done 
away. 

"  It  is,  indeed,  entirely  a  government  of 
opinion.  Whatever  the  people  wish  is  done. 
If  they  want  any  alteration  of  laws,  tariffs, 
&c.,  they  inform  their  representatives,  and  if 
there  be  a  majority  that  wish  it,  the  alteration 
is  made  at  once.  In  most  European  countries 
there  is  a  portion  of  the  population  denomi- 
nated the  mob,  who,  not  being  acquainted  with 
real  liberty,  give  themselves  up  to  occasional 
fits  of  licentiousness.  But  in  the  United  States 
there  is  no  mob,  for  every  man  feels  himself 
free.  At  the  time  of  Burr's  conspiracy,  Mr. 
Jefferson  said,  that  there  was  little  to  be  ap- 
prehended from  it,  as  every  man  felt  himself  a 
part  of  the  general  sovereignty.  The  event 
proved  the  truth  of  this  assertion ;  and  Burr, 
who  in  any  other  country  would  have  been 
hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered,  is  at  present 
leading  an  obscure  life  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  despised  by  every  one." — Excursion, 
p.  70. 

It  is  a  real  blessing  for  America  to  be  ex- 
empted from  that  vast  burthen  of  taxes,  the 
consequences  of  a  long  series  of  foolish,  just 
and  necessary  wars,  cairied  on  to  please  kings 
and  queens,  or  the  waiting  maids  and  waiting 
lords  and  gentlemen,  who  have  always  go- 
verned kings  and  queens  in  the  old  world. 
The  Americans  owe  this  good  to  the  newness 
of  their  government ;  and  though  there  are  few 
classical  associations,  or  historical  recollec- 
tions in  the  United  States,  this  barrenness  is 
well  purchased  by  the  absence  of  all  the  feudal 
nonsense,  inveterate  abuses,  and  profligate 
debts  of  an  old  country. 

"The  good  effects  of  a  free  government  are 
visible  throughout  the  whole  country.  There 
are  no  tithes,  no  poor-rates,  no  excise,  no 
heavy  internal  taxes,  no  commercial  monopo- 
lies. An  American  can  make  candles  if  he 
have  tallow,  can  distil  brandy  if  he  have  grapes 
or  peaches,  and  can  make  beer  if  he  have  malt 
and  hops,  without  asking  leave  of  any  one, 
and  much  less  with  any  fear  of  incurring  pun- 
ishment. How  would  a  farmer's  wife  there 
be  astonished,  if  told  that  it  was  contrary  to 
law  for  her  to  make  soap  out  of  the  potass  ob- 
tained on  the  farm,  and  of  the  grease  she  her- 


self had  saved !  When  an  American  has  made 
these  articles,  he  may  build  his  little  vessel, 
and  take  them  without  hinderance  to  any  part 
of  the  world ;  for  there  is  no  rich  company  of 
merchants  that  can  say  to  him,  '  You  shall  not 
trade  to  India ;  and  you  shall  not  buy  a  pound 
of  tea  of  the  Chinese;  as,  by  so  doing,  you 
would  infringe  upon  our  privileges.'  In  con- 
sequence of  this  freedom,  all  the  seas  are  co- 
vered with  their  vessels,  and  the  people  at 
home  are  active  and  independent.  I  never 
saAV  a  beggar  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  ; 
nor  was  I  ever  asked  for  charity  but  once — 
and  that  was  by  an  Irishman." — Excursion,  "p^. 
70,  71. 

America  is  so  differently  situated  from  the 
old  governments  of  Europe,  that  the  United 
States  afford  no  political  precedents  that  are 
exactly  applicable  to  our  old  governments. 
There  is  no  idle  and  discontented  population. 
When  they  have  peopled  themselves  up  to  the 
Mississippi,  they  cross  to  the  Missouri,  and 
will  go  on  until  they  are  stopped  by  the  West- 
ern Ocean ;  and  then,  when  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  persons  who  have  nothing  to  do,  and 
nothing  to  gain,  no  hope  for  lawful  industry 
and  great  interest  in  promoting  changes,  we 
may  consider  their  situation  as  somewhat 
similar  to  our  own,  and  their  example  as  touch- 
ing us  more  nearly.  The  changes  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  particular  states  seem  to  be 
very  frequent,  very  radical,  and  to  us  very 
alarming; — they  seem,  however,  to  be  thought 
very  little  of  in  that  country,  and  to  be  very 
little  heard  of  in  Europe.  Mr.  Duncan,  in  the 
following  passage,  speaks  of  them  with  Euro- 
pean feelings. 

"  The  other  great  obstacle  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  American  nation,  universal  suffrage,* 
will  not  exhibit  the  full  extent  of  its  evil  ten- 
dency for  a  long  time  to  come ;  and  it  is  pos- 
sible that  ere  that  time  some  antidote  may  be 
discovered,  to  prevent  or  alleviate  the  mischief 
which  we  might  naturally  expect  from  it.  It 
does,  however,  seem  ominous  of  evil,  that  so 
little  ceremony  is  at  present  used  with  the 
constitutions  of  the  various  states.  The  peo- 
ple of  Connecticut,  not  contented  with  having 
prospered  abundantly  under  their  old  S)^stem, 
have  lately  assembled  a  convention,  composed 
of  delegates  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  in 
which  the  former  order  of  things  has  been  con- 
demned entirely,  and  a  completely  new  con- 
stitution manufactured;  which,  among  other 
things,  provides  for  the  same  process  being 
again  gone  through,  as  soon  as  the  profanum 
valgus  takes  it  into  his  head  to  desire  it.f  A 
sorry  legacy  the  British  Constitution  would 
be  to  us,  if  it  were  at  the  mercy  of  a  meeting 
of  delegates,  to  be  summoned  whenever  a  ma- 
jority of  the  people  took  a  fancy  for  a  new 
one ;  and  I  am  afraid,  that  if  the  Americans 
continue  to  cherish  a  fondness  for  such  repairs, 
the  Highlandman's  pistol,  with  its  new  slock, 


*  In  the  greater  number  of  the  States,  every  wliite 
person,  21  years  of  age,  who  has  paid  taxes  for  one  year, 
is  a  voter;  in  others,  some  additional  qualifications  are 
required,  but  they  are  not  such  as  materially  to  limit  the 
privilege. 

t  The  people  of  the  State  of  New  York  have  subse- 
quently taken  a  similar  fancy  to  clout  the  cauldron. 
(1822J 


808 


WORKS   OF   THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


lock,  and  barrel,  will  bear  a  close  resemblance 
to  what  is  ultimately  produced." — Duncaii's 
Travels,  II.  335,  336. 

In  the  Excursion  there  is  a  list  of  the  Ame- 
rican navy,  which,  in  conjunction  with  the 
navy  of  France,  will  one  day  or  another,  we 
fear,  settle  the  Catholic  question  in  a  way  not 
quite  agreeable  to  the  Earl  of  Liverpool  for  the 
time  being,  nor  very  creditable  to  the  wisdom 
of  those  ancestors  of  whom  we  hear,  and  from 
whom  we  suffer  so  much.  The  regulations  of 
the  American  navy  seem  to  be  admirable. 
The  states  are  making  great  exertions  to  in- 
crease this  nav}';  and  since  the  capture  of  so 
many  English  ships,  it  has  become  the  fa- 
vourite science  of  the  people  at  large.  Their 
flotillas  on  the  lakes  completely  defeated  ours 
during  the  last  war. 

Fanaticism  of  every  description  seems  to 
lage  and  flourish  in  America,  which  has  no 
establishment,  in  about  the  same  degree  which 
it  does  here  under  the  nose  of  an  established 
church; — they  have  their  prophets  and  pro- 
phetesses, their  preaching  encampments,  fe- 
male preachers,  and  every  variety  of  noise, 
ft)lly,  and  nonsense,  like  ourselves.  Among 
the  most  singular  of  these  fanatics,  are  the 
Harmonites.  Rapp,  their  founder,  was  a  dis- 
senter from  the  Lutheran  church,  and  there- 
fore, of  course,  the  Lutheran  clergy  of  Stut- 
gard  (near  to  which  he  lived)  began  to  put  Mr. 
Rapp  in  white  sheets,  to  prove  him  guilty  of 
theft,parricide,  treason,  and  all  the  usual  crimes 
of  which  men  dissenting  from  established 
churches  are  so  often  guilty, — and  delicate 
hints  were  given  respecting  fagots  !  Stutgard 
abounds  with  underwood  and  clergy ;  and — 
away  went  Mr.  Rapp  to  the  United  States,  and, 
with  a  great  multitude  of  followers,  settled 
about  twenty-four  miles  from  our  countryman, 
Mr.  Birkbeck.  His  people  have  here  built  a 
large  tov/n,  and  planted  a  vineyard,  where  they 
make  very  agreeable  wine.  They  carry  on 
also  a  very  extensive  system  of  husbandry, 
and  are  the  masters  of  many  flocks  and  herds. 
They  have  a  distillery,  brewery,  tannery,  make 
hats,  shoes,  cotton  and  woollen  cloth,  and 
every  thing  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  life. 
Every  one  belongs  to  some  particular  trade. 
But  in  bad  weather,  when  there  is  danger  of 
losing  their  crops,  Rapp  blows  a  horn,  and 
calls  them  all  together.  Over  every  trade 
there  is  a  head  man,  who  receives  the  money 
and  gives  a  receipt,  signed  by  Rapp,  to  v.hom 
all  the  money  collected  is  transmitted.  When 
any  of  these  workmen  wants  a  hat  or  a  coat, 
Rapp  signs  him  an  order  for  the  garment,  for 
which  he  goes  to  the  store,  and  is  fitted.  They 
have  one  large  store  where  these  manufac- 
tures are  deposited.  This  store  is  much  re- 
sorted to  by  the  neighbourhood,  on  account  of 
the  goodness  and  cheapness  of  the  articles. 
They  have  built  an  excellent  house  for  their 
founder,  Rapp, — as  it  might  have  been  pre- 
dicted they  would  have  done.  The  Harmonites 
profess  eqviality,  community  of  goods,  and  ce- 
libacy ;  for  the  men  and  women  (let  Mr.  Mal- 
thus  hear  this)  live  separately,  and  are  not 
allowed  the  slightest  intercourse.  In  order  to 
keep  up   their   numbers,  they  have  once  or 


twice  sent  over  for  a  supply  of  Germans,  as 
they  admit  no  Americans,  of  anj''  intercourse 
Avith  whom  they  are  very  jealous.  Harmonites 
dress  and  live  plainly.  It  is  a  part  of  their 
creed  that  they  should  do  so.  Rapp,  however, 
and  the  head  men  have  no  such  particular 
creed  for  themselves ,  and  indulge  in  wine, 
beer,  grocer}-,  and  other  irreligious  diet.  Rapp 
is  both  governor  and  priest, — preaches  to  them 
in  church,  and  directs  all  their  proceedings  in 
their  working  hours.  In  short,  Rapp  seems  to 
have  made  use  of  the  religious  propensities  of 
mankind,  to  persuade  one  or  two  thousand 
fools  to  dedicate  their  lives  to  his  service ;  and 
if  they  do  not  get  tired,  and  fling  their  prophet 
into  a  horse-pond,  they  will  in  all  probability 
disperse  as  soon  as  he  dies. 

Unitarians  are  increasing  very  fast  in  the 
United  States,  not  being  kept  down  by  charges 
from  bishops  and  archdeacons,  their  natural 
enemies. 

The  author  of  the  Excursion  remarks  upon 
the  total  absence  of  all  games  in  America.  No 
cricket,  foot-ball,  nor  leap-frog — all  seems  solid 
and  profitable. 

"One  thing  that  I  could  not  help  remarking 
with  regard  to  the  Americans  in  general,  is  the 
total  want  of  all  those  games  and  sports  that 
obtained  for  our  country  the  appellation  of 
'Merry  England.'  Although  childien  usually 
transmit  stories  and  sports  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another,  and  although  many  of  our  nur- 
sery games  and  tales  are  supposed  to  have 
beeii  imported  into  England  in  the  vessels  of 
Hengist  and  Horsa,  yet  our  brethren  in  the 
United  States  seem  entirely  to  have  forgotten 
the  childish  amusements  of  our  common  an- 
cestors. In  America  I  never  saw  even  the 
schoolboys  playing  at  any  game  whatsoever. 
Cricket,  foot-ball,  quoits,  &c.,  appear  to  be 
utterly  unknown ;  and  I  believe  that  if  an 
American  were  to  see  grown-up  men  playing 
at  cricket, he  would  express  as  much  astonish- 
ment as  the  Italians  did  when  some  English- 
men played  at  this  finest  of  all  games,  in  the 
Cascina  at  Florence.  Indeed,  that  joyous 
spirit  which,  in  our  country,  animates  not  only 
childhood,  but  also  maturer  age,  can  rarely  or 
never  be  seen  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States." — Excursion,  pp.  502,  503. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  leading  and  promi- 
nent circumstances  respecting  America,  men- 
tioned in  the  various  works  before  us:  of 
which  works  we  can  recommend  the  Letters 
of  Mr.  Hudson,  and  the  Excursion  into  Cana- 
da, as  sensible,  agreeable  books,  written  in  a 
very  fair  spirit. 

America  seems,  on  the  whole,  to  be  a  coun- 
try possessing  vast  advantages,  and  little  in- 
conveniences ;  they  have  a  cheap  government, 
and  bad  roads;  they  pay  no  tithes,  and  have 
stage-coaches  without  springs.  They  have  no 
poor  laws  and  no  monopolies — but  their  inns 
are  inconvenient,  and  travellers  are  teased 
with  questions.  They  have  no  collections  in 
the  fine  arts  ;  but  they  have  no  lord-chancellor, 
and  they  can  go  to  law  without  absolute  ruin. 
They  cannot  make  Latin  verses,  but  they  ex- 
pend immense  sums  in  the  education  of  the 
poor.     In  all  this  the  balance  is  prodigiously 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


209 


in  their  favour:  but  then  comes  the  great  dis- 
grace and  danger  of  America — the  existence 
of  slavery,  which,  if  not  timously  corrected, 
will  one  day  entail  (and  ought  to  entail)  a 
bloody  servile  war  upon  the  Americans — 
which  will  separate  America  into  slave  states 
and  states  disclaiming  slavery,  and  which  re- 
mains at  present  as  the  foulest  blot  in  the  mo- 
ral character  of  that  people.  An  high-spirited 
nation,  who  cannot  endure  the  slightest  act  of 
foreign  aggression,  and  who  revolt  at  the  very 
shadow  of  domestic  tyranny — beat  with  cart- 
whips,  and  bind  with  chains,  and  murder  for 
the  merest  trifles,  wretched  human  beings  who 
are  of  a  more  dusky  colour  than  themselves ; 


and  have  recently  admitted  into  their  Union  a 
new  state,  with  the  express  permission  of  in- 
grafting this  atrocious  wickedness  into  their 
constitution  !  No  one  can  admire  the  simple 
wisdom  and  manly  firmness  of  the  Americans 
more  than  we  do,  or  more  despise  the  pitiful 
propensity  which  exists  among  government 
runners  to  vent  their  small  spite  at  their  cha- 
racter ;  but  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  the  con- 
duct of  America  is,  and  has  been,  most  repre- 
hensible. It  is  impossible  to  speak  of  it  with 
too  much  indignation  and  contempt ;  but  for 
it,  we  should  look  forward  with  unqualified 
pleasure  to  such  a  land  of  freedom,  and  such 
a  magnificent  spectacle  of  human  happiness. 


BENTHAM  ON  FALLACIES/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1825.] 


There  are  a  vast  number  of  absurd  and  mis- 
chievous fallacies,  which  pass  readily  in  the 
world  for  sense  and  virtue,  while  in  truth  they 
tend  only  to  fortify  error  and  encourage  crime. 
Mr.  Bentham  has  enumerated  the  most  con- 
spicuous of  these  in  the  book  before  us. 

Whether  it  is  necessary  there  should  be  a 
middleman  between  the  cultivator  and  pos- 
sessor, learned  economists  have  doubted;  but 
neither  gods,  men,  nor  booksellers  can  doubt 
the  necessity  of  a  middleman  between  Mr. 
Bentham  and  the  public.  Mr.  Bentham  is 
long ;  Mr.  Bentham  is  occasionally  involved 
and  obscure;  Mr.  Bentham  invents  new  and 
alarming  expressions  ;  Mr.  Bentham  loves  di- 
vision and  subdivision — and  he  loves  method 
itself,  more  than  its  consequences.  Those 
only,  therefore,  who  know  his  originality,  his 
knowledge,  his  vigour,  and  his  boldness,  will 
recur  to  the  works  themselves.  The  great 
mass  of  readers  will  not  purchase  improve- 
ment at  so  dear  a  rale ;  but  will  choose  rather  to 
become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Bentham  through 
the  medium  of  reviews — after  that  eminent 
philosopher  has  been  washed,  trimmed,shaved, 
and  forced  into  clean  linen.  One  great  use  of 
a  review,  indeed,  is  to  make  men  wise  in  ten 
pages,  who  have  no  appetite  for  an  hundred 
pages  ;  to  condense  nourishment,  to  work  with 
pulp  and  essence,  and  to  guard  the  stomach 
from  idle  burden  and  unmeaning  bulk.  For 
half  a  page,  sometimes  for  a  whole  page,  Mr. 
Bentham  writes  with  a  power  which  few  can 
equal ;  and  by  selecting  and  omitting,  an  admi- 
rable style  may  be  formed  from  the  text. 
Using  this  liberty,  we  shall  endeavour  to  give 
an  account  of  Mr.  Bentham's  doctrines,  for  the 
most  part  in  his  own  words.  Wherever  any 
expression  is  particularly  happy,  let  it  be  con- 
sidered to  be  Mr.  Bentham's : — the  dulness  we 
take  to  ourselves. 

Our  Wise  Ancestors — the  Wisdom  of  our  Prices- 
tors — the  Wisdom  of  ^ges — Venerable  Antiquity — 

♦  TTie  Book  of  Fallacies:  from  Vvjinished  Papers  of 
Jeremy  Bentham,  By  a  Friend.  London,  J.  and  H.  L. 
Hum.  1824. 

27 


Wisdom  of  Old  Times, — This  mischievous  and 
absurd  fallacy  springs  from  the  grossest  per- 
version of  the  meaning  of  words.  Experience 
is  certainly  the  mother  of  wisdom,  and  the  old 
have,  of  course,  a  greater  experience  than  the 
young;  but  the  question  is,  who  are  the  old? 
and  who  are  the  young  1  Of  individuals  living 
at  the  same  period,  the  oldest  has,  of  course, 
the  greatest  experience  ;  but  among  generations 
of  men  the  reverse  of  this  is  true.  Those  who 
come  first  (our  ancestors),  are  the  young  peo- 
ple, and  have  the  least  experience.  We  have 
added  to  their  experience  the  experience  of 
many  centuries  ;  and,  therefore,  as  far  as  expe- 
rience goes,  are  wiser,  and  more  capable  of 
forming  an  opinion  than  they  were.  The  real 
feeling  should  be,  not  can  we  be  so  presump- 
tuous as  to  put  our  opinions  in  opposition  to 
those  of  our  ancestors  1  but  can  such  young,  ig- 
norant, inexperienced  persons  as  our  ancestors 
necessarily  were,  be  expected  to  have  under- 
stood a  subject  as  well  as  those  who  have  seen 
so  much  more,  lived  so  much  longer,  and 
enjoyed  the  experience  of  so  many  centuries'? 
All  this  cant,  then,  about  our  ancestors  is 
merely  an  abuse  of  words,  by  transferring 
phrases  true  of  contemporary  men  to  succeed- 
ing ages.  Whereas  (as  we  have  before  ob- 
served) of  living  men  the  oldest  has,  ctrteris 
paribus,  the  most  experience ;  of  generations, 
the  oldest  has,  cceteris  paribus,  the  least  expe- 
rience. Our  ancestors,  up  to  the  Conquest, 
were  children  in  arms;  chubby  boys  in  the 
time  of  Edward  the  First ;  striplings  under 
Elizabeth;  men  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne; 
and  we  only  are  the  white-bearded,  silVer-headed 
ancients,  who  have  treasured  up,  and  are  pre- 
pared to  profit  by,  all  the  experience  which 
human  life  can  supply.  We  are  not  disputing 
with  our  ancestors  the  palm  of  talent,  in  which 
they  may  or  may  not  be  our  superiors,  but  the 
palm  of  experience,  in  which  it  is  utterly  im- 
possible they  can  be  our  superiors.  And  yet, 
whenever  the  chancellor  comes  forward  to  pro- 
tect some  abuse,  or  to  oppose  some  plan  which 
has  the  increase  of  human  happiness  for  its 

82 


210 


WORK^  O*-  '^hT   HFY.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


object,  his  first  appeal  is  always  to  the  wisdom 
of  our  ancestors  ;  and  he  himself,  and  many 
noble  lords  who  vote  with  him,  are,  to  this 
hour,  persuaded  that  all  alterations  and  amend- 
ments on  their  devices  are  an  unblushing  con- 
troversy between  youthful  temerity  and  mature 
experience! — and  so,  in  truth,  they  are — only 
that  much-loved  magistrate  mistakes  the  young 
for  the  old,  and  the  old  for  the  young — and  is 
guilty  of  that  very  sin  against  experience  which 
he  attributes  to  the  lovers  of  innovation. 

We  cannot  of  course  be  supposed  to  main- 
tain that  our  ancestors  wanted  wisdom,  or  that 
they  were  necessarily  mistaken  in  their  insti- 
tutions, because  their  means  of  information 
were  more  limited  than  ours.  But  we  do  con- 
fidently maintain  that  when  we  find  it  expe- 
dient to  change  any  thing  which  our  ancestors 
have  enacted,  we  are  the  experienced  persons, 
and  not  ihey.  The  quantity  of  talent  is  always 
varying  in  any  great  nation.  To  say  that  we 
are  more  or  less  able  than  our  ancestors,  is  an 
assertion  that  requires  to  be  explained.  All 
the  able  men  of  all  ages,  who  have  ever  lived 
in  England,  probably  possessed,  if  taken  alto- 
gether, more  intellect  than  all  the  able  men  now 
in  England  can  boast  of.  But  if  authority  must 
be  resorted  to  rather  than  reason,  the  question  is. 
What  was  the  wisdom  of  that  single  age  which 
enacted  the  law,  compared  with  the  wisdom  of 
the  age  which  proposes  to  alter  it?  What  are 
the  eminent  men  of  one  and  the  other  period  ] 
If  you  say  that  our  ancestors  were  wiser  than  us, 
mention  your  date  and  year.  If  the  splendour  of 
names  is  equal, are  the  circumstances  the  same? 
If  the  circumstances  are  the  same,  we  have  a  su- 
periority of  experience,  of  which  the  difference 
between  the  two  periods  is  the  measure.  It  is 
necessary  to  insist  upon  this ;  for  upon  sacks  of 
wool,  and  on  benches  forensic,  sit  grave  men, 
and  agricolous  persons  in  the  Commons,  crying 
out  "Ancestors,  Ancestors  !  hodie  non!  Saxons, 
Danes,  save  us!  Fiddlefrig,  help  us!  Howel, 
Ethel  wolf,  protect  us." — Any  cover  for  nonsense 
— any  veil  for  trash — any  pretext  for  repelling 
the  innovations  of  conscience  and  of  duty! 

"So  long  as  they  keep  to  vague  generalities — 
so  long  as  the  two  objects  of  comparison  are 
each  of  them  taken  in  the  lump — wise  ances- 
tors in  one  lump,  ignorant  and  foolish  mob  of 
modern  times  in  the  other — the  weakness  of 
the  fallacy  may  escape  detection.  But  let  them 
assign  for  the  period  of  superior  wisdom  any 
determinate  period  whatsoever,  not  only  will 
the  groundlessness  of  the  notion  be  apparent 
(class  being  compared  with  class  in  that  period 
and  the  present  one),  but,  unless  the  antecedent 
period  be,  comparatively  speaking,  a  very 
modern  one,  so  wide  will  be  the  disparity,  and 
to  such  an  amount  in  favour  of  modern  times, 
that,  in  comparison  of  the  lowest  class  of  the 
people  in  modern  times  (always  supposing 
them  proficients  in  the  art  of  reading,  and  their 
proficiency  employed  in  the  reading  of  news- 
papers), the  very  highest  and  best  informed 
class  of  these  wise  ancestors  will  turn  out  to 
be  grossly  ignorant. 

"  Take,  for  example,  any  year  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  the  Eighth,  from  1509  to  1546.  At 
that  tiine  the  House  of  Lords  would  probably 
have  been  in  possession  of  by  far  the  larger 


p'-opc-tioi':  of  what  little  instruction  the  aga 
s-ifor.'^ed:  in  the  House  of  Lords,  among  the 
laii}',  it  -^igbt  even  then  be  a  question  whe- 
ther, without  erception,  their  lordships  were 
all  01  theic  afc'e  !^o  much  as  to  read.  But 
even  supposmg'  them  ell  in  the  fullest  posses- 
sion of  that  useful  ait,  pol'tictvl  science  being 
the  science  in  question,  wha*  instrucdon  on 
the  subject  could  they  ii^set  vs'ith  ?-t  ti.st  tiine 
of  day? 

"  On  no  one  branch  of  lOgislvtion  was  ?ny 
book  extant  from  which,  with  regard  Jo  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  then  present  times,  any  useful 
instruction  could  be  derived:  distributive  law, 
penal  law,  international  law,  political  economy, 
so  far  from  existing  as  sciences,  had  scarcely  ob- 
tained a  name  :  in  all  those  departments,  under 
the  head  of  quid  faciendum,  a  mere  blank  :  the 
whole  literature  of  the  age  consisted  of  a  mea- 
ger chronicle  or  two,  containing  short  memo- 
randums of  the  usual  occurrences  of  war  and. 
peace,  battles,  sieges,  executions,  revels,  deaths, 
births,  processions,  ceremonies,  and  other  ex- 
ternal events  ;  but  with  scarce  a  speech  or  an 
incident  that  could  enter  into  the  composition 
of  any  such  work  as  a  history  of  the  human 
mind — with  scarce  an  attempt  at  investigation 
into  causes,  characters,  or  the  state  of  the 
people  at  large.  Even  when  at  last,  little  by 
little,  a  scrap  or  two  of  political  instruction 
came  to  be  obtainable,  the  proportion  of  error 
and  mischievous  doctrine  mixed  up  with  it  was 
so  great,  that  whether  a  blank  unfilled  might 
not  have  been  less  prejudicial  than  a  blank 
thus  filled,  may  reasonably  be  matter  of  doubt. 
"  If  we  come  down  to  the  reign  of  James 
the  First,  we  shall  find  that  Solomon  of  his 
time  eminently  eloquent  as  well  as  learned, 
not  only  among  crowned  but  among  uncrown- 
ed heads,  marking  out  for  prohibition  and  pu- 
nishment the  practices  of  devils  and  witches, 
and  without  any  the  slightest  objection  on  the 
part  of  the  great  characters  of  that  day  in 
their  high  situations,  consigning  men  to  death 
and  torment  for  the  misfortune  of  not  being  so 
well  acquainted  as  he  was  with  the  composi- 
tion of  the  Godhead. 

"  Under  the  name  of  exorcism,  the  Catholic 
liturgy  contains  a  form  of  procedure  for  driving 
out  devils  ; — even  with  the  help  of  this  instru- 
ment, the  operation  cannot  be  performed  with 
the  desired  success,  but  by  an  operator  quali- 
fied by  holy  orders  for  the  working  of  this  as 
well  as  so  many  other  wonders.  In  our  days 
and  in  our  country  the  same  object  is  attained, 
and  beyond  comparison  more  eflfectually,  by 
so  cheap  an  instrument  as  a  common  news- 
paper: before  this  talisman,  not  only  devils 
but  ghosts,  vampires,  witches,  and  all  their 
kindred  tribes,  are  driven  out  of  the  land,  ne- 
ver to  return  again !  The  touch  of  the  holy 
water  is  not  so  intolerable  to  them  as  the  bare 
smell  of  printers'  ink." — (pp.  74 — 77.) 

Fallacy  of  irrevocable  Laws. — A  law,  says 
Mr.  Bentham,  (no  matter  to  what  effect,)  is 
proposed  to  a  legislative  assembly,  who  are 
called  upon  to  reject  it,  upon  the  single  ground, 
that  by  those  who  in  some  former  period  ex- 
ercised the  same  power,  a  regulation  was  made, 
having  for  its  object  to  preclude  for  ever,  or 
to  the  end  of  an  unexpired  period,  all  succeed- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


211 


ing  legislators   from  enacting  a  law  to   any- 
such  effect  as  that  now  proposed. 

Now  it  appears  quite  evident  that,  at  every 
period  of  time,  every  legislature  must  be  en- 
dowed with  all  those  powers  which  the  exi- 
gency of  the  times  may  require :  and  any  at- 
tempt to  infringe  on  this  power  is  inadmissible 
and  absurd.  The  sovereign  power,  at  any  one 
period,  can  only  form  a  blind  guess  at  the 
measures  which  may  be  necessary  for  any 
future  period :  but  by  this  principle  of  immu- 
table laM'S,  the  government  is  transferred  from 
those  who  are  necessarily  the  best  judges  of 
what  they  want,  to  others  who  can  know  little 
or  nothing  about  the  matter.  The  thirteenth 
century  decides  for  the  fourteenth.  The  four- 
teenth makes  laws  for  the  fifteenth.  The 
fifteenth  hermetically  seals  up  the  sixteenth, 
which  t3'rannizes  over  the  seventeenth,  which 
again  tells  the  eighteenth  how  it  is  to  act,  un- 
der circumstances  which  cannot  be  foreseen, 
and  how  it  is  to  conduct  itself  in  exigencies 
which  no  human  wit  can  anticipate. 

"  Men  who  have  a  century  more  of  expe- 
rience to  ground  their  judgments  on,  surrender 
their  intellect  to  men  who  had  a  century  less 
experience,  and  who,  unless  that  deficiency 
constitutes  a  claim,  have  no  claim  to  pre- 
ference. If  the  prior  gentlemen  were,  in  re- 
spect of  intellectual  qualification,  ever  so  much 
superior  to  the  subsequent  generation — if  it 
understood  so  much  better  than  the  subsequent 
generation  itself  the  interest  of  that  subsequent 
generation — could  it  have  been  in  an  equal 
degree  anxious  to  promote  that  interest,  and 
consequently  equally  attentive  to  those  facts 
with  which,  though  in  order  to  form  a  judg- 
ment it  ought  to  have  been,  it  is  impossible 
that  it  should  have  been  acquainted?  In  a 
word,  will  its  love  for  that  subsequent  gene- 
ration be  quite  so  great  as  that  same  genera- 
tion's love  for  itself  1 

"  Not  even  here,  after  a  moment's  deliberate 
reflection,  will  the  assertion  be  in  the  affirma- 
tive. And  yet  it  is  their  prodigious  anxiety 
for  the  welfare  of  their  posterity  that  produces 
the  propensity  of  these  sages  to  tie  up  the 
hands  of  this  same  posterity  for  evermore — to 
act  as  guardians  to  its  perpetual  and  incurable 
weakness,  and  take  its  conduct  for  ever  out 
of  its  own  hands. 

"If  it  be  right  that  the  conduct  of  the  19th 
century  should  be  determined  not  by  its  own 
judgment,  but  by  that  of  the  18th,  it  will  be 
equally  right  that  the  conduct  of  the  20th  cen- 
tury should  be  determined,  not  by  its  own 
judgment,  but  by  that  of  the  19th.  And  if  the 
same  principle  were  still  pursued,  what  at 
length  would  be  the  consequence  1 — that  in 
process  of  time  the  practice  of  legislation 
would  be  at  an  end.  The  conduct  and  fate  of 
all  men  would  be  determined  by  those  who 
neither  knew  nor  cared  an)'  thing  about  the 
matter;  and  the  aggregate  body  of  the  living 
would  remain  for  ever  in  subjection  to  an  in- 
exorable tyranny,  exercised  as  it  were  by  the 
aggregate  body  of  the  dead." — (pp.  84 — 86.) 

The  despotism,  as  Mr.  Benthara  well  ob- 
serves, of  Nero  or  Caligula,  would  be  more 


tolerable  than  an  irrevocable  lata.  The  despot, 
through  fear  or  favour,  or  in  a  lucid  interval, 
might  relent ;  but  how  are  the  Parliament, 
who  made  the  Scotch  Union,  for  example,  to 
be  awakened  from  that  dust  in  which  they  re- 
pose— the  jobber  and  the  patriot,  the  speaker 
and  the  doorkeeper,  the  silent  voters  and  the 
men  of  rich  allusions — Cannings  and  cultiva- 
tors. Barings  and  Beggars — making  irrevoca- 
ble laws  for  men  who  toss  their  remains  about 
with  spades,  and  use  the  relics  of  these  legis- 
lators to  give  breadth  to  brocoli,  and  to  aid  the 
vernal  eruption  of  asparagus  1 

If  the  law  is  good,  it  will  support  itself;  if 
bad,  it  should  not  be  supported  by  the  irrevo- 
cable theory,  which  is  never  resorted  to  but  as 
the  veil  of  abuses.  All  living  men  must  pos- 
sess the  supreme  power  over  their  own  happi- 
ness at  every  particular  period.  To  suppose 
that  there  is  any  thing  which  a  whole  nation 
cannot  do,  which  they  deem  to  be  essential  to 
their  happiness,  and  that  they  cannot  do  it, 
because  another  generation,  long  ago  dead  and 
gone,  said  it  must  not  be  done,  is  mere  non- 
sense. While  you  are  captain  of  the  vessel, 
do  what  you  please ;  but  the  moment  you  quit 
the  ship,  I  become  as  omnipotent  as  you.  You 
may  leave  me  as  much  advice  as  you  please, 
but  you  cannot  leave  me  commands,-  though, 
in  fact,  this  is  the  only  meaning  which  can  be 
applied  to  what  are  called  irrevocable  laws. 
It  appeared  to  the  legislature  for  the  time  being 
to  be  of  immense  importance  to  make  such 
and  such  a  law.  Great  good  was  gained,  or 
great  evil  avoided  by  enacting  it.  Pause  be- 
fore you  alter  an  institution  which  has  been 
deemed  to  be  of  so  much  importance.  This 
is  prudence  and  common  sense ;  the  rest  is 
the  exaggeration  of  fools,  or  the  artifice  of 
knaves,  who  eat  up  fools.  What  endless  non- 
sense has  been  talked  of  our  navigation  laws  ! 
What  wealth  has  been  sacrificed  to  either  be- 
fore they  were  repealed  !  How  impossible  it 
appeared  to  Noodledom  to  repeal  them !  They 
were  considered  of  the  irrevocable  class — a 
kind  of  law  over  which  the  dead  only  were 
omnipotent,  and  the  living  had  no  power. 
FroSt,  it  is  true,  cannot  be  put  off  by  act  of 
Parliament,  nor  can  spring  be  accelerated  by 
any  majority  of  both  houses.  It  is,  however, 
quite  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  any  alteration 
of  any  of  the  articles  of  union  is  as  much  out 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  Parliament  as  these 
meteorological  changes.  In  every  year,  and 
every  day  of  that  year,  living  men  have  a 
right  to  make  their  own  laws,  and  manage 
their  own  affairs  ;  to  break  through  the  tyranny 
of  the  ante-spirants — the  people  who  breathed 
before  them, — and  to  do  what  thej'  please  for 
themselves.  Such  supreme  power  cannot, 
indeed,  be  well  exercised  by  the  people  at 
large ;  it  must  be  exercised  therefore  by  tht: 
delegates,  or  Parliament  whom  the  people 
choose ;  and  such  Parliament,  disregarding 
the  superstitious  reverence  for  irrevocable  laws, 
can  have  no  other  criterion  of  wrong  and  right 
than  that  of  public  utility. 

When  a  law  is  considered  as  immutable, 
and  the  immutable  law  happens  at  the  same 
time  to  be  too  foolish  and  mischievous  to  be 
endured,  instead  of  being  repealed,  it  is  clan- 


212 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


destinely  evaded,  or  openly  violated ;  and  thus 
the  authority  of  all  law  is  weakened. 

Where  a  nation  has  been  ancestorially 
bound  by  foolish  and  improvident  treaties, 
ample  notice  must  be  given  of  their  termina- 
tion. Where  the  state  has  made  ill-advised 
grants,  or  rash  bargains  with  individuals,  it  is 
necessary  to  grant  proper  compensation.  The 
most  difficult  case,  certainly,  is  that  of  the 
union  of  nations,  where  a  smaller  number  of 
the  weaker  nation  is  admitted  into  the  larger 
senate  of  the  greater  nation,  and  will  be  over- 
powered if  the  question  comes  to  a  vote  ;  but 
the  lesser  nation  must  run  this  risk :  it  is  not 
probable  that  any  violation  of  articles  will  take 
place,  till  they  are  absolutely  called  for  by  ex- 
treme necessity.  But  let  the  danger  be  what 
it  may,  no  danger  is  so  great,  no  supposition 
so  foolish,  as  to  consider  any  human  law  as 
irrevocable.  The  shifting  attitude  of  human 
affairs  would  often  render  such  a  condition  an 
intolerable  evil  to  all  parties.  The  absurd 
jealousy  of  our  countrymen  at  the  union  se- 
cured heritable  jurisdiction  to  the  owners ; 
nine-and-thirty  years  afterwards  they  were 
abolished,  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  act  of  union, 
and  to  the  evident  promotion  of  the  public 
good. 

Continuity  of  a  Law  by  Oath. — The  sove- 
reign of  England  at  his  coronation  takes  an 
oath  to  maintain  the  laws  of  God,  the  true 
profession  of  the  gospel,  and  the  Protestant 
religion  as  established  by  law,  and  to  preserve 
to  the  bishops  and  clergy  of  this  realm  the 
rights  and  privileges  which  by  law  appertain 
to  them,  and  to  preserve  inviolate  the  doctrine, 
discipline,  worship,  and  government  of  the 
church.  It  has  been  suggested  that  by  this 
oath  the  king  stands  precluded  from  granting 
those  indulgences  to  the  Irish  Catholics, 
which  are  included  in  the  bill  for  their  eman- 
cipation. The  true  meaning  of  these  pro- 
visions is  of  course  to  be  decided,  if  doubtful, 
by  the  same  legislative  authority  which  enacted 
them.  But  a  different  notion,  it  seems,  is  now 
afloat.  The  king  for  the  time  being  (we  are 
putting  an  imaginary  case)  thinks,  as  an  indi- 
vidual, that  he  is  not  maintaining  the  doctrine, 
discipline,  and  rights  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, if  he  grants  any  extension  of  civil  rights 
to  those  who  are  not  members  of  that  church ; 
that  he  is  violating  his  oath  by  so  doing.  This 
oath,  then,  according  to  this  reasoning,  is  the 
great  palladium  of  the  church.  As  long  as  it 
remains  inviolate  the  church  is  safe.  How, 
then,  can  any  monarch  who  has  taken  it  ever 
consent  to  repeal  itl  How  can  he,  consistent- 
ly with  his  oath  for  the  preservation  of  the 
privileges  of  the  church,  contribute  his  part 
to  throw  down  so  strong  a  bulwark  as  he 
deems  this  oath  to  bel  The  oath,  then,  can- 
not be  altered.  It  must  remain  under  all  cir- 
cumstances of  society  the  same.  The  king, 
•who  has  taken  it,  is  bound  to  continue  it,  and 
lo  refuse  his  sanction  to  any  bill  for  its  future 
alteration ;  because  it  prevents  him,  and,  he 
must  needs  think,  will  prevent  others  from 
granting  dangerous  immunities  to  the  enemies 
of  the  church. 

Here,  then,  is  an  irrevocable  law — a  piece 
ot  absurd  tyranny  exercised  by  the  rulers  of 


Queen  Anne's  time  upon  the  government  of 
1825 — a  certain  art  of  potting  and  preserving 
a  kingdom,  in  one  shape,  attitude  and  flavour — 
and  in  this  way  it  is  that  an  institution  appears 
like  old  Ladies'  Sweetmeats  and  made  Wines 
—Apricot  Jam  1822— Currant  Wine  1819— 
Court  of  Chancery  1427 — Penal  Laws  against 
Catholics  1676.  The  difference  is,  that  the  an- 
cient woman  is  a  better  judge  of  mouldy  com- 
modities than  the  illiberal  part  of  his  majesty's 
ministers.  The  potting  lady  goes  snifling 
about  and  admitting  light  and  air  to  prevent 
the  progress  of  decay;  while  to  him  of  the 
woolsack,  all  seems  doubly  dear  in  proportion 
as  it  is  antiquated,  worthless,  and  unusable. 
It  ought  not  to  be  in  the  power  of  the  sovereign 
to  tie  up  his  own  hands,  much  less  the  hands 
of  his  successors.  If  the  sovereign  is  to  op- 
pose his  own  opinion  to  that  of  the  two  other 
branches  of  the  legislature,  and  himself  to 
decide  what  he  considers  to  be  for  the  benefit  ■ 
of  the  Protestant  church,  and  what  not,  a  king 
who  has  spent  his  whole  life  in  the  frivolous 
occupation  of  a  court,  may,  by  perversion  of 
understanding,  conceive  measures  most  salu- 
tary to  the  church  to  be  most  pernicious  ;  and 
persevering  obstinately  in  his  own  error,  may 
frustrate  the  wisdom  of  his  Parliament,  and 
perpetuate  the  most  inconceivable  folly!  If 
Henry  VIII.  had  argued  in  this  manner,  we 
should  have  had  no  reformation.  If  George 
in.  had  always  argued  in  this  manner,  the  Ca- 
tholic code  would  never  have  been  relaxed. 
And  thus,  a  king,  however  incapable  of  form- 
ing an  opinion  upon  serious  subjects,  has 
nothing  to  do  but  to  pronounce  the  word  coti' 
science,  and  the  whole  power  of  the  country  is 
at  his  feet. 

Can  there  be  greater  absurdity  than  to  say 
that  a  man  is  acting  contrary  to  his  conscience 
who  surrenders  his  opinion,  upon  any  subject, 
to  those  who  must  understand  the  subject  bet- 
ter than  himself?  I  think  my  ward  has  a 
claim  to  the  estate ;  but  the  best  lawyers  tell 
me  he  has  none.  I  think  my  son  capable  of 
undergoing  the  fatigues  of  a  military  life  ;  but 
the  best  physicians  say  he  is  much  too  weak. 
My  Parliament  say  this  measure  will  do  the 
church  no  harm  ;  but  I  think  it  very  pernicious 
to  the  church.  Am  I  acting  contrary  to  my 
conscience  because  I  apply  much  higher  in- 
tellectual powers  than  my  own  to  the  mvesti- 
gation  and  protection  of  these  high  interests  1 

"According  to  the  form  in  which  it  is  con- 
ceived, any  such  engagement  is  in  effect  either 
a  check  or  a  license  : — a  license  under  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  check,  and  for  that  very  reason 
but  the  more  efficiently  operative. 

"  Chains  to  the  man  in  power]  Yes: — but 
only  such  as  he  figures  with  on  the  stage :  to 
the  spectators  as  imposing,  to  himself  as  light 
as  possible.  Modelled  by  the  wearer  to  suit 
his  own  purposes,  they  serve  to  rattle,  but  not 
to  restrain. 

"Suppose  a  king  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land to  have  expressed  his  fixed  determination, 
in  the  event  of  any  proposed  law  being  ten- 
dered to  him  for  his  assent,  to  refuse  such 
assent,  and  this  not  on  the  persuasion  that  the 
law  would  not  be  'for  the  utility  of  the  sub* 
jects,'  but  that  by  his  coronation  oath  he  stands 


WORKS    OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


213 


precluded  from  so  doing: — the  course  proper 
to  be  taken  by  Parlianaent,  the  course  pointed 
out  by  principle  and  precedent,  would  be,  a 
vote  of  abdication  : — a  vote  declaring  the  king 
to  have  abdicated  his  royal  authority,  and  that, 
as  in  case  of  death  or  incurable  mental  de- 
rangement, now  is  the  time  for  the  person  next 
in  succession  to  take  his  place. 

"  In  the  celebrated  case  in  which  a  vote  to 
this  effect  was  actually  passed,  the  declaration 
of  abdication  was  in  lawyers'  language  a  fic- 
tion— in  plain  truth  a  falsehood — and  that 
falsehood  a  mockery ;  not  a  particle  of  his 
power  was  it  the  wish  of  James  to  abdicate,  to 
part  with ;  but  to  increase  it  to  a  maximum  was 
the  manifest  object  of  all  his  efforts.  But  in 
the  case  here  supposed,  with  respect  to  a  part, 
and  that  a  principal  part  of  the  royal  authority, 
the  will  and  purpose  to  abdicate  are  actually 
declared :  and  this,  being  such  a  part,  without 
which  the  remainder  cannot,  'to  the  utility  of 
the  subjects,'  be  exercised,  the  remainder  must 
of  necessity  be,  on  their  part,  and  for  their 
sake,  added."— (pp.  110,  111.) 

Self-trumpet er^s  fallacy. — Mr.  Bentham  ex- 
plains the  self-trumpeter's  fallacy  as  follows. 

"  There  are  certain  men  in  office  who,  in 
discharge  of  their  functions,  arrogate  to  them- 
selves a  degree  of  probity,  which  is  to  exclude 
all  imputations  and  all  inquiry.  Their  asser- 
tions are  to  be  deemed  equivalent  to  proof; 
their  virtues  are  guarantees  for  the  faithful 
discharge  of  their  duties ;  and  the  most  implicit 
confidence  is  to  be  reposed  in  them  on  all  oc- 
casions. If  you  expose  any  abuse,  propose 
any  reform,  call  for  securities,  inquiry,  or  mea- 
sures to  promote  publicity,  they  set  up  a  cry 
of  surprise,  amounting  almost  to  indignation, 
as  if  their  integrity  were  questioned,  or  their 
honour  wounded.  With  all  this,  they  dexte- 
rously mix  up  intimations,  that  the  most  exalted 
patriotism,  honorr,  and  perhaps  religion,  are 
the  only  sources  of  all  their  actions." — (p.  120.) 

Of  course  every  man  will  try  what  he  can 
effect  by  these  means  ;  but  (as  Mr.  Bentham 
observes)  if  there  be  a.r\j  one  maxim  in  politics 
more  certain  than  another,  it  is  that  no  possi- 
ble degree  of  virtue  in  the  governor  can  render 
it  expedient  for  the  governed  to  dispense  with 
good  laws  and  good  institutions.  Madame  de 
Stael  (to  her  disgrace)  said  to  the  Emperor  of 
Russia,  "  Sire,  your  character  is  a  constitution 
for  your  country,  and  your  conscience  its 
guarantee."  His  reply  was,  "  Quand  cela 
serait,  je  ne  serais  jamais  qu'un  accident 
heureux ;"  and  this  we  think  one  of  the  truest 
and  most  brilliant  replies  ever  made  by  mo- 
narch. 

Laudatory  Personalities. — "The  object  of  lau- 
datory personalities  is  to  effect  the  rejection 
of  a  measure  on  account  of  the  alleged  good 
character  of  those  who  oppose  it;  and  the 
argument  advanced  is,  '  The  measure  is  ren- 
dered unnecessary  by  the  virtue  of  those  who 
are  in  power — their  opposition  is  sufficient 
authority  for  the  rejection  of  the  measure.  The 
measure  proposed  implies  a  distrust  of  the 
members  of  his  majesty's  government ;  but  so 
great  is  their  integrity,  so  complete  their  disin- 


terestedness, so  uniformly  do  they  prefer  the 
public  advantage  to  their  own,  that  such  a 
measure  is  altogether  unnecessary.  Their 
disapproval  is  sufficient  to  warrant  an  opposi- 
tion ;  precautions  can  only  be  requisite  where 
danger  is  apprehended ;  here,  the  high  charac- 
ter of  the  individuals  in  question  is  a  sufficient 
guarantee  against  any  ground  of  alarm.' " — 
(pp.  123,  124.) 

The  panegyric  goes  on  increasing  with  the 
dignity  of  the  lauded  person.  All  are  honour- 
able and  delightful  men.  The  person  who 
opens  the  door  of  the  office  is  a  person  of  ap- 
proved fidelity;  the  junior  clerk  is  a  model  of 
assiduity;  all  the  clerks  are  models — seven 
years'  models,  eight  years'  models,  nine  years' 
models  and  upwards.  The  first  clerk  is  a  pa- 
ragon— and  ministers  the  very  perfection  of 
probity  and  intelligence  ;  and  as  for  the  highest 
magistrate  of  the  state,  no  adulation  is  equal  to 
describe  the  extent  of  his  various  merits !  It 
is  too  condescending,  perhaps,  to  refute  such 
folly  as  this.  But  we  would  just  observe  that 
if  the  propriety  of  the  measure  in  question  be 
established  by  direct  arguments,  these  must  be 
at  least  as  conclusive  against  the  character  of 
those  who  oppose  it  as  their  character  can  be 
against  the  measure. 

The  effect  of  such  an  argument  is,  to  give 
men  of  good  or  reputed  good  character  the 
power  of  putting  a  negative  on  any  question 
— not  agreeable  to  their  inclinations. 

"  In  every  public  trust,  the  legislator  should, 
for  the  purpose  of  prevention,  suppose  the 
trustee  disposed  to  break  the  trust  in  every 
imaginable  way  in  which  it  would  be  possible 
for  him  to  reap,  from  the  breach  of  it,  any  per- 
sonal advantage.  This  is  the  principk  on 
which  public  institutions  ought  to  be  formed; 
and  when  it  is  applied  to  all  men  indiscrimi- 
nately, it  is  injurious  to  none.  The  practical 
inference  is,  to  oppose  to  such  possible  (and 
what  will  always  be  probable)  breaches  of 
trust  every  bar  that  can  be  opposed,  consist- 
ently with  the  power  requisite  for  the  efficient 
and  due  discharge  of  the  trust.  Indeed,  these 
arguments,  drawn  from  the  supposed  virtues 
of  men  in  power,  are  opposed  to  the  first  prin- 
ciples on  which  all  laws  proceed. 

"  Such  allegations  of  individual  virtue  are 
never  supported  by  specific  proof,  are  scarce 
ever  susceptible  of  specific  disproof;  and  spe- 
cific disproof,  if  offered,  could  not  be  admitted 
in  either  house  of  Parliament.  If  attempted 
elsewhere,  the  punishment  would  fall,  not  on 
the  unworthy  trustee,  but  on  him  by  whom  the 
unworthiness  had  been  proved." — (pp.  125, 
126.) 

Fallacies  of  pretended  Danger. — Imputation  of 
bad  design-^of  bad  character — of  bad  motives 
— of  inconsistency — of  suspicious  connections. 

The  object  of  this  class  of  fallacies  is  to 
draw  aside  attention  from  the  measure  to  the 
man,  and  this  in  such  a  manner,  that,  for  some 
real  or  supposed  defect  in  the  author  of  the 
measure,  a  corresponding  defect  shall  be  im- 
puted to  the  measure  itself.  Thus  "  the  author 
of  the  measure  entertains  a  bad  design:  there- 
fore the  measure  is  bad.     His  character  is  bad. 


214 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


therefore  the  measure  is  bad ;  his  motive  is 
bad,  I  will  vote  against  the  measure.  On  for- 
mer occasions,  this  same  person  who  proposed 
the  measure  was  its  enemy,  therefore  the  mea- 
sure is  bad.  He  is  on  a  footing  of  intimacy 
■with  this  or  that  dangerous  man,  or  has  been 
seen  in  his  company,  or  is  suspected  of  enter- 
taining some  of  his  opinions,  therefore  the 
measure  is  bad.  He  bears  a  name  that  at  a 
former  period  was  borne  by  a  set  of  men  now 
no  more,  by  whom  bad  principles  were  enter- 
tained— therefore  the  measure  is  bad  !" 

Now,  if  the  measure  be  really  inexpedient, 
why  not  at  once  show  it  to  be  so  !  If  the 
measure  is  good,  is  it  bad  because  a  bad  man 
is  its  author'!  If  bad,  is  it  good  because  a 
good  man  has  produced  it  1  What  are  these 
ai'guments,  but  to  say  to  the  assembly  who  are 
to  be  the  judges  of  any  measure,  that  their 
imbecility  is  too  great  to  allow  them  to  judge 
of  the  measure  by  its  own  merits,  and  that 
they  must  have  recourse  to  distant  and  feebler 
probabilities  for  that  purpose  1 

"  In  proportion  to  the  degree  of  efnciency 
with  which  a  man  suffers  these  instruments 
of  deception  to  operate  upon  his  mind,  he 
enables  bad  men  to  exercise  over  him  a  sort 
of  power,  the  thought  of  which  ought  to  cover 
him  with  shame.  Allow  this  argument  the 
effect  of  a  conclusive  one,  you  put  it  into  the 
power  of  any  man  to  draw  you  at  pleasure 
from  the  suppoi't  of  every  measure,  which  in 
your  own  eyes  is  good,  to  force  you  to  give 
your  support  to  any  and  every  measure  which 
in  your  own  eyes  is  bad.  Is  it  goodi — the 
bad  man  embraces  it,  and,  by  the  supposition, 
you  reject  it.  Is  it  badl — he  vituperates  it, 
and  that  suffices  for  driving  you  into  its  em- 
brace. You  split  upon  the  rocks,  because  he 
has  avoided  them ;  you  miss  the  harbour, 
because  he  has  steered  into  itl  Give  your- 
self up  to  any  such  blind  antipathy,  you  are 
no  less  in  the  power  of  your  adversaries, 
than  if,  by  a  correspondently  irrational  S3^m- 
pathy  and  obsequiousness,  you  put  yourself 
into  the  power  of  your  friends." — (pp.  132, 
133.) 

"  Besides,  nothing  but  laborious  applica- 
tion, and  a  clear  and  comprehensive  intellect, 
can  enable  a  man,  on  any  given  subject,  to 
employ  successfully  relevant  arguments  drawn 
from  the  subject  itself.  To  employ  person- 
alities, neither  labour  nor  intellect  is  required. 
In  this  sort  of  contest,  the  most  idle  and  the 
most  ignorant  are  quite  on  a  par  with,  if  not 
superior  to,  the  most  industrious  and  the  most 
highly  gifted  individuals.  Nothing  can  be 
more  convenient  for  those  who  would  speak 
without  the  trouble  of  thinking.  The  same 
ideas  are  brought  forward  over  and  over 
again,  and  alfthat  is  required  is  to  vary  the 
turn  of  expression.  Close  and  relevant  argu- 
ments have  very  liUle  hold  on  the  passions, 
and  serve  rather  to  quell  than  to  inflame 
them ;  while  in  personalities  there  is  always 
something  stimulant,  whether  on  the  part  of 
him  who  praises  or  him  who  blames.  Praise 
forms  a  kind  of  connection  between  the  party 
praising  and  the  party  praised,  and  vitupera- 
tion gives  an  air  of  courage  and  independence 
to  the  party  who  blames.  < 


"Ignorance  and  indolence,  friendship  and 
enmity,  concurring  and  conflicting  interest, 
servility  and  independence,  all  conspire  to 
give  personalities  the  ascendency  they  so  un- 
happily maintain.  The  more  we  lie  under  the 
influence  of  our  own  passions,  the  more  we 
rely  on  others  being  aflectcd  in  a  similar 
degree.  A  man  who  can  repel  these  injuries 
with  dignity,  may  often  convert  them  into  tri- 
umph: '  Strike  me,  but  hear,'  says  he,  and  the 
ftuy  of  his  antagonist  redounds  to  his  own 
discomfiture." — (pp..  141,  142.) 

No  Innovation.' — To  say  that  all  ncAV  things 
are  bad,  is  to  say  that  all  old  things  were  bad 
in  their  commencement:  for  of  all  the  old 
things  ever  seen  or  heard  of,  there  is  not  one 
that  -was  not  once  new.  Whatever  is  now 
establishment  was  once  innovation.  The  first 
inventor  of  pews  and  parish  clerks  was  no 
doubt  considered  as  a  Jacobin  in  his  day. 
Judges,  juries,  criers  of  the  court,  are  all  the" 
inventions  of  ardent  spirits,  who  filled  the 
world  with  alarm,  and  were  considered  as  the 
great  precursors  of  ruin  and  dissolution.  No 
inoculation,  no  turnpikes,  no  reading,  no  writ- 
ing, no  popery !  The  fool  sayeth  in  his  heart, 
and  crieth  with  his  mouth,  "I  will  have  nothing 
new !" 

Fallacy  of  Distrust. — "  Whafs  at  the  Bot- 
torn?" — This  fallacy  begins  with  a  virtual 
admission  of  the  propriety  of  the  measure 
considered  in  itself,  and  thus  demonstrates  its 
own  futility,  and  cuts  up  from  under  itself  the 
ground  which  it  endeavours  to  make.  A  mea- 
sure is  to  be  rejected  for  something  that,  by 
bare  possibility,  may  be  found  amiss  in  some 
other  measure !  This  is  vicarious  reproba- 
tion ;  upon  this  principle  Herod  instituted  his 
massacre.  It  is  the  argument  of  a  driveller 
to  other  drivellers,  who  says.  We  are  not  able 
to  decide  upon  the  evil  when  it  arises — our 
only  safe  way  is  to  act  upon  the  general  ap- 
prehension of  evil. 

Official  Malefactor's  Screen. — ''Attack  us — you 
attack  Government." 

If  this  notion  is  acceded  to,  every  one  who 
derives  at  present  any  advantage  from  misrule 
has  it  in  fee-simple ;  and  all  abuses,  present 
and  future,  are  without  remedy.  So  long  as 
there  is  any  thing  amiss  in  conducting  the 
business  of  government,  so  long  as  it  can  be 
made  better,  there  can  be  no  other  mode  of 
bringing  it  nearer  to  perfection,  than  the  indi- 
cation of  such  imperfections  as  at  the  time 
being  exist. 

"  But  so  far  is  it  from  being  true  that  a 
man's  aversion  or  contempt  for  the  hands  by 
which  the  powers  of  government,  or  even  for 
the  system  under  which  they  are  exercised,  is 
a  proof  of  his  aA^ersion  or  contempt  towards 
government  itself,  that,  even  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  of  that  aversion  or  contempt,  it  is 
a  proof  of  the  opposite  affection.  What,  in 
consequence  of  such  contempt  or  aversion, 
he  wishes  for,  is,  not  that  there  be  no  hands  at 
all  to  exercise  these  powers,  but  that  the  hands 
may  be  better  regulated; — not  that  those 
powers  should  not  be  exercised  at  all,  but  that 
they  should  be  better  exercised; — not  that,  in 
the  exercise  of  them,  no  rules  at  all  should  be 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY    §ivFTK 


215 


fursued,  but  that  the  rules  by  which  they  are 
exercised  should  be  a  better  set  of  rules. 

"All  government  is  a  trust;  every  branch 
of  government  is  a  trust ;  and  immemorially 
acknowledged  so  to  be :  it  is  only  by  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  scale  that  public  differ  from  pri- 
vate trusts.  I  complain  of  the  conduct  of  a 
person  in  the  character  of  guardian,  as  domes- 
tic guardian,  having  the  care  of  a  minor  or 
insane  person.  In  so  doing,  do  I  say  that 
guardianship  is  a  bad  institution"?  Does  it 
enter  into  the  head  of  any  one  to  suspect  me 
of  so  doing  1  I  complain  of  an  individual  in 
the  character  of  a  commercial  agent,  or  as- 
signee of  the  effects  of  an  insolvent.  In  so 
doing,  do  I  say  that  commercial  agency  is  a 
bad  thing?  that  the  practice  of  vesting  in  the 
hands  of  trustees  or  assignees  the  effects  of 
an  insolvent,  for  the  purpose  of  their  being 
divided  among  his  creditors,  is  a  bad  practice? 
Does  any  such  conceit  ever  enter  into  the  head 
of  man,  as  that  of  suspecting  me  of  so  doing!" 
—(pp.  162,  163.) 

There  are  no  complaints  against  govern- 
ment in  Turkey — no  motions  in  Parliament, 
no  Morning  Chronicles,  and  no  Edinburgh 
Reviews  :  yet,  of  all  countries  in  the  world,  it 
is  that  in  which  revolts  and  revolutions  are 
the  most  frequent. 

It  is  so  far  from  true,  that  no  good  govern- 
ment can  exist  consistently  with  such  dis- 
closure, that  no  good  government  can  exist 
without  it.  It  is  quite  obvious,  to  all  who  are 
capable  of  reflection,  that  by  no  other  means 
than  by  lowering  the  governors  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  people,  can  there  be  hope  or  chance 
of  beneficial  change.  To  infer  from  this  wise 
endeavour  to  lessen  the  existing  rulers  in  the 
estimation  of  the  people,  a  wish  of  dissolving 
the  government,  is  either  artifice  or  error. 
The  physician  who  intentionally  weakens  the 
patient  by  bleeding  him  has  no  intention  he 
should  perish. 

The  greater  the  quantity  of  respect  a  man 
receives,  independently  of  good  conduct,  the 
less  good  is  his  behaviour  likely  to  be.  It  is 
the  interest,  therefore,  of  the  public,  in  the 
case  of  each,  to  see  that  the  respect  paid  to 
him  should,  as  completely  as  possible,  depend 
upon  the  goodness  of  his  behaviour  in  the 
execution  of  his  trust.  But  it  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  interest  of  the  trustee,  that  the  re- 
spect, the  money,  or  any  other  advantage  he 
receives  in  virtue  of  his  office,  should  be  as 
great,  as  secure,  and  as  independent  of  conduct 
as  possible.  Soldiers  expect  to  be  shot  at ; 
public  men  must  expect  to  be  attacked,  and 
sometimes  unjustlj%  It  keeps  up  the  habit  of 
considering  their  conduct  as  exposed  to  scru- 
tiny ;  on  the  part  of  the  people  at  large,  it 
keeps  alive  the  expectation  of  witnessing 
such  attacks,  and  the  habit  of  looking  out  for 
them.  The  friends  and  supporters  of  govern- 
ment have  always  greater  facility  in  keeping 
and  raising  it  up,  than  its  adversaries  have 
for  lowering  it. 

Accusation-scarer's  Device. — "Infami/  must  at- 
tach somewhere," 

This  fallacy  consists  in  representing  the 
character  of  a  calumniator  as  necessarily  and 
justly  attaching  upon  him  who,  having  made  a 


charge  of  u-^isconduct  agafe^t  any  persons 
possessed  of  political  powei  or  mfluence,  fails 
of  producing  evidence  sufiicient  for  their  con- 
viction. 

"  If  taken  as  a  general  proposition,  applying 
to  all  public  accusations,  nothing  can  be  more 
mischievous  as  well  as  fallacious.  Supposing 
the  charge  unfounded,  the  delivery  of  it  may 
have  been  accompanied  with  mala  Jides  (con- 
sciousness of  its  injustice),  with  temerity  only, 
or  it  may  have  been  perfectly  blameless.  It  is 
in  the  first  case  alone  that  infamy  can  with 
propriety  attach  upon  him  who  brings  it  for- 
ward. A  charge  really  groundless  may  have 
been  honestly  believed  to  be  well  founded,  i.  e. 
believed  with  a  sort  of  provisional  credence, 
sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  a  man 
to  do  his  part  towards  the  bringing  about  an 
investigation,  but  without  sufficient  reasons. 
But  a  charge  may  be  perfectly  groundless 
without  attaching  the  smallest  particle  of 
blame  upon  him  who  brings  it  forward.  Sup- 
pose him  to  have  hea.rd  from  one  or  more, 
presenting  themselves  to  him  in  the  character 
of  percipient  witnesses,  a  story  which,  either 
in  toto,  or  perhaps  only  in  circumstances,  though 
in  circumstances  of  the  most  material  import- 
ance, should  prove  false  and  mendacious — 
how  is  the  person  who  hears  this,  and  acts 
accordingly,  to  blame  1  M'^hat  sagacity  can 
enable  a  man  previously  to  legal  investigation, 
a  man  who  has  no  power  that  can  enable  him 
to  insure  correctness  or  completeness  on  the 
part  of  this  extrajudicial  testimony,  to  guard 
against  deception  in  such  a  easel" — (pp. 
185,  186.) 

Fallacy  of  false  Consolation. — "  What  is  the 
matter  with  you? — What  would  you  have? 
Look  at  the  people  there,  and  there,-  think  how 
much  better  off  you  are  than  they  are.  Your 
prosperity  and  liberty  are  objects  of  their  envy ; 
your  institutions  models  of  their  imitation." 

It  is  not  the  desire  to  look  to  the  bright  side 
that  is  blamed:  but  when  a  particular  suffer- 
ing, produced  by  an  assigned  cause,  has  been 
pointed  out,  the  object  of  many  apologists  is 
to  turn  the  e5'es  of  inquirers  and  judges  into 
any  other  quarter  in  preference.  If  a  man's 
tenants  were  to  come  with  a  general  encomium 
on  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  instead  of  a 
specified  sum,  would  it  be  accepted  1  In  a 
court  of  justice,  in  an  action  for  damages,  did 
ever  any  such  device  occur  as  that  of  pleading 
assets  in  the  hands  of  a  third  person  1  There 
is,  in  fact,  no  country  so  poor  and  so  wretched 
in  every  element  of  prosperity,  in  which  mat- 
ter for  this  argument  might  not  be  found. 
Were  the  prosperity  of  the  country  tenfold  as 
great  as  at  present,  the  absurdity  of  the  argu 
ment  would  not  in  the  least  degree  be  lessened. 
Why  should  the  smallest  evil  be  endured, 
which  can  be  cured;  because  others  suffer  pa- 
tiently under  greater  evils'?  Should  the  small- 
est improvement  attainable  be  neglected,  be- 
cause others  remain  contented  in  a  state  of 
still  greater  inferiority  ? 

"  Seriously  and  pointedly  in  the  character 
of  a  bar  to  any  measure  of  relief,  no,  nor  to 
the  most  trivial  improvement,  can  it  ever  he 
employed.    Suppose  a  bill  brought  in  for  coa 


S16 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


verting  an  impassable  road  any  where  into  a 
passable  one,  would  any  man  stand  up  to  op- 
pose it,  who  could  find  nothing  better  to  urge 
against  it  than  the  multitude  and  goodness  of 
the  roads  we  have  already  1  No :  when  in  the 
character  of  a  serious  bar  to  the  measure  in 
hand,  be  that  measure  what  it  may,  an  argu- 
ment so  palpably  inapplicable  is  employed,  it 
can  only  be  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  di- 
version ; — of  turning  aside  the  minds  of  men 
from  the  subject  really  in  hand,  to  a  picture, 
which,  by  its  beauty,  it  is  hoped,  may  engross 
the  attention  of  the  assembly,  and  make  them 
forget  for  the  moment  for  what  purpose  they 
came  there." — (pp.  196,  197.) 

The  Quietist,  or  no  Complaint. — "  A  new  law 
or  measure  being  proposed  in  the  character  of 
a  remedy  for  some  incontestable  abuse  or  evil, 
an  objection  is  frequently  started  to  the  follow- 
ing eifect: — 'The  measure  is  unnecessary. 
Nobody  complains  of  disorder  in  that  shape, 
in  which  it  is  the  aim  of  your  measure  to  pro- 
pose a  remedy  to  it.  But  even  Avhen  no  cause 
of  complaint  has  been  found  to  exist,  especi- 
ally under  governments  which  admit  of  com- 
plaints, men  have  in  general  not  been  slow  to 
complain  ;  much  less  where  any  just  cause  of 
complaint  has  existed.'  The  argument  amounts 
to  this : — Nobody  complains,  therefore  nobody 
suffers.  It  amounts  to  a  veto  on  all  measures 
of  precaution  or  prevention,  and  goes  to  es- 
tablish a  maxim  in  legislation  directly  opposed 
to  the  most  ordinary  prudence  of  common  life  ; 
— it  enjoins  us  to  build  no  parapets  to  a  bridge 
till  the  number  of  accidents  has  raised  an  uni- 
versal clamour." — (pp.  190,  191.) 

Procrastinator's  Argument. — "  Waif  a  little, 
this  is  not  the  time." 

This  is  the  common  argument  of  men,  who, 
being  in  reality  hostile  to  a  measure,  are 
ashamed  or  afraid  of  appearing  to  be  so.  To- 
day is  the  plea — eternal  exclusion  commonly 
the  object.  It  is  the  same  sort  of  quirk  as  a 
plea  of  abatement  in  law — which  is  never  em- 
ployed but  on  the  side  of  a  dishonest  defendant, 
whose  hope  it  is  to  obtain  an  ultimate  triumph, 
by  overwhelming  his  adversary  with  despair, 
impoverishment,  and  lassitude.  Which  is 
the  properest  day  to  do  good  1  which  is  the  pro- 
perest  day  to  remove  a  nuisance?  we  answer, 
the  very  first  day  a  man  can  be  found  to  propose 
the  removal  of  it ;  and  whoever  opposes  the 
removal  of  it  on  that  day  will  (if  he  dare)  op- 
pose it  on  every  other.  There  is  in  the  minds 
of  many  feeble  friends  to  virtue  and  improve- 
ment, an  imaginary  period  for  the  removal  of 
evils,  which  it  would  certainly  be  worth  while 
to  wait  for,  if  there  was  the  smallest  chance  of 
its  ever  arriving — a  period  of  unexampled 
peace  and  prosperity,  when  a  patriotic  king 
and  an  enlightened  mob  united  their  ardent 
efforts  for  the  amelioration  of  human  affairs ; 
when  the  oppressor  is  as  delighted  to  give  up 
tne  oppression,  as  the  oppressed  is  to  be  libera- 
ted from  it ;  when  the  difficulty  and  unpopu- 
larity would  be  to  continue  the  evil,  not  to 
abolish  it !  These  are  the  periods  when  fair- 
weather  philosophers  are  willing  to  venture 
out,  and  hazard  a  little  for  the  general  good. 
But  the  history  of  human  nature  is  so  contrary 
to  all  this,  that  almost  all  improvements  are 


made  after  the  bitterest  resistance,  and  in  the 
midst  of  tumults  and  civil  violence — the  worst 
period  at  which  they  can  be  made,  compared 
to  which  any  period  is  eligible,  and  should  be 
seized  hold  of  by  the  friends  of  salutary  re- 
form. 

S72airs  Pace  argument. — "  One  thing  at  a 
time  J  Not  too  fast .'  Slow  and  sure  ! — Import- 
ance of  the  business — extreme  difficulty  of  the 
business — danger  of  innovation — need  of  cau- 
tion and  circumspection — impossibility  of  fore- 
seeing all  consequences — danger  of  precipita- 
tion— every  thing  should  be  gradual — one  thing 
at  a  time — this  is  not  the  time — great  occupa- 
tion at  present — wait  for  more  leisure — peo- 
ple well  satisfied — no  petitions  presented — no 
complaints  heard — no  such  mischief  has  yet 
taken  place — stay  till  it  has  taken  place ! — 
Such  is  the  prattle  which  the  magpie  in  office, 
who,  understanding  nothing,  yet  understands 
that  he  must  have  something  to  say  on  every 
subject,  shouts  out  among  his  auditors  as  a 
succedaneum  to  thought." — (pp.  203,  204.) 

Vague  Generalities. — Vague  generalities  com- 
prehend a  numerous  class  of  fallacies  resorted 
to  by  those  who,  in  preference  to  the  determi- 
nate expressions  which  they  might  use,  adopt 
others  more  vague  and  indeterminate. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  terms,  government, 
laws,  morals,  religion.  Every  body  will  admit 
that  there  are  in  the  world  bad  governments, 
bad  laws,  bad  morals,  and  bad  religions.  The 
bare  circumstance,  therefore,  of  being  engaged 
in  exposing  the  defects  of  government,  law, 
morals,  and  religion,  does  not  of  itself  afford 
the  slightest  presumption  that  a  writer  is 
engaged  in  any  thing  blamable.  If  his  at- 
tack is  only  directed  against  that  which  is 
bad  in  each,  his  efforts  may  be  productive  of 
good  to  any  extent.  This  essential  distinction, 
however,  the  defender  of  abuses  uniformly 
takes  care  to  keep  out  of  sight ;  and  boldly  im- 
putes to  his  antagonists  an  intention  to  sub- 
A^ert  all  government,  law,  morals,  and  religion^ 
Propose  any  thing  with  a  view  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  existing  practice,  in  relation  to 
law,  government,  and  religion,  he  will  treat  you 
with  an  oration  upon  the  necessity  and  utility 
of  law,  government,  and  religion.  Among  the 
several  cloudy  appellatives  which  have  been 
commonly  einployed  as  cloaks  for  misgovern- 
ment,  there  is  none  more  conspicuous  in  this 
atmosphere  of  illusion  than  the  word  order. 
As  often  as  any  measure  is  brought  forward 
which  has  for  its  object  to  lessen  the  sacrifice 
made  by  the  many  to  the  few,  social  order  is  the 
phrase  commonly  opposed  to  its  progress. 

"  By  a  defalcation  made  from  any  part  of 
the  mass  of  factitious  delay,  vexation,  and  ex- 
pense, out  of  which,  and  in  proportion  to  which, 
lawyers'  profit  is  made  to  flow — by  any  defal- 
cation made  from  the  mass  of  needless  and 
worse  than  useless  emolument  to  office,  with 
or  without  service  or  pretence  of  service — by 
any  addition  endeavoured  to  be  made  to  the 
quantity,  or  improvement  in  the  quality  of  ser- 
vice rendered,  or  time  bestowed  in  service  ren- 
dered in  return  for  such  emolument — by  every 
endeavour  that  has  for  its  object  the  persuading 
the  people  to  place  their  fate  at  the  disposal  of 
any  other  agents  than  those  in  whose  hands 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


217 


breach  of  trust  is  certain,  due  fulfilment  of  it 
morally  and  physically  impossible — social  or- 
der is  said  to  be  endangered,  and  threatened  to 
be  destroyed."— (p.  234.) 

In  the  same  way  establishment  is  a  word  in 
use  to  protect  the  bad  parts  of  establishments, 
by  charging  those  who  wish  to  remove  or  alter 
them  with  a  wish  to  subvert  all  good  establish- 
ments. 

Mischievous  fallacies  also  circulate  from 
the  convertible  use  of  what  Mr.  B.  is  pleased  to 
call  dyslogistic  and  eulogistic  terms.  Thus  a 
vast  concern  is  expressed  for  the  liberty  of  the 
press,  and  the  utmost  abhorrence  for  its  licen- 
tiousness: but  then,  by  the  licentiousness  of 
the  press  is  meant  every  disclosure  by  which 
any  abuse  is  brought  to  light  and  exposed  to 
shame — by  the  liberty  of  the  press  is  meant  only 
publications  from  which  no  such  inconvenience 
is  to  be  apprehended ;  and  the  fallacy  consists 
in  employing  the  sham  approbation  of  liberty 
as  a  mask  for  the  real  opposition  to  all  free 
discussion.  To  write  a  pamphlet  so  ill  that 
nobody  will  read  it ;  to  animadvert  in  terms 
so  weak  and  insipid  upon  great  evils,  that  no 
disgust  is  excited  at  the  vice,  and  no  appre- 
hension in  the  evil-doer,  is  a  fair  use  of  the 
liberty  of  the  press,  and  is  not  only  pardoned 
by  the  friends  of  government,  but  draws  from 
them  the  most  fervent  eulogium.  The  licen- 
tiousness of  the  press  consists  in  doing  the 
thing  boldly  and  well,  in  striking  terror  into 
the  guilty,  and  in  rousing  the  attention  of  the 
public  to  the  defence  of  their  highest  interests. 
This  is  the  licentiousness  of  the  press  held  in 
the  greatest  horror  by  timid  and  corrupt  men, 
and  punished  by  semianimous,  semicadaverous 
judges,  with  a  captivity  of  many  years.  In 
the  same  manner  the  dyslogistic  and  eulogistic 
fallacies  are  used  in  the  case  of  reform. 

"  Between  all  abuses  whatsoever,  there  ex- 
ists that  connection ; — between  all  persons 
who  see  each  of  them  any  one  abuse  in  which 
an  advantage  results  to  himself,  there  exists, 
in  point  of  interest,  that  close  and  sufficiently 
understood  connection,  of  which  intimation 
has  been  given  already.  To  no  one  abuse  can 
correction  be  administered  without  endanger- 
ing the  existence  of  every  other. 

"  If,  then,  with  this  inward  determination 
not  to  suffer,  so  far  as  depends  upon  himself, 
the  adoption  of  any  reform  which  he  is  able  to 
prevent,  it  should  seem  to  him  necessary  or 
advisable  to  put  on,  for  a  cover,  the  profession 
or  appearance  of  a  desire  to  contribute  to  such 
reform — in  pursuance  of  the  device  or  fallacy 
here  in  question,  he  will  represent  that  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  reform  as  distinguisha- 
ble into  two  species ;  one  of  them  a  fit  subject 
for  approbation,  the  other  for  disapprobation. 
That  which  he  thus  professes  to  have  marked 
for  approbation,  he  will  accordingly,  for  the 
expression  of  such  approbation,  characterize 
by  some  adjunct  of  the  eulogistic  cast,  such  as 
moderate,  for  example,  or  temperate,  or  prac- 
tical, or  practicable. 

"To  the  other  of  these  nominally  distinct 
species,  he  will,  at  the  same  time,  attach  some 
adjunct  of  the  dyslogistic  cast,  such  as  violent, 
intemperate,  extravagant,  outrageous,  theoreti- 
cal, speculative,  and  so  forth.  ^ 
28 


"Thus,  then,  in  profession  and  to  appearance, 
there  are  in  his  conception  of  the  matter  two 
distinct  and  opposite  species  of  reform,  to  one 
of  which  his  approbation,  to  the  other  his  dis- 
approbation is  attached.  But  the  species  to 
which  his  approbation  is  attached  is  an  empty 
species — a  species  in  which  no  individual  is, 
or  is  intended  to  be,  contained. 

"The  species  to  which  his  disapprobation  is 
attached  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  crowded  species, 
a  receptacle  in  which  the  whole  contents  of  the 
gemts — of  the  genus  Reform  are  intended  to  be 
included."— (pp.  277,  278.) 

Anti-rational  Fallacies. — When  reason  is  in. 
opposition  to  a  man's  interests,  his  study  will 
naturally  be  to  render  the  faculty  itself,  and 
whatever  issues  from  it,  an  object  of  hatred 
and  contempt.  The  sarcasm  and  other  figures 
of  speech  employed  on  the  occasion  are  di- 
rected not  merely  against  reason  but  against 
thought,  as  if  there  were  something  in  the 
faculty  of  thought  that  rendered  the  exercise 
of  it  incompatible  with  useful  and  successful 
practice.  Sometimes  a  plan,  which  would  not 
suit  the  official  person's  interest,  is  without 
more  ado  pronounced  a  speculative  one;  and, 
by  this  observation,  all  need  of  rational  and 
deliberate  discussion  is  considered  to  be  super- 
seded. The  first  effort  of  the  corruptionist  is 
to  fix  the  epithet  speculative  upon  any  scheme 
which  he  thinks  may  cherish  the  spirit  of 
reform.  The  expression  is  hailed  with  the 
greatest  delight  by  bad  and  feeble  men,  and 
repeated  with  the  most  unwearied  energy;  and, 
to  the  word  speculative,  by  way  of  reinforce- 
ment, are  added,  theoretical,  visionary,  chimerical, 
romantic,  Utopian. 

"  Sometimes  a  distinction  is  taken,  and  there- 
upon a  concession  made.  The  plan  is  good  in 
theory,  but  it  would  be  bad  in  practice,  i.  e.  its 
being  good  in  theory  does  not  hinder  its  being 
bad  in  practice. 

"Sometimes,  as  if  in  consequenceof  a  farther 
progress  made  in  the  art  of  irrationality,  the 
plan  is  pronounced  to  be  too  good  to  be  practica- 
ble; and  its  being  so  good  as  it  is,  is  thus  repre- 
sented as  the  very  cause  of  its  being  bad  ia 
practice. 

"  In  short,  such  is  the  perfection  at  which 
this  art  is  at  length  arrived,  that  the  very  cir- 
cumstance of  a  plan's  being  susceptible  of  the 
appellation  of  a  plan,  has  been  gravely  stated 
as  a  circumstance  sufficient  to  warrant  its  being 
rejected,  if  not  with  hatred,  at  any  rate  with  a 
sort  of  accompaniment,  which,  to  the  million, 
is  commonly  felt  still  more  galling — with  con- 
tempt."— (p.  296.) 

There  is  a  propensity  to  push  theory  too  far; 
but  what  is  the  just  inference?  not  that  theo- 
retical propositions  (t.f.  all  propositions  of  any 
considerable  comprehension  or  extent)  should, 
from  such  their  extent,  be  considered  to  be  false 
in  toto,  but  only  that,  in  the  particular  case, 
inquiry  should  be  made  whether,  supposing  the 
proposition  to  be  in  the  character  of  a  rule 
generally  true,  an  exception  ought  to  be  taken 
out  of  it.  It  might  almost  be  imagined  that 
there  was  something  wicked  or  unwise  in  the 
exercise  of  thought;  for  everybody  feels  a 
necessity  for  disclaiming  it.  "I  am  not  given 
T 


$18 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


to  speculation;  I  am  no  friend  to  theories." 
Can  a  man  disclaim  theory,  can  he  disclaim 
speculation,  without  disclaiming  thought  1 

The  description  of  persons  by  whom  this 
fallacy  is  chiefly  employed  are  those  who,  re- 
garding a  plan  as  adverse  to  their  interests, 
and  not  finding  it  on  the  ground  o(  general 
utility  exposed  to  any  predominant  objection, 
have  recourse  to  this  objection  in  the  character 
of  an  instrument  of  contempt,  in  the  view  of 
preventing  those  from  looking  into  it  who  might 
have  been  otherwise  disposed.  It  is  by  the  fear 
of  seeing  it  practised  that  they  are  drawn  to 
speak  of  it  as  impracticable.  "Upon  the  face 
of  it  (exclaims  some  feeble  or  pensioned  gen- 
tleman), it  carries  that  air  of  plausibility,  that, 
if  you  were  not  upon  your  guard,  might  engage 
you  to  bestow  more  or  less  of  attention  upon 
it;  but  were  you  to  take  the  trouble, you  would 
find  that  (as  it  is  with  all  these  plans  which 
promise  so  much)  practicability  would  at  last 
be  wanting  to  it.  To  save  yourself  from  this 
trouble,  the  wisest  course  you  can  take  is  to 
put  the  plan  aside,  and  to  think  no  more  about 
the  matter."  This  is  always  accompanied  with 
a  peculiar  grin  of  triumph. 

The  whole  of  these  fallacies  maybe  gathered 
together  in  a  little  oration,  which  we  will  de- 
nominate the 

Noodle's  Oration. 

"What  would  our  ancestors  say  to  this,  sir? 
How  does  this  measure  tally  with  their  institu- 
tions ?  How  does  it  agree  with  their  expe- 
rience ?  Are  we  to  put  the  wisdom  of  yesterday 
in  competition  with  the  wisdom  of  centuries'? 
(^Hear,  hear!)  Is  beardless  youth  to  show  no 
respect  for  the  decisions  of  mature  age  1  (Loud 
cries  of  hear !  hear!)  If  this  measure  is  right, 
■would  it  have  escaped  the  wisdom  of  those 
Saxon  progenitors  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  so  many  of  our  best  political  institutions  1 
Would  the  Dane  have  passed  it  over?  Would 
the  Norman  have  rejected  it?  Would  such  a 
notable  discovery  have  been  reserved  for  these 
modern  and  degenerate  times  ]  Besides,  sir, 
if  the  measure  itself  is  good,  I  ask  the  honour- 
able gentleman  if  this  is  the  time  for  carrying 
it  into  execution — whether,  in  fact,  a  more  un- 
fortunate period  could  have  been  selected  than 
that  which  he  has  chosen  1  If  this  were  an 
ordinary  measure,  I  should  not  oppose  it  with 
so  much  vehemence  ;  but,  sir,  it  calls  in  ques- 
tion the  wisdom  of  an  irrevocable  law — of  a 
law  passed  at  the  memorable  period  of  the 
Revolution.  What  right  have  we,  sir,  to  break 
down  this  firm  column,  on  which  the  great 
men  of  that  day  stamped  a  character  of  eter- 
nity 1  Are  not  all  authorities  against  this  mea- 
sure, Pitt,  Fox,  Cicero,  and  the  Attorney  and 
Solicitor-General  1  The  proposition  is  new, 
sir  ;  it  is  the  first  time  it  was  ever  heard  in  this 
house.  I  am  not  prepared,  sir — this  house  is 
not  prepared,  to  receive  it.  The  measure  im- 
plies a  distrust  of  his  majesty's  government; 
their  disapproval  is  sufficient  to  warrant  oppo- 
sition. Precaution  only  is  requisite  where 
danger  is  apprehended.  Here  the  high  cha- 
racter of  the  individuals  in  question  is  a  sutfi- 
cient  guarantee  against  any  ground  of  alarm. 
Give  not,  then,  your  sanction  to  this  measure ; 


for,  whatever  be  its  character,  if  you  do  give 
your  sanction  to  it,  the  same  man  by  whom 
this  is  proposed,  will  propose  to  you  others  to 
Avhich  it  will  be  impossible  to  give  your  con- 
sent. I  care  very  little,  sir,  for  the  ostensible 
measure  ;  but  what  is  there  behind  1  What  are 
the  honourable  gentleman's  future  schemes  1 
If  we  pass  this  bill,  what  fresh  concessions 
may  he  not  require?  What  farther  degrada- 
tion is  he  planning  for  his  country  ?  Talk  of 
evil  and  inconvenience,  sir!  look  to  other 
countries — study  other  aggregations  and  socie- 
ties of  men,  and  then  see  whether  the  laws  of 
this  country  demand  a  remedy,  or  deserve  a 
panegyric.  Was  the  honourable  gentleman 
(let  me  ask  him)  always  of  this  way  of  think- 
ing ?  Do  I  not  remember  when  he  was  the 
advocate  in  this  house  of  very  opposite 
opinions  ?  I  not  only  quarrel  with  his  present 
sentiments,  sir,  but  I  declare  very  frankly  I  do 
not  like  the  party  with  which  he  acts.  If  his 
own  motives  were  as  pure  as  possible,  they 
cannot  but  suffer  contamination  from  those 
with  whom  he  is  politically  associated.  This 
measure  may  be  a  boon  to  the  constitution,  but 
I  will  accept  no  favour  to  the  constitution  from 
such  hands.  {Loud  cries  of  hear !  hear!)  I  pro- 
fess myself,  sir,  an  honest  and  upright  member 
of  the  British  Parliament,  and  I  am  not  afraid 
to  profess  myself  an  enemy  to  all  change,  and 
ail  innovation.  I  am  satisfied  with  things  as 
they  are  ;  and  it  will  be  my  pride  and  pleasur*? 
to  hand  down  this  country  to  my  children  as  I 
received  it  from  those  who  preceded  me.  The 
honourable  gentleman  pretends  to  justify  the 
severity  with  which  he  has  attacked  the  noble 
lord  who  presides  in  the  Court  of  Chancery. 
But  I  say  such  attacks  are  pregnant  with  mis- 
chief to  government  itself.  Oppose  ministers, 
you  oppose  government:  disgrace  ministers, 
you  disgrace  government:  bring  ministers  into 
contempt,  you  bring  government  into  contempt; 
and  anarchy  and  civil  war  are  the  conse- 
quences. Besides,  sir,  the  measure  is  unne- 
cessary. Nobody  complains  of  disorder  in  that 
shape  in  which  it  is  the  aim  of  your  measure 
to  propose  a  remedy  to  it.  The  business  is 
one  of  the  greatest  importance  ;  there  is  need 
of  the  greatest  caution  and  circumspection. 
Do  not  let  us  be  precipitate,  sir ;  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  foresee  all  consequences.  Every  thing 
should  be  gradual ;  the  example  of  a  neighbour- 
ing nation  should  fill  us  with  alarm  !  The 
honourable  gentleman  has  taxed  me  with  illibe- 
rality,  sir.  I  deny  the  charge.  I  hate  innova- 
tion, but  I  love  improvement.  I  am  an  enemy 
to  the  corruption  of  government,  but  I  defend 
its  influence.  I  dread  reform,  but  I  dread  it 
only  when  it  is  intemperate.  I  consider  the 
liberty  of  the  press  as  the  great  palladium  of 
the  constitution  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  hold 
the  licentiousness  of  the  press  in  the  greatest 
abhorrence.  Nobody  is  more  conscious  than 
I  am  of  the  splendid  abilities  of  the  honourable 
mover,  but  I  tell  him  at  once,  his  scheme  is 
too  good  to  be  practicable.  It  savours  of 
Utopia.  It  looks  well  in  theory,  but  it  won't  do 
in  practice.  It  will  not  do,  I  repeat,  sir,  in 
practice  ;  and  so  the  advocates  of  the  measure 
will  find,  if,  unfortunately,  it  should  find  its  way 
through  Parliament.    {Cheers.)    The  source  of 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


219 


that  corruption  to  which  the  honourable  mem- 
ber alludes,  is  in  the  minds  of  the  people;  so 
rank  and  extensive  is  that  corruption,  that  no 
political  reform  can  have  any  effect  in  remov- 
ing it.  Instead  of  reforming  others — instead 
of  reforming  the  state,  the  constitution,  and 
every  thing  that  is  most  etcellent,  let  each  man 
reform  himself!  let  him  look  at  home,  he  will 
find  there  enough  to  do,  without  looking  abroad, 
and  aiming  at  what  is  out  of  his  power.  (Loud 
cheers.)  And  now,  sir,  as  it  is  frequently  the 
custom  in  this  house  to  end  with  a  quotation, 
and  as  the  gentleman  who  preceded  me  in  the 
debate  has  anticipated  me  in  my  favourite 
quotation  of  the  '  Strong  pull  and  the  long 
pull,'  I  shall  end  with  the  memorable  words  of 
the  assembled  Barons — Nolwmus  leges  Anglia 
mutarir 

"Upon  the  whole,  the  following  are  the 
characters  which  appertain  in  common  to  all 
the  several  arguments  here  distinguished  by 
the  name  of  fallacies  : — 

"  1.  Whatever  be  the  measure  in  hand,  they 
are,  with  relation  to  it,  irrelevant. 

"  2.  They  are  all  of  them  such,  that  the  ap- 
plication of  these  irrelevant  arguments  affords 
a  presumption  either  of  the  weakness  or  total 
absence  of  relevant  arguments  on  the  side  on 
which  they  are  employed. 

"  3.  To  any  good  purpose  they  are  all  of 
them  unnecessary. 

"  4.  They  are  all  of  them  not  only  capable 
of  being  applied,  but  actually  in  the  habit  of 
being  applied,  and  with  advantage,  to  bad  pur- 
poses, viz.,  to  the  obstruction  and  defeat  of  all 
such  measures  as  have  for  their  object  the 


removal  of  the  abuses  or  other  imperfections 
still  discernible  in  the  frame  and  practice  of 
the  government. 

"  5.  By  means  of  their  irrelevancy,  they  all 
of  them  consume  and  misapply  time,  thereby 
obstructing  the  course  and  retarding  the  pro- 
gress of  all  necessary  and  useful  business. 

"  6.  By  that  irritative  quality  which,  in 
virtue  of  their  irrelevancy,  with  the  improbity 
or  weakness  of  which  it  is  indicative,  they 
possess,  all  of  them,  in  a  degree  more  or  less 
considerable,  but  in  a  more  particular  degree 
such  of  them  as  consist  in  personalities,  they 
are  productive  of  ill-hUmour,  which  in  some 
instances  has  been  productive  of  bloodshed, 
and  is  continually  productive,  as  above,  of 
waste  of  time  and  hinderance  of  business. 

"  7.  On  the  part  of  those  who,  whether  in 
spoken  or  written  discourses,  give  utterance 
to  them,  they  are  indicative  either  of  impro- 
bity or  intellectual  weakness,  or  of  a  contempt 
for  the  understanding  of  those  on  whose  minds 
they  are  destined  to  operate. 

"  8.  On  the  part  of  those  on  whom  they 
operate,  they  are  indicative  of  intellectual 
weakness  ;  and  on  the  part  of  those  in  and  by 
whom  they  are  pretended  to  operate,  they  are 
indicative  of  improbity,  viz.,  in  the  shape  of 
insincerity. 

"  The  practical  conclusion  is,  that  in  pro- 
portion as  the  acceptance,  and  thence  the 
utterance,  of  them  can  be  prevented,  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  public  will  be  strengthened, 
the  morals  of  the  public  will  be  purified,  and 
the  practice  of  government  improved." — (pp. 
359,  360.) 


WATERTOISV 

[Edinbueoh  Review,  1826.] 


Mr.  Watertojt  is  a  Roman  Catholic  gen- 
tleman of  Yorkshire,  of  good  fortune,  who, 
instead  of  passing  his  life  at  balls  and  assem- 
blies, has  preferred  living  with  Indians  and 
monkeys  in  the  forests  of  Guiana.  He  ap- 
pears in  early  life  to  have  been  seized  with  an 
unconquerable  aversion  to  Piccadilly,  and  to 
that  train  of  meteorological  questions  and 
answers,  which  forms  the  great  staple  of 
polite  English  conversation.  From  a  dislike 
to  the  regular  form  of  a  journal,  he  throws 
his  travels  into  detached  pieces,  which  he, 
rather  affectedly,  calls  Wanderings — and  of 
which  we  shall  proceed  to  give  some  account. 

His  first  Wandering  was  in  the  year  1812, 
through  the  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo, 
a  part  of  ci-devant  Dutch  Guiana,  in  South 
America.     The  sun  exhausted  him  by  day,  the 


*  Wanderivgs  in  South  America,  the  J^orth-West  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Jivtilhs,  in  the  years  1812,  "1816, 
1820,  and  1824;  jeifh  Original  Instructions  for  the  perfect 
Preservation  of  Birds,  ^-n.,  for  Cabinets  of  J^atural 
History.  By  Charles  Waterton,  Esq.  London. 
Mawman.  4to.  1825. 


musquitoes  bit  him  by  night ;  but  on  went  Mr. 
Charles  Waterton  ! 

The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  in  this  ex- 
traordinary chronicle,  is  the  genuine  zeal  and 
inexhaustible  delight  with  which  all  the  bar- 
barous countries  he  visits  are  described.  He 
seems  to  love  the  forests,  the  tigers,  and  the 
apes  ; — to  be  rejoiced  that  he  is  the  only  man 
there ;  that  he  has  left  his  species  far  away ; 
and  is  at  last  in  the  midst  of  his  blessed 
baboons !  He  writes  with  a  considerable 
degree  of  force  and  vigour;  and  contrives  to 
infuse  into  his  reader  that  admiration  of  the 
great  works,  and  undisturbed  scenes  of  na- 
ture, which  animates  his  style,  and  has  influ- 
enced his  life  and  practice.  There  is  some- 
thing, too,  to  be  highly  respected  and  praised 
in  the  conduct  of  a  country  gentleman,  who, 
instead  of  exhausting  life  in  the  chase,  has 
dedicated  a  considerable  portion  of  it  to  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge.  There  are  so  many 
temptations  to  complete  idleness  in  the  life  of 
a  country  gentleman,  so  many  examples  of  it, 
and  so  much  loss  to  the  community  frona  it, 


820 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


that  every  exception  from  the  practice  is  de- 
seiTing  of  great  praise.  Some  country  gen- 
tlemen must  remain  to  do  the  business  of  their 
counties ;  but,  in  general,  there  are  many 
more  than  are  wanted;  and,  generally -speak- 
ing also,  they  are  a  class  who  should  be 
stimulated  to  greater  exertions.  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  a  squire  of  large  fortune  in  Lincoln- 
shire, might  have  given  up  his  existence  to 
double-barrelled  guns  and  persecutions  of 
poachers — and  all  the  benefits  derived  from 
his  wealth,  industry,  and  personal  exertion  in 
the  cause  of  science  would  have  been  lost  to 
the  community. 

Mr.  Waterton  complains,  that  the  trees  of 
Guiana  are  not  more  than  six  yards  in  circum- 
ference— a  magnitude  in  trees  Avhich  it  is  not 
easy  for  a  Scotch  imagination  to  reach. 
Among  these,  pre-eminent  in  height  rises  the 
mora — upon  whose  top  branches,  when  naked 
by  age,  or  dried  by  accident,  is  perched  the 
toucan,  too  high  for  the  gun  of  the  fowler ; — 
around  this  are  the  green  heart,  famous  for 
hardness;  the  tough,  hackea;  the  ducalabali, 
surpassing  mahogany ;  the  ebony  and  letter- 
wood,  exceeding  the  most  beautiful  woods  of 
the  Old  World ;  the  locust-tree,  yielding  copal ; 
and  the  hayawa  and  olou-trees,  furnishing 
sweet-smelling  resin.  Upon  the  top  of  the 
mora  grows  the  fig-tree.  The  bush-rope 
joins  tree  and  tree,  so  as  to  render  the  forest 
impervious,  as,  descending  from  on  high,  it 
takes  root  as  soon  as  its  extremity  touches  the 
ground,  and  appears  like  shrouds  and  stays 
supporting  the  mainmast  of  a  line-of-battle 
ship. 

Demerara  yields  to  no  country  in  the  world 
In  her  birds.  The  mud  is  flaming  with  the 
scarlet  curlew.  At  sunset,  the  pelicans  return 
from  the  sea  to  the  courada  trees.  Among 
the  flowers  are  the  humming-birds.  The 
columbine,  gallinaceous,  and  passerine  tribes 
people  the  fruit-trees.  At  the  close  of  day, 
the  vampires,  or  winged  bats,  suck  the  blood 
of  the  traveller,  and  cool  him  by  the  flap  of 
their  wings.  Nor  has  nature  forgotten  to 
amuse  herself  here  in  the  composition  of 
snakes: — the  camoudi  has  been  killed  from 
thirty  to  forty  feet  long ;  he  does  not  act  by 
venom,  but  by  size  and  convolution.  The 
Spaniards  affirm  that  he  grows  to  the  length 
of  eighty  feet,  and  that  he  will  swallow  a  bull ; 
but  Spaniards  love  the  superlative.  There  is 
au'hipsnake  of  a  beautiful  green.  The  labarri 
snake  of  a  dirty  brown,  who  kills  you  in  a  few 
minutes.  Every  lovely  colour  under  heaven 
is  lavished  upon  the  counachouchi,  the  most 
venomous  of  reptiles,  and  known  by  the  name 
of  the  hush-master.  Man  and  beast,  says  Mr. 
Waterton,  fly  before  him,  and  allow  him  to 
pursue  an  undisputed  path. 

We  consider  the  following  description  of  the 
various  sounds  in  these  Avild  regions  as  very 
.striking,  and  done  with  very  considerable 
powers  of  style. 

"  He  whose  eye  can  distinguish  the  various 
beauties  of  uncultivated  nature,  and  whose 
ear  is  not  shut  to  the  wild  sounds  in  the 
woods,  will  be  delighted  in  passing  up  the 
river  Demerara.  Every  now  and  then,  the 
maam  or  tinamou  sends  forth  one  long  and 


plaintive  whistle  from  the  depth  of  the  forest, 
and  then  stops ;  whilst  the  yelping  of  the 
toucan,  and  the  shrill  voice  of  the  bird  called 
pi-pi-yo,  are  heard  during  the  interval.  The 
campanero  never  fails  to  attract  the  attention 
of  the  passenger :  at  a  distance  of  nearly  three 
miles  you  may  hear  this  snow-white  bird 
tolling  every  four  or  five  minutes,  like  the 
distant  convent  bell.  From  six  to  nine  in  the 
morning,  the  forests  resound  with  the  mingled 
cries  and  strains  of  the  feathered  race ;  after 
this  they  gradually  die  away.  From  eleven  to 
three,  all  nature  is  hushed  as  in  a  midnight 
silence,  and  scarce  a  note  is  heard,  saving 
that  of  the  campanero  and  the  pi-pi-yo ;  it  is 
then  that,  oppressed  by  the  solar  heat,  the 
birds  retire  to  the  thickest  shade,  and  wait  for 
the  refreshing  cool  of  evening. 

"  At  sundown  the  vampires,  bats,  and  goat- 
suckers, dart  from  their  lonely  retreat,  and 
skim  along  the  trees  on  the  river's  bank.  The 
different  kinds  of  frogs  almost  stun  the  ear 
with  their  hoarse  and  hollow-sounding  croak- 
ing, while  the  owls  and  goatsuckers  lament 
and  mourn  all  night  long. 

"  About  two  hours  before  daybreak  you  will 
hear  the  red  monkey  moaning  as  though  in 
deep  distress  ;  the  houtou,  a  solitary  bird,  and 
only  found  in  the  thickest  recesses  of  the 
forest,  distinctly  articulates,  '  houtou,  houtou,' 
in  a  low  and  plaintive  tone,  an  hour  before 
sunrise ;  the  maam  whistles  about  the  same 
hour;  the  hannaquoi,  pataca,  and  maroudi 
announce  his  near  approach  to  the  eastern 
horizon,  and  the  parrots  and  paroquets  confirm 
his  arrival  there." — (pp.  13 — 15.) 

Our  good  Quixote  of  Demerara  is  a  little 
too  fond  of  apostrophizing  : — "  Traveller  !  dost 
thou  think"?  Reader!  dost  thou  imagine]" 
Mr.  Waterton  should  remember,  that  the 
whole  merit  of  these  violent  deviations  from 
common  style  depends  upon  their  rarity,  and 
that  nothing  does,  for  ten  pages  together,  but 
the  indicative  mood.  This  fault  gives  an  air 
of  affectation  to  the  writing  of  Mr.  Waterton, 
which  we  believe  to  be  foreign  from  his  cha- 
racter and  nature.  We  do  not  wish  to  deprive 
him  of  these  indulgences  altogether ;  but 
merely  to  put  him  upon  an  allowance,  and 
upon  such  an  allowance  as  will  give  to  these 
figures  of  speech  the  advantage  of  surprise 
and  relief. 

This  gentleman's  delight  and  exultation  al- 
ways appear  to  increase  as  he  loses  sight  of 
European  inventions,  and  comes  to  something 
purely  Indian.  Speaking  of  an  Indian  tribe, 
he  says, — 

"They  had  only  one  gun,  and  it  appeared 
rusty  and  neglected ;  hut  their  poisoned  wea- 
pons were  in  fine  order.  Their  blow-pipes 
hung  from  the  roof  of  the  hut,  carefully  sus- 
pended by  a  silk  grass  cord;  and  on  taking  a 
nearer  view  of  them,  no  dust  seemed  to  have 
collected  there,  nor  had  the  spider  spun  the 
smallest  web  on  them  ;  which  showed  that  they 
were  in  constant  use.  The  quivers  were  close 
by  them,  with  the  jaw-bone  of  the  fish  pirai 
tied  by  a  string  to  their  brim,  and  a  small 
wicker-basket  of  wild  cotton,  which  hung 
down  to  the  centre ;  they  were  nearly  full  of 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


221 


poisoned  arrows.  It  was  with  difficulty  these 
Indians  could  be  persuaded  to  part  with  any  of 
the  Wourali  poison,  though  a  good  price  was 
offered  for  it:  they  gave  us  to  understand  that 
it  was  powder  and  shot  to  them,  and  very  diffi- 
cult to  be  procured." — (pp.  34,  35.) 

A  wicker-basket  of  wild  cotton,  full  of  poi- 
soned arrows,  for  shooting  fish  !  This  is  In- 
dian with  a  vengeance.  We  fairly  admit  that, 
in  the  contemplation  of  such  utensils,  every 
trait  of  civilized  life  is  completely  and  effectu- 
ally banished. 

One  of  the  strange  and  fanciful  objects  of 
Mr.  Waterton's  journey  was,  to  obtain  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  composition  and  nature  of  the 
Wourali  poison,  the  ingredient  with  which  the 
Indians  poison  their  arrows.  In  the  wilds  of 
Essequibo,  far  away  from  any  European  set- 
tlements, there  is  a  tribe  of  Indians  known  by 
the  name  of  Macoushi.  The  Wourali  poison  is 
used  by  all  the  South  American  savages,  be- 
twixt the  Amazon  and  the  Oroonoque  ;  but  the 
Macoushi  Indians  manufacture  it  with  the 
greatest  skill,  and  of  the  greatest  strength.  A 
vine  grows  in  the  forest  called  Wourali ;  and 
from  this  vine,  together  with  a  good  deal  of 
nonsense  and  absurdity,  the  poison  is  prepared. 
When  a  native  of  Macoushia  goes  in  quest  of 
feathered  game,  he  seldom  carries  his  bow  and 
arrows.  It  is  the  blow-pipe  he  then  uses.  The 
reed  grows  to  an  amazing  length,  as  the  part 
the  Indians  use  is  from  10  to  11  feet  long,  and 
no  tapering  can  be  perceived,  one  end  being  as 
thick  as  another;  nor  is  there  the  slightest  ap- 
pearance of  a  knot  or  joint.  The  end  which  is 
applied  to  the  mouth  is  tied  round  with  a  small 
silk  grass  cord.  The  arrow  is  from  nine  to 
ten  inches  long;  it  is  made  out  of  the  leaf  of 
a  palm-tree,  and  pointed  as  sharp  as  a  needle  : 
about  an  inch  of  the  pointed  end  is  poisoned : 
the  other  end  is  burnt  to  make  it  still  harder; 
and  wild  cotton  is  put  round  it  for  an  inch  and 
a  half.  The  quiver  holds  from  500  to  600  ar- 
rows, is  from  12  to  14  inches  long,  and  in 
shape  like  a  dice-box.  With  a  quiver  of  these 
poisoned  arrows  over  his  shoulder,  and  his 
blow-pipe  in  his  hand,  the  Indian  stalks  into 
the  forest  in  quest  of  his  feathered  game. 

"  These  generally  sit  high  up  in  the  tall  and 
tufted  trees,  but  still  are  not  out  of  the  Indian's 
reach ;  for  his  blow-pipe,  at  its  greatest  eleva- 
tion, will  send  an  arrow  three  hundred  feet. 
Silent  as  midnight  he  steals  under  them,  and  so 
cautiously  does  he  tread  the  ground,  that  the 
fallen  leaves  rustle  not  beneath  his  feet.  His 
ears  are  open  to  the  least  sound,  while  his 
eye,  keen  as  that  of  the  lynx,  is  employed  in 
finding  out  the  game  in  the  thickest  shade. 
Often  he  imitates  their  cry,  and  decoys  them 
from  tree  to  tree,  till  they  are  within  range  of 
his  tube.  Then  taking  a  poisoned  arrow  from 
his  quiver,  he  puts  it  in  the  blow-pipe,  and  col- 
lects his  breath  for  the  fatal  puff. 

"  About  two  feet  from  the  end  through  which 
he  blows,  there  are  fastened  two  teeth  of  the 
acouri,  and  these  serve  him  for  a  sight.  Silent 
and  swift  the  arrow  flies,  and  seldom  fails  to 
pierce  the  object  at  which  it  is  sent.  Some- 
times the  wounded  bird  remains  in  the  same 
tree  where  it  was  shot,  but  in  three  minutes 
falls  down  at  the  Indian's  feet.    Should  he  take 


wing,  his  flight  is  of  short  duration,  and  the 
Indian  following  in  the  direction  he  has  gone, 
is  sure  to  find  him  dead. 

"It  is  natural  to  imagine  that,  when  a  slight 
wound  only  is  inflicted,  the  game  will  make  its 
escape.  Far  otherwise ;  the  Wourali  poison 
instantaneously  mixes  with  blood  or  water,  so 
that  if  you  wet  your  finger,  and  dash  it  along 
the  poisoned  arrow  in  the  quickest  manner 
possible,  you  are  sure  to  carry  off  some  of  the 
poison. 

"  Though  three  minutes  generally  elapse  be- 
fore the  convulsions  come  on  in  the  wounded 
bird,  still  a  stupor  evidently  takes  place  sooner, 
and  this  stupor  manifests  itself  by  an  apparent 
unwillingness  in  the  bird  to  move.  This  was 
very  visible  in  a  dying  fowl."  (pp.  60 — 62.) 

The  flesh  of  the  game  is  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  injured  by  the  poison  ;  nor  does  it  ap- 
pear to  be  corrupted  sooner  than  that  killed  by 
the  gun  or  knife.  For  the  larger  animals,  an 
arrow  with  a  poisoned  spike  is  used. 

"  Thus  armed  with  deadly  poison,  and  hun- 
gry as  the  hyena,  he  ranges  through  the  forest 
in  quest  of  the  wild  beasts'  track.  No  hound 
can  act  a  surer  part.  Without  clothes  to  fetter 
him,  or  shoes  to  bind  his  feet,  he  observes  the 
footsteps  of  the  game,  where  an  European  eye 
could  not  discern  the  smallest  vestige.  He 
pursues  it  through  all  its  turns  and  windings, 
with  astonishing  perseverance,  and  success 
generally  crowns  his  efforts.  The  animal,  after 
receiving  the  poisoned  arrow,  seldom  retreats 
two  hundred  paces  before  it  drops. 

"In  passing  over  land  from  the  Essequibo  to 
the  Demerara  we  fell  in  with  a  herd  of  wild 
hogs.  Though  encumbered  with  baggage,  and 
fatigued  with  a  hard  day's  walk,  an  Indian  got 
his  bow  ready,  and  let  fly  a  poisoned  arrow  at 
one  of  them.  It  entered  the  cheek-bone,  and 
broke  off.  The  wild  hog  was  found  quite  dead 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy  paces  from  the 
place  where  he  had  been  shot.  He  afforded  us 
an  excellent  and  wholesome  supper." — (p.  65.) 

Being  a  Wourali  poison  fancier,  Mr.  Water- 
ton  has  recorded  several  instances  of  the  power 
of  his  favourite  drug.  A  sloth  poisoned  by  it 
went  gently  to  sleep,  and  died!  a  large  ox, 
weighing  one  thousand  pounds,  was  shot  with 
three  arrows;  the  poison  took  effect  in  four 
minutes,  and  in  twenty-five  minutes  he  was 
dead.  The  death  seems  to  be  very  gentle ;  and 
resembles  more  a  quiet  apoplexy,  brought  on  by 
hearing  a  long  story,  than  any  other  kind  of 
death.  If  an  Indian  happens  to  be  wounded 
with  one  of  these  arrows,  he  considers  it  as  cer- 
tain death.  We  have  reason  to  congratulate  our- 
selves, that  our  method  of  terminating  disputes 
is  by  sword  and  pistol,  and  not  by  these  medi- 
cated pins;  which,  we  presume,  will  become 
the  weapons  of  gentlemen  in  the  new  republics 
of  South  America. 

The  second  journey  of  Mr.  Waterton,  in  the 
year  1816,  was  to  Pernambuco,  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  from 
thence  he  proceeds  to  Cayenne.  His  plan  was 
to  have  ascended  the  Amazon  from  Para,  and 
get  into  the  Rio  Negro,  and  from  thence  to  have 
returned  towards  the  source  of  the  Essequibo, 
in  order  to  examine  the  Crystal  Mountains,  and 
to  look  once  more  for  Lake  Parima,  or  the 
t2 


222 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


White  Sea;  but  on  arriving  at  Cayenne,  he 
found  that  to  beat  up  the  Amazon  would  be  long 
and  tedious;  he  left  Cayenne,  therefore,  in  an 
American  ship  for  Paramaribo,  went  through 
the  interior  to  Coryntin,  stopped  a  few  days  at 
New  Amsterdam,  and  proceeded  to  Demerara. 

"Leave  behind  you"  (he  says  to  the  traveller) 
"your  high-seasoned  dishes,  your  wines,  and 
your  delicacies ;  carry  nothing  but  what  is 
necessary  for  your  own  comfort,  and  the  object 
in  view,  and  depend  upon  the  skill  of  an  Indian, 
or  your  own,  for  fish  and  game.  A  sheet,  about 
»  twelve  feet  long,  ten  wide,  painted,  and  with 
loop-holes  on  each  side,  will  be  of  great  ser- 
vice: in  a  few  minutes  you  can  suspend  it  be- 
twixt two  trees  in  the  shape  of  a  roof.  Under 
this,  in  your  hammock,  you  may  defy  the  pelt- 
ing shower,  and  sleep  heedless  of  the  dews  of 
night.  A  hat,  a  shirt,  and  a  light  pair  of 
trowsers,  will  be  all  the  raiment  you  require. 
Custom  will  soon  teach  you  to  tread  lightly  and 
barefoot  on  the  little  inequalities  of  the  ground, 
and  show  you  how  to  pass  on,  unwounded, 
amid  the  mantling  briars." — (pp.  112,  113.) 

Snakes  are  certainly  an  annoyance ;  but 
the  snake,  though  high-spirited,  is  not  quarrel- 
some ;  he  considers  his  fangs  to  be  given  for 
defence,  and  not  for  annoyance,  and  never  in- 
flicts a  wound  but  to  defend  existence.  If  you 
tread  upon  him,  he  puts  you  to  death  for  your 
clumsiness,  merely  because  he  does  not  under- 
stand what  your  clumsiness  means;  and  cer- 
tainly a  snake,  who  feels  fourteen  or  fifteen 
stone  stamping  upon  his  tail,  has  little  time  for 
reflection,  and  may  be  allowed  to  be  poisonous 
and  peevish.  American  tigers  generally  run 
away — from  which  several  respectable  gentle- 
men in  Parliament  inferred,  in  the  American 
war,  that  American  soldiers  would  run  away 
also! 

The  description  of  the  birds  is  very  animated 
and  interesting ;  but  how  far  does  the  gentle 
reader  imagine  the  campanero  may  be  heard, 
•whose  size  is  that  of  a  jay  1  Perhaps  300  yards. 
Poor  innocent,  ignorant  reader!  unconscious 
of  what  nature  has  done  in  the  forests  of  Cay- 
enne, and  measuring  the  force  of  tropical  into- 
nation by  the  sounds  of  a  Scotch  duck  !  The 
campanero  may  be  heard  three  miles  ! — this 
.single  little  bird  being  more  powerful  than  the 
belfry  of  a  cathedral,  ringing  for  a  new  dean — 
just  appointed  on  account  of  shabby  politics, 
small  understanding,  and  good  family ! 

"The  fifth  species  is  the  celebrated  campa- 
nero of  the  Spaniards,  called  dara  by  the  In- 
dians, and  bell-bird  by  the  English.  He  is  about 
the  size  of  the  jay.  His  plumage  is  white  as 
snow.  On  his  forehead  rises  a  spiral  tube 
nearly  three  inches  long.  It  is  jet  black,  dotted 
all  over  with  small  white  feathers.  It  has  a 
communication  with  the  palate,  and  when 
filled  with  air,  looks  like  a  spire  ;  when  empty, 
it  becomes  pendulous.  His  note  is  loud  and 
clear,  like  the  sound  of  a  bell,  and  may  be  heard 
at  the  distance  of  three  miles.  In  the  midst  of 
these  extensive  wilds,  generally  on  the  dried 
top  of  an  aged  mora,  almost  out  of  gun  reach, 
you  will  see  the  campanero.  No  sound  or  song 
ircm  any  of  the  winged  inhabitants  of  the  forest, 


not  even  the  clearly  pronounced  '  Whip-poor- 
Will,'  from  the  goatsucker,  causes  such  as- 
tonishment as  the  toll  of  the  campanero. 

"  With  many  of  the  feathered  race  he  pays 
the  common  tribute  of  a  morning  and  an  even- 
ing song;  and  even  when  the  meridian  sun  has 
shut  in  silence  the  mouths  of  almost  the  whole 
of  animated  nature,  the  campanero  still  cheers 
the  forest.  You  hear  his  toll,  and  then  a  pause 
for  a  minute,  then  another  toll,  and  then  a 
pause,  again,  and  then  a  toll,  and  again  a 
pause."— (pp.  117,  118.) 

It  is  impossible  to  contradict  a  gentleman 
who  has  been  in  the  forests  of  Cayenne ;  but 
we  are  determined,  as  soon  as  a  campanero  is 
brought  to  England,  to  make  him  toll  in  a  pub- 
lic place,  and  have  the  distance  measured. 
The  toucan  has  an  enormous  bill,  makes  a 
noise  like  a  puppy  dog,  and  lays  his  eggs  in 
hollow  trees.  How  astonishing  are  the  freaks 
and  fancies  of  nature  !  To  what  purpose,  we 
say,  is  a  bird  placed  in  the  woods  of  Cayenne, 
with  a  bill  a  yard  long,  making  a  noise  like  a 
puppy  dog,  and  laying  eggs  in  hollow  trees'? 
The  toucans,  to  be  sure,  might  retort,  to  what 
purpose  were  gentlemen  in  Bond  street  created? 
To  what  purpose  were  certain  foolish,  prating 
members  of  Parliament  created  1 — pestering  the 
House  of  Commons  with  their  ignorance  and 
folly,  and  impeding  the  business  of  the  country  ] 
There  is  no  end  of  such  questions.  So  we  will 
not  enter  into  the  metaphysics  of  the  toucan. 
The  houtou  ranks  high  in  beauty ;  his  whole 
body  is  green,  his  wings  and  tail  blue;  his 
crown  is  of  black  and  blue;  he  makes  no  nest, 
but  rears  his  young  in  the  sand. 

"  The  cassique,  in  size,  is  larger  than  the 
starling;  he  courts  the  society  of  man,  but  dis- 
dains to  live  by  his  labours.  When  nature 
calls  for  support,  he  repairs  to  the  neighbour- 
ing forest,  and  there  partakes  of  the  store  of 
fruits  and  seeds,  which  she  has  produced  in 
abundance  for  her  aerial  tribes.  When  his 
repast  is  over,  he  returns  to  man,  and  pays  the 
little  tribute  which  he  owes  him  for  his  protec- 
tion ;  he  takes  his  station  on  a  tree  close  to  his 
house;  and  there,  for  hours  together,  pours 
forth  a  succession  of  imitative  notes.  His 
own  song  is  sweet,  but  very  short.  If  a  toucan 
be  yelping  in  the  neighbourhood,  he  drops  it, 
and  imitates  him.  Then  he  will  amuse  his 
protector  with  the  cries  of  the  different  species 
of  the  woodpecker ;  and  when  the  sheep  bleat, 
he  will  distinctly  answer  them.  Then  comes 
his  own  song  again,  and  if  a  puppy  dog  or  a 
guinea  fowl  interrupt  him,  he  takes  them  off 
admirably,  and  by  his  different  gestures  during 
the  time,  you  would  conclude  that  he  enjoys 
the  sport. 

"The  cassique  is  gregarious,  and  imitates 
any  sound  he  hears  with  such  exactness  that 
he  goes  by  no  other  name  than  that  of  mock- 
ing-bird amongst  the  colonists." — (pp.  127, 
128.) 

There  is  no  end  to  the  extraordinary  noises 
of  the  forest  of  Cayenne.  The  woodpecker,  in 
striking  against  the  tree  with  his  bill,  makes  a 
sound  so  loud,  that  Mr.  Waterton  says  it  re- 
minds you  more  of  a  wood-cutter  than  a  bird. 
While  lying  in  your  hammock,  you  hear  the 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


223 


goatsucker  lamenting  like  one  in  deep  distress 
— a  stranger  would  take  it  for  a  Weir  murdered 
by  Thurtell. 

"  Suppose  yourself  in  hopeless  sorrow,  begin 
with  a  high  loud  note,  and  pronounce,  'ha,  ha, 
ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,'  each  note  lower  and  lower, 
till  the  last  is  scarcely  heard,  pausing  a  mo- 
ment or  two  betwixt  every  note,  and  you  will 
have  some  idea  of  the  moaning  of  the  largest 
goatsucker  in  Demerara." — (p.  141.) 

One  species  of  the  goatsucker  cries,  "Who 
are  you  1  who  are  you!"  Another  exclaims, 
"  Work  away,  work  away."  A  third,  "  Willy 
come  go,  Willy  come  go."  A  fourth,  "  Whip 
poor  Will,  whip  poor  Will."  It  is  very  flatter- 
ing to  us  that  they  should  all  speak  English! — 
though  we  cannot  much  commend  the  elegance 
pf  their  selections.  The  Indians  never  destroy 
these  birds,  believing  them  to  be  the  servants 
of  Jumbo,  the  African  devil. 

Great  travellers  are  very  fond  of  triumphing 
over  civilized  life  ;  and  Mr.  Waterton  does  not 
omit  the  opportunity  of  remarking,  that  nobody 
ever  stopt  him  in  the  forests  of  Cayenne  to  ask 
him  for  his  license,  or  to  inquire  if  he  had  an 
hundred  a  year,  or  to  take  away  his  gun,  or  to 
dispute  the  limits  of  a  manor,  or  to  threaten 
him  with  a  tropical  justice  of  the  peace.  We 
hope,  however,  that  in  this  point  we  are  on  the 
eve  of  improvement.  Mr.  Peel,  who  is  a  man 
of  high  character  and  principles,  may  depend 
upon  it  that  the  time  is  come  for  his  interfer- 
ence, and  that  it  will  be  a  loss  of  reputation  to 
him  not  to  interfere.  If  any  one  else  can  and 
will  carry  an  alteration  through  Parliament, 
there  is  no  occasion  that  the  hand  of  govern- 
ment should  appear;  but  some  hand  must  ap- 
pear. The  common  people  are  becoming  fero- 
cious, and  the  perdricide  criminals  are  more 
numerous  than  the  violators  of  all  the  branches 
of  the  Decalogue. 

"  The  king  of  the  vultures  is  very  handsome, 
and  seems  to  be  the  only  bird  which  claims 
regal  honours  from  a  surrounding  tribe.  It  is 
a  fact  beyond  all  dispute,  that  when  the  scent 
of  carrion  has  drawn  together  hundreds  of  the 
common  vultures,  they  all  retire  from  the  car- 
cass as  soon  as  the  king  of  the  vultures  makes 
his  appearance.  When  his  majesty  has  satis- 
fied the  cravings  of  his  royal  stomach  with  the 
choicest  bits  from  the  most  stinking  and  cor- 
rupted parts,  he  generally  retires  to  a  neigh- 
bouring tree,  and  then  the  common  vultures 
return  in  crowds  to  gobble  down  his  leavings. 
The  Indians,  as  well  as  the  whites,  have  ob- 
served this ;  for  when  one  of  them,  who  has 
learned  a  little  English,  sees  the  king,  and 
wishes  you  to  have  a  proper  notion  of  the  bird, 
he  says,  'There  is  the  governor  of  the  carrion 
crows.' 

"  Now,  the  Indians  have  never  heard  of  a 
personage  in  Demerara  higher  than  that  of  go- 
vernor; and  the  colonists,  through  a  common 
mistake,  call  the  vultures  carrion  crows. 
Hence  the  Indian,  in  order  to  express  the  do- 
minion of  this  bird  over  the  common  vultures, 
tells  you  he  is  governor  of  the  carrion  crows. 
The  Spaniards  have  also  observed  it,  for, 
through  all  the  Spanish  Main,  he  is  called  Key 
de  Zamuros,  king  of  the  vultures." — (p.  146.) 


This,  we  think,  explains  satisfactorily  the 
origin  of  kingly  government.  As  men  have 
"  learnt  from  the  dog  the  physic  of  the  field," 
they  may  probably  have  learnt  from  the  vulture 
those  high  lessons  of  policy  upon  which,  in 
Europe,  we  suppose  the  whole  happiness  of 
society,  and  the  very  existence  of  the  human 
race,  to  depend. 

Just  before  his  third  journey,  Mr.  Waterton 
takes  leave  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  speaks 
of  him  with  affectionate  regret.  "  I  saw,"  (says 
Mr.  W.)  "  with  sorrow,  that  death  was  going  to 
rob  us  of  him.  We  talked  of  stuffing  quad- 
rupeds ;  I  agreed  that  the  lips  and  nose  ought 
to  be  cut  otr,  and  stuffed  with  wax."  This  is 
the  way  great  naturalists  take  an  eternal  fare- 
well of  each  other!  Upon  stuffing  animals, 
however,  we  have  a  word  to  say.  Mr.  Water- 
ton  has  placed  at  the  head  of  his  book  the  pic- 
ture of  what  he  is  pleased  to  consider  a  nonde- 
script species  of  monkey.  In  this  exhibition 
our  author  is  surely  abusing  his  stuffing  talents, 
and  laughing  at  the  public.  It  is  clearly  the 
head  of  a  master  in  chancery — whom  we  have 
often  seen  backing  in  the  House  of  Commons 
after  he  has  delivered  his  message.  It  is  fool- 
ish thus  to  trifle  with  science  aud  natural  his- 
tory. Mr.  Waterton  gives  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  sloth,  an  animal  of  which  he 
appears  to  be  fond,  and  whose  habits  he  has 
studied  with  peculiar  attention. 

"Some  years  ago  I  kept  a  sloth  in  my  room 
for  several  months.  I  often  took  him  out  of 
the  house  and  placed  him  upon  the  ground,  in 
order  to  have  an  opportunity  of  observing  his 
motions.  If  the  ground  were  rough,  he  would 
pull  himself  forwards,  by  means  of  his  fore 
legs,  at  a  pretty  good  pace  ;  and  he  invariably 
shaped  his  course  towards  the  nearest  tree. 
But  if  I  put  him  upon  a  smooth  and  well-trod- 
den part  of  the  road,  he  appeared  to  be  in 
trouble  and  distress :  his  favourite  abode  was 
the  back  of  a  chair;  and  after  getting  all  his 
legs  in  a  line  upon  the  topmost  part  of  it,  he 
would  hang  there  for  hours  together,  and  often, 
with  a  low  and  inward  cry,  would  seem  to  in- 
vite me  to  take  notice  of  him." — (p.  164.) 

The  sloth,  in  its  wild  state,  spends  its  life  in 
trees,  and  never  leaves  them  but  from  force  or 
accident.  The  eagle  to  the  sky,  the  mole  to 
the  ground,  the  sloth  to  the  tree ;  but  what  is 
most  extraordinary,  he  lives  not  upon  the 
branches,  but  xmder  them.  He  moves  sus- 
pended, rests  suspended,  sleeps  suspended,  and 
passes  his  life  in  suspense — like  a  young 
clergyman  distantly  related  to  a  bishop.  Strings 
of  ants  may  be  observed,  says  our  good  travel- 
ler, a  mile  long,  each  carrying  in  its  mouth  a 
green  leaf  the  size  of  a  sixpence  !  he  does  not 
say  whether  this  is  a  loyal  procession,  like 
Oak-apple  Day,  or  for  what  purpose  these 
leaves  are  carried  ;  but  it  appears,  while  they 
are  carrying  the  leaves,  that  three  sorts  of  ant- 
bears  are  busy  in  eating  them.  The  habits  of 
the  largest  of  these  three  animals  are  curious, 
and  to  us  new.  We  recommend  the  account 
to  the  attention  of  the  reader.  - 

He  is  chiefly  found  in  the  inmost  recesses 
of  the  forest,  and  seems  partial  to  the  low  and 
swampy  parts  near  creeks,  where  the  TroeJf 


224 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tree  grows.  There  he  goes  up  and  down  in 
quest  of  ants,  of  which  there  is  never  the  least 
scarcity;  so  that  he  soon  obtains  a  sufficient 
supply  of  food,  with  very  little  trouble.  He 
cannot  travel  fast;  man  is  superior  to  him  in 
speed.  Without  swiftness  to  enable  him  to 
escape  from  his  enemies,  without  teeth,  the 
possession  of  which  would  assist  him  in  self- 
defence,  and  without  the  power  of  burrowing 
in  the  ground,  by  which  he  might  conceal  him- 
self from  his  pursuers,  he  still  is  capable  of 
ranging  through  these  wilds  in  perfect  safety ; 
nor  does  he  fear  the  fatal  pressure  of  the  ser- 
pent's fold,  or  the  teeth  of  the  famished  jaguar. 
Nature  has  formed  his  fore  legs  wonderfully 
thick,  and  strong,  and  muscular,  and  armed 
his  feet  with  three  tremendous  sharp  and 
crooked  claws.  Whenever  he  seizes  an  ani- 
mal with  these  formidable  weapons,  he  hugs 
it  close  to  his  body  and  keeps  it  there  till  it 
dies  through  pressure,  or  through  want  of  food. 
Nor  does  the  ant-bear,  in  the  mean  time,  suffer 
much  from  loss  of  aliment,  as  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact,  that  he  can  go  longer  without  food 
than  perhaps  any  other  animal,  except  the  land 
tortoise.  His  skin  is  of  a  texture  that  perfectly 
resists  the  bite  of  a  dog  ;  his  hinder  parts  are 
protected  by  thick  and  shaggy  hair,  while  his 
immense  tail  is  large  enough  to  cover  his 
•whole  body. 

"  The  Indians  have  a  great  dread  of  coming 
in  contact  with  the  ant-bear;  and,  after  dis- 
ablinghim  in  the  chase,  never  think  of  approach- 
ing him  till  he  be  quite  dead." — (pp.  171, 172.) 
The  vampire  measures  about  26  inches  from 
wing  to  wing.  There  are  two  species,  large 
and  small.  The  large  suck  men,  and  the 
smaller,  birds.  Mr.  W.  saw  some  fowls  which 
had  been  sucked  the  night  before,  and  they 
■were  scarcely  able  to  walk. 

"Some  years  ago  I  went  to  the  river  Pauma- 
ron  with  a  Scotch  gentleman,  by  name  Tarbet. 
We  hung  our  hammocks  in  the  thatched  loft 
of  a  planter's  house.  Next  morning  I  heard 
this  gentleman  muttering  in  his  hammock,  and 
iiow  and  then  letting  fall  an  imprecation  or 
two,  just  about  the  time  he  ought  to  have  been 
saying  his  morning  prayers.  '  What  is  the 
matter,  sirl'  said  I,  softly  ;  'is  anything  amiss?' 
—'What's  the  matter  ?' answered  he,  surlily ; 
*  why,  the  vampires  have  been  sucking  me  to 
death.'  As  soon  as  there  was  light  enough,  I 
went  to  his  hammock,  and  saw  it  much  stained 
with  b'.ood.  'There,'  said  he,  thrusting  his 
foot  out  of  the  hammock,  '  see  how  these  in- 
fernal imps  have  been  drawing  my  life's  blood.' 
On  examining  his  foot,  I  found  the  vampire 
had  tapped  his  great  toe :  there  was  a  wound 
somewhat  less  than  that  made  by  a  leech;  the 
blood  was  stiil  oozing  from  it ;  I  conjectured 
he  might  have  lost  from  ten  to  twelve  ounces 
of  blood.  Whilst  examining  it,  I  think  I  put 
him  into  a  worse  humour,  by  remarking,  that 
an  European  surgeon  would  not  have  been  so 
generous  as  to  have  blooded  him  without  mak- 
ing a  charge.  He  looked  up  in  my  face,  but 
did  not  say  a  word  :  I  saw  he  was  of  opinion 
that  I  had  better  have  spared  this  piece  of  ill- 
timed  levity."— (pp.  176,  177.) 

The  story  which  follows  this  account  is 


vulgar,  unworthy  of  Mr.  Waterton,  and  should 
have  been  omitted. 

Every  animal  has  its  enemies.  The  land 
tortoise  has  two  enemies,  man,  and  the  boa- 
constrictor.  The  natural  defence  of  the  tor- 
toise is  to  draw  himself  up  in  his  shell,  and  to 
remain  quiet.  In  this  state,  the  tiger,  how- 
ever famished,  can  do  nothing  with  him,  for 
the  shell  is  too  strong  for  the  stroke  of  his  paw. 
Man,  however,  takes  him  home  and  roasts 
him — and  the  boa-constrictor  swallows  him 
whole,  shell  and  all,  and  consumes  him  slowly 
in  the  interior,  as  the  Court  of  Chancery  does 
a  great  estate. 

The  danger  seems  to  be  much  less  with 
snakes  and  wild  beasts,  if  you  conduct  your- 
self like  a  gentleman,  and  are  not  abruptly  in- 
trusive. If  you  will  pass  on  gently,  you  may 
walk  unhurt  within  a  yard  of  the  Labairi 
snake,  who  would  put  you  to  death  if  you 
rushed  upon  him.  The  taguan  knocks  you 
down  with  a  blow  of  his  paw,  if  suddenly  in- 
terrupted, but  will  run  away,  if  you  will  give 
him  time  to  do  so.  In  short,  most  animals 
look  upon  man  as  a  very  ugly  customer;  and, 
unless  sorely  pressed  for  food,  or  from  fear 
of  their  own  safety,  are  not  fond  of  attacking 
him.  Mr.  Waterton,  though  much  given  to  sen- 
timent, made  a  Labairi  snake  bite  itself,  but  no 
bad  consequences  ensued — nor  would  any  bad 
consequences  ensue,  if  a  court-martial  were 
to  order  a  sinful  soldier  to  give  himself  a 
thousand  lashes.  It  is  barely  possible  that 
the  snake  had  some  faint  idea  of  whom  and 
what  he  was  biting. 

Insects  are  the  curse  of  tropical  climates. 
The  bete  rouge  lays  the  foundation  of  a  tre- 
mendous ulcer.  In  a  moment  you  are  covered 
with  ticks.  Chigoes  bury  themselves  in  your 
flesh,  and  hatch  a  colony  of  young  chigoes  in 
a  few  hours.  They  will  not  live  together,  but 
every  chigoe  sets  up  a  separate  ulcer,  and  has 
his  own  private  portion  of  pus.  Flies  get  en- 
try into  your  mouth,  into  your  eyes,  into  your 
nose ;  you  eat  flies,  drink  flies,  and  breathe 
flies.  Lizards,  cockroaches,  and  snakes,  get 
into  the  bed ;  ants  eat  up  the  books ;  scor- 
pions sting  you  on  the  foot.  Every  thing 
bites,  stings,  or  bruises;  every  second  of  your 
existence  you  are  wounded  by  some  piece  of 
animal  life  that  nobody  has  ever  seen  before, 
except  Swammerdam  and  Meriam.  An  insect 
with  eleven  legs  is  swimming  in  your  teacup, 
a  nondescript  with  nine  wings  is  struggling  in 
the  small  beer,  or  a  caterpillar  with  several 
dozen  eyes  in  his  belly  is  hastening  over  the 
bread  and  butter!  All  nature  is  alive,  and 
seems  to  be  gathering  all  her  entomological 
hosts  to  eat  you  up,  as  you  are  standing,  out 
of  your  coat,  waistcoat,  and  breeches.  Such 
are  the  tropics.  All  this  reconciles  us  to  our 
dews,  fogs,  vapour,  and  drizzle — to  our  apo- 
thecaries rushing  about  with  gargles  and 
tinctures — to  our  old,  British,  constitutional 
coughs,  sore  throats,  and  swelled  faces. 

We  come  now  to  the  counterpart  of  St. 
George  and  the  Dragon.  Every  one  knows 
that  the  large  snake  of  tropical  climates 
throws  himself  upon  his  prey,  twists  the  folds 
of  his  body  round  the  victim,  presses  him  to 
death,  and  thea  eats  him.  Mr.  Waterton  wanted 


WORKS  OP  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


235 


a  large  snake  for  the  sake  of  his  skin ;  and 
it  occurred  to  him  that  the  success  of  this  sort 
of  combat  depended  upon  who  began  first,  and 
that  if  he  could  contrive  to  fling  himself  upon 
the  snake,  he  was  just  as  likely  to  send  the 
snake  to  the  British  Museum,  as  the  snake,  if 
allowed  the  advantage  of  prior  occupation, 
was  to  eat  him  up.  The  opportunities  which 
Yorkshire  squires  have  of  combating  with  tlie 
boa  constrictor  are  so  few,  that  Mr.  Waterton 
must  be  allowed  to  tell  his  own  story  in  his 
own  manner. 

"  We  went  slowly  on  in  silence,  without 
moving  our  arms  or  heads,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent all  alarm  as  much  as  possible,  lest  the 
snake  should  glide  off,  or  attack  us  in  self- 
defence.  I  carried  the  lance  perpendicularly 
before  me,  with  the  point  about  a  foot  from 
the  ground.  The  snake  had  not  moved  ;  and 
on  getting  up  to  him,  I  struck  him  with  the 
lance  on  the  near  side,  just  behind  the  neck, 
and  pinned  him  to  the  ground.  That  moment 
the  negro  next  to  me  seized  the  lance  and  held 
it  firm  in  its  place,  while  I  dashed  head  fore- 
most into  the  den  to  grapple  with  the  snake, 
and  to  get  hold  of  his  tail  before  he  could  do 
any  mischief. 

"  On  pinning  him  to  the  ground  with  the 
lance,  he  gave  a  tremendous  loud  hiss,  and 
the  little  dog  ran  away,  howling  as  he  went. 
We  had  a  sharp  fray  in  the  den,  the  rotten 
sticks  flying  on  all  sides,  and  each  party 
struggling  for  superiority.  I  called  out  to  the 
second  negro  to  throw  himself  upon  me,  as  I 
found  I  was  not  heavy  enough.  He  did  so, 
and  the  additional  weight  was  of  great  service. 
I  had  now  got  firm  hold  of  his  tail ;  and  after 
a  violent  struggle  or  two,  he  gave  in,  finding 
himself  overpowered.  This  was  the  moment 
to  secure  him.  So,  while  the  first  negro  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  lance  firm  to  the  ground, 
and  the  other  was  helping  me,  I  contrived  to 
unloose  my  braces,  and  with  them  tied  up  the 
snake's  mouth. 

"  The  snake,  now  finding  himself  in  an  un- 
pleasant situation,  tried  to  better  himself,  and  set 
resolutely  to  work,  but  we  overpowered  him. 
We  contrived  to  make  him  twist  himself  round 
the  shaft  of  the  lance,  and  then  prepared  to 
convey  him  out  of  the  forest.  I  stood  at  his 
head,  and  held  it  firm  under  my  arm ;  one  ne- 
gro supported  the  belly,  and  the  other  the  tail. 
In  this  order  we  began  to  move  slowly  towards 
home,  and  reached  it  after  resting  ten  times  : 
for  the  snake  was  too  heavy  for  us  to  support 
him  without  stopping  to  recruit  our  strength. 
As  we  proceeded  onwards  with  him,  he  fought 
hard  for  freedom,  but  it  was  all  in  vain." — 
(pp.  202—204.) 

One  of  these  combats  we  should  have 
thought  sufficient  for  glory,  and  for  the  inte- 
rest of  the  British  Museum.  But  Hercules 
killed  two  snakes,  and  Mr.  Waterton  would 
not  be  content  with  less. 

"  There  was  a  path  where  timber  had  for- 
merly been  dragged  along.  Here  I  observed 
a  young  coulacanara,  ten  feet  long,  slowly 
moving  onwards;  I  saw  he  was  not  thick 
enough  to  break  my  arm,  in  case  he  got  twist- 
ed round  it.  There  was  not  a  moment  to  be 
lost.  I  laid  hold  of  his  tail  with  the  left  hand, 
29 


one  knee  being  on  the  ground ;  with  the  right 
I  took  off  my  hat,  and  held  it  as  you  would 
hold  a  shield  for  defence. 

"  The  snake  instantly  turned,  and  came  on 
at  me,  with  his  head  about  a  yard  from  the 
ground,  as  if  to  ask  me  what  business  I  had 
to  take  liberties  with  his  tail.  I  let  him  come, 
hissing  and  open-mouthed,  within  two  feet  of 
my  face,  and  then,  with  all  the  force  I  was 
master  of,  I  drove  my  fist,  shielded  by  my  hat, 
full  in  his  jaws.  He  was  stunned  and  con- 
founded by  the  blow,  and  ere  he  could  recover 
himself,  I  had  seized  his  throat  with  both 
hands,  in  such  a  position  that  he  could  not 
bite  me ;  I  then  allowed  him  to  coil  himself 
round  my  body,  and  marched  off  with  him  as 
my  lawful  prize.  He  pressed  me  hard,  but  not 
alarmingly  so."— (pp.  206,  207.) 

When  the  body  of  the  large  snake  began  to 
smell,  the  vultures  immediately  arrived.  The 
king  of  the  vultures  first  gorged  himself,  and 
then  retired  to  a  large  tree,  while  his  subjects 
consumed  the  remainder.  It  does  not  appear 
that  there  was  any  favouritism.  When  the 
king  was  full,  all  the  mob  vultures  ate  alike ; 
neither  could  Mr.  Waterton  perceive  that  there 
was  any  division  into  Catholic  and  Protestant 
vultures,  or  that  the  majority  of  the  flock 
thought  it  essentially  vulturish  to  exclude  one- 
third  of  their  numbers  from  the  blood  and  en- 
trails. The  vulture,  it  is  remarkable,  never 
eats  live  animals.  He  seems  to  abhor  every 
thing  which  has  not  the  relish  of  putrescence 
and  flavour  of  death.  The  following  is  a  cha- 
racteristic specimen  of  the  little  inconveni- 
ences to  which  travellers  are  liable,  who  sleep 
on  the  feather  beds  of  the  forest.  To  see  a  rat 
in  a  room  in  Europe  insures  a  night  of  horror. 
Every  thing  is  by  comparison. 

"About  midnight,  as  I  was  lying  awake,  and 
in  great  pain,  I  heard  the  Indian  say,  '  Massa, 
massa,  you  no  hear  tiger  1'  I  listened  atten- 
tively, and  heard  the  softly  sounding  tread  of 
his  feet  as  he  approached  us.  The  moon  had 
gone  down  ;  but  every  now  and  then  we  could 
get  a  glance  of  him  by  the  light  of  our  fire ;  he 
was  the  jaguar,  for  I  could  see  the  spots  on 
his  body.  Had  I  wished  to  have  fired  at  him, 
I  was  not  able  to  take  a  sure  aim,  for  I  was  in 
such  pain  that  I  could  not  turn  myself  in  my 
hammock.  The  Indian  would  have  fired,  but 
I  would  not  allow  him  to  do  so,  as  I  wanted  to 
see  a  little  more  of  our  new  visitor ;  for  it  is 
not  every  day  or  night  that  the  traveller  is 
favoured  with  an  undisturbed  sight  of  the 
jaguar  in  his  own  forests. 

"  Whenever  the  fire  got  low,  the  jaguar 
came  a  little  nearer,  and  when  the  Indian  re- 
newed it,  he  retired  abruptly;  sometimes  he 
would  come  within  twenty  yards,  and  then  we 
had  a  view  of  him,  sitting  on  his  hind  legs 
like  a  dog;  sometimes  he  moved  slowly  to 
and  fro,  and  at  other  times  we  could  hear  him 
mend  his  pace,  as  if  impatient.  At  last  the 
Indian,  not  relishing  the  idea  of  having  such 
company  in  the  neighbourhood,  could  contain 
himself  no  longer,  and  set  up  a  most  tremen- 
dous yell.  The  jaguar  bounded  off  like  a  race- 
horse, and  returned  no  more ;  it  appeared  by 
the  print  of  his  feet  next  morning  that  he  was 
a  full-grown  jaguar." — (pp.  2X2, 213.) 


226 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV,  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


We  have  seen  Mr.  Waterton  fling  himself 
upon  a  snake;  we  shall  now  mount  him  upon 
a  crocodile,  undertaking  that  this  shall  be  the 
last  of  his  feats  exhibited  to  the  reader.  He 
had  baited  for  a  cayman  or  crocodile,  the  hook 
was  swallowed,  and  the  object  was  to  pull  the 
animal  up  and  to  secure  him.  "  If  you  pull 
him  up,"  say  the  Indians,  "  as  soon  as  he  sees 
you  on  the  brink  of  the  river,  he  will  run  at 
you  and  destroy  you."  "Never  mind,"  says 
our  traveller,  "  pull  away,  and  leave  the  rest 
to  me."  And  accordingly  he  places  himself 
upon  the  shore  with  the  mast  of  the  canoe  in 
his  hand,  ready  to  force  it  down  the  throat  of  the 
crocodile  as  soon  as  he  makes  his  appearance. 

"  By  the  time  the  cayman  Avas  within  two 
yards  of  me,  I  saw  he  was  in  a  state  of  fear 
and  perturbation ;  I  instantly  dropped  the 
mast,  sprung  up,  and  jumped  on  his  back,  turn- 
ing half  round  as  I  vaulted,  so  that  I  gained 
my  seat  with  my  face  in  a  right  position.  I 
immediately  seized  his  fore  legs,  and,  by  main 
force,  twisted  them  on  his  back;  thus  they 
served  me  for  a  bridle. 

"He  now  seemed  to  have  recovered  from 
his  surprise,  and  probably  fancying  himself  in 
hostile  company,  he  began  to  plunge  furiousl}', 
and  lashed  the  sand  with  his  long  and  power- 
ful tail.  I  was  out  of  reach  of  the  strokes  of 
it,  by  being  near  his  head.  He  continued  to 
plunge  and  strike,  and  make  my  seat  very  un- 
comfortable. It  must  have  been  a  fine  sight 
for  an  unoccupied  spectator. 

"  The  people  roared  out  in  triumph,  and  were 
so  vociferous,  that  it  was  some  time  before  they 
heard  me  tell  them  to  pull  me  and  my  beast  of 
burden  farther  in  land.  I  was  apprehensive  the 
rope  might  break,  and  then  there  would  have 
been  every  chance  of  going  down  to  the  regions 
under  water  with  the  cayman.  That  would 
have  been  more  perilous  than  Arion's  marine 
morning  ride : — 

'  Delphini  insidens,  vada  csrula  sulcat  Arion.' 

"The  people  now  dragged  us  above  forty 
yards  on  the  sand ;  it  was  the  first  and  last 
lime  I  Avas  ever  on  a  cayman's  back.  Should 
it  be  asked  how  I  managed  to  keep  my  seat,  I 
would  answer — I  hunted  some  years  with  Lord 
Darlington's  fox  hounds." — (pp.  231,  232.) 

The  Yorkshire  gentlemen  have  long  been 
famous  for  their  equestrian  skill ;  but  Mr.  Wa- 
terton is  the  first  among  them  of  whom  it 
could  be  said,  that  he  has  a  fine  hand  upon  a 
crocodile.  This  accursed  animal,  so  ridden 
"by  Mr.  Waterton,  is  the  scourge  and  terror  of 
all  the  large  rivers  in  South  America  near  the 
line.  Their  boldness  is  such,  that  a  ca}'man 
has  sometimes  come  out  of  the  Oroonoque,  at 
Angustura,  near  the  public  walks  where  the 
people  were  assembled,  seized  a  full-grown 
man,  as  big  as  Sir  William  Curtis  after  din- 
Tier,  and  hurried  him  into  the  bed  of  the  river 
■for  his  food.  The  governor  of  Angustura 
"witnessed  this  circumstance  himself. 

Our  Eboracic  traveller  had  now  been  nearly 
eleven  months  in  the  desert,  and  not  in  vain. 
Shall  we  express  our  doubts,  or  shall  we  con- 
fidently state  at  once  the  immense  wealth  he 
had  acquired ! — a  prodigious  variety  of  in- 
sects, two  hundred  and  thirty  birds,  ten  land- 
tortoises,  five  armadillos,  two  large  serpents. 


a  sloth,  an  ant-bear,  and  a  cayman.  At  Liver- 
pool, the  custom-house  ofl5cers,  men  ignorant 
of  Linnceus,  got  hold  of  his  collection,  detained 
it  six  weeks,  and,  in  spite  of  remonstrances  to 
the  treasury,  he  was  forced  to  pay  very  high 
duties.  This  is  really  perfectly  alDsurd ;  that 
a  man  of  science  cannot  bring  a  pickled  ar- 
madillo, for  a  collection  of  natural  history, 
without  paying  a  tax  for  it.  This  surely  must 
have  happened  in  the  dark  days  of  Nicolas. 
We  cannot  doubt  but  that  such  paltry  exac- 
tions have  been  swept  away,  by  the  manly 
and  liberal  policy  of  Robinson  and  Huskisson. 
That  a  great  people  should  compel  an  indivi- 
dual to  make  them  a  payment  before  he  can 
be  permitted  to  land  a  stuffed  snake  upon  their 
shores,  is,  of  all  the  paltry  custom-house  rob- 
beries we  ever  heard  of,  the  most  mean  and 
contemptible — but  Major  rerum  ordo  nascitur. 

The  fourth  journey  of  Mr.  Waterton  is  to 
the  United  States.  It  is  pleasantly  written ; 
but  our  author  does  not  appear  as  much  at 
home  among  men  as  among  beasts.  Shooting, 
stuffing,  and  pursuing  are  his  occupations. 
He  is  lost  in  places  where  there  are  no  bushes, 
snakes,  nor  Indians — but  he  is  full  of  good  and 
amiable  feeling  wherever  he  goes.  We  can- 
not avoid  introducing  the  following  passage : — 

"  The  steamboat  from  Quebec  to  Montreal 
had  above  five  hundred  Irish  emigrants  on 
board.  They  were  going  '  they  hardly  knew 
whither,'  far  away  from  dear  Ireland.  It  made 
one's  heart  ache  to  see  them  all  huddled  to- 
gether, without  any  expectation  of  ever  revisit- 
ing their  native  soil.  We  feared  that  the  sor- 
row of  leaving  home  for  ever,  the  miserable 
accommodations  on  board  the  ship  which  had 
brought  them  away,  and  the  tossing  of  the 
angry  ocean,  in  a  long  and  dreary  voyage, 
would  have  rendered  them  callous  to  good  be- 
haviour. But  it  was  quite  otherwise.  They 
conducted  themselves  with  great  propriety. 
Every  American  on  board  seemed  to  feel  for 
them.  And  then  '  they  were  so  full  of  wretch- 
edness. Need  and  oppression  stared  within 
their  eyes.  Upon  their  backs  hung  ragged 
misery.  The  world  was  not  their  friend.' 
'Poor,  dear  Ireland,'  exclaimed  an  aged  fe- 
male, as  I  was  talking  to  her,  '  I  shall  never 
see  it  any  more  !'  "—(pp.  259,  260.) 

And  thus  it  is  in  every  region  of  the  earth ! 
There  is  no  country  where  an  Englishman  can 
set  his  foot,  that  he  does  not  meet  these  mise- 
rable victims  of  English  cruelty  and  oppres- 
sion— banished  from  their  country  by  the  stu- 
pidity, bigotry,  and  meanness  of  the  English 
people,  who  trample  on  their  liberty  and  con- 
science, because  each  man  is  afraid,  in  an- 
other reign,  of  being  out  of  favour,  and  losing 
his  share  in  the  spoil. 

We  are  always  glad  to  see  America  praised 
(slavery  excepted).  And  yet  there  is  still,  we 
fear,  a  party  in  this  country,  who  are  glad  to 
pay  their  court  to  the  timid  and  the  feeble,  by 
sneering  at  this  great  spectacle  of  human  hap- 
piness. We  never  think  of  it  without  con- 
sidering it  as  a  great  lesson  to  the  people  of 
England,  to  look  into  their  own  affairs,  to 
watch  and  to  suspect  their  rulers,  and  not  to 
be  defrauded  of  happiness  and  money  by  pom- 
pous names,  and  false  pretences. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


22Y 


"  Our  western  brother  is  in  possession  of  a 
country  replete  with  every  thing  that  can  con- 
tribute to  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  man- 
kind. His  code  of  laws,  purified  by  experi- 
ence and  common  sense,  has  fully  answered 
the  expectations  of  the  public.  By  acting  up 
to  the  true  spirit  of  this  code,  he  has  reaped 
immense  advantages  from  it.  His  advance- 
ment, as  a  nation,  has  been  rapid  beyond  all 
calculation;  and,  young  as  he  is,  it  may  be 
remarked,  without  any  impropriety,  that  he  is 
now  actually  reading  a  salutary  lesson  to  the 
rest  of  the  civilized  world." — (p.  273.) 

Now,  what  shall  we  say,  after  all,  of  Mr. 
Waterton  1  That  he  has  spent  a  great  part  of 
his  life  in  wandering  in  the  wild  scenes  he  de- 
scribes, and  that  he  describes  them  with  enter- 
taining zeal  and  real  feeling.  His  stories  draw 
largely  sometimes  on  our  faith ;   but  a  man 


who  lives  in  the  woods  of  Cayenne  must  do 
many  odd  things,  and  see  many  odd  things — 
things  utterly  unknown  to  the  dwellers  in 
Hackney  and  Highgate.  We  do  not  want  to 
rein  up  Mr.  Waterton  too  tightly — because  we 
are  convinced  he  goes  best  with  his  head  free. 
But  a  little  less  of  apostrophe,  and  some  faint 
suspicion  of  his  own  powers  of  humour, 
would  improve  this  gentleman's  style.  As  it 
is,  he  has  a  considerable  talent  at  describing. 
He  abounds  with  good  feeling;  and  has  writ- 
ten a  very  entertaining  book,  which  hurries 
the  reader  out  of  his  European  parlour,  into 
the  heart  of  tropical  forests,  and  gives,  over 
the  rules  and  the  cultivation  of  the  civilized 
parts  of  the  earth,  a  momentary  superiority  to 
the  freedom  of  the  savage,  and  the  wild  beau- 
ties of  nature.  We  honestly  recommend  the 
book  to  our  readers :  it  is  well  worth  the  perusal. 


MAN  TEAPS  AND  SPRING  GUNS; 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1821.] 


Most  of  our  readers  will  remember,  that  we 
very  lately  published  an  article  upon  the  use 
of  steel  traps  and  spring  guns ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  discussion,  had  occasion  to  animad- 
vert upon  the  report  of  Mr.  Justice  Best's 
judgment,  in  the  case  of  Ilott  and  Wilkes,  as 
reported  in  Chetwi/nd's  Edition  of  Buim's  Jus- 
tice, published  in  the  spring  of  the  present  year. 
In  the  Morning  Chronicle,  of  the  4th  of  June, 
1821,  Mr.  Justice  Best  is  reported  to  have  made 
the  following  observations  in  the  King's 
Bench: — 

"  Mr.  Justice  Best  said,  Mr.  Chetwynd's  book 
having  been  mentioned  by  my  learned  brother 
Bayley,  I  must  take  this  opportunity,  not  with- 
out some  pain,  of  adverting  to  what  I  am  re- 
ported, in  his  work,  to  have  said  in  the  case 
of  Ilott  V.  Wilkes,  and  of  correcting  a  most 
gross  misrepresentation.  I  am  reported  to 
have  concurred  with  the  other  judges,  and  to 
have  delivered  my  judgment  at  considerable 
length,  and  then  to  have  said,  '  This  case  has 
been  discussed  at  the  bar,  as  if  these  engines 
were  exclusively  resorted  to  for  the  protection 
of  game;  but  I  consider  them  as  lawfully  ap- 
plicable to  the  protection  of  every  species  of 
property  against  unlawful  trespassers.'  This 
is  not  what  I  stated ;  but  the  part  which  I  wish 
more  particularly  to  deny,  as  ever  having  said, 
or  even  conceived,  is  this — 'But  if  even  they 
might  not  lawfully  be  used  for  the  protection 
of  game,  I,  for  one,  should  be  extremely  glad 
to  adopt  such  means,  if  they  were  found  suffi- 
cient for  that  purpose.'  I  confess  I  am  sur- 
prised that  this  learned  person  should  sup- 
pose, from  the  note  of  any  one,  that  any  per- 
son who  ever  sat  in  a  court  of  justice  as  a 


*  Reports  of  Cases  argued  and  determined  in  the  Court 
of  King's  Bench,  in  Hilary  Term,  60th  Geo.  III.  1820.— 
By  Richard  V.  Barnkwall,  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  Esq.,Bar- 
rister-at-Iaw,  and  Edward  H.  Alderson,  of  the  Inner 
Temple,  Esq.,  Barrister-at-Law.  Vol.  III.  Part  II. 
London,  1820. 


judge  could  talk  such  wicked  nonsense  as  I 
am  made  to  talk;  and  I  am  surprised  that  he 
should  venture  to  give  the  authority  he  does 
for  what  he  has  published ;  for  I  find,  that  the 
reference  he  gives  in  the  appendix  to  his  book 
is  3  Barn,  and  Aid.  304,  where  there  is  a  cor- 
rect report  of  that  case,  and  where  it  will  be 
found  that  every  word  uttered  by  me  is  directly 
contrary  to  what  I  am  supposed,  hj  Mr.  Chet- 
wynd's statement  of  the  case,  to  have  said.  1 
don't  trouble  the  court  with  reading  the  whole 
of  what  I  did  say  on  that  occasion,  but  I  will 
just  say  that  I  said — '  My  brother  Bayley  has 
illustrated  this  case  by  the  question  which  he 
asked,  namely.  Can  you  indict  a  man  for  put- 
ting spring  guns  in  his  enclosed  field!  I  think 
the  question  put  b)^  Lord  Chief  Justice  Gibbs, 
in  the  case  of  Dean  v.  Clayton,  in  the  Com- 
mon "Pleas,  a  still  better  illustration,  viz.  Can 
you  justify  entering  into  enclosed  lands  to  take 
away  guns  so  set  1  If  both  these  questions 
must  be  answered  in  the  negative,  it  cannot  be 
unlawful  to  set  spring  guns  in  an  enclosed 
field,  at  a  distance  from  any  road,  giving  such 
notice  that  they  are  set  as  to  render  it  in  the 
highest  degree  probable  that  all  persons  in  the 
neighbourhood  must  know  that  they  are  so  set. 
Humanity  requires  that  the  fullest  notice  pos- 
sible should  be  given;  and  the  law  of  England 
will  not  sanction  what  is  inconsistent  with  hu- 
manity.' A  popular  work  has  quoted  this  re- 
port from  Mr.  Chetwynd's  work,  but  has  omit- 
ted this  important  line  (which  omission  re- 
minds one  of  the  progress  of  a  thing,  the  name 
of  which  one  does  not  choose  to  mention), 
'  that  I  had  concurred  in  what  had  fallen  from 
the  other  judges  ;  and  omitting  that  line,  they 
state,  that  one  had  said,  '  It  is  my  opinion,  that 
with  notice,  or  without  notice,  this  might  be 
done.'  Now,  concurring  with  the  other  judges, 
it  is  impossible  I  should  say  that.  It  is  right 
that  this  should  be  corrected ;  not  that  I  enter- 


iis 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tain  any  angry  feeling,  for  too  much  time  has 
elapsed  since  then  for  any  anger  to  remain  on 
my  mind ;  but  all  I  claim,  with  respect  to  the 
observations  made  in  that  work,  severe  as  they 
are  (and  I,  for  one,  feel  that  I  should  deserve 
no  mercy  if  I  should  ever  entertain  such  doc- 
trines), is,  that  I  may  not  be  misrepresented. 
It  is  not  necessary  for  me,  in  this  place,  to  say, 
that  no  man  entertains  more  horror  of  the  doc- 
trine than  I  am  supposed  to  have  laid  down  than 
I  do,  that  the  life  of  man  is  to  be  treated  lightly 
and  indifferently,  in  comparison  with  the  pre- 
servation of  game,  and  the  amusement  of  sport- 
ing ;  that  the  laws  of  humanity  are  to  be  vio- 
lated for  the  sake  merely  of  preserving  the 
amusement  of  game.  I  am  sure  no  man  can 
justly  impute  to  me  such  wicked  doctrines. 
It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say,  that  I  enter- 
tain no  such  sentiments  ;  and  therefore  I  hope 
I  shall  be  excused,  not  on  account  of  my  own 
feelings,  but  as  far  as  the  public  are  interested 
in  the  character  of  a  judge,  in  saying,  that  no 
person  should  blame  a  judge  for  what  has  been 
unjustly  put  into  his  mouth." 

His  lordship's  speech  is  reported  in  the  New 
Times  of  the  same  date,  as  follows  : — 

"Mr.  Justice  Best  said,  'My  brother  Bayley 
has  quoted  Mr.  Chetwynd's  edition  of  Burn  :  I 
am  surprised  that  the  learned  author  of  that 
work  should  have  made  me  talk  such  mis- 
chievous nonsense,  as  he  has  given  to  the 
public,  in  a  report  of  my  judgment,  in  the  case 
of  Ilott  and  Wilkes.  I  am  still  more  surprised, 
that  he  should  have  suffered  this  judgment  to 
remain  uncorrected,  after  he  had  seen  a  true 
report  of  the  case  in  Barnewall  and  Alderson, 
to  which  report  he  has  referred  in  his  appen- 
dix.' Mr.  Chetwynd's  report  has  the  follow- 
ing passage: — 'Mr.  Justice  Best  concurrid 
with  the  other  judges.'  His  lordship  con- 
cluded as  follows  : — '  This  case  has  been  dis- 
cussed at  the  bar,  as  if  these  inquiries  were 
exclusively  resorted  to  for  the  protection  of 
game;  but  I  considered  them  as  lawfully  ap- 1 
plicable  to  the  protection  of  every  species  of 
property  against  unlawful  trespassers.  But 
if  even  they  might  not  lawfully  be  used  for  the 
protection  of  game,  I  for  one  should  be  extremely 
glad  to  adopt  such  measures,  if  they  were  found 
ttufficient  for  that  purpose' 

"  A  popular  periodical  work  contains  the 
passage  just  cited,  with  the  omission  of  the 
words  '  concurred  with  the  other  judges.'  Of 
this  omission  I  have  reason  to  complain,  be- 
cause, if  it  had  been  inserted,  the  writer  of  the 
article  could  not  have  said, '  It  follows,  that  a 
man  may  put  his  fellow-creatures  to  death  for 
any  infringement  of  his  property,  for  picking 
the  sloes  and  blackberries  off  his  hedges;  for 
breaking  a  few  dead  sticks  out  of  them  by 
night  or  by  day,  with  resistance  or  without  re- 
sistance, with  warning  or  without  warning.' 
The  judges  with  whom  Mr.  Chetwynd  makes 
me  concur  in  opinion,  all  gave  their  judgment 
on  the  ground  of  due  notice  being  given.  I 
do  not  complain  of  the  other  observations  con- 
tained in  this  work;  they  would  have  been 
deserved  by  me  had  I  ever  uttered  such  an 
-opinion  as  the  report  of  Mr.  Chetwynd  has 
stated  me  to  have  delivered.  The  whole  of 
what  I  said  will  be  found  to  be  utterly  incon- 


sistent with  the  statement,  by  those  who  will 
read  the  case  in  'Barnewall  and  Alderson.'  I 
will  only  trouble  the  court  with  the  passage 
which  will  be  found  in  the  report  of  my  judg- 
ment, in  '  3  Barnewall  and  Alderson,  319  :'  'It 
cannot  be  unlawful  to  set  spring  guns  in  an 
enclosed  field,  at  a  distance  from  any  road, 
giving  such  notice  that  they  are  set,  as  to  ren- 
der it  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  all 
persons  in  the  neighbourhood  must  know  that 
they  are  so  set.  Humanity  required  that  the 
fullest  notice  possible  should  be  given  ;  and  the 
law  of  England  will  not  sanction  what  is  in- 
consistent with  humanity.'  I  have  taken  the 
first  opportunity  of  saying  this,  because  I  think 
it  of  importance  to  the  public  that  such  a  mis- 
representation of  the  opinion  of  one  of  the 
judges  should  not  be  circulated  without  some 
notice." 

We  subjoin  the  report  of  Messrs.  Barnewall 
and  Alderson,  here  alluded  to,  and  allowed  by. 
Mr.  Justice  Best  to  be  correct: — 

"  Best,  J.  The  act  of  the  plaintiff  could  only 
occasion  mere  nominal  damage  to  the  wood  of 
the  defendant.     The  injury  that  the  plaintifl^'s 
trespass  has  brought  upon  himself  is  extremely 
severe.     In  such  a  case,  one  cannot,  without 
pain,  decide  against  the  action.     But  we  must 
not  allow  our  feelings  to  induce  us  to  lose 
sight  of  the  principles  which  are  essential  to 
the  rights  of  property.     The  prevention  of  in- 
trusion upon  property  is  one  of  these  rights ; 
and  every  proprietor  is  allowed  to  use  the  force 
that  is  absolutely  necessary  to  vindicate  it.     If 
he  uses  more  force  than  is  absolutely  necessary, 
he  renders  himself  responsible  for  all  the  con- 
sequences of  the  excess.      Thus,  if  a   man 
comes  on  my  land,  I  cannot  lay  hands  on  him 
to  remove  him,  until  I  have  desired  him  to  go 
off.     If  he  will  not  depart  on  request,  I  cannot 
proceed  immediately  to  beat  him,  but  must  en- 
deavour to  push  him  off.     If  he  is  too  powerful 
for  me,  I  cannot  use  a  dangerous  weapon,  but 
must  first  call  in  aid  other  assistance.     I  am 
speaking  of  out-door  property,  and  of  cases  in 
which  no  felony  is  to  be  apprehended.     It  is 
evident,  also,  that  this  doctrine  is.  only  appli- 
cable to  trespasses  committed  in  the  presence 
of  the  owner  of  the  property  trespassed  on. 
When  the  owner  and  his  servants  are  absent 
at  the  time  of  the  trespass,  it  can  only  be  re- 
pelled by  the  terror  of  spring  guns,  or  other 
instruments  of  the  same  kind.     There  is,  in 
such  cases,  no  possibility  of  proportioning  the 
resisting  force  to  the  obstinacy  and  violence 
of  the  trespasser,  as  the  owner  of  the  close 
may  and  is  required  to  do  where  he  is  present. 
There  is  no  distinction  between  the  mode  of 
defence  of  one  species  of  out-door  property  and 
another  (except  in  cases  where  the  taking  or 
breaking  into  the  property  amounts  to  felony). 
If  the  owner  of  woods  cannot  set  spring  guns 
in  his  woods,  the  owner  of  an  orchard,  or  of  a 
field  with  potatoes  or  turnips,  or  any  other 
crop  usually  the  object  of  plunder,  cannot  set 
them  in  such  field.    How,  then,  are  these  kinds 
of  property  to  be  protected,  at  a  distance  from 
the  residence  of  the  owner,  in  the  night,  and 
in  the  absence  of  his  servants  1     It  has  been 
said,  that  the  law  has  provided  remedies  for 
any  injuries  to  such  things  by  action.   But  the 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


229 


offender  must  be  detected  before  he  can  be 
subjected  to  an  action ;  and  the  expense  of 
continual  watching  for  this  purpose  would  often 
exceed  the  value  of  the  property  to  be  protect- 
ed. If  we  look  at  the  subject  in  this  point  of 
view,  we  may  find,  amongst  poor  tenants,  who 
are  prevented  from  paying  their  rents  by  the 
plunder  of  their  crops,  men  who  are  more 
objects  of  our  compassion  than  the  wanton 
trespasser,  who  brings  on  himself  the  injury 
which  he  suffers.  If  an  owner  of  a  close  can- 
not set  spring  guns,  he  cannot  put  glass  bot- 
tles or  spikes  on  the  top  of  a  wall,  or  even 
have  a  savage  dog,  to  prevent  persons  from 
entering  his  yard.  It  has  been  said,  in  argu- 
ment, that  you  may  see  the  glass  bottles  or 
spikes ;  and  it  is  admitted,  that  if  the  exact 
spot  where  these  guns  are  set  was  pointed  out 
to  the  trespasser,  he  could  not  maintain  any 
action  for  the  injury  he  received  from  one  of 
them.  As  to  seeing  the  glass  bottles  or  spikes, 
that  must  depend  on  the  circumstance  whether 
it  be  light  or  dark  at  the  time  of  the  trespass. 
But  what  difference  does  it  make,  whether  the 
trespasser  be  told  the  gun  is  set  in  such  a  spot, 
or  that  there  are  guns  in  different  parts  of  such 
a  field,  if  he  has  no  right  to  go  on  any  part  of 
that  field  1  It  is  absurd  to  say  you  may  set 
the  guns,  provided  you  tell  the  trespasser  ex- 
actly where  they  are  set,  because  then  the  set- 
ting them  could  answer  no  purpose.  My  bro- 
ther Bayley  has  illustrated  this  case,  by  the 
question  which  he  asked,  namely.  Can  you 
indict  a  man  for  putting  spring  guns  in  his 
enclosed  field  1  I  think  the  question  put  by 
Lord  C.  J.  Gibbs,  in  the  case  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  a  still  better  illustration,  viz. :  Can  you 
justify  entering  into  enclosed  lands,  to  take 
away  guns  so  sef?  If  both  these  questions 
must  be  answered  in  the  negative,  it  cannot  be 
unlawful  to  set  spring  guns  in  an  enclosed 
field,  at  a  distance  from  any  road,  giving  such 
notice  that  they  are  set  as  to  render  it  in  the 
highest  degree  probable  that  all  persons  in  the 
neighbourhood  must  know  that  they  are  so  set. 
Humanity  requires  that  the  fullest  notice  pos- 
sible should  be  given :  and  the  law  of  England 
will  not  sanction  what  is  inconsistent  with  hu- 
manity. It  has  been  said  in  argiiment,  that  it 
is  a  principle  of  law,  that  you  cannot  do  in- 
directly what  you  are  not  permitted  to  do  di- 
rectly. This  principle  is  not  applicable  to  the 
case.  You  cannot  shoot  a  man  that  comes  on 
your  land,  because  you  may  turn  him  off  by 
means  less  hurtful  to  him ;  and,  therefore,  if 
you  saw  him  walking  in  your  field,  and  were 
to  invite  him  to  proceed  on  his  walk,  knowing 
that  he  must  tread  on  a  wire,  and  so  shoot 
himself  with  a  spring  gun,  you  would  be  liable 
to  all  the  consequences  that  would  follow. 
The  invitation  to  him  to  pursue  his  walk  is 
doing  indirectly  what,  by  drawing  the  trigger 
of  a  gun  with  your  own  hand,  is  done  directly. 
But  the  case  is  just  the  reverse,  if,  instead  of 
inviting  him  to  walk  on  your  land,  you  tell 
him  to  keep  off,  and  warn  him  of  what  will 
follow  if  he  does  not.  It  is  also  said,  that  it  is 
a  maxim  of  law,  that  you  must  so  use  your 
own  property  as  not  to  injure  another's.  This 
maxim  I  admit;  but  I  deny  its  application  to 
the  case  of  a  man  who  comes  to  trespass  on 


my  property.  It  applies  only  to  cases  where 
a  man  has  only  a  transient  property,  such  as 
in  the  air  or  water  that  passes  over  his  land, 
and  which  he  must  not  corrupt  by  nuisance ; 
or  where  a  man  has  a  qualified  property,  as  in 
land  near  another's  ancient  windows,  or  in 
land  over  which  another  has  a  right  of  way. 
In  the  first  case,  he  must  do  nothing  on  his 
land  to  stop  the  light  of  the  windows,  or,  in  the 
second,  to  obstruct  the  way.  This  case  has 
been  argued,  as  if  it  appeared  in  it  that  the 
guns  were  set  to  preserve  game ;  but  that  is 
not  so  :  they  were  set  to  prevent  trespasses  on 
the  lands  of  the  defendant.  Without,  however, 
saying  in  whom  the  property  of  game  is  vested, 
I  say,  that  a  man  has  a  right  to  keep  persons 
off  his  lands,  in  order  to  preserve  the  game. 
Much  money  is  expended  in  the  protection  of 
game  ;  and  it  would  be  hard,  if,  in  one  night, 
when  the  keepers  are  absent,  a  gang  of  poach- 
ers might  destroy  what  has  been  kept  at  so 
much  cost.  If  you  do  not  allow  men  of  landed 
estates  to  preserve  their  game,  you  will  not 
prevail  on  them  to  reside  in  the  country.  Their 
poor  neighbours  will  thus  lose  their  protection 
and  kind  ofiices  ;  and  the  government  the  sup- 
port that  it  derives  from  an  independent,  en- 
lightened, and  unpaid  magistracy." 

As  Mr.  Justice  Best  denies  that  he  did  say 
what  a  very  respectable  and  grave  law  publi- 
cation reported  him  to  have  said,  and  as  Mr. 
Chetwynd  and  his  reporter  have  made  no 
attempt  to  vindicate  their  report,  of  course  our 
observations  cease  to  be  applicable.  There  is 
certainly  nothing  in  the  term  report  of  Mr. 
Justice  Best's  speech  which  calls  for  any  de- 
gree of  moral  criticism; — nothing  but  what  a 
respectable  and  temperate  judge  might  fairly 
have  uttered.  Had  such  been  the  report  cited 
in  Burn,  it  never  would  have  drawn  from  us 
one  syllable  of  reprehension. 

We  beg  leave,  however,  to  observe,  that  we 
have  never  said  that  it  was  Mr.  Justice  Best's 
opinion,  as  reported  in  Chetwynd,  that  a  man 
might  be  put  to  death  ivithout  notice,  but  with- 
out warning ;  by  which  we  meant  a  very  dif- 
ferent thing.  If  notice  was  given  on  boards, 
that  certain  grounds  were  guarded  by  watch- 
men with  fire-arms,  the  watchmen,  feeling  per- 
haps some  little  respect  for  human  life,  would 
probably  call  out  to  the  man  to  stand  and  de- 
liver himself  up  : — "  Stop,  or  I'll  shoot  you  !" 
"  Stand,  or  you  are  a  dead  man !" — or  some 
such  compunctious  phrases  as  the  law  compels 
living  machines  to  use.  But  the  trap  can  give 
no  such  warning — can  present  to  the  intruder 
no  alternative  of  death  or  surrender.  Now, 
these  different  modes  of  action  in  the  dead  or 
the  living  guard,  is  what  we  alluded  to  in  the 
words  without  warning.  We  meant  to  cha- 
racterize the  ferocious,  unrelenting  nature  of 
the  means  used — and  the  words  are  perfectly 
correct  and  applicable,  after  all  the  printed 
notices  in  the  world.  Notice  is  the  communi- 
cation of  something  about  to  happen,  after  some 
little  interval  of  time.  Warning  is  the  com- 
munication of  some  imminent  danger.  Nobody 
gives  another  notice  that  he  will  immediately 
shoot  him  through  the  head — or  warns  him 
that  he  will  be  a  dead  man  in  less  than  thirty 
years.  This,  and  not  the  disingenuous  pur- 
U 


2S0 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pose  ascribed  to  us  by  Mr.  Justice  Best,  is  the 
explanation  of  the  offending  words.  We  are 
thoroughly  aware  that  Mr.  Justice  Best  was  an 
advocate  for  notice,  and  never  had  the  most 
distant  intention  of  representing  his  opinion 
otherwise :  and  we  really  must  say,  that  (if  the 
report  had  been  correct)  there  never  was  a 
judicial  speech  where  there  was  so  little  ne- 
cessity for  having  recourse  to  the  arts  of  mis- 
representation. We  are  convinced,  however, 
that  the  report  is  not  correct — and  we  are 
heartily  glad  it  is  not.  There  is  in  the  Morn- 
ing Chronicle  an  improper  and  offensive 
phrase,  which  (now  Ave  know  Mr.  Justice 
Best's  style  better)  we  shall  attribute  to  the 
reporters,  and  pass  over  without  further  notice. 
It  would  seem,  from  the  complaint  of  the 
learned  judge,  that  we  had  omitted  something 
in  the  middle  of  the  quotation  from  Chetwynd ; 
whereas  we  have  quoted  every  word  of  the 
speech  as  Chetwynd  has  given  it,  and  only 
began  our  quotation  after  the  preliminary  ob- 
servations, because  we  had  not  the  most  dis- 
tant idea  of  denying  that  Mr.  Justice  Best  con- 
sidered ample  notice  as  necessary  to  the  le- 
gality of  these  proceedings. 

There  are  passages  in  the  Morning  Chronicle 
already  quoted,  and  in  the  term  report,  which 
we  must  take  the  liberty  of  putting  in  juxtapo- 
sition to  each  other. 

Mr.    Justice    Best 
in    the  Morning 

Chronicle  of  the    Mr.  Justice  Best  in  the  Term  Reports, 
4tA  of  June,  1821.  Barnewall  and  Alderson. 

It  is  not  necessa-  When  llie  owner  and  his  servants 
ry  for  me  in  this  are  absent  at  the  time  of  the  tres- 
place  to  say,  that  pass,  it  can  only  lie  repelled  by  the 
no  man  entertains  terror  of  spring  c;uns,  or  other  in- 
more  horror  of  the  struments  of  the  same  kind.  There 
doctrine  I  am  sup-  is,  in  such  cases,  no  possibility  of 
posed  to  have  laid  proportioning  the  resisting  force  to 
down  than  1  do,  the  obstinacy  and  violence  of  the 
that  the  life  of  man  trespasser,  as  the  owner  of  the 
is  to  be  treated  close  may,  and  is  required  to  do, 
lightly  and  indif-  when  he  is  present.— 317. 
ferently,  in  compa-  Without  saying  in  whom  the  pro- 
rison  with  the  pre-  perty  of  game  is  vested,  I  say  that 
servation  of  game  a  man  has  a  right  to  keep  persons 
and  the  amuse-  off  his  lands,  in  order  to  preserve 
ment  of  sporting—  the  game.  Much  money  is  expend- 
that  the  laws  of  ed  on  tlie  protection  of  game  ;  and 
humanity  are  to  be  it  would  be  hard  if,  in  one  night, 
violated  for  the  when  the  frcfpfrs  are  a6scn^  a  gang 
sake  merely  of  pre-  of  poachers  might  destroy  what  has 
serving  the  amuse-  been  kept  at  so  much  cost. — 320. 
ment  of  game.  I  If  an  owner  of  a  close  cannot  set 
am  sure  no  man  spring  guns,  he  cannot  put  glass 
can  justly  impute  bottles  or  spikes  on  the  top  of  a 
to  me  such  wicked  wall.— 318. 

doctrines  ;  it  is  un-  If  both  these  questions  must  be 

necessary   for    me  answered  in  the  negative,  it  cannot 

to  say  I  entertain  be  unlawful  to  set  spring  guns  in  an 

no      such     senti-  enclosed  field,  at  a  distance  from  any 

ments.  road;  giving  such  notice  that  they 

In  Barnewall  and  are  set,  as  to  render  it  in  the  highest 

Alderson  there  is  a  degree  probable  that  all  persons  in 

correct    report    of  the  neighbourhood  must  know  they 

that  case. — Morn,  are  so  set.     Humanity  requires  that 

Chron.  the  fullest  notice  possible  should  be 
given;  and  the  law  of  England  will 
not  sanction  what  is  inconsistent 
with  humanity. — Barnewall  and  Al- 
derson, 319. 

There  is,  perhaps,  some  little  inconsistency 
in  these  opposite  extracts;  but  we  have  not  the 
smallest  wish  to  insist  upon  it.  We  are  tho- 
roughly and  honestly  convinced  that  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Best's  horror  at  the  destruction  of  human 
life  for  the  mere  preservation  of  game  is  quite 
sincere.  It  is  impossible,  indeed,  that  any 
human  being,  of  common  good  nature,  could 


entertain  a  different  feeling  upon  the  subject, 
when  it  is  earnestly  pressed  upon  him ;  and 
though,  perhaps,  there  may  be  judges  upon  the 
bench  more  remarkable  for  imperturbable 
apathy,  we  never  heard  Mr.  Justice  Best  ac- 
cused of  ill-nature.  In  condescending  to  notice 
our  observations,  in  destroying  the  credit  of 
Chetwynd's  report,  and  in  withdrawing  the 
canopy  of  his  name  from  the  bad  passions  of 
country  gentlemen ;  he  has  conferred  a  real 
favour  upon  the  public. 

Mr.  Justice  Best,  however,  must  excuse  us 
for  saying,  that  we  are  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  convinced  by  his  reasoning.  We  shall 
suppose  a  fifth  judge  to  have  delivered  his 
opinion  in  the  case  of  Ilott  against  Wilkes,  and 
to  have  expressed  himself  in  the  following 
manner.  But  we  must  caution  Mr.  Chetwynd 
against  introducing  this  fifth  judge  in  his  next 
edition  of  Burn's  Justice  ;  and  we  assure  him 
that  he  is  only  an  imaginary  personage. 

"  My  Brother  Best  justly  observes,  that  pre- 
vention of  intrusion  upon  private  property  is  a 
right  which  every  proprietor  may  act  upon, 
and  use  force  to  vindicate — the  force  absolutely 
necessary  for  such  vindication.  If  any  man 
intrude  upon  another's  lands,  the  proprietor 
must  first  desire  him  to  go  off,  then  lay  hands 
upon  the  intruder,  then  push  him  off;  and  if 
that  will  not  do,  call  in  aid  or  other  assistance, 
before  he  uses  a  dangerous  weapon.  If  the 
proprietor  uses  more  force  than  is  absolutely 
necessary,  he  renders  himself  responsible  for 
all  the  consequences  of  the  excess.  In  this 
doctrine  I  cordially  concur;  and  admire  (I  am 
sure,  with  him)  the  sacred  regard  which  our 
law  everywhere  exhibits  for  the  life  and  safety 
of  man — its  tardiness  and  reluctance  to  pro- 
ceed to  extreme  violence;  but  my  learned 
brother  then  observes  as  follows: — 'It  is  evi- 
dent, also,  that  this  doctrine  is  only  applicable 
to  trespasses  committed  in  the  presence  of  the 
owner  of  the  property  trespassed  upon.  When 
the  owner  and  his  servants  are  absent  at  the 
time  of  the  trespass,  it  can  only  be  repelled  by 
the  terror  of  spring  guns,  or  other  instruments 
of  the  same  kind.'  If  Mr.  Justice  Best  means, 
by  the  terror  of  the  spring  guns,  the  mere  alarm 
that  the  notice  excites — or  the  powder  without 
the  bullets — noise  without  danger — it  is  not 
worth  while  to  raise  an  argument  upon  the 
point;  for,  absent  or  present,  notice  or  no  no- 
tice, such  means  must  always  be  lawful.  But 
if  my  brother  Best  means  that  in  the  absence 
of  the  proprietor,  the  intruder  may  be  killed  by 
such  instruments,  after  notice,  this  is  a  doctrine 
to  which  I  never  can  assent;  because  it  rests 
the  life  and  security  of  the  trespasser  upon  the 
accident  of  the  proprietor's  presence.  In  that 
presence  there  must  be  a  most  cautious  and 
nicely  graduated  scale  of  admonition  and  harm- 
less compulsion  ;  the  feelings  and  safety  of  the 
intruder  are  to  be  studiously  consulted ;  but  if 
business  or  pleasure  call  the  proprietor  away, 
the  intruder  may  be  instantly  shot  dead  by  ma- 
chinery. Such  a  state  of  law,  I  must  be  per- 
mitted to  say,  is  too  incongruous  for  this  or  any 
other  country. 

"If  the  alternative  is  the  presence  of  the 
owner  and  his  servants  or  such  dreadful  con- 
sequences as   these,  why  are   the    owner    or 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


231 


his  servants  allowed  to  be  absent  7  If  the  ulti- 
mate object  in  preventing  such  intrusions  is 
pleasure  in  sporting,  it  is  better  that  pleasure 
should  be  rendered  more  expensive,  than  that 
the  life  of  man  should  be  rendered  so  preca- 
rious. But  why  is  it  impossible  to  proportion 
the  resisting  force  to  the  obstinacy  of  the  tres- 
passer in  the  absence  of  the  proprietor  1  Why 
may  not  an  intruder  be  let  gently  down  into 
five  feet  of  liquid  mud  1 — why  not  caught  in  a 
box  which  shall  detain  him  till  the  next  morn- 
ing 1 — why  not  held  in  a  toothless  trap  till  the 
proprietor  arrives  1 — such  traps  as  are  sold  in 
all  the  iron  shops  in  this  city  1  We  are  bound, 
according  to  my  brother  Best,  to  inquire  if 
these  means  have  been  previously  resorted  to; 
for  upon  his  own  principle,  greater  violence 
must  not  be  used,  where  less  will  suffice  for  the 
removal  of  the  intruder. 

"There  are  crops,  I  admit,  of  essential  im- 
portance to  agriculture,  which  will  not  bear 
the  expense  of  eternal  vigilance;  and  if  there 
are  districts  where  such  crops  are  exposed  to 
such  serious  and  disheartening  depredation, 
that  may  be  a  good  reason  for  additional  seve- 
rity; but  then  it  must  be  the  severity  of  the 
legislator,  and  not  of  the  proprietor.  If  the  le- 
gislature enacts  fine  and  imprisonment  as  the 
punishment  for  stealing  turnips,  it  is  not  to  be 
endured  that  the  proprietor  should  award  to 
this  crime  the  punishment  of  death.  If  the 
fault  is  not  sufficiently  prevented  by  the  punish- 
ments already  in  existence,  he  must  wait  till 
the  frequency  and  flagrancy  of  the  oifence 
attract  the  notice,  and  stimulate  the  penalties 
of  those  who  make  laws.  He  must  not  make 
laws  (and  those  very  bloody  laws)  for  himself. 

"I  do  not  say  that  the  setter  of  the  trap  or 
gun  allures  the  trespasser  into  it;  but  I  say 
that  the  punishment  he  intends  for  the  man 
who  trespasses  after  notice,  is  death.  He 
covers  his  spring  gun  with  furze,  and  gives  it 
the  most  natural  appearance  he  can;  and  in 
that  gun  he  places  the  slugs  by  which  he  means 
to  kill  the  trespasser.  This  killing  of  an  un- 
challenged, unresisting  person,  I  really  cannot 
help  considering  to  be  as  much  murder  as  if 
the  proprietor  had  shot  the  trespasser  with  his 
gun.  Giving  it  all  the  attention  in  my  power, 
I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  distinguish  between 
the  two  cases.  Does  it  signify  whose  hand  or 
whose  foot  pulls  the  string  which  moves  the 
trigger  1 — the  real  murderer  is  he  who  pre- 
pares the  instrument  of  death,  and  places  it  in 
a  position  that  such  hand  or  foot  may  touch  it, 
for  the  purposes  of  destruction.  My  brother 
Holroyd  says,  the  trespasser  who  has  had  a 
notice  of  guns  being  set  in  the  wood  is  the  real 
voluntary  agent  who  pulls  the  trigger.  But  I 
most  certainly  think  that  he  is  not.  He  is  the 
animal  agent,  but  not  the  rational  agent — he 
does  not  intend  to  put  himself  to  death;  but  he 
foolishly  trusts  in  his  chance  of  escaping,  and 
is  any  thing  but  a  voluntary  agent  in  firing  the 
gun.  If  a  trespasser  were  to  rush  into  a  wood, 
meaning  to  seek  his  own  destruction — to  hunt 
for  the  wire,  and  when  found,  to  pull  it,  he 
V  )u]d  indeed  be  the  agent,  in  the  most  philo- 
sophical sense  of  the  word.  But,  after  enter- 
ing the  wood,  he  does  all  he  can  to  avoid  the 
gun — keeps  clear  of  every  suspicious  place, 


and  is  baffled  only  by  the  superior  cunning  of 
him  who  planted  the  gun.  How  the  firing  of 
the  gun  then  can  be  called  his  act — his  volun- 
tary act — I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive.  The 
practice  has  unfortunately  become  so  common, 
that  the  first  person  convicted  of  such  a  mur- 
der, and  acting  under  the  delusion  of  right, 
might  be  a  fit  object  for  royal  mercy.  Still,  in 
my  opinion,  such  an  act  must  legally  be  con- 
sidered as  murder. 

"It  has  been  asked,  if  it  be  an  indictable 
offence  to  set  such  guns  in  a  man's  own  ground : 
but  let  me  first  put  a  much  greater  question — 
Is  it  murder  to  kill  any  man  with  such  instru- 
ments 1  If  it  is,  it  must  be  indictable  to  set 
them.  To  place  an  instrument  for  the  purpose 
of  committing  murder,  and  to  surrender  (as  in 
such  cases  you  must  surrender)  all  control 
over  its  operation,  is  clearly  an  indictable 
offence. 

"  All  my  brother  judges  have  delivered  their 
opinions  as  if  these  guns  were  often  set  for 
the  purposes  of  terror,  and  not  of  destruction. 
To  this  I  can  only  say,  that  the  moment  any 
man  puts  a  bullet  into  his  spring  gun,  he  has 
some  other  purpose  than  that  of  terror;  and 
if  he  does  not  put  a  bullet  there,  he  can  never 
be  the  subject  of  argument  in  this  court. 

"  My  Lord  Chief  Justice  can  see  no  distinc- 
tion between  the  case  of  tenter-hooks  upon  a 
wall,  and  the  placing  of  spring  guns,  as  far  as 
the  lawfulness  of  both  is  concerned.  But  the 
distinctions  I  take  between  the  case  of  tenter- 
hooks upon  a  wall,  and  the  setting  of  spring 
guns,  are  founded — 1st,  in  the  magnitude  of 
the  evil  inflicted;  2dly.  in  the  great  diflerence 
of  the  notice  which  the  trespasser  receives  ; 
.3dl3%  in  the  very  different  evidence  of  crimi- 
nal intention  in  the  trespasser ;  4thly,  in  the 
greater  value  of  the  property  invaded;  5thly, 
in  the  greater  antiquity  of  the  abuse.  To  cut 
the  fingers,  or  to  tear  the  hand,  is  of  course  a 
more  pardonable  injury  than  to  kill.  The 
trespasser,  in  the  daytime,  sees  the  spikes  ; 
and  by  day  or  night,  at  all  events,  he  sees  or 
feels  the  wall.  It  is  impossible  he  should  not 
understand  the  nature  of  such  a  prohibition, 
or  imagine  that  his  path  lies  over  this  wall ; 
whereas  the  victim  of  the  spring  gun  may 
have  gone  astray,  may  not  be  able  to  read,  or 
may  first  cross  the  armed  soil  in  the  night 
time,  when  he  cannot  read; — and  so  he  is 
absolutely  without  any  notice  at  all.  In  the 
next  place,  the  slaughtered  man  may  be  per- 
fectly innocent  in  his  purpose,  which  the 
scaler  of  the  walls  cannot  be.  No  man  can 
get  to  the  top  of  a  garden  wall  without  a  crimi- 
nal purpose.  A  garden,  by  the  common  con- 
sent and  feeling  of  mankind,  contains  more 
precious  materials  than  a  wood,  or  a  field,  and 
may  seem  to  justify  a  greater  jealousy  and 
care.  Lastly,  and  for  these  reasons,  perhaps, 
the  practice  of  putting  spikes  and  glass  bot- 
tles has  prevailed  for  this  century  past ;  and 
the  right  so  to  do  has  become,  from  time,  and 
the  absence  of  cases,  (for  the  plaintiff,  in  such 
a  case,  must  acknowledge  himself  a  thief,) 
inveterate.  But  it  is  quite  impossible,  because 
in  some  trifling  instances,  and  in  much  more 
pardonable  circumstances,  private  vengeance 
has  usurped  upon  the  province  of  law,  that  I 


8S2 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


can,  from  such  slight  abuses,  confer  upon  pri- 
vate vengeance  the  power  of  life  and  death. 
On  the  contrary,  I  think  it  my  imperious  duty 
to  contend,  that  punishment  for  such  offences 
as  these  is  to  be  measured  by  the  law,  and  not 
by  the  exaggerated  notions  which  any  indivi- 
dual may  form  of  the  importance  of  his  own 
pleasures.  It  is  my  duty,  instead  of  making' 
one  abuse  a  reason  for  another,  to  recall  the 
law  back  to  its  perfect  state,  and  to  restrain  as 
much  as  possible  the  invention  and  use  of 
private  punishments.  Indeed,  if  this  wild 
sort  of  justice  is  to  be  tolerated,  I  see  no  sort 
of  use  in  the  careful  adaptation  of  punish- 
ments to  crimes,  in  the  humane  labours  of  the 
lawgiver.  Every  lord  of  a  manor  is  his  own 
Lycurgus,  or  rather  his  own  Draco,  and  the 
great  purpose  of  civil  life  is  defeated.  Inter 
nova  tormeiitorum  genera  machinasque  exitiaks, 
silent  leges. 

"  Whatever  be  the  law,  the  question  of  hu- 
manity is  a  separate  question.  I  shall  not 
state  all  I  think  of  that  person,  who,  for  the 
preservation  of  game,  would  doom  the  inno- 
cent— or  the  guilty  intruder,  to  a  sudden  death. 
I  will  not,  however  (because  I  am  silent  re- 
specting individuals),  join  in  any  undeserved 
panegyric  of  the  humanity  of  the  English 
law.  I  cannot  sa}'^,  at  the  same  moment,  that 
the  law  of  England  allows  such  machines  to 
be  set  after  public  notice  ;  and  that  the  law  of 
England  sanctions  nothing  but  what  is  hu- 
mane. If  the  law  sanctions  such  practices,  it 
sanctions,  in  my  opinion,  what  is  to  the  last 
degree  odious,  unchristian,  and  inhumane. 

"  The  case  of  the  dog  or  bull  I  admit  to  be 
an  analogous  case  to  this  :  and  I  say,  if  a  man 
were  to  keep  a  dog  of  great  ferocity  and  power, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  guarding  against 
trespass  in  woods  or  fields,  and  that  dog  was 
to  Mil  a  trespasser,  it  would  be  murder  in  the 
person  placing  him  there  for  such  a  purpose. 
It  is  indifferent  to  me  whether  the  trespasser 
is  slain  by  animals  or  machines,  intentionally 
brought  there  for  that  purpose :  he  ought  not 
to  be  slain  at  all.  It  is  murder  to  use  such  a 
punishment  for  such  an  offence.  If  a  man 
puts  a  ferocious  dog  in  his  yard,  to  guard  his 
house  from  burglary,  and  that  dog  stra3''s  into 
the  neighbouring  field  and  there  worries  the 
man,  there  wants,  in  this  case,  the  murderous 
and  malicious  spirit.  The  dog  was  placed  in 
the  yard  for  the  legal  purpose  of  guarding  the 
house  against  burglary ;  for  which  crime,  if 


caught  in  the  act  of  perpetrating  it,  a  man 
may  legally  be  put  to  death.  There  was  no 
primary  intention  here  of  putting  a  mere  tres- 
passer to  death.  So,  if  a  man  keep  a  ferocious 
bull,  not  for  agricultural  purposes,  but  for  the 
express  purpose  of  repelling  trespassers,  and 
that  bull  occasion  the  death  of  a  trespasser,  it 
is  murder :  the  intentional  injlidion  of  death 
by  any  means  for  such  sort  of  offences  consti' 
tutes  the  murder :  a  right  to  kill  for  such  rea- 
sons cannot  be  acquired  by  the  foolhardiness 
of  the  trespasser,  nor  by  any  sort  of  notice  or 
publicity.  If  a  man  were  to  blow  a  trumpet 
all  over  the  country,  and  say  that  he  would 
shoot  any  man  who  asked  him  how  he  did, 
would  he  acquire  a  right  to  do  so  by  such  no- 
tice ?  Does  mere  publication  of  an  unlawful 
intention  make  the  action  lawful  which  fol- 
lows 1  If  notice  is  the  principle  which  con- 
secrates this  mode  of  destroying  human  beings, 
I  wish  my  brothers  had  been  a  little  more 
clear,  or  a  little  more  unanimous,  as  to  what 
is  meant  by  this  notice.  Must  the  notice  he, 
always  actual,  or  is  it  sufficient  that  it  is  pro- 
bable ■?  May  these  guns  act  only  against 
those  who  have  read  the  notice,  or  against  all 
who  might  h&ve  read  the  notice'?  The  truth 
is,  that  the  practice  is  so  enormous,  and  the 
opinions  of  the  most  learned  men  so  various, 
that  a  declaratory  law  upon  the  subject  is  im- 
periously required.*  Common  humanity  re- 
quired it,  after  the  extraordinary  difference  of 
opinion  which  occurred  in  the  case  of  Dean 
and  Clayton. 

"  For  these  reasons,  I  am  compelled  to  differ 
from  my  learned  brothers.  We  have  all,  I  am 
sure,  the  common  object  of  doing  justice  in 
such  cases  as  these ;  we  can  have  no  possible 
motive  for  doing  otherwise.  Where  such  a 
superiority  of  talents  and  numbers  is  against 
me,  I  must  of  course  be  wrong  ;  but  I  think  it 
better  to  publish  my  own  errors,  than  to  sub- 
scribe to  opinions  of  the  justice  of  which  I 
am  not  convinced.  To  destroy  a  trespasser 
with  such  machines,  I  think  would  be  mur- 
der; to  set  such  uncontrollable  machines  for 
the  purpose  of  committing  this  murder,  I  think 
would  be  indictable ;  and  I  am,  therefore,  of 
opinion,  that  he  who  suffers  from  such  ma 
chines  has  a  fair  ground  of  action,  in  spite  of 
any  notice ;  for  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  no- 
tice to  make  them  lawful." 


*  This  has  been  done. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNET  SMITH. 


233 


HAMILTON'S  METHOD  OF  TEACHING  LANGUAGES; 


[Edinburgh   Review,  1826.] 


We  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  Mr. 
Hamilton  personally.  He  may  be  the  wisest 
or  the  weakest  of  men ;  most  dexterous  or  most 
unsuccessful  in  the  exhibition  of  his  system ; 
modest  and  proper,  or  prurient  and  preposte- 
rous in  its  commendation ; — by  none  of  these 
considerations  is  his  system  itself  affected. 

The  proprietor  of  Ching's  Lozenges  must 
necessarily  have  recourse  to  a  newspaper,  to 
rescue  from  oblivion  the  merit  of  his  vermi- 
fuge medicines.  In  the  same  manner,  the 
Amboyna  tooth-powder  must  depend  upon  the 
Herald  and  the  Morning  Post.  Unfortunately, 
the  system  of  Mr.  Hamilton  has  been  intro- 
duced to  the  world  by  the  same  means,  and  has 
exposed  itself  to  those  suspicions  which  hover 
over  splendid  discoveries  of  genius,  detailed 
in  the  daily  papers,  and  sold  in  sealed  boxes 
at  an  infinite  diversity  of  prices — but  with  a 
perpetual  inclusion  of  the  stamp,  and  with  an 
equitable  discount  for  undelayed  payment. 

It  may  have  been  necessary  for  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton to  have  had  recourse  to  these  means  of 
making  known  his  discoveries,  since  he  may 
not  have  had  friends  whose  names  and  au- 
thority might  have  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
public ;  but  it  is  a  misfortune  to  which  his 
system  has  been  subjected,  and  a  difficulty 
which  it  has  still  to  overcome.  There  is  also 
a  singular  and  somewhat  ludicrous  condition 
of  giving  warranted  lessons;  by  which  is  meant, 
we  presume,  that  the  money  is  to  be  returned, 
if  the  progress  is  not  made.  We  should  be 
curious  to  know  how  poor  Mr.  Hamilton  would 
protect  himself  from  some  swindling  scholar, 
who,  having  really  learnt  all  that  the  master 
professed  to  teach,  should  counterfeit  the  gross- 
est ignorance  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  and 
refuse  to  construe  a  single  verse,  or  to  pay  a 
farthing  1 

Whether  Mr.  Hamilton's  translations  are 
good  or  bad,  is  not  the  question.  The  point  to 
determine  is,  whether  very  close  interlineal 
translations  are  helps  in  learning  a  language  1 
not  whether  Mr.  Hamilton  has  executed  these 
translations  faithfully  and  judiciously.  Whe- 
ther Mr.  Hamilton  is  or  is  not  the  inventor  of 
the  system  which  bears  his  name,  and  what 
his  claims  to  originality  may  be,  are  also  ques- 
tions of  very  second-rate  importance ;  but  they 
merit  a  few  observations.  That  man  is  not 
the  discoverer  of  any  art  who  first  says  the 
thing ;  but  he  who  says  it  so  long,  and  so  loud, 


*  1.  The  Gospel  of  St.  John,  in  Latin,  adapted  to  the 
Uamiltonian  System,  by  an  Analytical  and  Interlineary 
Translation.  Executed  under  the  immediate  Direction  of 
James  Hamilton.     London,  1824. 

2.  The  Qospel  of  St.  John,  adapted  to  the  Hamiltonian 
System,  by  an  Jinahjtiral  and  Interlineary  Translation 
from  the  Italian,  with  full  Instructions  for  its  Use,  even 
by  those  who  are  wholly  ignorant  of  the  Languajre.  For 
the  Use  of  Schools.  By  James  Hamilton,  Autlior  of  the 
Hamiltonian  System.  London,  1825. 
30 


and  so  clearly,  that  he  compels  mankind  to 
hear  him — the  man  who  is  so  deeply  impressed 
with  the  importance  of  the  discovery  that  he 
will  take  no  denial,  but,  at  the  risk  of  fortune 
and  fame,  pushes  through  all  opposition,  and 
is  determined  that  what  he  thinks  he  has  dis- 
covered shall  not  perish  for  want  of  a  fair 
trial.  Other  persons  had  noticed  the  effect  of 
coal-gas  in  producing  light;  but  Winsor  wor- 
ried the  town  with  bad  English  for  three  win- 
ters before  he  could  attract  any  serious  atten- 
tion to  his  views.  Many  persons  broke  stone 
before  Macadam,  but  Macadam  felt  the  disco- 
very more  strongly,  stated  it  more  clearly,  per- 
severed in  it  with  greater  tenacity,  wielded  his 
hammer,  in  short,  with  greater  force  than  other 
men,  and  finally  succeeded  in  bringing  his 
plan  into  general  use. 

Literal  translations  are  not  only  not  used  ill' 
our  public  schools,  but  are  generally  discoun- 
tenanced in  them.  A  literal  translation,  or 
any  translation  of  a  school-book,  is  a  contra- 
band article  in  English  schools,  which  a; 
school-master  would  instantly  seize,  as  a  cus- 
tom-house officer  would  a  barrel  of  gm.  Mr. 
Hamilton,  on  the  other  hand,  maintains,  by 
books  and  lectures,  that  all  boys  ought  to  be 
allowed  to  work  with  literal  translations,  and 
that  it  is  by  far  the  best  method  of  learning  a 
language.  If  Mr.  Hamilton's  system  is  just,  it 
is  sad  trifling  to  deny  his  claim  to  originality, 
by  stating  that  Mr.  Locke  has  said  the  same 
thing,  or  that  others  have  said  the  same  thing, 
a  century  earlier  than  Hamilton.  They  have 
all  said  it  so  feebly,  that  their  observations 
have  passed  sui  sileniio ,-  and  if  Mr.  Hamilton 
succeeds  in  being  heard  and  followed,  to  him 
be  the  glory — because  from  him  have  pro- 
ceeded the  utility  and  the  ad  \rantage. 

The  works  upon  this  subject  on  this  plan, 
published  before  the  time  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  are 
Montanus's  edition  of  the  Bible,  with  Pignini's 
interlineary  Latin  version  ;  Lubin's  New  Tes- 
tament having  the  Greek  interlined  with  Latin 
and  German  ;  Abbe  L'Olivet's  Pensees  de  Ci- 
ceron ;  and  a  French  work  by  the  Abbe  Ra- 
donvilliers,  Paris,  1768 — and  Locke  upon  Edu- 
cation. 

One  of  the  first  principles  of  Mr.  Hamilton 
is,  to  introduce  very  strict  literal,  interlinear 
translations,  as  aids  to  lexicons  and  dictiona- 
ries, and  to  make  so  much  use  of  them  as  that 
the  dictionary  or  lexicon  will  be  for  a  long 
time  little  required.  We  will  suppose  the  lan- 
guage to  be  the  Italian,  and  the  book  selected 
to  be  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  Of  this  Gospel 
Mr.  Hamilton  has  published  a  key,  of  which 
the  following  is  an  extract : — 

„ ,     Nel      principio    era    il   Verbo,    e     il 

In  the  beginning    was  the  Word,  and  the 

Verbo  era  appresso  Bio,   e    il  Verbo  era  Dio. 

Word  was  near  to  God,  and  the  Wordivas  God 

V  2 


234 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"6 


«2  Questo  era  nel  principio  appresso  Dio. 

This  was  in  the  beginning    near  to  God. 

\  <.  o  Per  mezzo  di    lui  tutte    le  cose    furon 

By    means  of  him   all  the  things     were 

fatte :      e     senza    di  lui     nulla     fu    fatto  di 

made :  and  without  of  him  nothing  was  made  of 

cio,     che     e  stato  fatto. 

that,  which  is   been  made. 

„  ,  In    lui    era     la    vita,    e     la   vita    era 
In   him  was    the    life,  arid  the   life  was 
la  luce    degli  uomini  : 
the  light  of  the     men  : 

u  tz    E    la    luce  splende    tra    le    tenebre, 
A?id  the  light  shines  among  the  darknesses, 
e    le    tenebre  hanno  non  ammessa  la. 
and  the  darknesses  have  not  admitted  her. 

Vi    fu  un    uomo  mandate  da  Dio  che 
There  was  a      man      sent       by  God,  who 
nomava      si     Giovanni. 
did  name  himself  John. 

„„  Questo  venne  qual  testimone,  affin  di 
Thi^  came  like  as  witness,  in  order  of 
rendere  testimonianza  alia  luce,  onde  per 
to  render  testimony  to  the  light,  whence  by 
mezzo  di  lui  tutti  credessero. 
Tneans  of  him    all    might  believe." 

In  this  way  Mr.  Hamilton  contends  (and  ap- 
pears to  us  to  contend  justly),  that  the  language 
may  be  acquired  with  much  greater  ease  and 
despatch,  than  by  the  ancient  method  of  begin- 
ning with  grammar,  and  proceeding  with  the 
dictionary.  We  will  presume  at  present,  that 
the  only  object  is  to  read,  not  to  write,  or  speak 
Italian,  and  that  the  pupil  instructs  himself 
from  the  key  without  a  master,  and  is  not 
taught  in  a  class.  We  wish  to  compare  the 
plan  of  finding  the  English  word  in  such  a 
literal  translation,  to  that  of  finding  it  in  dic- 
tionaries— and  the  method  of  ending  with 
grammar,  or  of  taking  the  grammar  at  an 
advanced  period  of  knowledge  in  the  language, 
rather  than  at  the  beginning.  Every  one  will 
admit, -that  of  all  the  disgusting  labours  of  life, 
the  labour  of  lexicon  and  dictionary  is  the 
most  intolerable.  Nor  is  there  a  greater  ob- 
ject of  compassion  than  a  fine  boy,  full  of 
animal  spirits,  set  down  in  a  bright  sunny  day, 
with  an  heap  of  unknown  words  before  him, 
to  be  turned  into  English,  before  supper,  by 
the  help  of  a  ponderous  dictionary  alone.  The 
object  in  looking  into  a  dictionary  can  only  be 
to  exchange  an  unknown  sound  for  one  that  is 
known.  Now,  it  seems  indisputable,  that  the 
sooner  this  exchange  is  made  the  better.  The 
greater  the  number  of  such  exchanges  which 
can  be  made  in  a  given  time,  the  greater  is  the 
progress,  the  more  abundant  the  copia  verbo- 
rum  obtained  by  the  scholar.  Would  it  not  be 
of  advantage  if  the  dictionary  at  once  opened 
at  the  required  page,  and  if  a  self-moving  in- 
dex at  once  pointed  to  the  requisite  word  1  Is 
any  advantage  gained  to  the  -a  orld  by  the  time 
employed  first  in  finding  the  letter  P,  and  then 
in  finding  the  three  guiding  letters  P  RH 
This  appears  to  us  to  be  pure  loss  of  time, 
justifiable  only  if  it  is  inevitable ;  and  even 
after  this  is  done,  what  an  infinite  multitude 
of  difficulties  are  heaped  at  once  upon  the 
wretched  beginner !  Instead  of  being  reserved 
for  his  greater  skill  and  maturity  in  the  lan- 
g:uage,  he  must  employ  himself  in  discovering 


in  which  of  many  senses  which  his  dictionary 
presents  the  word  is  to  be  used;  in  consider- 
ing the  case  of  the  substantive,  and  the  syn- 
taxical  arrangement  in  which  it  is  to  be  placed, 
and  the  relation  it  bears  to  other  words.  The 
loss  of  time  in  the  merely  mechanical  part  of 
the  old  plan  is  immense.  We  doubt  very 
much,  if  an  average  boy,  between  ten  and 
fourteen,  will  look  out  or  find  more  than  sixty 
words  in  an  hour ;  we  say  nothing  at  present 
of  the  time  employed  in  thinking  of  the  mean- 
ing of  each  word  when  he  has  found  it,  but  of 
the  mere  naked  discovery  of  the  word  in  the 
lexicon  or  dictionary.  It  must  be  remembered, 
we  say  an  average  boy — not  what  Master 
Evans,  the  show  boy,  can  do,  nor  what  Master 
Macarthy,  the  boy  who  is  whipt  every  day,  can 
do,  but  some  boy  between  Macarthy  and 
Evans ;  and  not  what  this  medium  boy  can 
do,  while  his  mastigophorous  superior  is 
frowning  over  him  ;  but  what  he  actually  does,  ■ 
when  left  in  the  midst  of  noisy  boys,  and  with 
a  recollection,  that,  by  sending  to  the  neigh- 
bouring shop,  he  can  obtain  any  quantity  of 
unripe  gooseberries  upon  credit.  Now,  if  this 
statement  be  true,  and  if  there  are  10,000  words 
in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  here  are  160  hours 
employed  in  the  mere  digital  process  of  turn- 
ing over  leaves  !  But,  in  much  less  time  than 
this,  any  boy  of  average  quickness  might  learn, 
by  the  Hamiltonian  method,  to  construe  the 
whole  four  Gospels,  with  the  greatest  accu- 
racy, and  the  most  scrupulous  correctness. 
The  interlineal  translation  of  course  spares 
the  trouble  and  time  of  this  mechanical  la- 
bour. Immediately  under  the  Italian  word  is 
placed  the  English  word.  The  unknown 
sound  therefore  is  nwtoi//y  exchanged  for  one 
that  is  known.  The  labour  here  spared  is  of 
the  most  irksome  nature;  and  it  is  spared  at 
a  time  of  life  the  most  averse  to  such  labour ; 
and  so  painful  is  this  labour  to  many  boys, 
that  it  forms  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  their 
progress.  They  prefer  to  be  flogged,  or  to  be 
sent  to  sea.  It  is  useless  to  say  of  any  medi- 
cine that  it  is  valuable,  if  it  is  so  nauseous 
that  the  patient  flings  it  away.  You  must  give 
me,  not  the  best  medicine  you  have  in  your 
shop,  but  the  best  you  can  get  me  to  take. 

We  have  hitherto  been  occupied  with  find- 
ing the  word;  we  will  now  suppose,  after  run- 
ning a  dirty  finger  down  many  columns,  and 
after  many  sighs  and  groans,  that  the  word  is 
found.  We  presume  the  little  fellow  working 
in  the  true  orthodox  manner  without  any  trans- 
lation ;  he  is  in  pursuit  of  the  Greek  word 
BaxTiCD,  and,  after  a  long  chase,  seizes  it  as 
greedily  as  a  bailiff  possesses  himself  of  a  fu- 
gacious captain.  But  alas!  the  vanity  of 
human  wishes ! — the  never  sufficiently  to  be 
pitied  stripling  has  scarcely  congratulated  him- 
self upon  his  success,  when  he  finds  Baxxai  to 
contain  the  following  meanings  in  Hederick's 
Lexicon: — 1.  Jacio  ;  2.  Jaculor  ;  3.  Ferio  ;  4. 
Figo ;  5.  Saucio  ;  6.  Attingo ;  7.  Projicio ;  8. 
Emitto  ;  9.  Profundo;  10.  Pono;  11.  Immitto; 
12.  Trado;  13.  Committo ;  14.  Condo ;  15. 
^difico  ;  16.  Verso;  17. Flecto.  Suppose  the 
little  rogue,  not  quite  at  home  in  the  Latin 
tongue,  to  be  desirous  of  affixing  English  sig- 
nifications to  these  various  words,  he  has  then. 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


235 


at  the  moderate  rate  of  six  meanings  to  every 
Latin  word,  one  hundred  and  two  meanings  to 
the  word  EuKXa ;  or  if  he  is  content  with  the 
Latin,  he  has  then  only  seventeen.* 

Words,  in  their  origin,  have  a  natural  or 
primary  sense.  The  accidental  associations 
of  the  people  who  use  it,  afterwai'ds  give  to  that 
word  a  great  number  of  secondary  meanings. 
In  some  words  the  primary  meaning  is  very 
common,  and  the  secondary  meaning  very 
rare.  In  other  instances  it  is  just  the  reverse ; 
and  in  very  many  the  particular  secondary 
meaning  is  pointed  out  by  some  preposition 
which  accompanies  it,  or  some  case  by  which 
it  is  accompanied.  But  an  accurate  translation 
points  these  things  out  gradually  as  it  proceeds. 
The  common  and  most  probable  meanings 
of  the  word  Zslkku,  or  of  any  other  word,  are, 
in  the  Hamiltonian  method,  insensibly  but 
surely  fixed  on  the  mind,  which,  by  the  lexi- 
con method,  must  be  done  by  a  tentative  pro- 
cess, frequently  ending  in  gross  error,  noticed 
with  peevishness,  punished  with  severity,  con- 
suming a  great  deal  of  time,  and  for  the  most 
part  only  corrected,  after  all,  by  the  accurate 
viva  voce  translation  of  the  master — or,  in  other 
words,  by  the  Hamiltonian  method. 

The  recurrence  to  a  translation  is  treated  in 
our  schools  as  a  species  of  imbecility  and 
meanness ;  just  as  if  there  was  any  other  dig- 
nity here  than  utility,  any  other  object  in  learn- 
ing languages,  than  to  turn  something  you  do 
not  understand,  into  something  you  do  under- 
stand, and  as  if  that  was  not  the  best  method 
which  effected  this  object  in  the  shortest  and 
simplest  manner.  Hear  upon  this  point  the 
judicious  Locke  : — "  But  if  such  a  man  cannot 
be  got,  who  speaks  good  Latin,  and  being  able 
to  instruct  your  son  in  all  these  parts  of  know- 
ledge, will  undertake  it  by  this  method,  the 
next  best  is  to  have  him  taught  as  near  this 
way  as  may  be — which  is  by  taking  some  easy 
and  pleasant  book,  such  as  ^sop's  Fables, 
and  writing  the  English  translation  (made  as 
literal  as  it  can  be)  in  one  line,  and  the  Latin 
words  which  answer  each  of  them  just  over  it 
in  another.  These  let  him  read  every  day  over 
and  over  again,  till  he  perfectly  understands 
the  Latin ;  and  then  go  on  to  another  fable,  till 
he  be  also  perfect  in  that,  not  omitting  what  he 
is  already  perfect  in,  but  sometimes  reviewing 
that,  to  keep  it  in  his  memory ;  and  when  he 
comes  to  write,  let  these  be  set  him  for  copies, 
which,  with  the  exercise  of  his  hand,  will  also 
advance  him  in  Latin.  This  being  a  more  im- 
perfect way  than  by  talking  Latin  unto  him, 
the  formation  of  the  verbs  first,  and  afterwards 
the  declensions  of  the  nouns  and  pronouns 
perfectly  learned  by  heart,  may  facilitate  his 
acquaintance  with  the  genius  and  manner  of 

♦  In  addition  to  the  other  needless  difficulties  and  mise- 
ries entailed  upon  children  who  are  learning  lancuages, 
their  Greek  Lexicons  eive  a  Latin  instead  of  an  English 
translation  ;  and  a  boy  of  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of 
age,  whose  attainments  in  Latin  are  of  course  hut  mode- 
rate, is  expected  to  make  it  the  vehicle  of  knowledge 
for  other  languages.  This  is  setting  the  short-sighted 
and  hlear-eyed  to  lead  the  blind;  and  is  one  of  those 
afflicting  pieces  of  absurdity  which  escape  animadver- 
eion,  because  they  are,  and  have  long  been,  of  daily  oc- 
currence. Mr.  Jones  has  published  an  English  and 
Greek  Lexicon,  which  we  recommend  to  the  notice  of  all 
persons  engaged  in  education,  and  not  sacramented 
against  all  improvement. 


the  Latin  tongue,  which  varies  the  significa- 
tion of  verbs  and  nouns,  not  as  the  modern 
languages  do,  by  particles  prefixed,  but  by 
changing  the  last  syllables.  More  than  this  of 
grammar  I  think  he  need  not  have  till  he  can 
read  himself  '  Sanctii  Minerva' — with  Sciop- 
pius  and  Perigonius's  notes." — Locke  on  Edu- 
cation, p.  74,  folio. 

Another  recommendation  which  we  have  not 
mentioned  in  the  Hamiltonian  system  is,  that  it 
can  be  combined,  and  is  constantly  combined, 
with  the  system  of  Lancaster.  The  Key  is  pro- 
bably sufficient  for  those  who  have  no  access  to 
classes  and  schools :  but  in  an  Hamiltonian 
school  during  the  lesson,  it  is  not  left  to  the  op- 
tion of  the  child  to  trust  to  the  Key  alone.  The 
master  stands  in  the  middle,  translates  accurate- 
ly and  literally  the  whole  verse,  and  then  asks 
the  boys  the  English  of  separate  words,  or  chal- 
lenges them  to  join  the  words  together,  as  he 
has  done.  A  perpetual  attention  and  activity 
is  thus  kept  up.  The  master,  or  a  scholar 
(turned  into  a  temporary  Lancasterian  master), 
acts  as  a  living  lexicon ;  and,  if  the  thing  is 
well  done,  as  a  lively  and  animating  lexicon. 
How  is  it  possible  to  compare  this  with  the 
solitary  wretchedness  of  a  poor  lad  of  the  desk 
and  lexicon,  suffocated  with  the  nonsense  of 
grammarians,  overwhelmed  with  every  species 
of  diificulty  disproportioned  to  his  age,  and 
driven  by  despair  to  peg  top  or  marbles  1 

"Taking  these  principles  as  a  basis,  the 
teacher  forms  his  class  of  eight,  ten,  twenty  or 
one  hundred.  The  number  is  of  little  moment, 
it  being  as  easy  to  teach  a  greater  as  a  smaller 
one,  and  brings  them  at  once  to  the  language 
itself,  by  reciting,  with  a  loud  articulate  voice, 
the  first  verse  thtts  : — In  in,  principio  in  begin- 
ning, Verbum  Word,  erat  was,  et  and,  Verbum 
Word,  erat  was,  apud  at,  Deum  God,  et  and, 
Verbum  Word,  erat  was,  Deus  God.  Having 
recited  the  verse  once  or  twice  himself,  it  is 
then  recited  precisely  in  the  same  manner  by 
any  person  of  the  class  whom  he  may  judge 
most  capable  ;  the  person  copying;  his  manner 
and  intonations  as  much  as  possible. — When 
the  verse  has  been  thus  recited,  \>y  six  or  eight 
persons  of  the  class,  the  teacher  recites  the  2d 
verse  in  the  same  manner,  which  is  recited  as 
the  former  by  any  members  of  the  class  ;  and 
thus  continues  until  he  has  recited  from  ten  to 
twelve  verses,  which  usually  constitute  the  first 
lesson  of  one  hour. — In  three  lessons,  the  first 
Chapter  may  be  thus  readily  translated,  the 
teacher  gradually  diminishing  the  number  of 
repetitions  of  the  same  verse  till  the  fourth 
lesson,  when  each  member  of  the  class  trans- 
lates his  verse  in  turn  from  the  mouth  of  the 
teacher ;  from  which  period,  fifty,  sixty,  or  even 
seventy,  verses  may  be  translated  in  the  time 
of  a  lesson,  or  one  "hour.  At  the  seventh  lesson, 
it  is  invariably  found  that  the  class  can  trans- 
late without  the  assistance  of  the  teacher,  far- 
ther than  for  occasional  correction,  and  for 
those  words  which  they  may  not  have  met  in 
the  preceding  chapters.  But,  to  accomplish 
this,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  every  mem- 
ber of  the  class  know  every  word  of  all  the  pre- 
ceding lessons;  which  is,  however,  an  easy 
task,  the  words  being  always  taught  him  in 
class,  and  the  pupil  besides  being  able  to  refer 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


to  the  key  whenever  he  is  at  a  loss — the  key 
translated  in  the  very  words  which  the  teacher 
has  used  in  the  class,  frona  which,  as  was  be- 
fore remarked,  he  must  never  deviate. — In  ten 
lessons,  it  will  be  found  that  the  class  can 
readily  translate  the  whole  of  the  Gospel  of 
St,  John,  which  is  called  the  first  section  of 
the  course. — Should  any  delay,  from  any  cause, 
prevent  them,  it  is  in  my  classes  always  for 
account  of  teacher,  who  gives  the  extra  lesson 
or  lessons  always  gratis. — It  cannot  be  too 
deeply  impressed  on  the  mind  of  the  pupil,  that 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  every  word  of  his  first 
section  is  most  important  to  the  ease  and  com- 
fort of  his  future  progress. — At  the  end  of  ten 
lessons,  or  first  section,  the  custom  of  my  es- 
tablishments is  to  give  the  pupil  the  Epitome 
Historias  Sacrae,  which  is  provided  with  a  key 
in  the  same  manner. — It  was  first  used  in  our 
classes  for  the  first  and  second  sections ;  we 
now  teach  it  in  one  section  of  ten  lessons, 
which  we  find  easier  than  to  teach  it  in  two 
sections  before  the  pupil  has  read  the  Testa- 
ment.— When  he  has  read  the  Epitome,  it  will 
be  then  time  to  give  him  the  theory  of  the 
verbs  and  other  words  which  change  their  ter- 
minations.— He  has  already  acquired  a  good 
practical  knowledge  of  these  things ;  the  theory 
becomes  then  very  easy. — A  grammar  contain- 
ing the  declensions  and  conjugations,  and 
printed  specially  for  my  classes,  is  then  put 
into  the  pupil's  hands,  (not  to  be  got  by  heart, 
nothing  is  ever  got  by  rote  on  this  system,) 
but  that  he  may  comprehend  more  readily  his 
teacher  who  lectures  on  grammar  generally, 
but  especially  on  the  verbs.  From  this  time, 
that  is,  from  the  beginning  of  the  third  section, 
the  pupil  studies  the  theory  and  construction 
of  the  language  as  well  as  its  practice.  For 
this  purpose  he  reads  the  ancient  authors,  be- 
ginning with  Caesar,  which,  together  with  the 
Selecta  e  Profanis,  fills  usefully  the  third  and 
fourth  sections.  When  these  with  the  preced- 
ing books  are  well  known,  the  pupil  will  find 
little  difficulty  in  reading  the  authors  usually 
read  in  schools.  The  Jifth  and  sixth  sections 
consist  of  Virgil  and  Horace,  enough  of  which 
is  read  to  enable  the  pupil  to  read  them  with 
facility,  and  to  give  him  correct  ideas  of  Pro- 
sody and  Versification.  Five  or  six  months, 
with  mutual  attention  on  the  part  of  the  pupil 
and  teacher,  will  be  found  sufficient  to  acquire 
a  knowledge  of  this  language,  which  hitherto 
has  rarely  been  the  result  of  as  many  years." 

We  have  before  said,  that  the  Hamiltonian 
system  must  not  depend  upon  Mr.  Hamilton's 
method  of  carrying  it  into  execution;  for  in- 
stance, he  banishes  from  his  schools  the  effects 
of  emulation.  The  boys  do  not  take  each 
other's  places.  This,  we  think,  is  a  sad  ab- 
surdity. A  cook  might  as  well  resolve  to 
make  bread  without  fermentation,  as  a  peda- 
gogue to  carry  on  a  school  without  emulation. 
It  must  be  a  sad  doughy  lump  without  this 
vivifying  principle.  Why  are  boys  to  be  shut 
out  from  a  class  of  feelings  to  which  society 
owes  so  much,  and  upon  which  their  conduct 
in  future  life  must  (if  they  are  worth  any 
thing)  be  so  closely  consti-ucted  1  Poet  A 
writes  verses  to  outshine  poet  B.  Philosopher 
C  sets  up  roasting   Titanium,  and   boiling 


Chromium,  that  he  may  be  thought  more  of 
than  philosopher  D.  Mr.  Jackson  strives  to 
out-paint  Sir  Thomas  ;  Sir  Thomas  Lethbridge 
to  overspeak  Mr.  Canning ;  and  so  society 
gains  good  chemists,  poets,  painters,  speakers, 
and  orators ;  and  why  are  not  boys  to  be  emu« 
lous  as  well  as  men  1 

If  a  boy  were  in  Paris,  would  he  learn  the 
language  better  by  shutting  himself  up  to  read 
French  books  with  a  dictionary,  or  by  con- 
versing freely  with  all  whom  he  met?  and 
what  is  conversation  but  an  Hamiltonian 
school?  Every  man  you  meet  is  a  living 
lexicon  and  grammar — who  is  perpetually 
changing  your  English  into  French,  and  per- 
petually instructing  you,  in  spite  of  yourself, 
in  the  terminations  of  French  substantives 
and  verbs.  The  analogy  is  still  closer,  if  you 
converse  with  persons  of  whom  you  can  ask 
questions,  and  who  will  be  at  the  trouble  of 
correcting  you.  What  madness  would  it  be' 
to  run  away  from  these  pleasing  facilities,  as 
too  dangerously  easy — to  stop  your  ears,  to 
double-lock  the  door,  and  to  look  out  chickens, 
taking  a  walk,  and  Ji7ie  weather,  in  Boyer's 
Dictionary — and  then,  by  the  help  of  Cham- 
baud's  Grammar,  to  construct  a  sentence  which 
should  signify,  "Come  to  my  house,  and  eat 
some  chickens,  if  it  is  fine?"  But  there  is  in 
England  almost  a  love  of  difficulty  and  need- 
less labour.  We  are  so  resolute  and  industri- 
ous in  raising  up  impediments  which  ought  to 
be  overcome,  that  there  is  a  sort  of  suspicion 
against  the  removal  of  these  impediments, 
and  a  notion  that  the  advantage  is  not  fairly 
come  by  without  the  previous  toil.  If  the 
English  were  in  a  paradise  of  spontaneous 
productions,  they  would  continue  to  dig  and 
plough,  though  they  were  never  a  peach  nor  a 
pine-apple  the  better  for  it. 

A  principal  point  to  attend  to  in  the  Hamil- 
tonian system,  is  the  prodigious  number  of 
words  and  phrases  which  pass  through  the 
boy's  mind,  compared  with  those  which  are 
presented  to  him  by  the  old  plan.  As  a  talka- 
tive boy  learns  French  sooner  in  France  than 
a  silent  boy,  so  a  translator  of  books  learns 
sooner  to  construe,  the  more  he  translates. 
An  Hamiltonian  makes,  in  six  or  seven  les- 
sons, three  or  four  hundred  times  as  many 
exchanges  of  English  for  French  or  Latin,  as 
a  grammar  schoolboy  can  do ;  and  if  he  loses 
50  per  cent,  of  all  he  hears,  his  progress  is 
still,  beyond  all  possibility  of  comparison, 
more  rapid. 

As  for  pronunciation  of  living  languages, 
we  see  no  reason  why  that  consideration  should 
be  introduced  in  this  place.  We  are  decidedly 
of  opinion,  that  all  living  languages  are  best 
learned  in  the  country  where  they  are  spoken, 
or  by  living  with  those  who  come  from  that 
country ;  but  if  that  cannot  be,  Mr.  Hamilton's 
method  is  better  than  the  grammar  and  dic- 
tionary method.  Cseteris  paribus,  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton's method,  as  far  as  French  is  concerned, 
would  be  better  in  the  hands  of  a  Frenchman, 
and  his  Italian  method  in  the  hands  of  an 
Italian ;  but  all  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
system. 

"  Have  I  read  through  Lilly? — ^have  I  learned 
by  heart  that  most  atrocious  momument  of 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


237 


absurdity,  the  Westminster  Grammar  1 — have 
I  been  whipt  fc"  the  substantives  1 — whipt  for 
the  verbs  1 — and  whipt  for  and  with  the  inter- 
jections ■? — have  I  picked  the  sense  slowly, 
and  word  by  word,  out  of  Hederickl — and 
shall  my  son  Daniel  be  exempt  from  all  this 
misery"! — Shall  a  little  unknown  person  in 
Cecil  Street,  Strand,  No.  25,  pretend  to  tell  me 
that  all  this  is  unnecessary  1 — Was  it  possible 
that  I  might  have  been  spared  all  this  1 — The 
■whole  system  is  nonsense,  and  the  man  an 
impostor.  If  there  had  been  any  truth  in  it,  it 
must  have  occurred  to  some  one  else  before 
this  period." — This  is  a  very  common  style  of 
observation  upon  Mr.  Hamilton's  system,  and 
by  no  means  an  uncommon  wish  of  the 
mouldering  and  decaying  part  of  mankind, 
that  the  next  generation  should  not  enjoy  any 
advantages  from  which  they  themselves  have 
been  precluded. — "Av,  ay,  Ws  all  mighty  well — 
but  I  went  through  this  myself,  and  I  am  deter- 
mined my  children  shall  do  the  same,"  We  are 
convinced  that  a  great  deal  of  opposition  to 
improvement  proceeds  from  this  principle. 
Crabbe  might  make  a  good  picture  of  an  un- 
benevolent  old  man,  slowly  retiring  from  this 
sublunary  scene,  and  lamenting  that  the  com- 
ing race  of  men  would  be  less  bumped  on  the 
roads,  better  lighted  in  the  streets,  and  less 
tormented  with  grammars  and  lexicons,  than 
in  the  preceding  age.  A  great  deal  of  compli- 
ment to  the  wisdom  of  ancestors,  and  a  great 
degree  of  alarm  at  the  dreadful  spirit  of  inno- 
vation, are  soluble  into  mere  jealousy  and 
envy. 

But  what  is  to  become  of  a  boy  who  has  no 
difficulties  to  grapple  with  1  How  enervated 
will  that  understanding  be,  to  which  every 
thing  is  made  so  clear,  plain,  and  easy; — no 
hills  to  walk  up,  no  chasms  to  step  over ;  every 
thing  graduated,  soft,  and  smooth.  All  this, 
however,  is  an  objection  to  the  multiplication 
table,  to  Napier's  bones,  and  to  every  invention 
for  the  abridgment  of  human  labour.  There 
is  no  dread  of  any  lack  of  difficulties.  Abridge 
intellectual  labour  by  any  process  you  please — 
multiply  mechanical  powers  to  any  extent — 
there  will  be  sufficient,  and  infinitely  more 
than  sufficient,  of  laborious  occupation  for  the 
mind  and  body  of  man.  Why  is  the  boy  to  be 
idle  ■? — By  and  by  comes  the  book  without  a 
key;  by  and  by  comes  the  lexicon.  They  do 
come  at  last — though  at  a  better  period.  But 
if  they  did  not  come — if  they  were  useless,  if 
language  could  be  attained  without  them — 
would  any  human  being  wish  to  retain  diffi- 
culties for  their  own  sake,  which  led  to  nothing 
useful,  and  by  the  annihilation  of  which  our 
faculties  were  left  to  be  exercised,  by  diffi- 
culties which  do  lead  to  something  useful — by 
mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  and  every 
branch  of  useful  knowledge?  Can  any  one 
be  so  anserous  as  to  suppose,  that  the  faculties 
of  young  men  cannot  be  exercised,  and  their 
industrj"^  and  activity  called  into  proper  action, 
because  Mr.  Hamilton  teaches,  in  three  or  four 
years,  what  has  (in  a  more  vicious  system) 
demanded  seven  or  eight?  Besides,  even  in 
the  Hamiltonian  method  it  is  very  easy  for 
one  boy  to  outstrip  another.  Why  may  not  a 
clever  and  ambitious  boy  employ  three  hours 


upon  his  key  by  himself,  while  another  boy 
has  only  employed  one  1  There  is  plenty  of 
corn  to  thrash,  and  of  chaff  to  be  winnowed 
away,  in  Mr.  Hamilton's  system ;  the  differ- 
ence is,  that  every  blow  tells,  because  it  is 
properly  directed.  In  the  old  way,  half  their 
force  was  lost  in  air.  There  is  a  mighty  fool- 
ish apophthegm  of  Dr.  Bell's,*  that  it  is  not 
what  is  done  for  a  boy  that  is  of  importance, 
but  what  a  boy  does  for  himself.  This  is  just 
as  wise  as  to  say,  that  it  is  not  the  breeches 
which  are  made  for  a  boy  that  can  cover  his 
nakedness,  but  the  breeches  he  makes  for 
himself.  All  this  entirely  depends  upon  a 
comparison  of  the  time  saved,  by  showing  the 
boy  how  to  do  a  thing,  rather  than  by  leaving 
him  to  do  it  for  himself.  Let  the  object  be,  for 
example,  to  make  a  pair  of  shoes.  The  boy 
will  effect  this  object  much  better  if  you  show 
him  how  to  make  the  shoes,  than  if  you  merely 
give  him  wax,  thread,  and  leather,  and  leave 
him  to  find  out  all  the  ingenious  abridgments 
of  labour  which  have  been  discovered  by 
experience.  The  object  is  to  turn  Latin  into 
English.  The  scholar  will  do  it  much  better 
and  sooner  if  the  word  is  found  for  him,  than 
if  he  finds  it — much  better  and  sooner  if  you 
point  out  the  effect  of  the  terminations,  and 
the  nature  of  the  syntax,  than  if  you  leave  him 
to  detect  them  for  himself.  The  thing  is  at 
last  done  by  the  pupil  himself— for  he  reads  the 
language — which  was  the  thing  to  be  done. 
All  the  help  he  has  received  has  only  enabled 
him  to  make  a  more  economical  use  of  his 
time,  and  to  gain  his  end  sooner.  Never  be 
afraid  of  wanting  difficulties  for  your  pupil; 
if  means  are  rendered  more  easy,  more  will 
be  expected.  The  animal  will  be  compelled, 
or  induced  to  do  all  that  he  can  do.  Macadam 
has  made  the  roads  better.  Dr.  Bell  would 
have  predicted,  that  the  horses  would  get  too 
fat ;  but  the  actual  result  is,  that  they  are  com- 
pelled to  go  ten  miles  an  hour  instead  of  eight. 
"  For  teaching  children,  this,  too,  I  think  is 
to  be  observed,  that,  in  most  cases,  where  they 
stick,  they  are  not  to  be  farther  puzzled,  by 
putting  them  upon  finding  it  out  themselves ; 
as  by  asking  such  questions  as  these,  viz. — 
which  is  the  nominative  case  in  the  sentence 
they  are  to  construe?  or  demanding  what 
'aufero'  signifies,  to  lead  them  to  the  know- 
ledge what  'abstulere'  signifies,  &c.,  when 
they  cannot  readily  tell.  This  wastes  time 
only  in  disturbing  them ;  for  whilst  they  are 
learning,  and  apply  themselves  with  attention, 
they  are  to  be  kept  in  good  humour,  and  every 
thing  made  easy  to  them,  and  as  pleasant  as 
possible.  Therefore,  wherever  they  are  at  a 
stand,  and  are  willing  to  go  forwards,  help 
them  presently  over  the  difficulty,  without  any 
rebuke  or  chiding;  remembering  that,  where 
harsher  ways  are  taken,  they  are  the  effect 
only  of  pride  and  peevishness  in  the  teacher, 
who  expects  children  should  instantly  be  mas 
ters  of,  as  much  as  he  knows ;  whereas  he 
should  rather  consider,  that  his  business  is  to 
settle  in  them  habits,  not  angrily  to  inculcate 
rules." — Locke  on  Education,  p.  74. 


♦  A  very  foolish  old  gentleman,  seized  on  eagerly  by 
the  Church  of  England  to  deflraud  Lancaster  of  hi« 
discovery. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Suppose  the  first  five  books  of  Herodotus  to 
be  acquired  by  a  key,  or  literal  translation 
after  the  method  of  Hamilton,  so  that  the  pupil 
could  construe  them  with  the  greatest  accura- 
cy;— we  do  not  pretend,  because  the  pupil 
could  construe  this  book,  that  he  could  construe 
any  other  book  equally  easy;  we  merely  say, 
that  the  pupil  has  acquired,  by  these  means,  a 
certain  copia  vcrborum,  and  a  certain  practical 
knowledge  of  grammar,  which  must  materially 
diminish  the  difficulty  of  reading  the  next 
book;  that  his  difficulties  diminish  in  a  com- 
pound ratio  with  every  fresh  book  he  reads 
with  a  key — till  at  last  he  reads  any  common 
book,  without  a  key — and  that  he  attains  this 
last  point  of  perfection  in  a  time  incomparably 
less,  and  with  difiiculties  incomparably  smaller, 
than  in  the  old  method. 

There  are  a  certain  number  of  French  books, 
■which  when  a  boy  can  construe  accurately,  he 
may  be  said,  for  all  purposes  of  reading,  to  be 
master  of  the  French  language.  No  matter 
how  he  has  attained  this  power  of  construing 
the  books.  If  you  try  him  thoroughly,  and  are 
persuaded  he  is  perfectly  master  of  the  books — 
then  he  possesses  the  power  in  question — he 
understands  the  language.  Let  these  books, 
for  the  sake  of  the  question,  be  Telemachus, 
the  History  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  Henriade,  the 
Plays  of  Racine,  and  the  Revolutions  of  Ver- 
tot.  We  would  have  Hamiltonian  keys  to  all 
these  books,  and  the  Lancasterian  method  of 
instruction.  We  believe  these  books  would 
be  mastered  in  one-sixth  part  of  the  time, 
by  these  means,  that  they  would  be  by  the 
old  method  of  looking  out  the  words  in  the 
dictionary,  and  then  coming  to  say  the  lesson 
to  the  master ;  and  we  believe  that  the  boys, 
long  before  they  came  to  the  end  of  this 
series  of  books,  would  be  able  to  do  without 
their  keys — to  fling  away  their  cork-jackets, 
and  to  swim  alone.  But  boys  who  learn  a 
language  in  four  or  five  months,  it  is  said, 
are  apt  to  forget  it  again.  Why,  then,  does 
not  a  young  person,  who  has  been  five  or 
six  months  in  Paris,  forget  his  French  four  or 
five  years  afterwards  1  It  has  been  obtained 
without  any  of  that  labour,  which  the  objectors 
to  the  Hamiltonian  system  deem  to  be  so  essen- 
tial to  memory.  It  has  been  obtained  in  the 
midst  of  tea  and  bread  and  butter,  and  yet  is 
in  a  great  measure  retained  for  a  whole  life. 
In  the  same  manner,  the  pupils  of  this  new 
school  use  a  colloquial  living  dictionary,  and, 
from  every  principle  of  youthful  emulation, 
contend  with  each  other  in  catching  the  inter- 
pretation, and  in  applying  to  the  lesson  before 
them. 

"  If  you  wish  boys  to  remember  any  lan- 
guage, make  the  acquisition  of  it  very  tedious 
and  disgusting."  This  seems  to  be  an  odd 
rule  :  but  if  it  is  good  for  language,  it  must  be 
good  also  for  every  species  of  knowledge — 
music,  mathematics,  navigation,  architecture. 
In  all  these  sciences  aversion  shoul4  be  the 
parent  of  memory — impediment  the  cause  of 
perfection.  If  difficulty  is  the  cause  of  memo- 
ry, the  boy  who  learns  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty will  remember  with  the  greatest  tenacity ; 
— in  other  words,  the  acquisitions  of  a  dunce 
■will  be  gi'eater  and  more  important  than  those 


of  a  clever  boy.  Where  is  the  love  of  diffi- 
culty to  endl  Why  not  leave  a  boy  to  com- 
pose his  own  dictionary  and  grammar  1  It  is 
not  what  is  done  for  a  boy,  but  what  he  does 
for  himself,  that  is  of  any  importance.  Are 
there  difficulties  enough  in  the  old  method  of 
acquiring  languages'?  Would  it  be  better  if 
the  difficulties  were  doubled,  and  thirty  years 
given  to  languages,  instead  of  fifteen  1  All 
these  arguments  presume  the  difficulty  to  be 
got  over,  and  then  the  memory  to  be  improved. 
But  what  if  the  difficulty  is  shrunk  from? 
What  if  it  puts  an  end  to  power,  instead  of 
increasing  it;  and  extinguishes,  instead  of  ex- 
citing, application  ?  And  when  th°se  effects 
are  produced,  you  not  only  preclude  all  hopes 
of  learning,  or  language,  but  you  put  an  end 
for  ever  to  all  literary  habits,  and  to  all  im- 
provements from  study.  The  boy  who  is  lexi- 
con-struck in  early  youth  looks  upon  all  books 
afterwards  with  horror,  and  goes  over  to  the 
blockheads.  Every  boy  would  be  pleased  with 
books,  and  pleased  with  school,  and  be  glad  to 
forward  the  views  of  his  parents,  and  obtain 
the  praise  of  his  master,  if  he  found  it  possible 
to  make  tolerably  easy  progress ;  but  he  is 
driven  to  absolute  despair  by  gerunds,  and 
wishes  himself  dead  !  Progress  is  pleasure — 
activity  is  pleasure.  It  is  impossible  for  a  boy 
not  to  make  progress,  and  not  to  be  active  in 
the  Hamiltonian  method;  and  this  pleasing 
state  of  mind  we  contend  to  be  more  favourable 
to  memory,  than  the  languid,  jaded  spirit  which 
much  commerce  with  lexicons  never  fails  to 
produce. 

Translations  are  objected  to  in  schools  justly 
enough,  when  they  are  paraphrases  and  not 
translations.  It  is  impossible,  from  a  para- 
phrase or  very  loose  translation,  to  make  any 
useful  progress — they  retard  rather  than  acce- 
lerate a  knowledge  of  the  language  to  be  ac- 
quired, and  are  the  principal  causes  of  the 
discredit  into  which  translations  have  been 
brought,  as  instruments  of  education. 

Infandum  Regina  jubes  renovare  dolorem. 
Regina,  jubes  renovare  dolorem  infandum. 

Oh  !  Queen,  thou  orderest  to  renew  grief  not  to  be  spoken  of. 

Oh  !  Queen,  in  pursuance  of  your  commands,  I  enter 
upon  the  narrative  of  misfortunes  almost  too  great  for 
utterance. 

The  first  of  these  translations  leads  us  di- 
rectly to  the  explication  of  a  foreign  language, 
as  the  latter  insures  a  perfect  ignorance  of  it. 

It  is  difficult  enough  to  introduce  any  useful 
novelty  in  education  without  enhancing  its 
perils  by  needless  and  untenable  paradox. 
Mr.  Hamilton  has  made  an  assertion  in  his 
Preface  to  the  Key  of  the  Italian  Gospel,  which 
has  no  kind  of  foundation  in  fact,  and  which 
has  afforded  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the  aim 
of  his  antagonists. 

"I  have  said  that  each  word  is  translated  by 
its  one  sole  undeviating  meaning,  assuming,  as 
an  incontrovertible  principle  in  all  languages, 
that,  with  very  few  exceptions,  each  word  has 
one  meaning  only,  and  can  usually  be  rendered 
correctly  into  another  by  one  word  only,  which 
one  word  should  serve  for  its  representative  at 
at  all  times  and  on  all  occasions." 

Now,  it  is  probable  that  each  word  had  ore 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


239 


meaning  only  in  its  origin  ;  but  metaphor  and 
association  are  so  busy  with  human  speech, 
that  the  same  word  comes  to  serve  in  a  vasi 
variety  of  senses,  and  continues  to  do  so  long 
after  the  metaphors  and  associations  which 
called  it  into  this  state  of  activity  are  buried 
in  oblivion.  Why  may  not  jubeo  be  translated 
order  as  well  as  command,  or  dolorem  rendered 
grief  as  well  as  sorroiv?  Mr.  Hamilton  has  ex- 
pressed himself  loosel)' ;  but  he  perhaps  means 
no  more  than  to  say,  that  in  school  translations, 
the  metaphysical  meaning  should  never  be 
adopted,  when  the  word  can  be  rendered  by  its 
primary  signification.  We  shall  allow  him, 
however,  to  detail  his  own  method  of  making 
the  translation  in  question. 

"Translations  on  the  Hamiltonian  system, 
according  to  which  this  book  is  translated, 
must  not  be  confounded  with  translations  made 
according  to  Locke,  Clarke,  Sterling,  or  even 
according  to  Dumarsais,  Fremont,  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  Frenchmen,  who  have  made  what 
have  been  and  are  yet  sometimes  called 
literal,  and  interlineal  translations.  The  latter 
are,  indeed,  interlineal,  but  no  literal  translation 
had  ever  appeared  in  any  language  before 
those  called  Hamiltonian,  that  is,  before  my 
Gospel  of  St.  John  from  the  French,  the  Greek, 
and  Latin  Gospels,  published  in  London,  and 
L'Hommond's  Epitome  of  the  Historia  Sacra. 
These  and  these  only  were  and  are  truly 
literal;  that  is  to  say,  that  every  word  is  ren- 
dered in  English  by  a  corresponding  part  of 
speech,  that  the  grammatical  analysis  of  the 
phrase  is  never  departed  from ;  that  the  case 
of  every  noun,  pronoun,  adjective,  or  particle, 
and  the  mood,  tense,  and  person  of  every  verb, 
are  accurately  pointed  out  by  appropriate  and 
unchanging  signs,  so  that  a  grammarian  not 
understanding  one  word  of  Italian,  would,  on 
reading  any  part  of  the  translation  here  given, 
be  instantly  able  to  parse  it.  In  the  transla- 
tions above  alluded  to,  an  attempt  is  made  to 
preserve  the  correctness  of  the  language  into 
which  the  different  works  are  translated,  but 
the  wish  to  conciliate  this  correctness  with  a 
literal  translation,  has  only  produced  a  barba- 
rous and  uncouth  idiom,  while  it  has  in  ever}^ 
case  deceived  the  unlearned  pupil  by  a  trans- 
lation altogether  false  and  incorrect.  Such 
translations  may,  indeed,  give  an  idea  of  what 
is  contained  in  the  book  translated,  but  they 
will  not  assist,  or  at  least  very  little,  in  ena- 
bling the  pupil  to  make  out  the  exact  meaning 
of  each  word,  which  is  the  principal  object  of 
Hamiltonian  translations.  The  reader  will  un- 
derstand this  better  by  an  illustration:  A  gen- 
tleman has  lately  given  a  translation  of  Juvenal 
according  to  the  plan  of  the  above-mentioned 
authors,  beginning  with  the  words  semper  ego, 
which  he  joins  and  translates, '  shall  I  always 
be' — if  his  intention  were  to  teach  Latin  words, 
he  might  as  well  have  said,  'shall  I  always  eat 
beef-steaks  ?' — True,  there  is  nothing  about 
beef-steaks  in  semper  ego,  but  neither  is  there 
about  '  shall  be :'  the  whole  translation  is  on 
the  same  plan,  that  is  to  say,  that  there  is  not 
one  line  of  it  correct,  I  had  almost  said  one 
word,  on  which  the  pupil  can  rely,  as  the  exact 
equivalent  in  English  of  the  Latin  word  above 
it.    Not  so  the  translation  here  given. 


"As  the  object  of  the  author  has  been  that 
the  pupil  should  know  every  word  as  well  as 
he  knows  it  himself,  he  has  uniformly  given  it 
the  one  sole,  precise  meaning  which  it  has  in 
our  language,  sacrificing  everywhere  the 
beauty,  the  idiom,  and  the  correctness  of  the 
English  language  to  the  original,  in  order  to 
show  the  perfect  idiom,  phraseology,  and  pic- 
ture of  that  original  as  in  a  glass.  So  far  is 
this  carried,  that  where  the  English  language 
can  express  the  precise  meaning  of  the  Italian 
phrase  only  by  a  barbarism,  this  barbarism  is 
employed  without  scruple — as  thus,  'e  le  tene- 
bre  non  I'hanno  ammessa.' — Here  the  word 
tenebre  being  plural,  if  you  translate  it  dark- 
ness, you  not  only  give  a  false  translation  of 
the  word  itself,  which  is  used  by  the  Italians 
in  the  plural  number,  but  what  is  much  more 
important,  you  lead  the  pupil  into  an  error 
about  its  government,  it  being  the  nominative 
case  to  hanno,  which  is  the  third  person  plural; 
it  is  therefore  translated  not  darkness,  but 
darknesses." 

To  make  these  keys  perfect,  we  rather  think 
there  should  be  a  free  translation  added  to  the 
literal  one.  Not  a  paraphrase,  but  only  so 
free  as  to  avoid  any  awkward  or  barbarous 
expression.  The  comparison  between  the 
free  and  the  literal  translation  would  immedi- 
ately show  to  young  people  the  peculiarities 
of  the  language  in  which  they  were  engaged. 

Literal  translation  or  key — Oh  !  Queen,  thou 
orderest  me  to  renew  grief  not  to  be  spoken  of. 

Free — "  Oh  !  Queen,  thou  orderest  me  to 
renew  my  grief,  too  great  for  utterance." 

The  want  of  this  accompanying  free  trans- 
lation is  not  felt  in  keys  of  the  Scriptures, 
because,  in  fact,  the  English  Bible  is  a  free 
translation,  great  part  of  which  the  scholar 
remembers.  But  in  a  work  entirely  unknown, 
of  which  a  key  was  given,  as  full  of  awkward 
and  barbarous  expressions  as  a  key  certainly 
ought  to  be,  a  scholar  might  be  sometimes 
puzzled  to  arrive  at  the  real  sense.  We  say 
as  full  of  awkward  and  barbarous  expressions 
as  it  ought  to  be,  because  we  thoroughly  ap- 
prove of  Mr.  Hamilton's  plan,  of  always 
sacrificing  English  and  elegance  to  sense, 
when  they  cannot  be  united  in  the  key.  We 
are  rather  sorry  Mr.  Hamilton's  first  essay  has 
been  in  a  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  because 
every  child  is  so  familiar  with  them,  that  it 
may  be  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  ap- 
parent progress  is  ancient  recollection  or 
recent  attainment ;  and  because  the  Scriptures 
are  so  full  of  Hebraisms  and  Syriacisms,  and 
the  language  so  different  from  that  of  Greek 
authors,  that  it  does  not  secure  a  knowledge  of 
the  language  equivalent  to  the  time  employed 
upon  it. 

The  keys  hitherto  published  by  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton are  the  Greek,  Latin,  French,  Italian,  and 
German  keys  to  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  Per- 
rin's  Fables,  Latin  Historia  Sacra,  Latm, 
French,  and  Italian  Grammar,  and  Studia 
Metrica.  One  of  the  difficulties  under  which 
the  system  is  labouring,  is  a  want  of  more 
keys.  Some  of  the  best  Greek  and  Roman 
classics  should  be  immediately  published,  with 
keys,  and  by  Very  good  scholars.  We  shall 
now  lay  before  our  readers  an  extract  from 


m 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


one  of  the  public  papers  respecting  the  pro- 
gress made  ia  the  Hamiltonian  schools. 

"  Extract  from  the  Morning  Chronicle  of  Wed- 
nesday, November,  I6th,  1825. — Hamiltonian 
System. — We  yesterday  were  present  at  an 
examination  of  eight  lads  who  have  been  under 
Mr.  Hamilton  since  some  time  in  the  month  of 
May  last,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  efficacy 
of  his  system  in  communicating  a  knowledge 
of  languages.  These  eight  lads,  all  of  them 
between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  fourteen,  are 
the  children  of  poor  people,  who,  when  they 
■were  first  placed  under  Mr.  Hamilton,  pos- 
sessed no  other  instruction  than  common 
reading  and  writing.  They  were  obtained 
from  a  common  country  school,  through  the 
interposition  of  a  member  of  Parliament,  who 
takes  an  active  part  in  promoting  charity 
schools  throughout  the  country  ;  and  the 
choice  was  determined  by  the  consent  of  the 
parents,  and  not  by  the  cleverness  of  the  boys. 

"They  have  been  employed  in  learning 
Latin,  French,  and  latterly  Italian ;  and  yes- 
terday they  were  examined  by  several  distin- 
guished individuals,  among  whom  we  recog- 
nized John  Smith,  Esq.  M.  P. ;  G.  Smith,  Esq. 
M.  P.;  Mr.  J.  Mill,  the  historian  of  British 
India;  Major  Camac;  Major  Thompson ;  Mr. 
Cowell,  &c.  &c.  They  first  read  different 
portions  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  in  Latin, 
and  of  Caesar's  Commentaries,  selected  by  the 
visitors.  The  translation  was  executed  with 
an  ease  which  it  would  be  in  vain  to  expect 
in  any  of  the  boys  who  attend  our  common 
schools,  even  in  their  third  or  fourth  year; 
and  proved,  that  the  principle  of  exciting  the 
attention  of  boys  to  the  utmost,  during  the 
process  by  which  the  meaning  of  the  words  is 
fixed  in  their  memory,  had  given  them  a  great 
familiarity  with  so  much  of  the  language  as  is 
contained  in  the  books  above  alluded  to.  Their 
knowledge  of  the  parts  of  speech  was  respect- 
able, but  not  so  remarkable ;  as  the  Hamilto- 
nian system  follows  the  natural  mode  of 
acquiring  language,  and  only  employs  the 
boys  in  analyzing,  when  they  have  already 
attained  a  certain  familiarity  with  any  lan- 
guage. 

"The  same  experiments  were  repeated  in 
French  and  Italian  with  the  same  success, 
and,  upon  the  whole,  we  cannot  but  think  the 
success  has  been  complete.  It  is  impossible 
to  conceive  a  more  impartial  mode  of  putting 
any  system  to  the  test,  than  to  make  such  an 
experiment  on  the  children  of  our  peasantry." 

Into  the  truth  of  this  statement  we  have 
personally  inquired,  and  it  seems  to  us  to 
have  fallen  short  of  the  facts,  from  the  laud- 
able fear  of  overstating  them.  The  lads 
selected  for  the  experiment  were  parish  boys 
of  the  most  ordinary  description,  reading  Eng- 
lish worse  than  Cumberland  curates,  and 
totally  ignorant  of  the  rudiments  of  any  other 
language.  They  were  purposely  selected  for 
the  experiment  by  a  gentleman  who  defrayed 
its  expense,  and  who  had  the  strongest  desire 
to  put  strictly  to  the  test  the  efficacy  of  the 
Hamiltonian  system.  The  experiment  was 
begun  the  middle  of  May,  1825,  and  concluded 
on  the  day  of  November  in  the  same  year 


mentioned  in  the  extract,  exactly  six  months 
after.  The  Latin  books  set  before  them  were 
the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  and  parts  of  Caesar's 
Commentaries ;  some  Italian  book  or  books 
(what  we  know  not),  and  a  selection  of  French 
histories.  The  visitors  put  the  boys  on  where 
they  pleased,  and  the  translation  was  (as  the 
reporter  says)  executed  with  an  ease  which  il 
would  be  vain  to  expect  in  any  of  the  boys 
who  attend  our  common  schools,  even  in  their 
third  or  fourth  year.* 

From  experiments  and  observations  which 
have  fallen  under  our  own  notice,  we  do  not 
scruple  to  make  the  following  assertions.  If 
there  were  keys  to  the  four  Gospels,  as  there 
is  to  that  of  St.  John,  any  boy  or  girl  of  thirteen 
years  of  age,  and  of  moderate  capacity,  study- 
ing four  hours  a  day,  and  beginning  with  an 
utter  ignorance  even  of  the  Greek  character, 
would  learn  to  construe  the  four  Gospels  with 
the  most  perfect  and  scrupulous  accuracy,  iri 
six  weeks.  Some  children,  utterly  ignorant 
of  French  or  Italian,  would  learn  to  construe 
the  four  Gospels,  in  either  of  these  languages, 
in  three  weeks ;  the  Latin  in  four  weeks  ;  the 
German  in  five  weeks.  We  believe  they 
would  do  it  in  a  class ;  but  not  to  run  any 
risks,  we  will  presume  a  master  to  attend 
upon  one  student  alone  for  these  periods.  We 
assign  a  master  principally,  because  the  ap- 
plication of  a  solitar}  boy  at  that  age  could 
not  be  depended  upon;  but  if  the  sedulity  of 
the  child  were  certain,  he  would  do  it  nearly 
as  well  alone.  A  greater  time  is  allowed  for 
German  and  Greek,  on  account  of  the  novelty 
of  the  character.  A  person  of  mature  habits, 
eager  and  energetic  in  his  pursuits,  and  read- 
ing seven  or  eight  hours  per  day,  might, 
though  utterly  ignorant  of  a  letter  of  Greek, 
learn  to  construe  the  four  Gospels,  with  the 
most  punctilious  accuracy  in  three  weeks,  by 
the  key  alone.  These  assertions  we  make, 
not  of  the  Gospels  alone,  but  of  any  tolerably 
easy  book  of  the  same  extent.  We  mean  to 
be  very  accurate  ;  but  suppose  we  are  wrong 
— add  10,  20,  30  per  cent,  to  the  time,  an 
average  boy  of  thirteen,  in  an  average  school, 
cannot  construe  the  four  Gospels  in  two  years 
from  the  time  of  his  beginning  the  language. 

All  persons  would  be  glad  to  read  a  foreign 
language,  but  all  persons  do  not  want  the  same 
scrupulous  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
grammar  which  a  great  Latin  scholar  pos- 
sesses. Many  persons  may,  and  do  derive 
great  pleasure  and  instruction  from  French, 
German,  and  Italian  books,  who  can  neither 
speak  nor  write  these  languages — who  know 
that  certain  terminations,  when  they  see  them, 
signify  present  or  past  time,  but  who^  if  they 
wished  to  signify  present  or  past  time,  could 
not  recall  these  terminations.  For  many  pur- 
poses and  objects,  therefore,  very  little  gram- 
mar is  wanting. 

The  Hamiltonian  method  begins  with  what 
all  persons  want,  a  facility  of  construing,  and 
leaves  every  scholar  to   become  afterwards 


*  We  have  left  with  the  bookseller  the  names  of  two 
gentlemen  who  have  verified  this  account  to  us,  and  who 
were  present  at  the  experiment.  Their  names  will  at 
once  put  an  end  to  all  scepticism  as  to  the  fact.  Two 
more  candid  and  enlightened  judges  could  not  be  found. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


241 


as  profound  in  grammar  as  he  (or  those  who 
educate  him)  may  choose ;  whereas  the  old 
method  aims  at  making  all  more  profound 
grammarians  than  three-fourths  wish  to  be,  or 
than  nineteen-twentieths  can  be.  One  of  the 
enormous  follies  of  the  enormously  foolish 
education  in  England,  is,  that  all  young  men 
—dukes,  fox-hunters,  and  merchants — are 
educated  as  if  they  were  to  keep  a  school,  and 
serve  a  curacy ;  while  scarcely  an  hour  in  the 
Hamiltonian  education  is  lost  for  any  variety 
of  life.  A  grocer  may  learn  enough  of  Latin 
to  taste  the  sweets  of  Virgil;  a  cavalry  officer 
may  read  and  understand  Homer,  without 
knowing  that  'iny.i  comes  from  iu>  with  a  smooth 
breathing,  and  that  it  is  formed  by  an  impro- 
per reduplication.  In  the  mean  time,  there 
is  nothing  in  that  education  which  prevents 
a  scholar  from  knowing  (if  he  wishes  to 
know)  what  Greek  compounds  draw  back 
their  accents.  He  may  trace  verbs  in  IfAi 
from  polysyllables  in  las,  or  derive  endless 
glory  from  marking  down  derivatives  in 
VTui,  changing  the  t  of  their  primitives  into 
iota. 

Thus  in  the  Hamiltonian  method,  a  good 
deal  of  grammar  necessarily  impresses  itself 
upon  the  mind  (chemin  faisanf),  as  it  does  in 
the  vernacular  tongue,  without  any  rule  at  all, 
and  merely  by  habit.  How  is  it  possible  to 
read  many  Latin  keys,  for  instance,  without 
remarking,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  that  the 
first  person  of  verbs  end  in  o,  the  second  in  s, 
the  third  in  t? — that  the  same  adjective  ends 
in  us  or  a,  accordingly  as  the  connected  sub- 
stantive is  masculine  or  feminine,  and  other 
such  gross  and  common  rules  1  An  English- 
man who  means  to  say,  I  will  go  to  London, 
does  not  say,  I  could  go  to  London.  He  never 
read  a  word  of  grammar  in  his  life;  but  he 
has  learnt  by  habit,  that  the  word  go,  signifies 
to  proceed  or  set  forth,  and  by  the  same  habit 
he  learns  that  future  intentions  are  expressed 
by  1  will ;  and  by  the  same  habit  the  Hamil- 
tonian pupil,  reading  over,  and  comprehending 
twenty  times  more  words  and  phrases  than 
the  pupil  of  the  ancient  system,  insensibly  but 
infallibly  fixes  upon  his  mind  many  rules  of 
grammar.  We  are  far  from  meaning  to  say, 
that  the  grammar  thus  acquired  will  be  suffi- 
ciently accurate  for  a  first-rate  Latin  and 
Greek  scholar;  but  there  is  no  reason  why  a 
young  person  arriving  at  this  distinction,  and 
educated  in  the  Hamiltonian  system,  may  not 
carry  the  study  of  grammar  to  any  degree  of 
minuteness  and  accuracy.  The  only  difference 
is,  that  he  begins  grammar  as  a  study,  after  he 
has  made  a  considerable  progress  in  the  lan- 
guage, and  not  before — a  very  important 
feature  in  the  Hamiltonian  system,  and  a  very 
great  improvement  in  the  education  of  chil- 
dren. 

The  imperfections  of  the  old  system  proceed 
in  a  great  measure  from  a  bad  and  improvi- 
dent accumulation  of  difficulties,  which  must 
all,  perhaps,  though  in  a  less  degree,  at  one 
time  or  another  be  encountered,  but  which  may 
be,  and  in  the  Hamiltonian  system  are,  much 
more  wisely  distributed.  A  boj'  who  sits  down 
to  Greek  with  lexicon  and  grammar,  has  to 
31 


master  an  unknown  character  of  an  unknown 
language — to  look  out  words  in  a  lexicon,  in 
the  use  of  which  he  is  inexpert — to  guess,  by 
many  trials,  in  which  of  the  numerous  senses 
detailed  in  the  lexicon  he  is  to  use  the  word — 
to  attend  to  the  inflexions  of  cases  and  tense — 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  syntax  of  the 
language — and  to  become  acquainted  with 
these  inflexions  and  this  syntax  from  books 
written  in  foreign  languages,  and  full  of  the 
most  absurd  and  barbarous  terms,  and  this  at 
the  tenderest  age,  when  the  mind  is  utterly  un- 
fit to  grapple  with  any  great  difficulty;  and 
the  boy,  who  revolts  at  all  this  folly  and  ab- 
surdity, is  set  down  for  a  dunce,  and  must  go 
into  a  marching  regiment,  or  on  board  a  man 
of  war !  The  Hamiltonian  pupil  has  his  word 
looked  out  for  him,  its  proper  sense  ascer- 
tained, the  case  of  the  substantive,  the  inflex- 
ions of  the  verb  pointed  out,  and  the  syntaxical 
arrangement  placed  before  his  eyes.  Where, 
then,  is  he  to  encounter  these  difficulties  ? 
Does  he  hope  to  escape  them  entirely?  Cer- 
tainly not,  if  it  is  his  purpose  to  become  a 
great  scholar;  but  he  will  enter  upon  them 
when  the  character  is  familiar  to  his  eye- 
when  a  great  number  of  Greek  words  are  fa 
miliar  to  his  eye  and  ear — when  he  has  practi- 
cally mastered  a  great  deal  of  grammar — • 
when  the  terminations  of  verbs  convey  to  him 
different  modifications  of  time,  the  termina- 
tions of  substantives  different  varieties  of 
circumstance — when  the  rules  of  grammar,  in 
short,  are  a  confirmation  of  previous  observa- 
tion, not  an  irksome  multitude  of  directions, 
heaped  up  without  any  opportunity  of  imme- 
diate application. 

The  real  way  of  learning  a  dead  language, 
is  to  imitate,  as  much  as  possible,  the  method 
in  which  a  living  language  is  naturally  learnt. 
When  do  we  ever  find  a  well-educated  Eng- 
lishman or  Frenchman  embarrassed  by  an 
ignorance  of  the  grammar  of  their  respective 
languages  ?  They  first  learn  it  practically 
and  unerringly;  and  then,  if  they  choose  to 
look  back  and  smile  at  the  idea  of  having 
proceeded  by  a  number  of  rules  without  know- 
ing one  of  them  by  heart,  or  being  conscious 
that  they  had  any  rule  at  all,  this  is  a  philoso- 
phical amusement:  but  whoever  thinks  of 
learning  the  grammar  of  their  own  tongue 
before  they  are  very  good  grammarians  ?  Let 
us  hear  what  Mr.  Locke  says  upon  this  sub- 
ject:— "If  grammar  ought  to  be  taught  at  any 
time,  it  must  be  to  one  that  can  speak  the 
language  already;  how  else  can  he  be  taught 
the  grammar  of  iti  This  at  least  is  evident, 
from  the  practice  of  the  wise  and  learned  na- 
tions amongst  the  ancients.  They  made  it  a 
part  of  education  to  cultivate  their  own,  not 
foreign  languages.  The  Greeks  counted  all 
other  nations  barbarous,  and  had  a  contempt 
for  their  languages.  And  though  the  Greek 
learning  grew  in  credit  amongst  the  Romans 
towards  the  end  of  their  commonwealth,  yet 
it  was  the  Roman  tongue  that  was  made  the 
study  of  their  youth :  their  own  language  they 
were  to  make  use  of,  and  therefore  it  was 
their  own  language  they  were  instructed  and 
exercised  in. 


242 


WORKS    OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


"But,  more  particularly,  to  determine  the 
proper  season  for  grammar,  I  do  not  see  how 
it  can  reasonably  be  made  any  one's  study, 
but  as  an  introduction  to  rhetoric.  When  it  is 
thought  time  to  put  any  one  upon  the  care  of 
polishing  his  tongue,  and  of  speaking  better 
than  the  illiterate,  then  is  the  time  for  him  to 
be  instructed  in  the  rules  of  grammar,  and  not 
before.  For  grammar  being  to  teach  men  not 
to  speak,  but  to  speak  correctly,  and  according 
to  the  exact  rules  of  the  tongue,  which  is  one 
part  of  elegancy,  there  is  little  use  of  the  one 
to  him  that  has  no  need  of  the  other.  Where 
rhetoric  is  not  necessary,  grammar  may  be 
spared.  I  know  not  why  any  one  should  waste 
his  time,  and  beat  his  head  about  the  Latin 
grammar,  who  does  not  intend  to  be  a  critic, 
or  make  speeches,  and  write  despatches  in  it. 
When  any  one  finds  in  himself  a  necessity  or 
disposition  to  study  any  foreign  language  to 
the  bottom,  and  to  be  nicely  exact  in  the  know- 
ledge of  it,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  take  a 
grammatical  survey  of  it.  If  his  use  of  it  be 
only  to  understand  some  books  writ  in  it, 
without  a  critical  knowledge  of  the  tongue 
itself,  reading  alone,  as  I  have  said,  will  attain 
that  end,  without  charging  the  mind  with  the 
multiplied  rules  and  intricacies  of  grammar." 
— Locke  on  Education,  p.  78,  folio. 

In  the  Eton  Grammar,  the  following  very 
plain  and  elementary  information  is  conveyed 
to  young  gentlemen  utterly  ignorant  of  every 
syllable  of  the  language  : — 

"  Nomina  anomala  quae  contrahuntur  sunt, 
'O\on-afi>i,  qu<s  contrahuntur  in  omnibus,  ut  yao; 
yout,  &c.  OKiyoTA^a,  quaj  in  paucioribus  casibus 
contrahuntur,  ut  substantiva  Barytonia  in  Cg. 
Imparyllatria  in  ot/g,"  &c.  «&c. 

From  the  Westminster  Grammar  we  make 
the  following  extract — and  some  thousand 
rules,  conveyed  in  poetry  of  equal  merit,  must 
be  fixed  upon  the  mind  of  the  youthful  Gre- 
cian, before  he  advances  into  the  interior  of 
the  language, 


"  6)  finis  thematis  finis  utriusque  futuri  est 
Post  liquidam  in  primo,  vel  in  unoquoque  secundo, 
o)  circumflexuni  est.    Ante  oj  finale  character 
Explicitus  at  primi  est  iinplicitusque  futuri 
oj  itaque  in  quo  a  quasi  plexum  est  solitu  in  o-m." 

fVestminster  Oreek  Orammar,  1814. 

Such  are  the  easy  initiations  of  our  present 
methods  of  teaching.  The  Hamiltonian  sys- 
tem, on  the  other  hand,  1.  teaches  an  unknown 
tongue  by  the  closest  interlinear  translation, 
instead  of  leaving  a  boy  to  explore  his  way  by 
the  lexicon  or  dictionary.  2.  It  postpones  the 
study  of  grammar  till  a  considerable  progress 
has  been  made  in  the  language,  and  a  great 
degree  of  practical  grammar  has  been  ac- 
quired. 3.  It  substitutes  the  cheerfulness  and 
competition  of  the  Lancasterian  system  for 
the  dull  solitude  of  the  dictionary.  By  these 
means,  a  boy  finds  he  is  making  a  progress, 
and  learning  something  from  the  very  begin- 
ning. He  is  not  overwhelmed  with  the  first 
appearance  of  insuperable  difficulties ;  he  re- 
ceives some  little  pay  from  the  first  moment 
of  his  apprenticeship,  and  is  not  compelled  to 
wait  for  remuneration  till  he  is  out  of  his 
time.  The  student  having  acquired  the  great 
art  of  imderstanding  the  sense  of  what  is 
written  in  another  tongue,  may  go  into  the 
study  of  the  language  as  deeply  and  as  exten- 
sively as  he  pleases.  The  old  system  aims  at 
beginning  with  a  depth  and  accuracy  which 
many  men  never  will  want,  which  disgusts 
many  from  arriving  even  at  moderate  attain- 
ments, and  is  a  less  easy,  and  not  more  certain 
road  to  a  profound  skill  in  languages,  than  if 
attention  to  grammar  had  been  deferred  to  a 
later  period. 

In  fine,  we  are  strongly  persuaded,  that  the 
time  being  given,  this  system  will  make  better 
scholars  ;  and  the  degree  of  scholarship  being 
given,  a  much  shorter  time  will  be  needed. 
If  there  is  any  truth  in  this,  it  will  make  Mr. 
Hamilton  one  of  the  most  useful  men  of  his 
age ;  for  if  there  is  any  thing  which  fills  re- 
flecting men  with  melancholy  and  regret,  it  is 
the  waste  of  mortal  time,  parental  money,  and 
puerile  happiness,  in  the  present  method  of 
pursuing  Latin  and  Greek. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


949 


COUNSEL  FOE  PRISONEES; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1826.] 


On  the  sixth  of  April,  1824,  Mr.  George 
Lamb  (a  gentleman  who  is  always  the  advo- 
cate of  whatever  is  honest  and  liberal)  pre- 
sented the  following  petition  from  several  jury- 
men in  the  habit  of  serving  on  juries  at  the 
Old  Bailey  :— 

"  That  your  petitioners,  fully  sensible  of  the 
invaluable  privilege  of  jury  trials,  and  desirous 
of  seeing  them  as  complete  as  human  institu- 
tions will  admit,  feel  it  their  duty  to  draw  the 
attention  of  the  House  to  the  restrictions  im- 
posed on  the  prisoner's  counsel,  which,  they 
humbly  conceive,  have  strong  claims  to  a  le- 
gislative remedy.  With  every  disposition  to 
decide  justly,  the  petitioners  have  found,  by 
experience,  in  the  course  of  their  attendances 
as  jurymen  in  the  Old  Bailey,  that  the  opening 
statements  for  the  prosecution  too  frequently 
leave  an  impression  m^re  unfavourable  to  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar  than  the  evidence  of  itself 
could  have  produced;  and  it  has  always 
sounded  harsh  to  the  petitioners  to  hear  it  an- 
nounced from  the  bench,  that  the  counsel,  to 
whom  the  prisoner  has  committed  his  defence, 
cannot  be  permitted  to  address  the  jury  in  his 
behalf,  nor  reply  to  the  charges  which  have,  or 
have  not,  been  substantiated  by  the  witnesses. 
The  petitioners  have  felt  their  situation  pe- 
culiarly painful  and  embarrassing  when  the 
prisoner's  faculties,  perhaps  surprised  by  such 
an  intimation,  are  too  much  absorbed  in  the 
difficulties  of  his  unhappy  circumstances  to 
admit  of  an  effort  towards  his  own  justifica- 
tion, against  the  statements  of  the  prosecu- 
tor's counsel,  often  unintentionally  aggravated 
through  zeal  or  misconception;  audit  is  purely 
with  a  view  to  the  attainment  of  impartial 
justice,  that  the  petitioners  humbly  submit  to 
the  serious  consideration  of  the  House  the  ex- 
pediency of  allowing  every  accused  person 
the  full  benefit  of  counsel,  as  in  cases  of  mis- 
demeanour, and  according  to  the  practice  of 
the  civil  courts." 

With  the  opinions  so  sensibly  and  properly 
expressed  by  these  jurymen,  we  most  cor- 
dially agree.  We  have  before  touched  inci- 
dentally on  this  subject;  but  shall  now  give  to 
it  a  more  direct  and  a  fuller  examination. 
We  look  upon  it  as  a  very  great  blot  in  our 
over-praised  criminal  code ;  and  no  effort  of 
ours  shall  be  wanting,  from  time  to  time,  for 
its  removal. 

We  have  now  the  benefit  of  discussing  these 
subjects  under  the  government  of  a  home  se- 
cretary of  state,  whom  we  may  (we  believe) 
fairly  call  a  wise,  honest,  and  high  principled 
man — as  he  appears  to  us,  without  wishing  for 
innovation,  or  having  any  itch  for  it,  not  to  be 
afraid  of  innovation,^  when  it  is  gra,dual  and 

*  Stockton  on  the  Practice  of  not  allowing  Counsel  for 
Prisoners  accused  of  Felony.    8vo.     London,  1826. 
f  We  must  always  except  the  Catholic  question.    Mr. 


well  considered.  He  is,  indeed,  almost  the 
only  person  we  remember  in  his  station,  who 
has  not  considered  sound  sense  to  consist  in 
the  rejection  of  every  improvement,  and  loy- 
alty to  be  proved  by  the  defence  of  every  ac- 
cidental, imperfect,  or  superannuated  institu- 
tion. 

If  this  petition  of  jurymen  be  a  real  bona 
fidt  petition,  not  the  result  of  solicitation — 
and  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt  it — it  is  a 
warning  which  the  legislature  cannot  neglect, 
if  it  mean  to  avoid  the  disgrace  of  seeing  the 
lower  and  middle  orders  of  mankind  making 
laws  for  themselves,  which  the  government  is 
at  length  compelled  to  adopt  as  measures  of 
their  own.  The  judges  and  the  Parliament 
would  have  gone  on  to  this  day,  hanging,  by 
wholesale,  for  the  forgeries  of  bank  notes,  if 
juries  had  not  become  weary  of  the  continual 
butchery,  and  resolved  to  acquit.  The  proper 
execution  of  laws  must  always  depend,  in 
great  measure,  upon  public  opinion ;  and  it  is 
undoubtedly  most  discreditable  to  any  men  in- 
trusted with  power,  when  the  governed  turn 
round  upon  their  governors,  and  say,  "  Your 
laws  are  so  cruel,  or  so  foolish,  we  cannot,  and 
will  not  act  upon  them." 

The  particular  improvement,  of  allowing 
counsel  to  those  who  are  accused  of  felony, 
is  so  far  from  being  unnecessary,  from  any 
extraordinary  indulgence  shown  to  English 
prisoners,  that  we  really  cannot  help  suspect- 
ing, that  not  a  year  elapses  in  which  many  in- 
nocent persons  are  not  found  guilty.  How  is 
it  possible,  indeed,  that  it  can  be  otherwise  ? 
There  are  seventy  or  eighty  persons  to  be  tried 
for  various  offences  at  the  assizes,  who  have 
lain  in  prison  for  some  months;  and  fifty  of 
whom,  perhaps,  are  of  the  lowest  order  of  the 
people,  without  friends  in  any  better  condition 
than  themselves,  and  without  one  single  penny 
to  employ  in  their  defence.  How  are  they  to 
obtain  witnesses  ?  No  attorney  can  be  em- 
ployed— no  subpoena  can  be  taken  out;  the 
witnesses  are  fifty  miles  off,  perhaps — totally 
uninstructed — living  from  hand  to  mouth — ut- 
terly unable  to  give  up  their  daily  occupation 
to  pay  for  their  journey,  or  for  their  support 
when  arrived  at  the  town  of  trial — and,  if  they 
could  get  there,  not  knowing  where  to  go,  or 
what  to  do.  It  is  impossible  but  that  a  human 
being,  in  such  a  helpless  situation,  must  be 
found  guilty;  for,  as  he  cannot  give  evidence 
for  himself,  and  has  not  a  penny  to  fetch  those 
who  can  give  it  for  him,  any  story  told  against 
him  must  be  taken  for  true  (however  false)  ; 


Peel's  opinions  on  this  subject  (eivinghim  credit  for  sin  • 
cerity)  have  always  been  a  subject  of  real  surprise  to 
us.  It  must  surely  be  some  mistake  between  the  right 
honourable  aentleman  and  his  chaplain  !  They  have 
been  travelling  together  ;  and  some,  of  the  parson's  no- 
tions have  been  put  in  Mr.  Peel's  head  by  mistake.  We 
yet  hope  he  will  return  them  to  their  rightful  owner. 


zu 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


since  it  is  impossible  for  the  poor  wretch  to 
contradict  it.  A  brother  or  a  sister  may  come 
— and  support  every  suffering  and  privation 
themselves  in  coming ;  but  the  prisoner  can- 
not often  have  such  claims  upon  the  persons 
who  have  witnessed  the  transaction,  nor  any 
other  claims  but  those  which  an  unjustly  ac- 
cused person  has  upon  those  whose  testimony 
can  exculpate  him — and  who  probably  must 
starve  themselves  and  their  families  to  do  it. 
It  is  true,  a  case  of  life  and  death  will  rouse 
the  poorest  persons,  every  now  and  then,  to 
extraordinary  exertions,  and  they  may  tramp 
through  mud  and  dirt  to  the  assize  town  to  save 
a  life — though  even  this  effort  is  precarious 
enough :  but  imprisonment,  hard  labour,  or 
transportation,  appeal  less  forcibly  than  death, 
— and  would  often  appeal  for  evidence  in  vain, 
to  the  feeble  and  limited  resources  of  extreme 
poverty.  Itis  not  that  agreat  proportion  of  those 
accused  are  not  guilty — but  that  some  are  not 
— and  are  utterly  without  means  of  establish- 
ing their  innocence.  We  do  not  believe  they 
are  often  accused  from  wilful  and  corrupt  per- 
jury: but  the  prosecutor  is  himself  mistaken. 
The  crime  has  been  committed ;  and  in  his 
thirst  for  vengeance,  he  has  got  hold  of  the 
wrong  man.  The  wheat  was  stolen  out  of  the 
barn ;  and,  amidst  many  other  collateral  cir- 
cumstances, the  witnesses  (paid  and  brought 
up  by  a  wealthy  prosecutor,  who  is  repaid  by 
the  county)  swear  that  they  saw  a  man,  very 
like  the  prisoner,  with  a  sack  of  corn  upon 
his  shoulder,  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morning, 
going  from  the  barn  in  the  direction  of  tlie 
prisoner's  cottage  I  Here  is  one  link,  and  a 
very  material  link,  of  a  long  chain  of  circum- 
stantial evidence.  Judge  and  jury  must  give 
it  weight,  till  it  is  contradicted.  In  fact,  the 
prisoner  did  not  steal  the  corn  ;  he  was,  to  be 
sure,  out  of  his  cottage  at  the  same  hour — and 
that  also  is  proved — but  travelling  in  a  totally 
different  direction, — and  was  seen  to  be  so  tra- 
velling by  a  stage  coachman  passing  by,  and 
by  a  market  gardener.  An  attorney  with 
money  in  his  pocket,  whom  every  moment  of 
such  employ  made  richer  by  six-and-eight 
pence,  would  have  had  the  two  witnesses 
ready,  and  at  rack  and  manger,  from  the  first 
day  of  the  assize ;  and  the  innocence  of  the  pri- 
soner would  have  been  established:  but  by 
what  possible  means  is  the  destitute,  ignorant 
wretch  himself  to  find  or  to  produce  such  wit- 
nesses 1  or  how  can  the  most  humane  jury, 
and  the  most  acute  judge,  refuse  to  consider 
him  as  guilty,  till  his  witnesses  are  produced! 
We  have  not  the  slightest  disposition  to  exag- 
gerate, and,  on  the  contrary,  should  be  ex- 
tremely pleased  to  be  convinced  that  our  ap- 
prehensions were  unfounded:  but  we  have 
often  felt  extreme  pain  at  the  hopeless  and  un- 
protected state  of  prisoners;  and  we  cannot 
find  any  answer  to  our  suspicions,  or  discover 
any  means  by  which  this  perversion  of  jus- 
tice, under  the  present  state  of  the  law,  can  be 
prevented  from  taking  place.  Against  the 
prisoner  are  arrayed  all  the  resources  of  an 
angry  prosecutor,  who  has  certainly  (let  who 
will  be  the  culprit)  suffered  a  serious  injury. 
He  has  his  hand,  too,  in  the  public  purse ;  for 


he  prosecutes  at  the  expense  of  the  county. 
He  cannot  even  relent;  for  the  magistrate  is 
bound  over  to  indict.  His  witnesses  cannot 
fail  him ;  for  they  are  all  bound  over  by  the 
same  magistrate  to  give  evidence.  He  is  out 
of  prison,  too,  and  can  exert  himself. 

The  prisoner,  on  the  other  hand,  comes  into 
court,  squalid  and  depressed  from  long  con- 
finement— utterly  unable  to  tell  his  own  story 
from  want  of  words  and  want  of  confidence, 
and  is  unable  to  produce  evidence  for  want  of 
money.  His  fate  accordingly  is  obvious; — 
and  that  there  are  many  innocent  men  pu- 
nished every  year,  for  crimes  they  have  not 
committed,  appears  to  us  to  be  extremely  pro- 
bable. It  is,  indeed,  scarcely  possible  it  should 
be  otherwise :  and,  as  if  to  prove  the  fact,  every 
now  and  then,  a  case  of  this  kind  is  detected. 
Some  circumstances  come  to  light  between 
sentence  and  execution;  immense  exertions 
are  made  by  humane  men  ;  time  is  gained,  and- 
the  innocence  of  the  condemned  person  com- 
pletely established.  In  Elizabeth  Caning's 
case,  two  women  were  capitally  convicted, 
ordered  for  execution — and  at  last  found  inno- 
cent, and  respited.  Such,  too,  was  the  case  of 
the  men  who  were  sentenced  ten  years  ago, 
for  the  robbery  of  Lord  Cowper's  steward. 
"  I  have  myself  (says  Mr.  Scarlett)  often  seen 
persons  I  thought  innocent  convicted,  and  the 
guilty  escape,  for  want  of  some  acute  and  in- 
telligent counsel  to  show  the  bearings  of  the 
different  circumstances  on  the  conduct  and 
situation  of  the  prisoner." — (House  of  Com- 
mons  Debates,  Ajml  25th,  1826.)  We  were  de- 
lighted to  see,  in  this  last  debate,  both  Mr- 
Brougham  and  Mr.  Scarlett  profess  themselves 
friendly  to  Mr.  Lamb's  motion. 

But  in  how  many  cases  has  the  injustice 
proceeded  Avithout  any  suspicion  being  ex- 
cited! and  even  if  we  could  reckon  upon  men 
being  watchful  in  capital  cases,  where  life  is 
concerned,  we  are  afraid  it  is  in  such  cases 
alone  that  they  ever  besiege  the  secretary  of 
state,  and  compel  his  attention.  We  never 
remember  any  such  interference  to  save  a 
man  unjustly  condemned  to  the  hulks  or  the 
treadmill;  and  yet  there  are  certainly  more 
condemnations  to  these  minor  punishments 
than  to  the  gallows :  but  then  it  is  all  one — 
who  knows  or  cares  about  iti  If  Harrison  or 
Johnson  has  been  condemned,  after  regular 
trial  by  jury,  to  six  months'  treadmill,  because 
Harrison  and  Johnson  were  without  a  penny 
to  procure  evidence — who  knows  or  cares 
about  Harrison  or  Johnson?  how  can  they 
make  themselves  heard  1  or  in  what  way  can 
they  obtain  redress  1  It  worries  rich  and  com- 
fortable people  to  hear  the  humanity  of  our 
penal  laws  called  in  question.  There  is  talk 
of  a  society  for  employing  discharged  prison- 
ers :  might  not  something  be  effected  by  a 
society  instituted  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
to  poor  prisoners  a  proper  defence,  and  a  due 
attendance  of  witnesses  1  But  we  must  hasten 
on  from  this  disgraceful  neglect  of  poor  pri- 
soners, to  the  particular  subject  of  complaint 
we  have  proposed  to  ourselves. 

The  proposition  is.  That  the  prisoner  accused 
of  felo7iy  ought  to  have  the  same  power  of  select- 


rrORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


245 


tng  counsel  to  speak  for  him  as  he  has  in  cases 
of  treason  and  misdemeanour,  and  as  defendants 
have  in  all  civil  actions. 

Nothing  can  be  done  in  any  discussion  upon 
any  point  of  law  in  England,  without  quoting 
Mr.  Justice  Blackstone.  Mr.  Justice  Black- 
stone,  we  believe,  generally  wrote  his  Com- 
mentaries late  in  the  evening,  with  a  bottle 
of  wine  before  him ;  and  little  did  he  think,  as 
each  sentence  fell  from  the  glass  and  pen,  of 
the  immense  influence  it  might  hereafter  exer- 
cise upon  the  laws  and  usages  of  his  country. 
"  It  is"  (says  this  favourite  writer)  "  not  at  all 
of  a  piece  with  the  rest  of  the  humane  treat- 
ment of  prisoners  by  the  English  law;  for  upon 
what  face  of  reason  can  that  assistance  be  de- 
nied to  save  the  life  of  a  man,  which  yet  is 
allowed  him  in  prosecutions  for  every  petty 
trespass  1"  Nor,  indeed,  strictly  speaking,  is 
it  a  part  of  our  ancient  law ;  for  the  Mirror, 
having  observed  the  necessity  of  counsel  in 
civil  suits,  who  know  how  to  forward  and  de- 
fend the  cause  by  the  rules  of  law  and  cus- 
toms of  the  realm,  immediately  subjoins  "and 
more  necessary  are  they  for  defence  upon  in- 
dictment and  appeals  of  felony,  than  upon  any 
other  venial  crimes."  To  the  authority  of 
Blackstone  may  be  added  that  of  Sir  John 
Hall,  in  Hollis's  case ;  of  Sir  Robert  Atkyns, 
in  Lord  Russell's  case ;  and  of  Sir  Bartholo- 
mew Shower,  in  the  arguments  for  a  New 
Bill  of  Rights,  in  1682.  "  In  the  name  of  God," 
says  this  judge,  "what  harm  can  accrue  to  the 
public  in  general,  or  to  any  man  in  particular, 
that,  in  cases  of  State-treason,  counsel  should 
not  be  allowed  to  the  accused  1  What  rule 
of  justice  is  there  to  warrant  its  denial,  when, 
in  a  civil  case  of  a  halfpenny  cake,  he  may 
plead  either  by  himself  or  by  his  advocate  1 
That  the  court  is  counsel  for  the  prisoner  can 
be  no  effectual  reason ;  for  so  they  are  for 
each  party,  that  right  may  be  done." — (Somer's 
Tracts,  vol.  ii.  p.  568.)  In  the  trial  of  Thomas 
Rosewell,  a  dissenting  clergyman,  for  high 
treason  in  1684,  Judge  Jeffries,  in  summing 
up,  confessed  to  the  jury,  "  that  he  thought  it 
a  hard  case,  that  a  man  should  have  counsel 
to  defend  himself  for  a  twopenny  trespass, 
and  his  witnesses  be  examined  upon  oath ; 
but  if  he  stole,  committed  murder  or  felony, 
nay,  high  treason,  where  life,  estate,  honour, 
and  all  were  concerned,  that  he  should  neither 
have  counsel,  nor  have  his  witnesses  examin- 
ed upon  oath." — Howell's  State  Trials,  vol.  x. 
p.  207. 

There  have  been  two  capital  errors  in  the 
criminal  codes  of  feudal  Europe,  from  which 
a  great  variety  of  mistake  and  injustice  have 
proceeded;  the  one,  a  disposition  to  confound 
accusation  with  guilt ;  the  other,  to  mistake  a 
defence  of  prisoners  accused  by  the  crown,  for 
disloyalty  and  disaffection  to  the  crown ;  and 
from  these  errors  our  own  code  has  been 
slowly  and  gradually  recovering,  by  all  those 
struggles  and  exertions  which  it  always  costs 
to  remove  folly  sanctioned  by  antiquity.  In 
the  early  periods  of  our  history,  the  accused 
person  could  call  no  evidence : — then,  for  a 
long  time,  his  evidence  against  the  king  could 
not  be  examined  upon  oath ;  consequently,  he 


might  as  well  have  produced  none,  as  all  the 
evidence  against  him  was  upon  oath.  Till 
the  reign  of  Anne,  no  one  accused  of  felony 
could  produce  witnesses  upon  oath;  and  the  old 
practice  was  vindicated,  in  opposition  to  the  new 
one,  introduced  under  the  statute  of  that  day,  on 
the  grounds  of  humanity  and  tenderness  to  the 
prisoner!  because,  as  his  witnesses  were  not  re- 
stricted by  an  oath,  they  were  at  liberty  to  indulge 
in  simple  falsehood  as  much  as  they  pleased; — 
so  argued  the  blessed  defenders  of  nonsense  in 
those  days.  Then  it  was  ruled  to  be  indecent 
and  improper  that  counsel  should  be  employed 
against  the  crown;  and,  therefore,  the  prisoner 
accused  of  treason  could  have  no  counsel.  In 
like  manner,  a  party  accused  of  felony  could 
have  no  counsel  to  assist  him  in  the  trial. 
Counsel  might  indeed  stay  in  the  court,  but 
apart  from  the  prisoner,  with  whom  they  could 
have  no  communication.  They  were  not 
allowed  to  put  any  question,  or  to  suggest  any 
doubtful  point  of  law;  but  if  the  prisoner 
(likely  to  be  a  weak,  unlettered  man)  could 
himself  suggest  any  doubt  in  matter  of  law, 
the  court  determined  first  if  the  question  of 
law  should  be  entertained,  and  then  assigned 
counsel  to  argue  it.  In  those  times,  too,  the 
jury  were  punishable  if  they  gave  a  false  ver- 
dict against  the  king,  but  were  not  punishable 
if  they  gave  a  false  verdict  against  the  pri- 
soner. The  preamble  of  the  Act  of  1696  runs 
thus, — "  Whereas  it  is  expedient  that  persons 
charged  with  high  treason  should  make  a  full 
and  sufficient  defence."  Might  it  not  be  altered 
to  persons  charged  with  any  species  or  degree  of 
crime?  All  these  errors  have  given  way  to 
the  force  of  truth,  and  to  the  power  of  common 
sense  and  common  humanity — the  Attorney 
and  Solicitor  General,  for  the  time  being,  al- 
ways protesting  against  each  alteration,  and 
regularly  and  officially  prophesying  the  utter 
destruction  of  the  whole  jurisprudence  of  Great 
Britain.  There  is  no  man  now  alive,  perhaps, 
so  utterly  foolish,  as  to  propose  that  prisoners 
should  be  prevented  from  producing  evidence 
upon  oath,  and  being  heard  by  their  counsel  in 
cases  of  high  treason ;  and  yet  it  cost  a  strug- 
gle for  seven  sessions  to  get  this  measure 
through  the  two  houses  of  Parliament.  But 
mankind  are  much  like  the  children  they  be- 
get— they  always  make  wry  faces  at  what  is 
to  do  them  good ;  and  it  is  necessary  some- 
times to  hold  the  nose,  and  force  the  medicine 
down  the  throat.  They  enjoy  the  health  and 
vigour  consequent  upon  the  medicine ;  but 
cuff  the  doctor,  and  sputter  at  his  stuff! 

A  most  absurd  argument  was  advanced  in 
the  honourable  house,  that  the  practice  of  em- 
ploying counsel  would  be  such  an  expense  to 
the  prisoner! — just  as  if  any  thing  was  so  ex- 
pensive as  being  hanged !  What  a  fine  topic 
for  the  ordinary!  "You  are  going"  (says  that 
exquisite  divine)  "  to  be  hanged  to-morrow,  it 
is  true,  but  consider  what  a  sum  you  have 
saved  !  Mr.  Scarlett  or  Mr.  Brougham  might 
certainly  have  presented  arguments  to  the 
jury  which  would  have  insured  your  acquit- 
tal; but  do  you  forget  that  gentlemen  of  their 
eminence  must  be  recompensed  by  large  fees, 
and  that,  if  your  Ufe  had  been  saved,  you 
x2 


S46 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


would  actually  have  been  out  of  pocket  above 
20/.'?  You  will  now  die  with  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  obeyed  the  dictates  of  a  wise 
economy ;  and  Mdtlii  a  grateful  reverence  for 
the  laws  of  your  country,  which  prevents  you 
from  running  into  such  unbounded  expense — 
so  let  us  now  go  to  prayers." 

It  is  ludicrous  enough  to  recollect,  when  the 
employment  of  counsel  is  objected  to  on  ac- 
count of  the  expense  to  the  prisoner,  that  the 
same  merciful  law  which,  to  save  the  prison- 
er's money,  has  denied  him  counsel,  and  pro- 
duced his  conviction,  seizes  upon  all  his  sav- 
ings the  moment  he  is  convicted. 

Of  all  false  and  foolish  dicta,  the  most  trite 
and  the  most  absurd  is  that  which  asserts  that 
the  judge  is  counsel  for  the  prisoner.  We  do 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  this  is  merely  an  un- 
meaning phrase,  invented  to  defend  a  perni- 
cious abuse.  The  judge  cannot  be  counsel  for 
the  prisoner,  might  not  to  be  counsel  for  the 
prisoner,  never  is  counsel  for  the  prisoner. 
To  force  an  ignorant  man  into  a  court  of  jus- 
tice, and  to  tell  him  that  the  judge  is  his  coun- 
sel, appears  to  us  quite  as  foolish  as  to  set  a 
hungry  man  down  to  his  meals,  and  to  tell 
him  that  the  table  Avas  his  dinner.  In  the  first 
place,  a  counsel  should  always  have  private 
and  previous  communication  with  the  pri- 
soner, which  the  judge,  of  course,  cannot  have. 
The  prisoner  reveals  to  his  counsel  how  far 
he  is  guilty,  or  he  is  not;  states  to  him  all  the 
circumstances  of  his  case — and  might  often 
enable  his  advocate,  if  his  advocate  were 
allowed  to  speak,  to  explain  a  long  string  of 
circumstantial  evidence,  in  a  manner  favour- 
able to  the  innocence  of  his  client.  Of  all 
these  advantages,  the  judge,  if  he  had  every 
disposition  to  befriend  the  prisoner,  is  of 
course  deprived.  Something  occurs  to  a  pri- 
soner in  the  course  of  the  cause ;  he  suggests 
it  in  a  whisper  to  his  counsel,  doubtful  if  it  is 
a  wise  point  to  urge  or  not.  His  counsel 
thinks  it  of  importance,  and  would  urge  it,  if 
his  mouth  were  not  shut.  Can  a  prisoner 
kave  this  secret  communication  with  a  judge, 
and  take  his  advice,  whether  or  not  he,  the 
judge,  shall  mention  it  to  the  jury?  The 
counsel  has  (after  all  the  evidence  has  been 
given)  a  bad  opinion  of  his  client's  case ;  but 
he  suppresses  that  opinion;  and  it  is  his  duly 
to  do  so.  He  is  not  to  decide ;  that  is  the  pro- 
vince of  the  jury:  and,  in  spite  of  his  own 
opinion — his  client  may  be  innocent.  He  is 
brought  there  (or  would  be  brought  there  if 
the  privilege  of  speech  were  allowed)  for  the 
express  purpose  of  saying  all  that  could  be 
said  on  one  side  of  the  question.  He  is  a 
weight  in  one  scale,  and  some  one  else  holds 
ihe  balance.  This  is  the  way  in  which  truth 
is  elicited  in  civil,  and  would  be  in  criminal 
cases.  But  does  the  Judge  ever  assume  the 
appearance  of  believing  a  prisoner  to  be  in- 
nocent whom  he  thinks  to  be  guilty  1  If  the 
prisoner  advances  inconclusive  or  weak  argu- 
ments, does  not  the  judge  say  they  are  weak 
and  inconclusive,  and  does  he  not  often  sum 
up  against  his  own  client  1  How  then  is  he 
counsel  for  the  prisoner  1  If  the  counsel  for 
the  prisoner  were  to  see  a  strong  point,  which 


the  counsel  for  the  prosecution  had  missed, 
would  he  supply  the  deficiency  of  his  antsigo- 
nist,  and  urge  what  had  been  neglected  to  be 
urged"?  But  is  it  not  the  imperious  duty  of 
the  judge  to  do  sol  How  then  can  these  two 
functionaries  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  the 
prisoner!  In  fact  the  only  meaning  of  the 
phrase  is  this,  that  the  judge  will  not  suffer 
any  undue  advantage  to  be  taken  of  the  igno- 
rance and  helplessness  of  the  prisoner — that 
he  will  point  out  any  evidence  or  circumstance 
in  his  favour — and  see  that  equal  justice  is 
done  to  both  parties.  But  in  this  sense  he  is 
as  much  the  counsel  of  the  prosecutor  as  of 
the  prisoner.  This  is  all  the  judge  can  do,  or 
even  pretends  to  do ;  but  he  can  have  no  pre- 
vious communication  with  the  prisoner — he 
can  have  no  confidential  communication  in 
court  with  the  prisoner  before  he  sums  up;  he 
cannot  fling  the  whole  weight  of  his  under-" 
standing  into  the  opposite  scale  against  the 
counsel  for  the  prosecution,  and  produce  that 
collision  of  faculties,  which,  in  all  other  cases 
but  those  of  felony,  is  supposed  to  be  the  hap- 
piest method  of  arriving  at  truth.  Baron  Gar- 
row,  in  his  charge  to  the  grand  jury  at  Exeter, 
on  the  16th  of  August,  1824,  thus  expressed 
his  opinion  of  a  judge  being  counsel  for  the 
prisoner.  "  It  has  been  said,  and  truly  said, 
that  in  criminal  courts,  judges  were  counsel 
for  the  prisoners.  So  undoubtedly  they  were, 
as  far  as  they  could  to  prevent  undue  preju- 
dice, to  guard  against  improper  influence  be- 
ing excited  against  prisoners;  but  it  was  im- 
possible for  them  to  go  farther  than  this ;  for 
they  could  not  suggest  the  course  of  defence 
prisoners  ought  to  pursue ;  for  judges  only 
saw  the  depositions  so  short  a  time  before  the 
accused  appeared  at  the  bar  of  their  country, 
that  it  was  quite  impossible  for  them  to  act 
fully  in  that  capacity."  The  learned  Baron 
might  have  added,  that  it  would  be  more  cor- 
rect to  call  the  judge  counsel  for  the  prosecu- 
tion ;  for  his  only  previous  instructions  were 
the  depositions  for  the  prosecution,  from  which, 
in  the  absence  of  counsel,  he  examined  the  evi- 
dence against  the  prisoner.  On  the  prisoner's 
behalf  he  had  no  instructions  at  all. 

Can  any  thing,  then,  be  more  flagrantly  and 
scandalously  unjust,  than,  in  a  long  case  of 
circumstantial  evidence,  to  refuse  to  a  prisoner 
the  benefit  of  counsel  T  A  foot-mark,  a  word, 
a  sound,  a  tool  dropped,  all  gave  birth  to  the 
most  ingenious  inferences  ;  and  the  counsel 
for  the  prosecution  is  so  far  from  being  blame- 
able  for  entering  into  all  these  things,  that  they 
are  all  essential  to  the  detection  of  guilt,  and 
they  are  all  links  of  a  long  and  intricate  chain  ; 
but  if  a  close  examination  into,  and  a  logical 
statement  of,  all  these  circumstances  be  neces- 
sary for  the  establishment  of  guilt,  is  not  the 
same  closeness  of  reasoning  and  the  same 
logical  statement  necessary  for  the  establish- 
ment of  innocence  1  If  justice  cannot  be  done  to 
society  without  the  intervention  of  a  pi'»ctised 
and  ingenious  mind,  who  may  connect  ah  .hese 
links  together,  and  make  them  clear  to  the  ap- 
prehension of  a  jury,  can  justice  be  done  to 
the  prisoner,  unless  similar  practice  and  simi- 
lar ingenuity  are  employed  to  detect  the  flaws 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


2«r 


of  the  chain,  and  to  point  out  the  disconnection 
of  the  circumstances  1 

Is  there  any  one  gentleman  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  who,  in  yielding  his  vote  to  this 
paltry  and  perilous  fallacy  of  the  judge  being 
counsel  for  the  prisoner,  does  not  feel,  that, 
were  he  himself  a  criminal,  he  would  prefer 
almost  any  counsel  at  the  bar,  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  judge  1  How  strange  that  any 
man  who  could  make  his  election  would 
eagerly  and  diligently  surrender  this  exquisite 
privilege,  and  addict  himself  to  the  perilous 
practice  of  giving  fees  to  counsel  1  Nor  let 
us  forget,  in  considering  judges  as  counsel  for 
the  prisoner,  that  there  have  been  such  men  as 
Chief  Justice  Jeffries,  Mr.  Justice  Page,  and 
Mr.  Justice  Alybone,  and  that,  in  bad  times, 
such  men  may  reappear.  "  If  you  do  not  allow 
me  counsel,  my  lords  (says  Lord  Lovat),  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  make  any  defence,  by 
reason  of  my  infirmity.  I  do  not  see,  I  do  not 
hear.  I  come  up  to  the  bar  at  the  hazard  of  my 
life.  I  have  fainted  several  times,  I  have  been 
up  so  early,  ever  since  four  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing. I  therefore  ask  for  assistance;  and  if  you 
do  not  allow  me  counsel,  or  such  aid  as  is  ne- 
cessary, it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  make 
any  defence  at  all."  Though  Lord  Lovat's 
guilt  was  evident,  yet  the  managers  of  the  im- 
peachment felt  so  strongly  the  injustice  which 
was  done,  that,  by  the  hands  of  Sir  W.  Young, 
the  chief  manager,  a  bill  was  brought  into  par- 
liament, to  allow  counsel  to  persons  impeached 
by  that  house,  which  was  not  previously  the 
case ;  so  that  the  evil  is  already  done  away 
with,  in  a  great  measure,  to  persons  of  rank: 
it  so  happens  in  legislation,  when  a  gentleman 
suffers,  public  attention  is  awakened  to  the  evil 
of  laws.  Every  man  who  makes  laws  says, 
"This  may  be  my  case:"  but  it  requires  the 
repeated  efforts  of  humane  men,  or,  as  Mr. 
North  calls  them,  dilettanti  philosophers,  to 
awaken  the  attention  of  lawmakers  to  evils 
from  which  they  are  themselves  exempt.  We 
do  not  say  this  to  make  the  leaders  of  mankind 
unpopular,  but  to  rouse  their  earnest  attention 
iu  cases  where  the  poor  only  are  concerned, 
and  where  neither  good  nor  evil  can  happen  to 
themselves. 

A  great  stress  is  laid  upon  the  moderation 
of  the  opening  counsel ;  that  is,  he  does  not 
conjure  the  farmers  in  the  jury-box,  by  the  love 
which  they  bear  to  their  children — he  does  not 
declaim  upon  blood-guiltiness — he  does  not 
describe  the  death  of  Abel  by  Cain,  the  first 
murderer — he  does  not  describe  scattered 
brains,  ghastly  wounds,  pale  features,  and  hair 
clotted  with  gore — he  does  not  do  a  thousand 
things,  which  are  not  in  English  taste,  and 
which  it  would  be  very  foolish  and  very  vulgar 
to  do.  We  readily  allow  all  this.  But  yet,  if 
it  be  a  cause  of  importance,  it  is  essentially 
necessary  to  our  counsellor's  reputation  that 
his  man  should  be  hung !  And  accordingly, 
with  a  very  calm  voice,  and  composed  manner, 
and  with  many  expressions  of  candour,  he  sets 
himself  to  comment  astutely  upon  the  circum- 
stances. Distant  events  are  immediately  con- 
nected; meaning  is  given  to  insignificant  facts  ; 
new  motives  are  ascribed  to  innocent  actions ; 


farmer  gives  way  after  farmer  in  the  jury-box ; 
and  a  rope  of  eloquence  is  woven  round  the 
prisoner's  neck  !  Every  one  is  delighted  with 
the  talents  of  the  advocate ;  and  because  there 
has  been  no  noise,  no  violent  action,  and  no 
consequent  perspiration,  he  is  praised  for  his 
candour  and  forbearance,  and  the  lenity  of  our 
laws  is  the  theme  of  universal  approbation. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  speech-maker  and  the 
prisoner  know  better. 

We  should  be  glad  to  know  of  any  nation  in 
the  world,  taxed  by  kings,  or  even  imagined  by 
poets  (except  the  English),  who  have  refused 
to  prisoners  the  benefit  of  counsel.  Why  is 
the  voice  of  humanity  heard  every  where  else, 
and  disregarded  here  ?  In  Scotland,  the  accused 
have  not  only  counsel  to  speak  for  them,  but  a 
copy  of  the  indictment,  and  a  list  of  the  wit- 
nesses. In  France,  in  the  Netherlands,  in  the 
whole  of  Europe,  counsel  are  allotted  as  a 
matter  of  course.  Every  where  else  but  here, 
accusation  is  considered  as  unfavourable  to 
the  exercise  of  human  faculties.  It  is  admitted 
to  be  that  crisis  in  which,  above  all  others,  an 
unhappy  man  wants  the  aid  of  eloquence,  wis- 
dom, and  coolness.  In  France,  the  Napoleon 
code  has  provided  not  only  that  counsel  should 
be  allowed  to  the  prisoner,  but  that,  as  with  us  in 
Scotland,  his  counsel  should  have  the  last  word. 

It  is  a  most  affecting  moment  in  a  court  of 
justice,  when  the  evidence  has  all  been  heard, 
and  the  judge  asks  the  prisoner  what  he  has  to 
say  in  his  defence.  The  prisoner,  who  has  (by 
great  exertions,  perhaps  of  his  friends)  saved 
up  money  enough  to  procure  counsel,  says  to 
the  judge,  "  that  he  leaves  his  defence  to  his 
counsel."  We  have  often  blushed  for  English 
humanity  to  hear  the  reply.  "Your  counsel 
cannot  speak  for  you,  you  must  speak  for 
yourself;"  and  this  is  the  reply  given  to  a  poor 
girl  of  eighteen — to  a  foreigner — to  a  deaf 
man — to  a  stammerer — to  the  sick — to  the  fee- 
ble— to  the  old — to  the  most  abject  and  ignorant 
of  human  beings  !  It  is  a  reply,  we  must  say, 
at  which  common  sense  and  common  feeling 
revolt: — for  it  is  full  of  brutal  cruelly,  and  of 
base  inattention,  of  those  who  make  laws,  to 
the  happiness  of  those  for  whom  laws  were 
made.  We  wonder  that  any  juryman  can  con- 
vict under  such  a  shocking  violation  of  all 
natural  justice.  The  iron  age  of  Clovis  and 
Clottaire  can  produce  no  more  atrocious  viola- 
tion of  every  good  feeling,  and  every  good 
principle.  Can  a  sick  man  find  strength  and 
nerves  to  speak  before  a  large  assembly? — can 
an  ignorant  man  find  words'? — can  a  low  man 
find  confidence  1  Is  not  he  afraid  of  becoming 
an  object  of  ridicule  1 — can  he  believe  that  his 
expressions  will  be  understood?  How  often 
have  we  seen  a  poor  wretch,  struggling  against 
the  agonies  of  his  spirit,  and  the  rudeness  of 
his  conceptions,  and  his  awe  of  better  dressed 
men  and  better  taught  men,  and  the  shame 
which  the  accusation  has  brought  upon  his 
head,  and  the  sight  of  his  parents  and  children 
gazing  at  him  in  the  court,  for  the  last  time, 
perhaps,  and  after  a  long  absence!  The 
mariner  sinking  in  the  wave  does  not  want  a 
helping  hand  more  than  does  this  poor  wretch. 
But  help  is  denied  to  all !    Age  cannot  have  it, 


248 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


nor  ignorance,  nor  the  modesty  of  women  ! 
One  hard,  uncharitable  rule  silences  the  de- 
fenders of  the  wretched,  in  the  worst  of  human 
evils ;  and  at  the  bitterest  of  human  moments, 
mercy  is  blotted  out  frona  the  ways  of  men  ! 

Suppose  a  crime  to  have  been  committed 
under  the  influence  of  insanity;  is  the  insane 
man,  now  convalescent,  to  plead  his  own 
insanity? — to  olTer  arguments  to  show  that  he 
must  have  been  madi — and,  by  the  glimmer- 
ings of  his  returning  reason,  to  prove  that,  at  a 
former  period,  that  same  reason  was  utterly 
extinct  1  These  are  the  cruel  situations  into 
which  judges  and  courts  of  justice  are  thrown 
by  the  present  state  of  the  law. 

There  is  a  judge  now  upon  the  bench,  who 
never  took  away  the  life  of  a  fellow  creature 
without  shutting  himself  up  alone  and  giving 
the  most  profound  attention  to  every  circum- 
stance of  the  case !  and  this  solemn  act  he 
always  premises  with  his  own  beautiful  prayer 
to  God,  that  he  will  enlighten  him  with  his 
Divine  Spirit  in  the  exercise  of  this  terrible 
privilege  !  Now  would  it  not  be  an  immense 
satisfaction  to  this  feeling  and  honourable  ma- 
gistrate, to  be  sure  that  every  witness  on  the 
side  of  the  prisoner  had  been  heard,  and  that 
every  argument  which  could  be  urged  in  his 
favour  had  been  brought  forward,  by  a  man 
whose  duty  it  was  to  see  only  on  one  side  of 
the  question,  and  whose  interest  and  reputation 
were  thoroughly  embarked  in  this  partial  exer- 
tion ]  If  a  judge  fails  to  get  at  the  truth,  after 
these  instruments  of  investigation  are  used,  his 
failure  must  be  attributed  to  the  limited  powers 
of  man — not  to  the  want  of  good  inclination, 
or  wise  institutions.  We  are  surprised  that 
such  a  measure  does  not  come  into  Parliament, 
with  the  strong  recommendation  of  the  judges. 
It  is  surely  better  to  be  a  day  longer  on  the  cir- 
cuit, than  to  murder  rapidly  in  ermine. 

It  is  argued,  that,  among  the  various  pleas 
for  mercy  that  are  offered,  no  prisoner  has  ever 
urged  to  the  secretary  of  state  the  disadvantage 
of  having  no  counsel  to  plead  for  him ;  but  a 
prisoner  who  dislikes  to  undergo  his  sentence, 
naturally  addresses  to  those  who  can  reverse 
it  such  arguments  only  as  will  produce,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  referee,  a  pleasing  effect.  He 
does  not  therefore  find  fault  with  the  established 
system  of  jurisprudence,  but  brings  forward 
facts  and  arguments  to  prove  his  own  inno- 
cence. Besides,  how  few  people  there  are  who 
can  elevate  themselves  from  the  acquiescence 
in  what  is,  to  the  consideration  of  what  ought  to 
be;  and  if  they  could  do  so,  the  way  to  get  rid 
of  a  punishment  is  not  (as  we  have  just  ob- 
served) to  say,  "  You  have  no  right  to  punish 
me  in  this  manner,"  but  to  say,  "  I  am  innocent 
of  the  offence."  The  fraudulent  baker  at  Con- 
stantinople, who  is  about  to  be  baked  to  death 
in  his  own  oven,  does  not  complain  of  the  se- 
verity of  baking  bakers,  but  promises  to  use 
more  flour  and  less  fraud. 

Whence  comes  it  (we  should  like  to  ask  Sir 
John  Singleton  Copley,  who  seems  to  dread  so 
much  the  conflicts  of  talent  in  criminal  cases) 
that  a  method  of  getting  at  truth  which  is  found 
so  serviceable  in  civil  cases,  should  be  so  much 
objected  to  in  criminal  cases  1     Would  you 


have  all  this  wrangling  and  bickering,  it  is 
asked,  and  contentious  eloquence,  when  the 
life  of  a  man  is  concerned  ]  Why  not,  as  well 
as  when  his  property  is  concerned  1  It  is 
either  a  good  means  of  doing  justice,  or  it  is> 
not,  that  two  understandings  should  be  put  in 
opposition  to  each  other,  and  that  a  third  should 
decide  between  them.  Does  this  open  every 
view  which  can  bear  upon  the  question "?  Does 
it  in  the  most  effectual  manner  watch  the  judge, 
detect  perjury,  and  sift  evidence  1  If  not,  why 
is  it  suffered  to  disgrace  our  civil  institutions'? 
If  it  effect  all  these  objects,  why  is  it  not  incor- 
porated into  our  criminal  law?  Of  what  im- 
portance is  a  little  disgust  at  professional  tricks, 
if  the  solid  advantage  gained  is  a  nearer  ap- 
proximation to  truth  1  Can  any  thing  be  more 
preposterous  than  this  preference  of  taste  to 
justice,  and  of  solemnity  to  truth?  What  an 
eulogium  of  a  trial  to  say,  "  I  am  by  no  means 
satisfied  that  the  jury  were  right  in  finding  the 
prisoner  guilty;  but  every  thing  was  carried 
on  with  the  utmost  decorum.  The  verdict  was 
wrong ;  but  there  was  the  most  perfect  pro- 
priety and  order  in  the  proceedings.  The  maa 
will  be  unfairly  hanged ;,  but  all  was  genteel !" 
If  solemnity  is  what  is  principally  wanted  in  a 
court  of  justice,  we  had  better  study  the  man- 
ners of  the  old  Spanish  Inquisition;  but  if 
battles  with  the  judge,  and  battles  among  the 
counsel,  are  the  best  method,  as  they  certainly 
are,  of  getting  at  the  truth,  better  tolerate  this 
philosophical  Billingsgate,  than  persevere,  be- 
cause the  life  of  a  man  is  at  stake,  in  solema 
and  polished  injustice. 

Why  would  it  not  be  just  as  wise  and  equita- 
ble to  leave  the  defendant  without  counsel  in 
civil  cases — and  to  tell  him  that  the  judge  was 
his  counsel?  And  if  the  reply  is  to  produce 
such  injurious  effects  as  are  anticipated  upon 
the  minds  of  the  jury  in  criminal  cases,  why 
not  in  civil  cases  also  ?  In  twenty-eight  cases 
out  of  thirty,  the  verdict  in  civil  cases  is  cor- 
rect ;  in  the  two  remaining  cases,  the  error 
may  proceed  from  other  causes  tnan  the  right 
of  reply;  and  yet  the  right  of  reply  has  existed 
in  all.  In  a  vast  majority  of  cases,  the  verdict 
is  for  the  plaintiff,  not  because  there  is  a  right 
of  reply,  but  because  he  who  has  it  in  his 
power  to  decide  whether  he  will  go  to  law  or 
not,  and  resolves  to  expose  himself  to  the 
expense  and  trouble  of  a  la 'i  suit,  has  probably 
a  good  foundation  for  his  claim.  Nobody,  of 
course,  can  intend  to  say  that  the  majority  of 
verdicts  in  favour  of  plaintifis  are  against  jus- 
tice, and  merely  attributable  to  the  advantage 
of  a  last  speech.  If  this  were  the  case,  the 
sooner  advocates  are  turned  out  of  court  the 
better — and  then  the  improvement  of  both  civil 
and  criminal  law  would  be  an  abolition  of  all 
speeches  ;  for  those  who  dread  the  efl'ect  of  the 
last  word  upon  the  fate  of  the  prisoner,  must 
remember  that  there  is  at  present  always  a  last 
speech  against  the  prisoner ;  for,  as  the  counsel 
for  the  prosecution  cannot  be  replied  to,  his  is 
the  last  speech. 

There  is  certainly  this  difference  between  a 
civil  and  a  criminal  case — that  in  one  a  new 
trial  can  be  granted,  in  the  other  not.  But  you 
must  first  make  up  your  mind  whether  this 


WORKS  OF  THE  KEV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


S4t 


system  of  contentious  investigation  by  opposite 
advocates  is  or  is  not  the  best  method  of  getting 
at  truth :  if  it  be,  the  more  irremediable  the 
decision,  the  more  powerful  and  perfect  should 
be  the  means  of  deciding;  and  then  it  would 
be  a  less  oppression  if  the  civil  defendant  were 
deprived  of  counsel  than  the  criminal  prisoner. 
When  an  error  has  been  committed,  the  ad- 
vantage is  greater  to  the  latter  of  these  per- 
sons than  to  the  former ; — the  criminal  is  not 
tried  again,  but  pardoned ;  while  the  civil  de- 
fendant must  run  the  chance  of  another  jury. 

If  the  effect  of  reply,  and  the  contention  of 
counsel,  have  all  these  baneful  consequences 
in  felony,  why  not  also  in  misdemeanour  and 
high  treason  1  Half  the  cases  at  sessions  are 
cases  of  misdemeanour,  where  counsel  are  era- 
ployed,  and  half-informed  justices  preside  in- 
stead of  learned  judges.  There  are  no  com- 
plaints of  the  unfairness  of  verdicts,  though 
there  are  every  now  and  then  of  the  severity 
of  punishments.  Now,  if  the  reasoning  of  Mr. 
Lamb's  opponents  were  true,  the  disturbing 
force  of  the  prisoner's  counsel  must  fling  every 
thing  into  confusion.  The  court  for  misde- 
meanours must  be  a  scene  of  riot  and  per- 
plexity; and  the  detection  and  punishment  of 
crime  must  be  utterly  impossible :  and  yet  in 
the  very  teeth  of  these  objections,  such  courts 
of  justice  are  just  as  orderly  in  one  set  of 
offences  as  the  other ;  and  the  conviction  of  a 
guilty  person  just  as  certain  and  as  easy. 

The  prosecutor  (if  this  system  were  altered) 
tvould  have  the  choice  of  counsel ;  so  he  has 
now — with  this  difference,  that,  at  present,  his 
counsel  cannot  be  answered  nor  opposed.  It 
would  be  better,  in  all  cases,  if  two  men  of 
exactly  equal  talent  could  be  opposed  to  each 
other;  but  as  this  is  impossible,  the  system 
must  be  taken  with  this  inconvenience ;  but 
there  can  be  no  inequality  between  counsel  so 
great  as  that  between  any  counsel  and  the 
prisoner  pleading  for  himself  "It  has  been 
lately  my  lot,"  says  Mr.  Denman,  "  to  try  two 
prisoners  who  were  deaf  and  dumb,  and  who 
could  only  be  made  to  understand  what  was 
passing  by  the  signs  of  their  friends.  The 
cases  were  clear  and  simple ;  but  if  they  had 
been  circumstantial  cases,  in  what  a  situation 
would  the  judge  and  jury  be  placed,  when  the 
prisoner  could  have  no  counsel  to  plead  for 
him." — Debates  of  the  House  of  Commons,  ^pril 
25,  1826. 

The  folly  of  being  counsel  for  yourself  is  so 
notorious  in  civil  cases,  that  it  has  grown  into 
a  proverb.  But  the  cruelty  of  the  law  compels 
a  man,  in  criminal  cases,  to  be  guilty  of  a 
much  greater  act  of  folly,  and  to  trust  his  life 
to  an  advocate,  who,  by  the  common  sense  of 
mankind,  is  pronounced  to  be  inadequate  to 
defend  the  possession  of  an  acre  of  land. 

In  all  cases  it  must  be  supposed,  that  rea- 
sonably convenient  instruments  are  selected  to 
effect  the  purpose  in  view.  A  judge  may  be 
commonly  presumed  to  understand  his  profes- 
sion, and  a  jury  to  have  a  fair  allowance  of 
common  sense;  but  the  objectors  to  the  im- 
provement we  recommend  appear  to  make~no 
such  suppositions.  Counsel  are  always  to  make 
flashy  addresses  to  the  passions.  Juries  are  to 
32 


be  so  much  struck  with  them,  that  they  are 
always  to  acquit  or  to  condemn,  contrary  to 
justice ;  and  judges  are  always  to  be  so  biassed, 
that  they  are  to  fling  themselves  rashly  into  the 
opposite  scale  against  the  prisoner.  Many 
cases  of  misdemeanour  consign  a  man  to  in- 
famy, and  cast  a  blot  upon  his  posterity. 
Judges  and  juries  must  feel  these  cases  as 
strongly  as  any  cases  of  felony;  and  yet,  in 
spite  of  this,  and  in  spite  of  the  free  permis- 
sion of  counsel  to  speak,  they  preserve  their 
judgment,  and  command  their  feelings  sur- 
prisingly. Generally  speaking,  we  believe  none 
of  these  evils  would  take  place.  Trumpery 
declamation  would  be  considered  as  discredit- 
able to  the  counsel,  and  would  be  disregarded 
by  the  jury.  The  judge  and  jury  (as  in  civil 
cases)  would  gain  the  habit  of  looking  to  the 
facts,  selecting  the  arguments,  and  coming  to 
reasonable  conclusions.  It  is  so  in  all  other 
countries — and  it  would  be  so  in  this.  But  the 
vigilance  of  the  judge  is  to  relax,  if  there  ia 
counsel  for  the  prisoner.  Is,  then,  the  relaxed 
vigilance  of  the  judges  complained  of,  in  high 
treason,  in  misdemeanour,  or  in  civil  cases  1 
This  appears  to  us  really  to  shut  up  the  debate, 
and  to  preclude  reply.  Why  is  the  practice  so 
good  in  all  other  cases,  and  so  pernicious  in. 
felony  alone  1  This  question  has  never  re- 
ceived even  the  shadow  of  an  answer.  There 
is  no  one  objection  against  the  allowance  of 
counsel  to  prisoners  in  felony,  which  does  not 
apply  to  them  in  all  cases.  If  the  vigilance 
of  judges  depend  upon  this  injustice  to  the 
prisoner,  then,  the  greater  injustice  to  the 
prisoner,  the  more  vigilance ;  and  so  the  true 
method  of  perfecting  the  Bench  would  be,  to 
deny  the  prisoner  the  power  of  calling  wit- 
nesses, and  to  increase  as  much  as  possible 
the  disparity  between  the  accuser  and  the 
accused.  We  hope  men  are  selected  for  the 
Judges  of  Israel,  whose  vigilance  depends  upon 
better  and  higher  principles. 

There  are  three  methods  of  arranging  a 
trial,  as  to  the  mode  of  employing  counsel- 
that  both  parties  should  have  counsel,  or  nei- 
ther— or  only  one.  The  first  method  is  the 
best ;  the  second  is  preferable  to  the  last ;  and 
the  last,  which  is  our  present  system,  is  the 
worst  possible.  If  counsel  were  denied  to 
either  of  the  parties,  if  it  ^be  necessary  that 
any  system  of  jurisprudence  should  be  dis- 
graced by  such  an  act  of  injustice,  they  should 
rather  be  denied  to  the  prosecutor  than  to  the 
prisoner. 

But  the  most  singular  caprice  of  the  law 
is,  that  counsel  are  permitted  in  very  high 
crimes,  and  in  very  small  crimes,  and  de- 
nied in  crimes  of  a  sort  of  medium  descrip- 
tion. In  high  treason,  where  you  mean  to 
murder  Lord  Liverpool,  and  to  levy  war 
against  the  people,  and  to  blow  up  the 'two 
houses  of  Parliament,  all  the  lawyers  of  West- 
minster Hall  may  talk  themselves  dry,  and  the 
jury  deaf.  Lord  Eldon,  when  at  the  bar,  has 
been  heard  for  nine  hours  on  such  subjects. 
If,  instead  of  producing  the  destrucnon  of  fiv(! 
thousand  people,  }''ou  are  indicted  for  the  mur- 
der of  one  person,  here  human  faculties,  from 
the  diminution  of  guilt,  are  supposed  to  be  so 


»5d 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


clear  and  so  unclouded,  that  the  prisoner  is 
quite  adequate  to  make  his  own  defence,  and 
no  counsel  are  allowed.  Take  it  then  upon 
that  principle ;  and  let  the  rule,  and  the  reason 
of  it,  pass  as  sufficient.  But  if,  instead  of 
murdering  the  man,  you  have  only  libelled 
him,  then,  for  some  reason  or  another,  though 
utterly  unknown  to  us,  the  original  imbecility 
of  faculties  in  accused  persons  i  respected, 
and  counsel  are  allowed.  Was  ever  such  non- 
sense defended  by  public  men  in  grave  assem- 
blies 1  The  prosecutor,  too  (as  Mr.  Horace 
Twiss  justly  observes),  can  either  allow  or 
disallow  counsel,  by  selecting  his  form  of  pro- 
secution ; — as  where  a  mob  has  assembled  to 
repealjby  riot  and  force,  some  unpopular  statute, 
and  certain  persons  had  continued  in  that  as- 
sembly for  more  than  an  hour  after  proclama- 
tion to  disperse.  That  might  be  treated  as 
levying  war  against  the  king,  and  then  the 
prisoner  would  be  entitled  to  receive  (as  Lord 
George  Gordon  did  receive)  the  benefit  of 
counsel.  It  might  also  be  treated  as  a  sedi- 
tious riot;  then  it  would  be  a  misdemeanour, 
and  counsel  would  still  be  allowed.  But  if 
government  had  a  mind  to  destroy  the  prisoner 
efiectually,  they  have  only  to  abstain  from  the 
charge  of  treason,  and  to  introduce  into  the 
indictment  the  aggravation,  that  the  prisoner 
had  continued  with  the  mob  for  an  hour  after 
proclamation  to  disperse ;  this  is  a  felony,  the 
prisoner's  life  is  in  jeopardy,  and  counsel  are 
effectually  excluded.  It  produces,  in  many 
other  cases  disconnected  with  treason,  the 
most  scandalous  injustice.  A  receiver  of 
stolen  goods,  who  employs  a  young  girl  to  rob 
her  master,  may  be  tried  for  the  misdemea- 
nour ;  the  young  girl  taken  afterwards  would 
be  tried  for  the  felony.  The  receiver  would 
be  punishable  only  with  fine,  imprisonment, 
or  whipping,  and  he  could  have  counsel  to 
defend  him.  The  girl  indicted  for  felony,  and 
liable  to  death,wouldenjoy  no  such  advantage. 

In  the  comparison  between  felony  and  trea- 
son, there  are  certainly  some  arguments  why 
counsel  should  be  allowed  in  felony  rather 
than  in  treason.  Persons  accused  of  treason 
are  generally  persons  of  education  and  rank, 
accustomed  to  assemblies,  and  to  public  speak- 
ing, while  men  accused  of  felony  are  com- 
monly of  the  lowest  of  the  people.  If  it  be 
true,  that  judges,  in  cases  of  high  treason,  are 
more  liable  to  be  influenced  by  the  crown,  and 
to  lean  against  the  prisoner,  this  cannot  apply 
to  cases  of  misdemeanour,  or  to  the  defendants 
in  civil  cases ;  but  if  it  be  necessary,  that 
judges  should  be  watched  in  political  cases, 
how  often  are  cases  of  felony  connected  with 
political  disaffection  1  Every  judge,  too,  has 
his  idiosyncrasies,  which  require  to  be  watched. 
Some  hate  Dissenters — some  mobs ;  some 
have  one  weakness,  some  another;  and  the 
ultimate  truth  is,  that  no  court  of  justice  is 
safe,  unless  there  is  some  one  present  whose 
occupation  and  interest  it  is  to  watch  the  safe- 
ty of  the  prisoner.  Till  then,  no  man  of  right 
feeling  can  be  easy  at  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  the  punishment  of  death. 

Two  men  are  accused  of  one  offence ;  the 
one  dexterous,  bold,  subtile,  gifted  with  speech, 


and  remarkable  for  presence  of  mind;  the 
other  timid,  hesitating,  and  confused — is  there 
any  reason  why  the  chances  of  these  two  men 
for  acquittal  should  be,  as  they  are,  so  very 
different?  Inequalities  there  will  be  in  the 
means  of  defence  under  the  best  system,  but 
there  is  no  occasion  the  law  should  make 
these  greater  than  they  are  left  by  chance  or 
nature. 

But  (it  is  asked)  what  practical  injustice  is 
done — what  practical  evil  is  there  in  the  pre- 
sent system "!  The  great  object  of  all  law  is, 
that  the  guilty  should  be  punished,  and  that 
the  innocent  should  be  acquitted.  A  very 
great  majority  of  prisoners,  we  admit,  are 
guilty — and  so  clearly  guilty,  that  we  believe 
they  would  be  found  guilty  under  any  system ; 
but  among  the  number  of  those  who  are  tried, 
some  are  innocent,  and  the  chance  of  establish- 
ing their  innocence  is  very  much  diminished, 
by  the  privation  of  counsel.  In  the  course 
of  twenty  or  thirty  years,  among  the  whole 
mass  of  English  prisoners,  we  believe  many 
are  found  guilty  who  are  innocent,  and  who 
would  not  have  been  found  guilty,  if  an  able 
and  intelligent  man  had  watched  over  their 
interest,  and  represented  their  case.  If  this 
happen  only  to  two  or  three  every  year,  it  is 
quite  a  sufficient  reason  why  the  law  should 
be  altered.  That  such  cases  exist  we  firmly 
believe ;  and  this  is  the  practical  evil — per- 
ceptible to  men  of  sense  and  reflection ;  but 
not  likely  to  become  the  subject  of  general 
petition.  To  ask  why  there  are  not  peti- 
tions— why  the  evil  is  not  more  noticed,  is 
mere  parliamentary  froth  and  ministerial 
juggling.  Gentlemen  are  rarely  hung.  If 
they  were  so,  there  would  be  petitions  without 
end  for  counsel.  The  creatures  exposed  to 
the  cruelties  and  injustice  of  the  law  are 
dumb  creatures,  who  feel  the  evil  without  be- 
ing able  to  express  their  feeling.  Besides, 
the  question  is  not,  whether  the  evil  is  found 
out,  but  whether  the  evil  exist.  Whoever 
thinks  it  is  an  evil,  should  vote  against  it, 
whether  the  sufferer  from  the  injustice  dis- 
cover it  to  be  an  injustice,  or  whether  he  suffer 
in  ignorant  silence.  When  the  bill  was  en- 
acted, which  allowed  counsel  for  treason,  there 
was  not  a  petition  from  one  end  of  England 
to  the  other.  Can  there  be  a  more  shocking 
answer  from  the  ministerial  bench,  than  to 
say.  For  real  evil  we  care  nothing — only  for 
detected  evil  ?  We  will  set  about  curing  any 
wrong  which  affects  our  popularity  and  power: 
but  as  to  any  other  evil,  we  wait  till  the  peo- 
ple find  it  out ;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  commit 
such  evils  to  the  care  of  Mr.  George  Lamb, 
and  of  Sir  James  Mackintosh.  We  are  sure 
so  good  a  man  as  Mr.  Peel  can  never  feel  in 
this  manner. 

Howard  devoted  himself  to  his  country.  It 
was  a  noble  example.  Let  two  gentlemen  on 
the  ministerial  side  of  the  house  (we  only  ask 
for  two)  commit  some  crimes,  which  will  ren- 
der their  execution  a  matter  of  painful  neces- 
sity. Let  them  feel,  and  report  to  the  hoiise, 
all  the  injustice  and  inconvenience  of  having 
neither  a  copy  of  the  indictment,  nor  a  list  of 
witnesses,  nor  counsel  to  defend  them.     We 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


i^£ 


will  venture  to  say,  that  the  evidence  of  two 
such  persons  would  do  more  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  criminal  law,  than  all  the  orations 
of  Mr.  Lamb  or  the  lucubrations  of  Beccaria. 
Such  evidence  would  save  time,  and  bring  the 
question  to  an  issue.  It  is  a  great  duty,  and 
ought  to  be  fulfilled — and,  in  ancient  Rome, 
would  have  been  fulfilled. 

The  opponents  always  forget  that  Mr.  Lamb's 
plan  is  not  to  compel  prisoners  to  have  counsel, 
but  to  allow  them  to  have  counsel,if  they  choose 
to  do  so.  Depend  upon  it,  as  Dr.  Johnson 
says,  when  a  man  is  going  to  be  hanged,  his 
faculties  are  wonderfully  concentrated.  If  it 
be  really  true,  as  the  defenders  of  Mumpsimus 
observe,  that  the  judge  is  the  best  counsel  for 
the  prisoner,  the  prisoner  will  soon  learn  to 
employ  him,  especially  as  his  lordship  works 
without  fees.  Ail  that  we  want  is  an  option 
given  to  the  prisoner — that  a  man,  left  to  adopt 
his  own  means  of  defence  in  every  trifling 
civil  right,  may  have  the  same  power  of  se- 
lecting his  own  auxiliaries  for  higher  interests. 

But  nothing  can  be  more  unjust  than  to 
speak  of  judges,  as  if  they  were  of  one  stan- 
dard, and  one  heart  and  head  pattern.  The 
great  majority  of  judges,  we  have  no  doubt, 
are  upright  and  pure  ;  but  some  have  been 
selected  for  flexible  politics — some  are  pas- 
sionate— some  are  in  a  hurry — some  are  vio- 
lent churchmen — some  resemble  ancient  fe- 
males— some  have  the  gout — some  are  eighty 
years  old — some  are  blinil,  deaf,  and  have  lost 
the  power  of  smelling.  All  one  to  the  unhappy 
prisoner — he  has  no  choice. 

It  is  impossible  to  put  so  gross  an  insult 
upon  judges,  jurymen,  grand  jurymen,  or  any 
person  connected  with  the  administration  of 
justice,  as  to  suppose  that  the  longer  time  to 
be  taken  up  by  speeches  of  counsel  constitutes 
the  grand  bar  to  the  proposed  alteration.  If 
three  hours  would  acquit  a  man,  and  he  is 
hanged  because  he  is  only  allowed  two  hours 
for  his  defence,  the  poor  man  is  as  much  mur- 
dered as  if  hie  throat  had  been  cut  before  he 
came  into  court.  If  twelve  judges  cannot  do 
the  most  perfect  justice,  other  twelve  must  be 
appointed.  Strange  administration  of  criminal 
law,  to  adhere  obstinately  to  an  inadequate 
number  of  judges,  and  to  refuse  any  improve- 
ment which  is  incompatible  with  this  arbitrary 
and  capricious  enactment.  Neither  is  it  quite 
certain  that  the  proposed  alteration  would  cre- 
ate a  greater  demand  upon  the  time  of  the 
court.  At  present  the  counsel  makes  a  defence 
by  long  cross-examinations  and  examinations 
in  chief  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  judge  allows 
a  greater  latitude  than  he  would  do,  if  the 
counsel  of  the  prisoner  were  permitted  to 
speak.  The  counsel  by  these  oblique  methods, 
and  by  stating  false  points  of  law  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  introducing  facts,  endeavours 
to  obviate  the  injustice  of  the  law,  and  takes 
up  more  time  by  this  oblique,  than  he  would  do 
by  a  direct  defence.  But  the  best  answer  to 
this  objection  of  time  (which,  if  true,  is  no  ob- 
f  jection  at  all)  is,  that  as  many  misdemeanours 
as  felonies  are  tried  in  a  given  time,  though 
counsel  are  allowed  in  the  former,  and  not  in 
the  latter  case. 


One  excuse  for  the  absence  of  counsel  is, 
that  the  evidence  upon  which  the  prisoner  is 
convicted  is  always  so  clear,  that  the  counsel 
cannot  gainsay  it.  This  is  mere  absurdity. 
There  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  any  such  rule. 
Many  a  man  has  been  hung  upon  a  string  of 
circumstantial  evidence,  which  not  only  very 
ingenious  men,  but  very  candid  and  judicious 
men,  might  criticise  and  call  in  question.  If 
no  one  were  found  guilty  but  upon  such  evi- 
dence as  would  not  admit  of  a  doubt,  half  the 
crimes  in  the  world  would  be  unpunished. 
This  dictum,  by  which  the  present  practice  has 
often  been  defended,  was  adopted  by  Lord 
Chancellor  Nottingham.  To  the  lot  of  this 
chancellor,  however,  it  fell  to  pass  sentence  of 
death  upon  Lord  Stafibrd,  whom  (as  Mr.  Den- 
man  justly  observes)  no  court  of  justice,  not 
even  the  house  of  lords  (constituted  as  it  was 
in  those  days),  could  have  put  to  death,  if  he 
had  had  counsel  to  defend  him. 

To  improve  the  criminal  law  of  England, 
and  to  make  it  really  deserving  of  the  incessant 
eulogium  which  is  lavished  upon  it,  we  would 
assimilate  trials  for  felony  to  trials  for  high 
treason.  The  prisoner  should  not  only  have 
counsel,  but  a  copy  of  the  indictment  and  a 
list  of  the  witnesses,  many  days  antecedent  to 
the  trial.  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  unjust 
that  I  should  not  see  and  study  the  description 
of  the  crime  with  which  I  am  charged,  if  the 
most  scrupulous  exactness  be  required  in  that 
instrument  which  charges  me  with  crime.  If 
the  place  where,  the  time  when,  and  the  manner 
how,  and  the  persons  by  whom,  must  all  be 
specified  with  the  most  perfect  accuracy,  if  any 
deviation  from  this  accuracy  is  fatal,  the  pri- 
soner, or  his  legal  advisers,  should  have  a  full 
opportunity  of  judging  whether  the  scruples 
of  the  law  have  been  attended  to  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  indictment ;  and  they  ought  not  to 
be  confined  to  the  hasty  and  imperfect  con- 
sideration which  can  be  given  to  an  indictment 
exhibited  for  the  first  time  in  court.  Neither 
is  it  possible  for  the  prisoner  to  repel  accusa- 
tion till  he  knows  who  is  to  be  brought  against 
him.  He  may  see  suddenly,  stuck  up  in  the 
witness's  box,  a  man  who  has  been  writing 
him  letters,  to  extort  money  from  the  threat  of 
evidence  he  could  produce.  The  character  of 
such  a  witness  would  be  destroyed  in  a  mo- 
ment, if  the  letters  were  produced;  and  the 
letters  would  have  been  produced,  of  course, 
if  the  prisoner  had  imagined  such  a  person 
would  have  been  brought  forward  by  the  pro- 
secutor. It  is  utterly  impossible  for  a  pri- 
soner to  know  in  what  way  he  may  be  assailed, 
and  against  what  species  of  attacks  he  is  to 
guard.  Conversations  may  be  brought  against 
him  which  he  has  forgotten,  and  to  which  he 
could  (upon  notice)  have  given  another  colour 
and  complexion.  Actions  are  made  to  bear 
upon  his  case,  which  (if  he  had  known  they 
would  have  been  referred  to)  might  have  been 
explained  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner. 
All  these  modes  of  attack  are  pointed  out  by 
the  list  of  witnesses  transmitted  to  the  prisoner, 
and  he  has  time  to  prepare  his  answer,  as  it  is 
perfectly  just  he  should  have.  This  is  justice, 
when  a  prisoner  has  ample  means  of  compel- 


9S9 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


ling  the  attendance  of  his  witnesses  ;  when  his 
written  accusation  is  put  into  his  hand,  and  he 
las  time  to  study  it — when  he  knows  in  what 
jnanner  his  guilt  is  to  be  proved,  and  when  he 
has  a  man  of  practised  understanding  to  stale 
his  facts,  and  prefer  his  arguments.  Then 
criminal  justice  may  march  on  boldly.  The 
judge  has  no  stain  of  blood  on  his  ermine ;  and 
the  phrases  which  English  people  are  so  fond 
of  lavishing  upon  the  humanity  of  their  laws 
will  have  a  real  foundation.  At  present  this 
part  of  the  law  is  a  mere  relic  of  the  barbarous 
injustice  by  which  accusation  in  the  early  part 
of  our  jurisprudence  was  always  confounded 
with  guilt.  The  greater  part  of  these  abuses 
have  been  brushed  away,  as  this  cannot  fail 
soon  to  be.  In  the  mean  time,  it  is  defended 
(as  every  other  abuse  has  been  defended)  by 
men  who  think  it  their  duty  to  defend  every 


thing  which  is,  and  to  dread  every  thing  which 
is  not.  We  are  told  that  the  judge  does  what 
he  does  not  do,  and  ought  not  to  do.  The  most 
pernicious  effects  are  anticipated  in  trials  of 
felony,  from  that  which  is  found  to  produce 
the  most  perfect  justice  in  civil  causes,  and  in 
cases  of  treason  and  misdemeanour:  we  are 
called  upon  to  continue  a  practice  without 
example  in  any  other  country,  and  are  re- 
quired by  lawyers  to  consider  that  custom  as 
humane,  which  every  one  who  is  not  a  lawyer 
pronounces  to  be  most  cruel  and  unjust — and 
which  has  not  been  brought  forward  to  general 
notice,  only  because  its  bad  effects  are  con- 
fined to  the  last  and  lowest  of  mankind.* 


*  All  this  nonsense  is  now  put  an  end  to.  Counsel  Is 
allowed  to  the  prisoner,  andjhey  are  permitted  to  speak 
in  his  defence. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


d63 


CATHOLICS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1827.] 


If  a  poor  man  were  to  accept  a  guinea  upon 
the  condition  that  he  spoke  all  the  evil  he  could 
of  another  whom  he  believed  to  be  innocent, 
and  whose  imprisonment  he  knew  he  should 
prolong,  and  whose  privations  he  knew  he 
should  increase  by  his  false  testimony,  would 
not  the  person  so  hired  be  one  of  the  worst  and 
basest  of  human  beings  1  And  would  not  his 
guilt  be  aggravated,  if,  up  to  the  moment  of  re- 
ceiving his  aceldama,  he  had  spoken  in  terms 
of  high  praise  of  the  person  whom  he  subse- 
quently accused]  Would  not  the  latter  feature 
of  the  case  prove  him  to  be  as  much  without 
shame  as  the  former  evinced  him  to  be  without 
principle  1  Would  the  guilt  be  less,  if  the  person 
so  hired  were  a  man  of  education  1  Would  it  be 
less  if  he  were  above  want  1  Would  it  be  less,  if 
the  profession  and  occupation  of  his  life  were  to 
decide  men's  rights,  or  to  teach  them  morals  and 
religion"?  Would  itbe  less  by  the  splendour  of  the 
bribe  1  Does  a  bribe  of  3000Z.  leave  a  man  in- 
nocent, whom  a  bribe  of  30Z.  would  cover  with 
infamy"?  You  are  of  a  mature  period  of  life, 
when  the  opinions  of  an  honest  man  ought  to 
be,  and  are  fixed.  On  Monday  you  were  a  bar- 
rister or  a  country  clergyman,  a  serious  and 
temperate  friend  to  religious  liberty  and  Catho- 
lic emancipation.  In  a  few  weeks  from  this 
time  you  are  a  bishop,  or  a  dean,  or  a  judge — 
publishmg  and  speaking  charges  and  sermons 
against  the  poor  Catholics,  and  explaining 
away  this  sale  of  your  soul  by  every  species 
of  falsehood,  shabbiness,  and  equivocation. 
You  may  carry  a  bit  of  ermine  on  your  shoul- 
der, or  hide  the  lower  moiety  of  the  body  in  a 
silken  petticoat — and  men  may  call  you  Mr. 
Dean,  or  My  Lord;  but  you  have  sold  your 
honour  and  your  conscience  for  money;  and, 
though  better  paid,  you  are  as  base  as  the 
witness  who  stands  at  the  door  of  the  judg- 
ment-hall, to  swear  whatever  the  suborner  will 
put  into  his  mouth,  and  to  receive  whatever  he 
will  put  in  his  pocket.j- 

When  soldiers  exercise,  there  stands  a  goodly 
portly  person  out  of  the  ranks,  upon  whom  all 
eyes  are  directed,  and  whose  signs  and  motions, 
in  the  performance  of  the  manual  exercise,  all 
the  soldiers  follow.  The  Germans,  we  believe, 
call  him  a  Flugelman.  We  propose  Lord  Nu- 
gent as  a  political  flugelman ; — he  is  always 
consistent,    plain    and    honest,    steadily    and 

*  1.  A  Plain  Slatementinsupport  of  the  Political  Claims 
of  the  Roman  Catholics;  in  a  Letter  to  the  Rev.  Sir  Oeorge 
Lee,  Bart.  By  Lord  Nugent,  Member  of  Parliament  for 
Aylesbury.    London,  Hookham.  1826. 

2.  M  Letter  to  Viscount  Milton,  M  P.  By  One  of  iiis 
Constituents.     London,  Ridgway.     1827. 

3.  Charge  by  the  Irihbishop  of  Cashel.  Dublin,  Milli- 
ken. 

+  It  is  very  far  from  our  intention  to  say  tiiat  all  who 
were  for  the  Calliolics,  and  are  now  against  them,  have 
made  this  change  from  base  motives;  it  is  equally  fir 
from  our  intention  not  to  say  that  many  men  of  both 
professions  have  subjected  themselves  to  this  sbociiing 
imputation. 


straightly  pursuing  his  object  without  hope  oi 
fear,  under  the  influence  of  good  feelings  and 
high  principle.  The  House  of  Commons  does 
not  contain  within  its  walls  a  more  honest,  up- 
right man. 

We  seize  upon  the  opportunity  which  this 
able  pamphlet  of  his  lordship  affords  us,  to 
renew  our  attention  to  the  Catholic  question. 
There  is  little  new  to  be  said ;  but  we  must  not 
be  silent,  or,  in  these  days  of  baseness  and  ter- 
giversation, we  shall  be  supposed  to  have  de- 
serted our  friend  the  Pope  ;  and  they  will  say 
of  us,  Prostant  venules  apud  Lambeth  et  Whitehall. 
God  forbid  it  should  ever  be  said  of  us  with 
justice — it  is  pleasant  to  loll  and  roll,  and  to 
accumulate — to  be  a  purple  and  fine  linen  man, 
and  to  be  called  by  some  of  those  nicknames 
which  frail  and  ephemeral  beings  are  so  fond 
of  accumulating  upon  each  other; — but  the 
best  thing  of  all  is  to  live  like  honest  men,  and 
to  add  something  to  the  cause  of  liberality,  jus- 
tice, and  truth. 

The  Letter  to  Lord  Milton  is  very  well  and 
very  pleasantly  written.  We  were  delighted 
witii  the  liberality  and  candour  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Cashel.  The  charge  is  in  the  high- 
est degree  creditable  to  him.  He  must  lay  his 
account  for  the  furious  hatred  of  bigots,  and 
the  incessant  gnawing  of  rats. 

There  are  many  men  who  (thoroughly  aware 
that  the  Catholic  question  must  be  ultimately 
carried)  delay  their  acquiescence  till  the  last 
moment,  and  wait  till  the  moment  of  peril  and 
civil  war  before  they  yield.  That  this  moment 
is  not  quite  so  remote  as  was  supposed  a 
twelvemonth  since,  the  events  now  passing  in 
the  world  seem  to  afford  the  strongest  proof. 
The  truth  is,  that  the  disaffected  state  of  Ireland 
is  a-standing  premium  for  war  with  every  cabi- 
net in  Europe  which  has  the  most  distant  in- 
tention of  quarrelling  with  this  country  for  any 
other  cause.  "  If  we  are  to  go  to  ivar,  let  us  do  so 
when  the  discontents  of  Ireland  are  at  their  greatest 
height,  before  any  spirit  of  concession  has  been  shown  ■ 
by  the  British  cabinet."  Does  any  man  imagine 
that  so  plain  and  obvious  a  principle  has  not 
been  repeatedly  urged  on  the  French  cabinet] 
— that  the  eyes  of  the  Americans  are  shut  upon 
the  state  of  Ireland — and  that  that  great  and 
ambitious  republic  will  not,  in  case  of  war, 
aim  a  deadly  blow  at  this  most  sensitive  part 
of  the  British  empire  1  We  should  really  say, 
that  England  has  fully  as  much  to  fear  from 
Irish  fraternization  with  America  as  with 
France.  The  language  is  the  same;  the  Ame- 
ricans have  preceded  them  in  the  struggle;  the 
number  of  emigrant  and  rebel  Irish  is  very 
great  in  America;  and  all  parties  are  sure  of 
perfect  toleration  under  the  protection  of  Ama 
rica.  We  are  astonished  at  the  madness  and  folly 
of  l^nglishmen,  who  do  not  perceive  that  both 
France  and  America  are  only  waiting  for  a  coq- 


264 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


venient  opportunity  to  go  to  war  with  this  coun- 
try; and  that  one  of  the  first  blows  aimed  at  our 
independence  would  be  the  invasion  of  Ireland. 

We  should  like  to  argue  this  matter  with  a 
regular  tory  lord,  whose  members  vote  steadily 
against  the  Catholic  question.  "I  wonder  that 
mere  fear  does  not  make  you  give  up  the  Ca- 
tholic question  !  Do  you  mean  to  put  this  fine 
place  in  danger — the  venison — the  pictures — 
the  pheasants — the  cellars — the  hot-house  and 
the  grapery  1  Should  you  like  to  see  six  or 
seven  thousand  French  or  Americans  landed 
in  Ireland,  and  aided  by  a  universal  insurrec- 
tion of  the  Catholics  1  Is  it  worth  your  while 
to  run  the  risk  of  their  success  ?  What  evil 
from  the  possible  encroachment  of  Catholics, 
by  civil  exertions,  can  equal  the  danger  of  such 
a  position  as  thisi  How  can  a  man  of  your 
carriages,  and  horses,  and  hounds,  think  of 
putting  your  high  fortune  in  such  a  predica- 
ment, and  crying  out,  like  a  schoolboy  or  a 
chaplain,  "  Oh,  we  shall  beat  them !  we  shall 
put  the  rascals  down  !"  No  Popery,  I  admit  to 
your  lordship,  is  a  very  convenient  cry  at  an 
election,  and  has  answered  your  end;  but  do 
not  push  the  matter  too  far:  to  bring  on  a  civil 
war  for  no  popery  is  a  very  foolish  proceeding 
in  a  man  who  has  two  courses,  and  a  remove ! 
As  you  value  your  side-board  of  plate,  your 
broad  riband,  your  pier  glasses — if  obsequious 
domestics  and  large  rooms  are  dear  to  you — if 
you  love  ease  and  flattery,  titles  and  coats  of 
arms — if  the  labour  of  the  French  cook,  the 
dedication  of  the  expecting  poet,  can  move  you 
— if  you  hope  for  a  long  life  of  side-dishes — 
if  you  are  not  insensible  to  the  periodical  arri- 
val of  the  turtle  fleets — emancipate  the  Catho- 
lics !  Do  it  for  your  ease,  do  it  for  your  indo- 
lence, do  it  lor  your  safety — emancipate  and 
eat,  emancipate  and  drink — emancipate,  and 
preserve  the  rent-roll  and  the  family  estate  !" 

The  miiirt  common  excuse  of  the  Great  Shab- 
by is,  that  the  Catholics  are  their  own  enemies 
— that  th6  violence  of  Mr.  O'Connell  and  Mr. 
Shiel  have  ruined  their  cause — that,  but  for 
these  boisterous  courses,  the  question  would 
have  been  carried  before  this  time.  The  an- 
swer  to  this  nonsense  and  baseness  is,  that  the 
very  reverse  is  the  fact.  The  mild  and  the 
long-suffering  may  suffer  for  ever  in  this  world. 
If  the  Catholics  had  stood  with  their  hands  be- 
fore them  simpering  at  the  Earls  of  Liverpool 
and  the  Lords  Bathurst  of  the  moment,  they 
would  not  have  been  emancipated  till  the  year 
of  our  Lord  four  thousand.  As  long  as  the  pa- 
tient will  suffer,  the  cruel  will  kick.  No  trea- 
son— no  rebellion — but  as  much  stubbornness 
and  stoutness  as  the  law  permits — a  thorough 
intimation  that  you  know  what  is  your  due, 
and  that  you  are  determined  to  have  it  if  you 
can  lawfully  get  it.  This  is  the  conduct  we 
recommend  to  the  Irish.  If  they  go  on  with- 
holding, and  forbearing,  and  hesitating  whether 
this  is  the  time  for  the  discussion  or  that  is  the 
time,  they  will  be  laughed  at  for  another  cen- 
tury as  fools — and  kicked  for  another  century 
as  slaves.  "I  must  have  my  bill  paid  (says 
the  sturdy  and  irritated  tradesman) ;  your  mas- 
ter has  put  me  off  twenty  times  under  different 
pretences.  I  know  he  is  at  home,  and  I  will 
not  quit  the  premises  till  I  get  the  money." 


Many  a  tradesman  gets  paid  in  this  manner, 
who  would  soon  smirk  and  smile  himself  into 
the  gazette,  if  he  trusted  to  the  promises  of  the 
great. 

Can  any  thing  be  so  utterly  childish  and 
foolish  as  to  talk  of  the  bad  taste  of  the  Catho- 
lic leaders'? — as  if,  in  a  question  of  conferring 
on,  or  withholding  important  civil  rights  from 
seven  millions  of  human  beings,  any  thing 
could  arrest  the  attention  of  a  wise  man  but 
the  good  or  evil  consequences  of  so  great  a 
measure.  Suppose  Mr.  S.  does  smell  slightly 
of  tobacco — admit  Mr.  L.  to  be  occasionally 
stimulated  by  rum  and  water — allow  that  Mr. 
F.  was  unfeeling  in  speaking  of  the  Duke  of 
York — what  has  all  this  nonsense  to  do  with 
the  extinction  of  religious  hatred  and  the  paci- 
fication of  Ireland  1  Give  it  if  it  is  right,  re- 
fuse it  if  it  is  wrong.  How  it  is  asked,  or  how 
it  is  given  or  refused,  is  less  than  the  dust  of  the 
balance. 

What  is  the  real  reason  why  a  good  honest 
tory,  living  at  ease  on  his  possessions,  is  an 
enemy  to  Catholic  emancipation?  He  admits 
the  Catholic  of  his  own  rank  to  be  a  gentle- 
man, and  not  a  bad  subject — and  about  theo- 
logical disputes  an  excellent  tory  never  troubles 
his  head.  Of  what  importance  is  it  to  him 
whether  an  Irish  Catholic  or  an  Irish  Protest- 
ant is  a  judge  in  the  King's  Bench  at  Dublin ! 
None  ;  but  I  am  afraid  for  the  church  of  Ireland, 
says  our  alarmist.  Why  do  you  care  so  much 
for  the  church  of  Ireland,  a  country  you  never 

live  in  1 Answer — /  do  not  care  so  much  for  the 

church  of  Ireland,  if  I  was  sure  the  church  of  Eng- 
land would  not  be  destroyed. — And  is  it  for  the 
Church  of  England  alone  that  you  fear? — An- 
swer— Not  quite  to  that,  but  I  am  afraid  ive  should 
all  be  lost,  that  every  thing  would  be  overturned,  and 
that  I  should  lose  my  rank  and  my  estate.  Here, 
then,  we  say,  is  a  long  series  of  dangers,  which 
(if  there  were  any  chance  of  their  ever  taking 
place)  would  require  half  a  century  for  their 
development;  and  the  danger  of  losing  Ireland 
by  insurrection  and  invasion,  which  may  hap- 
pen in  six  months,  is  utterly  overlooked  and 
forgotten.  And  if  a  foreign  influence  should 
ever  be  fairly  established  in  Ireland,  how  many 
hours  would  the  Irish  church,  how  many  months 
would  the  English  church,  live  after  such  an 
event?  How  much  is  any  English  title  worth 
after  such  an  event — any  English  family — any 
English  estate?  We  are  astonished  that  the 
brains  of  rich  Englishmen  do  not  fall  down 
into  their  bellies  in  talking  of  the  Catholic 
question — that  they  do  not  reason  through  the 
cardia  and  the  pylorus — that  all  the  organs  of 
digestion  do  not  become  intellectual.  The  de- 
scendants of  the  proudest  noblemen  in  England 
may  become  beggars  in  a  foreign  land  from 
this  disgraceful  nonsense  of  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion— fit  only  for  the  ancient  females  of  a  mar- 
ket town. 

What  alarms  us  in  the  state  of  England  is 
the  uncertain  basis  on  which  its  prosperity  is 
placed — and  the  prodigious  mass  of  hatred 
which  the  English  government  continues,  by 
its  obstinate  bigotry,  to  accumulate — eight  hun- 
dred and  forty  millions  sterling  of  debt.  The 
revenue  depending  upon  the  demand  for  the 
shoes,  stockings,  and  breeches  of  Europe — and 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


255 


seven  millions  of  Catholics  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  fury  and  exasperation.  We  persecute 
as  if  we  did  not  owe  a  shilling — we  spend  as  if 
we  had  no  disaffection.  This,  by  possibility, 
may  go  on  ;  but  it  is  dangerous  walking — the 
chance  is,  there  will  be  a  fall.  No  wise  man 
should  take  such  a  course.  All  probabilities 
are  against  it.  We  are  astonished  that  Lord 
Hertford  and  Lord  Lowther,  shrewd  and  calcu- 
lating tories,  do  not  see  that  it  is  nine  to  one 
against  such  a  game. 

It  is  not  only  the  event  of  war  we  fear  in  the 
military  struggle  with  Ireland ;  but  the  expense 
of  war,  and  the  expenses  of  the  English  go- 
vernment, are  paving  the  way  for  future  revo- 
lutions. The  world  never  yet  saw  so  extravagant 
a  government  as  the  government  of  England. 
Not  only  is  economy  not  practised — but  it  is 
despised;  and  the  idea  of  it  connected  with 
disaffection,  Jacobinism,  and  Joseph  Hume. 
Every  rock  in  the  ocean  where  a  cormorant 
can  perch  is  occupied  by  our  troops — has  a 
governor,  deputy-governor,  store-keeper,  and 
deputy-store-keeper — and  will  soon  have  an 
archdeacon  and  a  bishop.  Military  colleges, 
with  thirty-four  professors,  educating  seventeen 
ensigns  per  annum,  being  half  an  ensign  for 
each  professor,  with  every  species  of  nonsense, 
athletic,  sartorial,  and  plumigerous.  A  just  and 
necessary  war  costs  this  country  about  one 
hundred  pounds  a  minute;  whipcord  fifteen 
thousand  pounds ;  red  tape  seven  thousand 
pounds  ;  lace  for  drummers  and  fifers,  nineteen 
thousand  pounds  ;  a  pension  to  one  man  who 
has  broken  his  head  at  the  Pole;  to  another 
who  has  shattered  his  leg  at  the  Equator;  sub- 
sidies to  Persia;  secret  service-money  to  Thi- 
bet ;  an  annuity  to  Lady  Henry  Somebody  and 
her  seven  daughters — the  husband  being  shot 
at  some  place  where  we  never  ought  to  ha^-e 
had  any  soldiers  at  all ;  and  the  elder  brother 
returning  four  members  to  Parliament.  Such 
a  scene  of  extravagance,  corruption,  and  ex- 
pense as  must  paralyze  the  industry,  and  mar 
the  fortunes,  of  the  most  industrious,  spirited 
people  that  ever  existed. 

Few  men  consider  the  historical  view  which 
will  be  taken  of  present  events.  The  bubbles 
of  last  year;  the  fishing  for  half-crowns  in 
Vigo  Bay  ;  the  Milk  Muffin  and  Crumpet  Com- 
panies; the  Apple,  Pear,  and  Plum  Associa- 
tions; the  National  Gooseberry  and  Current 
Company;  will  all  be  remembered  as  instan- 
ces of  that  partial  madness  to  which  society  is 
occasionally  exposed.  What  will  be  said  of 
all  the  intolerable  trash  which  is  issued  forth 
at  public  meetings  of  No  Popery?  The  follies 
of  one  century  are  scarcely  credible  in  that 
which  succeeds  it.  A  grandmamma  of  1827 
is  as  wise  as  a  very  wise  man  of  1727.  If  the 
world  lasts  till  1927,  the  grandmammas  of  that 
period  will  be  far  wiser  than  the  tip-top  No- 
Popery  men  of  this  day.  That  this  childish 
nonsense  will  have  got  out  of  the  drawing- 
room,  ihere  can  be  no  doubt.  It  will  most  pro- 
bably have  passed  through  the  steward's  room 
— and  butler's  pantry,  into  the  kitchen.  This 
is  the  case  with  ghosts.  They  no  longer  loll 
on  couches  and  sip  tea  ;  but  are  down  on  their 
knees  scrubbing  with  the  scullion — or  stand 
sweating,  and  basting  with  the   cook.      Mrs. 


Abigail  turns  up  her  nose  at  them,  and  the 
housekeeper  declares  for  flesh  and  blood,  and 
will  have  none  of  their  company. 

It  is  delicious  to  the  persecution-fanciers  to 
reflect  that  no  general  bill  has  passed  in  favour 
of  the  Protestant  Dissenters.  They  are  still 
disqualified  from  holding  any  office — and  are 
only  protected  from  prosecution  by  an  annual 
indemnity  act.  So  that  the  sword  of  Damocles 
still  hangs  over  them — not  suspended,  indeed, 
by  a  thread,  but  by  a  cart-rope — still  it  hangs 
there  an  insult,  if  not  an  injury,  and  prevents 
the  painful  idea  from  presenting  itself  to  the 
mind  of  perfect  toleration,  and  pure  justice. 
There  is  the  larva  of  tyranny,  and  the  skeleton 
of  malice.  Now  this  is  all  we  presume  to  ask 
for  the  Catholics — admission  to  Parliament, 
exclusion  from  every  possible  oflSce  by  law, 
and  annual  indemnity  for  the  breach  of  law. 
This  is  surely  much  more  agreeable  to  feeble- 
ness, to  littleness,  and  to  narrowness,  than  to 
say  the  Catholics  are  as  free  and  as  eligible  as 
ourselves. 

The  most  intolerable  circumstance  of  the 
Catholic  dispute  is,  the  conduct  of  the  Dissent- 
ers. Any  man  may  dissent  from  the  Church 
of  England,  and  preach  against  it,  by  paying 
sixpence.  Almost  every  tradesman  in  a  mar- 
ket town  is  a  preacher.  It  must  absolutely  be 
ride  and  tie  with  them ;  the  butcher  must 
hear  the  baker  in  the  morning,  and  the  baker 
listen  to  the  butcher  in  the  afternoon,  or  there 
would  be  no  congregation.  We  have  often 
speculated  upon  the  peculiar  trade  of  the 
preacher  from  his  style  of  action.  Some  have 
a  tying-up  or  parcel-packing  action ;  some 
strike  strongly  against  the  anvil  of  the  pulpit; 
some  screw,  some  bore,  some  act  as  if  they 
were  managing  a  needle.  The  occupation  of 
the  preceding  week  can  seldom  be  mistaken. 
In  the  country,  three  or  four  thousand  Ranters 
are  sometimes  encamped,  supplicating  in  reli- 
gious platoons,  or  roaring  psalms  out  of  wag- 
gons. Now  all  this  freedom  is  very  proper ; 
because,  though  it  is  abused,  yet  in  truth  there 
is  no  other  principle  in  religious  matters,  than 
to  let  men  alone  as  long  as  they  keep  the  peace. 
Yet  we  should  imagine  this  unbounded  license 
of  Dissenters  should  teach  them  a  little  charity 
towards  the  Catholics,  and  a  little  respect  for 
their  religious  freedom.  But  the  picture  of 
sects  is  this — there  are  twenty  fettered  men  in 
a  jail,  and  every  one  is  employed  in  loosening 
his  own  fetters  with  one  hand,  and  riveting 
those  of  his  neighbour  with  the  other. 

"'If,  then,'  says  a  minister  of  our  own 
church,  the  Reverend  John  Fisher,  rector  of 
Wavenden,  in  this  county,  in  a  sermon  pub- 
lished some  years  ago,  and  entitled  'The 
Utility  of  the  Church  Establishment,  and  its 
Safety  consistent  with  Religious  Freedom' — 
'If,  then,  the  Protestant  religion  could  have  ori- 
ginally worked  its  way  in  this  country  against 
numbers,  prejudices,  bigotry,  and  interest;  if, 
in  times  of  its  infancy,  the  power  of  the  prince 
could  not  prevail  against  it;  surely,  when 
confirmed  by  age,  and  rooted  in  the  affections 
of  the  people — when  invested  with  authority, 
and  in  full  enjoyment  of  wealth  and  power — 
when  cherished  by  a  sovereign  who  holds  his 
very  throne  by  this  sacred  tenure,  and  whose 


256 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


conscientious  attachment  to  it  well  warrants 
the  title  of  Defender  of  the  Faith — surely  any 
attack  upon  it  must  he  contemptible,  any  alarm 
of  danger  must  be  imaginary.'  " — Lord  Nugenfs 
Letter,  p.  18. 

To  go  into  a  committee  upon  the  state  of  the 
Catholic  laws  is  to  reconsider,  as  Lord  Nugent 
justly  observes,  passages  in  our  domestic  his- 
t®ry,  which  bear  date  about  270  years  ago. 
No\r,what  human  plan,  device,  or  invention,  270 
years  old,  does  not  require  reconsideration  ]  If 
a  man  drest  as  he  drest  270  years  ago,  the  pug- 
dogs  in  the  street  would  tear  him  to  pieces.  If 
he  lived  in  the  houses  of  270  years  ago,  unre- 
vised  and  uncorrected,  he  would  die  of  rheu- 
matism in  a  week.  If  he  listened  to  the  ser- 
mons of  270  years  ago,  he  would  perish  with 
sadness  and  fatigue;  and  when  a  man  cannot 
make  a  coat  or  a  cheese,  for  50  years  together, 
without  making  them  better,  can  it  be  said  that 
laws  made  in  those  days  of  ignorance,  and 
framed  in  the  fury  of  religious  hatred,  need  no 
revision,  and  are  capable  of  no  amendment. 

We  have  not  the  smallest  partiality  for  the 
Catholic  religion;  quite  the  contrary.  That  it 
should  exist  at  all — that  all  Catholics  are  not 
converted  to  the  Protestant  religion — we  con- 
sider to  be  a  serious  evil ;  but  there  they  are, 
with  their  spirit  as  strong,  and  their  opinions  as 
decided,  as  your  own ;  the  Protestant  part  of 
the  cabinet  have  quite  given  up  all  idea  of  put- 
ting them  to  death;  what  remains  to  be  done? 
We  all  admit  the  evil;  the  object  is  to  make  it 
as  little  as  possible.  One  method  commonly 
resorted  to,  we  are  sure,  does  not  lessen,  but 
increase  the  evil ;  and  that  is,  to  falsify  histo- 
ry, and  deny  plain  and  obvious  facts,  to  the 
injury  of  the  Catholics.  No  true  friend  to  the 
Protestant  religion,  and  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, will  ever  have  recourse  to  such  disin- 
genuour  arts  as  these. 

"  Our  liistories  have  not,  T  believe,  stated  what 
is  untrue  of  Queen  Mary,  nor,  perhaps,  have 
Ihey  very  much  exaggerated  what  is  true  of 
lier;  but  our  arguers,  whose  only  talk  is  of 
Smithfield,  are  generally  very  uncandid  in  what 
they  conceal.  It  would  appear  to  be  little  known 
that  the  statutes  which  enabled  Mary  to  burn 
those  who  had  conformed  to  the  church  of  her 
father  and  brother,  were  Protestant  statutes, 
declaring  the  common  law  against  heresy,  and 
framed  by  her  father  Henry  the  Eighth,  and 
confirmed  and  acted  upon  by  order  of  council 
of  her  brother  Edward  the  Sixth,  enabling  that 
mild  and  temperate  5'^oung  sovereign  to  burn 
divers  misbelievers,  by  sentence  of  commis- 
sioners (little  better,  says  Neale,  than  a  Pro- 
testant Inquisition)  appointed  to  'examine  and 
search  after  all  Anabaptists,  Heretics,  or  con- 
temners of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.'  It 
would  appear  to  be  seldom  considered,  that  her 
zeal  might  very  possibly  have  been  warmed  by 
the  circumstance  of  both  her  chaplains  having 
bepn  imprisoned  for  their  religion,  and  herself 
aroitrarily  detained,  and  her  safety  threatened, 
during  the  short  but  persecuting  reign  of  her 
brother.  The  sad  evidences  of  the  violence  of 
those  days  are  by  no  means  confined  to  her 
acts.  The  fagots  of  persecution  were  not  kin- 
dled by  Papists  only,  nor  did  they  cease  to  blaze 
when  the  power  of  using  them  as  instruments 


of  conversion  ceased  to  be  in  Popish  hands. 
Cranmer  himself,  in  his  dreadful  death,  met 
with  but  equal  measure  for  the  flames  to  which 
he  had  doomed  several  who  denied  the  spiritual 
supremacy  of  Henry  the  Eighth ;  to  which  he 
had  doomed  also  a  Dutch  Arian,  in  Edward  the 
Sixth's  reign ;  and  to  which,  with  great  pains 
and  difficulty,  he  had  persuaded  that  prince  to 
doom  another  miserable  enthusiast,  Joan  Bo- 
cher,  for  some  metaphysical  notions  of  her  own 
on  the  divine  incarnation.  <So  that  on  both 
sides'  (says  Lord  Herbert  of  Cherbury)  '  it  grew 
a  bloody  time.'  Calvin  burned  Servetus  at  Ge- 
neva, for  '  discoursing  concerning  the  Trinity 
contrary  to  the  sense  of  the  whole  church  ;  and 
thereupon  set  forth  a  book  wherein  he  giveth 
an  account  of  his  doctrine,  and  of  whatever 
else  had  passed  in  this  aflTair,  and  teacheth  that 
the  sword  may  be  lawfully  employed  against 
heretics.'  Yet  Calvin  was  no  Papist.  John 
Knox  extolled  in  his  writings,  as  '  the  godly 
fact  of  James  Melvil,'  the  savage  murderer  by 
which  Cardinal  Beaton  was  made  to  expiate  his 
many  and  cruel  persecutions;  a  murder  to 
which,  by  the  great  popular  eloquence  of  Knox, 
his  fellow  labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  refor- 
mation, Lesly  and  Melvil,  had  been  excited ; 
and  yet  John  Knox,  and  Lesly  and  Melvil,  were 
no  Papists.  Henry  the  Eighth,  whose  one  vir- 
tue was  impartiality  in  these  matters,  (if  an 
impartial  and  evenly  balanced  persecution  of 
all  sects  be  a  virtue,)  beheaded  a  chancellor 
and  a  bishop,  because  having  admitted  his  civil 
supremacy,  they  doubted  his  spiritual.  Of  the 
latter  of  them  Lord  Herbert  says,  'The  pope, 
who  suspected  not  perchance,  that  the  bishop's 
end  was  so  near,  had,  for  more  testimony  of  his 
favour  to  him  as  disaffection  to  our  king,  sent 
him  a  cardinal's  hat;  but  unseasonably,  his 
head  being  off.'  He  beheaded  the  Countess 
of  Salisbury,  because  at  upwards  of  eighty 
years  old  she  wrote  a  letter  to  Cardinal  Pole, 
her  own  son  :  and  he  burned  Barton,  the  '  Holy 
Maid  of  Kent,'  for  a  prophecy  of  his  death. 
He  burned  four  Anabaptists  in  one  day  for  op- 
posing the  doctrine  of  infant  baptism  ;  and  he 
burned  Lambert,  and  Anne  Ascue,  and  Beleri- 
can,  and  Lassells,  and  Adams,  on  another  day, 
for  opposing  that  of  transubstantiation ;  with 
many  others  of  lesser  note,  who  refused  to  sub- 
scribe to  his  Six  Bloody  Articles,  as  they  were 
called,  or  whose  opinions  fell  shoit  of  his,  or 
exceeded  them,  or  who  abided  by  opinions  after 
he  had  abandoned  them;  and  all  this  after  the 
Reformation.  And  yet  Henry  the  Eighth  was 
the  sovereign  who  first  delivered  us  from  the 
yoke  of  Rome. 

"In  later  times,  thousands  of  Protestant  Dis- 
senters of  the  four  great  sects  were  made  to 
languish  in  loathsome  prisons,  and  hundreds 
to  perish  miserably,  during  the  reign  of  Charles 
the  Second,  under  a  Protestant  high  church  go- 
vernment, who  then  first  applied,  in  the  prayer 
for  the  Parliament,  the  epithets  of  'most  reli- 
gious and  gracious,'  to  a  sovereign  whom  they 
knew  to  be  profligate  and  unprincipled  be)'ond 
example,  and  had  reason  to  suspect  to  be  a  con- 
cealed Papist. 

"Later  still.  Archbishop  Sharpe  was  sacri- 
ficed by  the  murderous  enthsiasm  of  certain 
Scotch  Covenanters,  who  yet  appear  to  have 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


357 


sincerely  believed  themselves  inspired  by  Hea- 
ven to  this  act  of  cold-blooded  barbarous  as- 
sassination. 

"  On  subjects  like  these,  silence  on  all  sides, 
and  a  mutual  interchange  of  repentance,  for- 
giveness, and  oblivion,  is  wisdom.  But  to  quote 
grievances  on  one  side  only,  is  not  honesty." — 
Lord  NugenCs  Letter,  pp.  24 — 27. 

Sir  Richard  Birnie  can  only  attend  to  the 
complaints  of  individuals ;  but  no  cases  of 
swindling  are  brought  before  him  so  atrocious 
as  the  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Limerick,  and 
the  disappointment  of  those  hopes,  and  the 
frustration  of  that  arrangement;  which  hopes, 
and  which  arrangements,  were  held  out  as 
one  of  the  great  arguments  for  the  union. 
The  chapter  of  English  fraud  comes  next  to 
the  chapter  of  English  cruelty,  in  the  his- 
tory of  Ireland — and  both  are  equally  dis- 
graceful. 

Nothing  can  be  more  striking  than  the  conduct 
of  the  parent  legislature  to  the  legislature  of  the 
West  Indian  Islands.  "We  cannot  leave  you  to 
yourselves  upon  these  points"  (says  the  English 
government);  "  the  wealth  of  the  planter  and  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  the  island  are  not  the 
only  points  to  be  looked  to.  We  must  look  to 
the  general  rights  of  humanity,  and  see  that 
they  are  not  outraged  in  the  case  of  the  poor 
slave.  It  is  impossible  we  can  be  satisfied,  till 
■we  know  that  he  is  placed  in  a  state  of  progress 
and  amelioration."  How  beautiful  is  all  this  ! 
and  how  wise,  and  how  humane  and  affecting 
are  our  efforts  throughout  Europe  to  put  an  end 
to  the  slave  trade  1  Wherever  three  or  four 
negotiators  are  gathered  together,  a  British  di- 
plomate  appears  among  them,  with  some  arti- 
cle of  kindness  and  pity  for  the  poor  negro.  All 
is  mercy  and  compassion,  except  when  wretch- 
ed Ireland  is  concerned.  The  saint  who  swoons 
at  the  lashes  of  the  Indian  slave  is  the  en- 
courager  of  No-Popery  meetings,  and  the  hard, 
bigoted,  domineering  tyrant  of  Ireland. 

See  the  folly  of  delaying  to  settle  a  question 
tfhich,  in  the  end,  must  be  settled,  and,  ere  long, 
to  the  advantage  of  the  Catholics.  How  the 
price  rises  by  delay !  This  argument  is  ex- 
tremely well  put  by  Lord  Nugent. 

"  I  should  observe  that  two  occasions  have 
already  been  lost  of  granting  these  claims, 
coupled  with  what  were  called  securities,  such 
as  never  can  return.  In  1808,  the  late  Duke  of 
Norfolk  and  Lord  Grenville,  in  the  one  house, 
and  Mr.  Ponsonby  and  Mr.  Grattan,  in  the  other, 
were  authorized  by  the  Irish  Catholic  body  to 
propose  a  negative  to  be  vested  in  the  crown 
upon  the  appointment  of  their  bishops.  Mr. 
Perceval,  the  chancellor,  and  the  spiritual 
bench,  did  not  see  the  importance  of  this  op- 
portunity. It  was  rejected ;  the  Irish  were  dri- 
ven to  despair;  and  in  the  same  tomb  with  the 
question  of  1808  lies  forever  buried  the  veto. 
The  same  was  the  fate  with  what  were  called 
the  '  wings'  attached  to  Sir  Francis  Burdett's 
bill  of  last  year.  I  voted  for  them,  not  for  the 
sake  certainly  of  extending  the  patronage  of 
the  crown  over  a  new  body  of  clergy,  nor  yet 
for  the  sake  of  diminishing  the  popular  cha- 
racter of  elections  in  Ireland,  but  because  Mr. 
O'Connell,  and  because  some  of  the  Protestant 
fri^ds  of  the  measure  who  knew  Ireland  the 
33 


best,  recommended  them;  and  because  I  be- 
lieved, from  the  language  of  some  who  sup- 
ported it  only  on  these  conditions,  that  they 
offered  the  fairest  chance  for  the  measure  being 
carried.  I  voted  for  them  as  the  price  of  Ca- 
tholic emancipation,  for  which  I  can  scarcely 
contemplate  any  Irish  price  that  I  would  not 
pay.  With  the  same  object,  I  would  vote  for 
them  again ;  but  I  shall  never  again  have  the 
opportunity.  For  these  also,  if  they  were 
thought  of  any  value  as  securities,  the  events 
of  this  year  in  Ireland  have  shown  you  that 
you  have  lost  for  ever.  And  the  necessity  of 
the  great  measure  becomes  every  day  more  ur- 
gent and  unavoidable." — Lord  Nugent's  Letter, 
pp.  71,  72. 

Can  any  man  living  say  that  Ireland  is  not 
in  a  much  more  dangerous  state  than  it  was 
befoi-e  the  Catholic  convention  began  to  exist  1 
that  the  inflammatory  state  of  that  country  is 
not  becoming  worse  and  worse  1 — that  those 
men  whom  we  call  demagogues  and  incendia- 
ries have  not  produced  a  very  considerable  and 
alarming  effect  upon  the  Irish  population  1 
Where  is  this  to  end?  But  the  fool  lifteth  up 
his  voice  in  the  coffee-house,  and  sayeth;  "  We 
shall  give  them  an  hearty  thrashing :  let  them 
arise — the  sooner  the  better — we  will  soon  put 
them  down  again."  The  fool  sayeth  this  in 
the  coffee-house,  and  the  greater  fool  praiseth 
him.  But  does  Lord  Stowell  say  this  1  does 
Mr.  Peel  say  this  1  does  the  Marquis  of  Hertford 
say  thisi  do  sensible,  calm,  and  reflecting  men 
like  these,  not  admit  the  extreme  danger  of 
combating  against  invasion  and  disaffection, 
and  this  with  our  forces  spread  in  active  hos- 
tility over  the  whole  face  of  the  globe  1  Can 
they  feel  this  vulgar,  hectoring  certainty  of 
success,  and  stupidly  imagine  that  a  thing  can- 
not be  because  it  has  never  yet  been  T  because 
we  have  hitherto  maintained  our  tyranny  in 
Ireland  against  all  Europe,  that  we  are  always 
to  maintain  it  1  And  then,  what  if  the  struggle 
does  at  last  end  in  our  favour  1  Is  the  loss  of 
English  lives  and  of  English  money  not  to  be 
taken  into  account!  Is  this  the  way  in  which 
a  nation  overwhelmed  with  debt,  and  trembling 
whether  its  looms  and  ploughs  will  not  be  over- 
matched by  the  looms  and  ploughs  of  the  rest 
of  Europe — is  this  the  way  in  which  such  a 
country  is  to  husband  its  resources  1  Is  the 
best  blood  of  the  land  to  be  flung  away  in  a 
war  of  hassocks  and  surplices  1  Are  cities  to 
be  summoned  for  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and 
men  to  be  led  on  to  the  charge  by  professors  of 
divinity  1  The  expense  of  keeping  such  a  coun- 
try must  be  added  to  all  other  enormous  ex- 
penses. What  is  really  possessed  of  a  country 
so  subdued?  four  or  five  yards  round  a  sentry- 
box,  and  no  more.  And  in  twenty  years'  time 
it  is  all  to  do  over  again — another  war — another 
rebellion,  and  another  enormous  and  ruinously 
expensive  contest,  with  the  same  dreadful  un- 
certainty of  the  issue  !  It  is  forgotten,  too,  that 
a  new  feature  has  arisen  in  the  history  of  this 
country.  In  all  former  insurrections  in  Ireland 
no  democratic  party  existed  in  England.  The 
efforts  of  government  were  left  free  and  unim- 
peded. ■  But  suppose  a  stoppage  in  your  manu- 
factures coincident  with  a  rising  of  the  Irish 
Catholics,  when  every  soldier  is  employed  it» 
T  2 


358 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH, 


the  sacred  duty  of  Papist-hunting.  Can  any 
man  contemplate  such  a  state  of  things  without 
horror  1  Can  any  man  say  that  he  is  taken  by 
surprise  for  such  a  combination  1  Can  any 
man  say  that  any  danger  to  church  or  state  is 
comparable  to  this  1  But  for  the  prompt  inter- 
ference of  the  military  in  the  early  part  of  1826, 
three  or  four  hundred  thousand  starving  manu- 
facturers would  have  carried  ruin  and  destruc- 
tion over  the  north  of  England,  and  over  Scot- 
land. These  dangers  are  inseparable  from  an 
advanced  state  of  manufactures — but  they  need 
not  the  addition  of  other  and  greater  perils, 
which  need  not  exist  in  any  country  too  wise 
and  too  enlightened  for  persecution. 

Where  is  the  weak  point  in  these  plain  ar- 
guments 1  Is  it  the  remoteness  of  the  chance 
of  foreign  war"?  Alas!  we  have  been  at  war 
35  minutes  out  of  every  hour  since  the  peace 
of  Utrecht.  The  state  of  war  seems  more 
natural  to  man  than  the  state  of  peace  ;  and  if 
we  turn  from  general  probabilities  to  the  state 
of  Europe — Greece  to  be  liberated — Turkey  to 
be  destroyed — Portugal  and  Spain  to  be  made 
free — the  wounded  vanity  of  the  French,  the 
increasing  arrogance  of  ihe  Americans,  and 
our  own  philopolemical  folly,  are  endless  scenes 
of  war.  We  believe  it  at  all  times  a  better 
speculation  to  make  ploughshares  into  swords 
than  swords  into  ploughshares.  If  war  is  cer- 
tain, we  believe  insurrection  to  be  quite  as 
certain.  We  cannot  believe  but  that  the  French 
or  Americans  would,  in  case  of  war,  make  a 
serious  attempt  upon  Ireland,  and  that  all  Ire- 
land would  rush,  tail  foremost,  into  insurrec- 
tion. 

A  new  source  of  disquietude  and  war  has 
lately  risen  in  Ireland.  Our  saints  are  evan- 
gelical people,  or  serious  people,  or  by  what- 
ever name  they  are  to  be  designated,  have  taken 
the  field  in  Ireland  against  the  pope,  and  are 
converting  in  the  large  way.  Three  or  four 
Irish  Catholic  prelates  take  a  post-chaise,  and 
curse  the  converters  and  the  converted.  A 
battle  royal  ensues  with  shillelas:  the  police- 
man comes  in,  and,  reckless  of  Lambeth  or  the 
Vatican,  makes  no  distinction  between  what  is 
perpendicular,  and  what  is  hostile,  but  knocks 
down  every  body  and  every  thing  which  is  up- 
right; and  so  the  feud  ends  for  the  day.  We 
have  no  doubt  but  that  these  efforts  will  tend  to 
bring  things  to  a  crisis  much  sooner  between 
Jhe  parties,  than  the  disgraceful  conduct  of  the 
eabinet  alone  would  do. 

"  It  is  a  charge  not  imputed  by  the  laws  of 
England,  nor  by  the  oaths  which  exclude  the 
Catholics  :  for  those  oaths  impute  only  spirit- 
ual errors.  But  it  is  imputed,  which  is  more 
to  the  purpose,  by  those  persons  who  approve 
of  the  excluding  oaths,  and  wish  them  retained. 
But,  to  the  whole  of  this  imputation,  even  if  no 
other  instance  could  be  adduced,  as  far  as  a 
strong  and  remarkable  example  can  prove  the 
nega-tive  of  an  assumption  which  there  is  not  a 
single  example  to  support — the  full,  and  suffi- 
cient, and  incontestable  answer  is  Canada. 
Canada,  which,  until  you  can  destroy  the  me- 
mory &f  all  that  now  remains  to  you  of  your 
sovereignty  on  the  North  American  continent, 
is  an  answer  practical,  memorable,  difficult  to 
he.accoanl«d  for,  but  blazing  as  the  sun  itself 


in  sight  of  the  whole  world,  to  the  whole  charge 
of  divided  allegiance.  At  your  conquest  of 
Canada,  you  found  it  Roman  Catholic  ;  you  had 
to  choose  for  her  a  constitution  in  church  and 
state.  You  were  wise  enough  not  to  thwart 
public  opinion.  Your  own  conduct  towards 
Presbyterianism  in  Scotland  was  an  example 
for  imitation ;  your  own  conduct  towards  Ca- 
tholocism  in  Ireland  was  a  beacon  for  avoid- 
ance ;  and  in  Canada  you  established  and 
endowed  the  religion  of  the  people.  Canada 
was  your  only  Roman  Catholic  colony.  Your 
other  colonies  revolted ;  they  called  on  a  Catho- 
lic power  to  support  them,  and  they  achieved 
their  independence.  Catholic  Canada,  with 
what  Lord  Liverpool  would  call  her  half-alle- 
giance, alone  stood  by  you.  She  fought  by 
your  side  against  the  interference  of  Catholic 
France.  To  reward  and  encourage  her  loyalty, 
you  endowed  in  Canada  bishops  to  say  mass, 
and  to  ordain  others  to  say  mass,  whom,  at  that 
very  time,  your  laws  would  have  hanged  for 
saying  mass  in  England ;  and  Canada  is  still 
yours  in  spite  of  Catholic  France,  in  spite  of 
her  spiritual  obedience  to  the  pope,  in  spite  of 
Lord  Liverpool's  argument,  and  in  spite  of  the 
independence  of  all  the  states  that  surround 
her.  This  is  the  only  trial  you  have  made. 
Where  you  allow  to  the  Roman  Catholics  their 
religion  undisturbed,  it  has  proved  itself  to  be 
compatible  with  the  most  faithful  allegiance. 
It  is  only  where  you  have  placed  allegiance 
and  religion  before  them  as  a  dilemma,  that 
they  have  preferred  (as  who  will  say  they  ought 
noti)  their  religion  to  their  allegiance.  How 
then  stands  the  imputation  1  Disproved  by 
histor)%  disproved  in  all  states  where  both  reli- 
gions co-exist,  and  in  both  hemispheres,  and 
asserted  in  an  exposition  by  Lord  Liverpool, 
solemnly  and  repeatedly  abjured  by  all  Catho- 
lics, of  the  discipline  of  their  church." — Lord 
NugenCs  Letter,  pp.  3.5,  36. 

Can  any  man  who  has  gained  permission  to 
take  off  his  strait-waistcoat,  and  been  out  of 
Bedlam  three  weeks,  believe  that  the  Catholic 
question  will  be  set  to  rest  by  the  conversion 
of  the  Irish  Catholics  to  the  Protestant  religion! 
The  best  chance  of  conversion  will  be  gained 
by  taking  care  that  the  point  of  honour  is  not 
against  conversion. 

"  We  may,  I  think,  collect  from  what  we 
know  of  the  ordinary  feelings  of  men  that,  by 
admitting  all  to  a  community  of  political  bene- 
fits, we  should  remove  a  material  impediment 
that  now  presents  itself  to  the  advances  of 
proselytism  to  our  established  mode  of  worship ; 
particularly  assuming,  as  we  do,  that  it  is  the 
purest,  and  that  the  disfranchised  mode  is  sup- 
ported only  by  superstition  and  priestcraft.  By 
external  pressure  and  restraint,  things  are  com- 
pacted as  well  in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical 
world.  Where  a  sect  is  at  spiritual  variance 
with  the  established  church,  it  only  requires  an 
abridgment  of  civil  privileges  to  render  it  at 
once  a  political  faction.  Its  members  become 
instantly  pledged,  some  from  enthusiasm,  some 
from  resentment,  and  many  from  honourable 
shame,  to  cleave  with  desperate  fondness  to  the 
suffering  fortunes  of  an  hereditary  religion.  Is 
this  human  nature,  or  is  it  not  1  Is  it  a  natural 
or  an  unnatural  feeling  for  the  representative 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


of  an  ancient  Roman  Catholic  family,  even  if 
in  his  heart  he  rejected  the  controverted  tenets 
of  his  early  faith,  to  scorn  an  open  conformity 
to  ours,  so  long  as  suchconformity  brings  with 
it  the  irremovable  suspicion  that  faith  and  con- 
science may  have  bowed  to  the  base  hope  of 
temporal  advantage  1  Every  man  must  feel 
and  act  for  himself:  but,  in  my  opinion,  a  good 
man  might  be  put  to  difficulty  to  determine 
whether  more  harm  is  not  done  by  the  example 
of  one  changing  his  religion  to  his  worldly 
advantage,  than  good  by  his  openly  professing 
conformity  from  what  we  think  error  to  what 
we  think  truth." — iorrf  Nugent's  Letter,  pp.  54, 
55. 

"  We  will  not  be  bullied  out  of  the  Catholic 
question."  This  is  a  very  common  text,  and 
requires  some  comment.  If  you  mean  that  the 
sense  of  personal  danger  shall  not  prevent  you 
from  doing  what  you  think  right — this  is  a 
worthy  and  proper  feeling,  but  no  such  motive 
is  suspected,  and  no  such  question  is  at  issue. 
Nobody  doubts  but  that  any  English  gentleman 
would  be  ready  to  join  his  No-Popery  corps, 
and  to  do  his  duty  to  the  community,  if  the 
government  required  it;  but  the  question  is,  Is 
it  worth  while  in  the  government  to  require  it] 
Is  it  for  the  general  advantage  that  such  a  war 
should  be  carried  on  for  such  an  object  1  It  is 
a  question  not  of  personal  valour,  but  of  politi- 
cal expediency.  Decide  seriously  if  it  is  worth 
the  price  of  civil  war  to  exclude  the  Catholics, 
and  act  accordingly ;  taking  it  for  granted  that 
you  possess,  and  that  every  body  supposes  you 
to  possess,  the  vulgar  attribute  of  personal 
courage;  but  do  not  draw  your  sword  like  a 
fool,  from  the  unfounded  apprehension  of  being 
called  a  coward. 

We  have  great  hopes  of  the  Duke  of  Cla- 
rence. Whatever  else  he  may  be,  he  is  not  a 
bigot — not  a  person  who  thinks  it  necessary  to 
show  respect  to  his  royal  father,  by  prolonging 
the  miseries  and  incapacities  of  six  millions  of 
people.  If  he  ascends  the  throne  of  these 
realms,  he  must  stand  the  fire  of  a  few  weeks' 
clamour  and  unpopularity.  If  the  measure  is 
passed  by  the  end  of  May,  we  can  promise  his 
royal  highness  it  will  utterly  be  foi-gotten  be- 
fore the  end  of  June.  Of  all  human  nonsense, 
it  is  surely  the  greatest  to  talk  of  respect  to  the 
late  king — respect  to  the  memory  of  the  Duke 
of  York — by  not  voting  for  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion. Bad  enough  to  burn  widows  when  the 
husband  dies — bad  enough  to  burn  horses, 
dogs,  butlers,  footmen,  and  coachmen,  on  the 
funeral  pile  of  a  Scythian  warrior — but  to  offer 
up  the  happiness  of  seven  millions  of  people  to 
the  memory  of  the  dead,  is  certainly  the  most 
insane  sepulchral  oblation  of  which  history 
makes  mention.  The  best  compliment  to  these 
deceased  princes,  is  to  remember  their  real 
good  qualities,  and  to  forget  (as  soon  as  we  can 
forget  it)  that  these  good  qualities  were  tar- 
nished by  limited  and  mistaken  views  of  reli- 
gious liberty. 

Persecuting  gentlemen  forget  the  expense  of 
persecution  ;  whereas,  of  all  luxuries,  it  is  the 
most  expensive.  The  Ranters  do  not  cost  us 
a  farthing,  because  they  are  not  disqualified  by 
ranting.  The  Methodists  and  Unitarians  are 
gratis.    The  Irish  Catholics,  supposing  every 


alternate  year  to  be  war,  as  it  has  been  for  the 
last  century,  will  cost  us  within  these  next 
twenty  years,  forty  millions  of  money.  There 
are  20,000  soldiers  there  in  time  of  peace;  in 
war,  including  the  militia,  their  numbers  will 
be  doubled — and  there  must  be  a  very  formida- 
ble fleet  in  addition.  Now,  when  the  tax  paper 
comes  round,  and  we  are  to  make  a  return  of 
the  greatest  number  of  horses,  buggies,  ponies, 
dogs,  cats,  bulfinches,  and  canary  birds,  &c., 
and  to  be  taxed  accordingly,  let  us  remember 
how  well  and  wisely  our  money  has  been 
spent,  and  not  repine  that  we  have  purchased, 
by  severe  taxation,  the  high  and  exalted  plea- 
sures of  intolerance  and  persecution. 

It  is  mere  unsupported  and  unsupportable 
nonsense  to  talk  of  the  exclusive  disposition 
of  the  Catholics  to  persecute.  The  Protestants 
have  murdered,  and  tortured,  and  laid  waste  as 
much  as  the  Catholics.  Each  party,  as  it 
gained  the  upper  hand,  tried  death  as  the 
remedy  for  heresy — both  parties  have  tried  it 
in  vain. 

A  distinction  is  set  up  between  civil  rights, 
and  political  power,  and  applied  against  the 
Catholics  :  the  real  difference  between  these 
two  words  is,  that  civil  comes  from  a  Latin 
word,  and  political  from  a  Greek  one ;  but  if 
there  is  any  difference  in  their  meaning,  the 
Catholics  do  not  ask  for  political  power,  but 
for  eligibility  to  political  power.  The  Catho- 
lics have  never  prayed,  or  dreamt  of  praying, 
that  so  many  of  the  judges  and  king's  counsel 
should  necessarily  be  Catholics  ;  but  that  no 
law  should  exist  which  prevented  them  from 
becoming  so,  if  a  Protestant  king  chose  to 
make  them  so.  Eligibility  to  political  power  is 
a  civil  privilege,  of  which  we  have  no  more 
right  to  deprive  any  man  than  of  any  other 
civil  privilege.  The  good  of  the  state  may 
require  that  all  civil  rights  may  be  taken  from 
Catholics  ;  but  to  say  that  eligibility  to  political 
power  is  not  a  civil  right,  and  that  to  take  it 
away  without  grave  cause,  would  not  be  a 
great  act  of  injustice,  is  mere  declamation. 
Besides,  what  is  called  political  power,  and 
what  are  called  civil  rights,  are  given  or  with- 
holden,  without  the  least  reference  to  any  prin- 
ciple, but  by  mere  caprice.  A  right  of  voting 
is  given — this  is  political  power;  eligibility  to 
the  office  of  alderman  or  bank  director  is  re- 
fused— this  is  a  civil  right:  the  distinction  is 
perpetually  violated,  just  as  it  has  suited  the 
state  of  parties  for  the  moment.  And  here  a 
word  or  two  on  the  manner  of  handling  the 
question.  Because  some  offices  must  be  filled 
with  Catholics,  all  would  be  :  this  is  one  topic 
A  second  is,  because  there  might  be  inconve- 
nience from  a  Catholic  king  or  chancellor, 
that,  therefore,  there  would  be  no  inconve- 
nience from  Catholic  judges  or  Serjeants.  In 
talking  of  establishments,  they  always  take 
care  to  blend  the  Irish  and  English  establish- 
ments, and  never  to  say  which  is  meant,  though 
the  circumstances  of  both  are  as  different  as 
possible.  It  is  always  presumed,  that  sects 
holding  opinions  contrary  to  the  establishmen., 
are  hostile  to  the  establishment;  meaning  by 
the  word  hostile,  that  they  are  combined,  or 
ready  to  combine,  for  its  destruction.  It  is 
contended  that  the  Catholics  would  not  be  satis 


t60 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


fied  by  these  concessions ;  meaning,  thereby, 
that  many  would  not  be  so — but  forgetting  to 
add,  that  many  ivould  be  quite  satisfied — all 
more  satisfied,  and  less  likely  to  run  into  rebel- 
lion. It  is  urged  that  the  mass  of  Catholics 
are  indifferent  to  the  question ;  whereas  (never 
mind  the  cause)  there  is  not  a  Catholic  plough- 
boy,  at  this  moment,  who  is  not  ready  to  risk 
his  life  for  it,  nor  a  Protestant  stable-boy,  who 
does  not  give  himself  airs  of  superiority  over 
any  papistical  cleaner  of  horses,  who  is  scrub- 
bing with  him  under  the  same  roof. 

The  Irish  were  quiet  under  the  severe  code 
of  Queen  Anne — so  the  half-murdered  man 
left  on  the  ground  bleeding  by  thieves  is  quiet; 
and  he  only  moans,  and  cries  for  help  as  he 
recovers.  There  was  a  method  which  would 
have  made  the  Irish  still  more  quiet,  and  effec- 
tually have  put  an  end  to  all  further  solicita- 
tion respecting  the  Catholic  question.  It  was 
adopted  in  the  case  of  the  wolves. 

They  are  forming  societies  in  Ireland  for  the 
encouragement  of  emigration,  and  striving, 
and  successfully  striving,  to  push  their  redun- 
dant population  into  Great  Britain.  Our  busi- 
ness is  to  pacify  Ireland — to  give  confidence  to 
capitalists — and  to  keep  their  people  where 
they  are.  On  the  day  the  Catholic  question 
was  passed,  all  property  in  Ireland  would  rise 
20  per  cent. 

Protestants  admit  that  there  are  sectaries  sit- 
ting in  Parliament,  who  differ  from  the  Church 
of  England  as  much  as  the  Catholics  ;  but  it 
is  forgotten  that,  according  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  of  England,  the  Unitarians  are  con- 
sidered as  condemned  to  eternal  punishment  in 
another  world — and  that  many  such  have  seats 
in  Parliament.  And  can  anything  be  more 
preposterous  (as  far  as  doctrine  has  any  in- 
fluence in  these  matters)  than  that  men,  whom 
we  believe  lo  be  singled  out  as  objects  of  God's 
eternal  vengeance,  should  have  a  seat  in  our 
national  councils :  and  that  Catholics,  whom 
we  believe  may  be  saved,  should  not  T 

The  only  argument  which  has  any  appear- 
ance of  weight,  is  the  question  of  divided  alle- 
giance ;  and,  generally  speaking,  we  should 
say  it  is  the  argument  which  produces  the 
greatest  effect  in  the  country  at  large.  Eng- 
land, in  this  respect,  is  in  the  same  state,  at 
least,  as  the  whole  of  Catholic  Europe.  Is  not 
the  allegiance  of  every  French,  every  Spanish, 
and  every  Italian  Catholic  (who  is  not  a  Ro- 
man,) divided  1  His  king  is  in  Paris, or  Madrid, 
or  Naples,  while  his  high-priest  is  at  Rome. 
We  speak  of  it  as  an  anomaly  in  politics  ; 
whereas,  it  is  the  state,  and  condition  of  almost 
the  whole  of  Europe.  The  danger  of  this 
divided  allegiance,  they  admit,  is  nothing,  as 
long  as  it  is  confined  to  purely  spiritual  con- 
cerns ;  but  it  may  extend  itself  to  temporal 
matters,  and  so  endanger  the  safety  of  the  state. 
This  danger,  however,  is  greater  in  a  Catholic 
than  in  a  Protestant  country ;  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  the  greater  majority  upon  whom  it 
might  act:  but  because  there  are  objects  in  a 
Catholic  country  much  more  desirable,  and 
attainable,  than  in  a  country  like  England, 
where  Popery  does  not  exist,  or  Ireland,  where 
It  is  humbled,  and  impoverished.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  freedom  of  the  Gallican  Church. 


What  eternal  disputes  did  this  object  give  birth 
tol  What  a  temptation  to  the  Pope  to  infringe 
in  rich  Catholic  countries !  How  is  it  possible 
his  holiness  can  keep  his  hands  from  picking 
and  stealing?  It  must  not  be  imagined  that 
Catholicism  has  been  any  defence  against  the 
hostility  and  aggression  of  the  Pope ;  he  has 
cursed  and  excommunicated  every  Catholic 
state  in  Europe,  in  their  turns.  Let  that  emi- 
nent Protestant,  Lord  Bathurst,  state  any  one 
instance  where,  for  the  last  century,  the  Pope 
has  interfered  with  the  temporal  concerns  of 
Great  Britain.  We  can  mention,  and  his  lord- 
ship will  remember,  innumerable  instances 
where  he  might  have  done  so,  if  such  were  the 
modern  habit  and  policy  of  the  court  of  Rome. 
But  the  fact  is,  there  is  no  court  of  Rome,  and 
no  Pope.  There  is  a  wax-work  Pope,  and  a 
wax-work  court  of  Rome.  But  popes  of  flesh 
and  blood  have  long  since  disappeared ;  and 
in  the  same  way,  those  great  giants  of  the  city 
exist  no  more,  but  their  truculent  images  are 
at  Guildhall.  We  doubt  if  there  is  in  the  trea- 
sury of  the  Pope  change  for  a  guinea — we  are 
sure  there  is  not  in  his  armory  one  gun  which 
will  go  off.  We  believe,  if  he  attempted  to 
bless  any  body  whom  Dr.  Doyle  cursed,  or  to 
curse  any  body  whom  Dr.  Doyle  blessed,  that 
his  blessings  and  curses  would  be  as  power- 
less as  his  artillery.  Dr.  Doyle*  is  the  Pope 
of  Ireland ;  and  the  ablest  ecclesiastic  of  that 
country  will  always  be  its  Pope — and  that  Lord 
Bathurst  ought  to  know — most  likely  does 
know.  But  what  a  wast:  of  life  and  time,  to 
combat  such  arguments !  Can  my  Lord  Bath- 
urst be  ignorant  1  Can  any  man,  who  has  the 
slightest  knowledge  of  Ireland,  be  ignorant, 
that  the  portmanteau  which  sets  out  every 
quarter  for  Rome,  and  returns  from  it,  is  an 
heap  of  ecclesiastical  matters,  which  have  no 
more  to  do  with  the  safety  of  the  country,  than 
they  have  to  do  with  the  safety  of  the  moon — 
and  which  but  for  the  respect  to  individual 
feelings,  might  all  be  published  at  Charing 
Cross  1  Mrs.  Flanagan,  intimidated  by  sto- 
mach complaints,  wants  a  dispensation  for 
eating  flesh.  Cornelius  Oh  Bowel  has  intermar- 
ried by  accident  with  his  grandmother;  and 
finding  that  she  is  really  his  grandmother,  his 
conscience  is  uneasy.  Mr.  Mac  Tooley,  the 
priest,  is  discovered  to  be  married ;  and  to  have 
two  sons.  Castor  and  Pollux  Mac  Tooley.  Three 
or  four  schools-full  of  little  boys  have  been 
cursed  for  going  to  hear  a  Methodist  preacher. 
Bargains  for  shirts  and  toe-nails  of  deceased 
saints — surplices  and  trencher-caps  blessed  by 
the  Pope.  These  are  the  fruits  of  double  alle- 
giance— the  objects  of  our  incredible  fear,  and 
the  cause  of  our  incredible  folly.  There  is  not 
a  syllable  which  goes  to  or  comes  from  the 
court  of  Rome,  which,  by  a  judicious  expendi- 
ture of  sixpence  by  the  year,  would  not  be  open 
to   the   examination   of  every  member  of  the 


*" Of  this  I  can  witli  great  truth  assure  you;  and 
my  testimony,  if  not  entitled  to  respect,  should  not  be 
utterly  disregarded,  that  papal  influence  will  never  in- 
duce the  Catholics  of  this  country  either  to  continue 
tranquil,  or  to  be  disturbed,  either  to  aid  or  to  oppos"? 
the  government ;  and  that  your  lordship  can  contribute 
much  more  than  the  Pope  to  secure  their  allegiance,  or 
to  render  them  disaffected." — Dt.  Doyle' s  Letter  lo  Lord 
Liverpool,  115. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


S61 


cabinet.  Those  who  use  such  arguments  know 
the  answer  to  them  as  well  as  we  do.  The 
real  evil  they  dread  is  the  destruction  of  the 
church  of  Ireland,  and,  through  that,  of  the 
Church  of  England.  To  which  we  reply,  that 
such  danger  must  proceed  from  the  regular 
proceedings  of  Parliament,  or  be  effected  by 
insurrection  and  rebellion.  The  Catholics,  re- 
stored to  civil  functions,  would,  we  believe,  be 
more  likely  to  cling  to  the  church  than  to  Dis- 
senters. If  not,  both  Catholics  and  Dissenters 
must  be  utterly  powerless  against  the  over- 
whelming English  interests  and  feelings  in  the 
house.  Men  are  less  inclined  to  run  into  rebel- 
lion, in  proportion  as  they  have  less  to  com- 
plain of;  and,  of  all  other  dangers,  the  greatest 
to  the  Irish  and  English  church  establishments, 
and  to  the  Protestant  faith  throughout  Europe, 
is  to  leave  Ireland  in  its  present  stale  of  discontent. 

If  the  intention  is  to  wait  to  the  last,  before 
concession  is  made,  till  the  French  or  Ameri- 
cans have  landed,  and  the  holy  standard  has 
been  unfurled,  we  ought  to  be  sure  of  the  terms 
which  can  be  obtained  at  such  a  crisis.  This 
game  was  played  in  America.  Commissioners 
were  sent  in  one  year  to  oiTer  and  to  press  what 
would  have  been  most  thankfully  received  the 
year  before ;  but  they  were  always  too  late. 
The  rapid  concessions  of  England  were  out- 
stripped by  the  more  rapid  exactions  of  the 
colonies  ;  and  the  commissioners  returned  with 
the  melancholy  history,  that  they  had  humbled 
themselves  before  the  rebels  in  vain.  If  you 
ever  mean  to  concede  at  all,  do  it  when  every 
concession  will  be  received  as  a  favour.  To 
wait  till  you  are  forced  to  treat,  is  as  mean  in 
principle  as  it  is  dangerous  in  effect. 

Then,  how  many  thousand  Protestant  Dis- 
senters are  there  who  pay  a  double  allegiance 
to  the  king,  and  to  the  head  of  their  church, 
who  is  not  the  king!  Is  not  Mr.  William 
Smith,  member  for  Norwich,  the  head  of  the 
Unitarian  Church  1  Is  not  Mr.  Wilberforce  the 
head  of  the  Ciapham  Church  1  Are  there  not 
twenty  preachers  at  Leeds,  who  regulate  all  the 
proceedings  of  the  Methodists  1  The  gentle- 
men we  have  mentioned  areeminent,  and  most 
excellent  men;  but  if  any  thing  at  all  is  to  be 
apprehended  from  this  divided  allegiance,  we 
should  be  infinitely  more  afraid  of  some  Jaco- 
binical fanatic  at  the  head  of  Protestant  vota- 
ries— some  man  of  such  character  as  Lord 
George  Gordon — than  we  should  of  all  the 
efforts  of  the  Pope. 

As  so  much  evil  is  supposed  to  proceed  from 
not  obeying  the  king  as  head  of  the  church, 
it  might  be  supposed  to  be  a  very  active  office 
— that  the  king  was  perpetually  interfering  with 
the  affairs  of  the  church — and  that  orders  were 
in  a  course  of  emanation  from  the  throne 
which  regulated  the  fervour,  and  arranged 
the  devotion,  of  all  the  members  of  the  Church 
of  England.  But  we  really  do  not  know 
what  orders  are  ever  given  by  the  king  to 
the  church,  except  the  appointment  of  a  fast- 
day  once  in  three  or  four  years  ; — nor  can 
we  conceive  (for  appointment  to  bishoprics 
is  out  of  the  question)  what  duties  there 
would  be  to  perform,  if  this  allegiance  were 
paid,  instead  of  being  withhoKlen.  Supremacy 
appears  to  us  to  be  a  mere  name,  without  ex- 


ercise of  power — and  allegiance  to  be  a  duty 
without  any  performance  annexed.  If  any  one 
will  say  what  ought  to  be  done,  which  is  not 
done,  on  account  of  this  divided  allegiance,  we 
shall  better  understand  the  magnitude  of  the 
evil.  Till  then,  we  shall  consider  it  as  a  lucky 
Protestant  phrase,  good  to  look  at,  like  the 
mottos  and  ornaments  on  cake,  but  not  fit  to 
be  eaten. 

Nothing  can  be  more  unfair  than  to  expect, 
in  an  ancient  church  like  that  of  the  Catholics, 
the  same  uniformity  as  in  churches  which 
have  not  existed  for  more  than  two  or  three 
centuries.  The  coats  and  waistcoats  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  bear  some  resemblance  to 
the  same  garments  of  the  present  day ;  but,  as 
you  recede,  you  get  to  the  skins  of  wild  beasts, 
or  the  fleeces  of  sheep,  for  the  garments  of 
savages.  In  the  same  way,  it  is  extremely 
difficult  for  a  church,  which  has  to  do  with  the 
counsels  of  barbarous  ages,  not  to  be  detected 
in  some  discrepancy  of  opinion ;  while  ia 
younger  churches,  every  thing  is  fair  and  fresh, 
and  of  modern  date  and  figure ;  and  it  is  not 
the  custom  among  theologians  to  own  their 
church  in  the  wrong.  "No  religion  can  stand, 
if  men,  without  regard  to  their  God,  and  with 
regard  only  to  controversy,  shall  rake  out  of 
the  rubbish  of  antiquity  the  obsolete  and  quaint 
follies  of  the  sectarians,  and  affront  the  majesty 
of  the  Almighty,  with  the  impudent  catalogue 
of  their  devices  ;  and  it  is  a  strong  argument 
against  the  proscriptive  system,  that  it  helps  to 
continue  this  shocking  contest.  Theologiaa 
against  theologian,  polemic  against  polemic, 
until  the  two  madmen  defame  their  commoa 
parent,  and  expose  their  common  religion." — 
Grattan's  Speech  on  the  Catholic  Question,  1805. 

A  good-natured  and  well-conditioned  persou 
has  pleasure  in  keeping  and  distributing  any 
thing  that  is  good.  If  he  detects  any  thing  with 
superior  flavour,  he  presses  and  invites,  and  is 
not  easy  till  others  participate ; — and  so  it  is 
with  political  and  religious  freedom.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  possess  it,  and  a  pleasure  to  com- 
municate it  to  others.  There  is  something 
shocking  in  the  greedy,  growling,  guzzling  mo- 
nopoly of  such  a  blessing. 

France  is  no  longer  a  nation  of  atheists ;  and 
therefore,  a  great  cause  of  offence  to  the  Irish 
Roman  Catholic  clergy  is  removed.  Naviga- 
tion by  steam  renders  all  shores  more  accessi- 
ble. The  union  among  Catholics  is  consoli- 
dated ;  all  the  dangers  of  Ireland  are  redoubled ; 
every  thing  seems  tending  to  an  event  fatal  to 
England — fatal  (whatever  Catholics  may  fool- 
ishly imagine)  to  Ireland — and  which  will 
subject  them  both  to  the  dominion  of  France. 

Formerly  a  poor  man  might  be  removed 
from  a  parish  if  there  was  the  slightest  danger 
of  his  becoming  chargeable;  a  hole  in  his  coat 
or  breeches  excited  suspicion.  The  church- 
wardens said,  "  He  has  cost  us  nothing,  but  he 
may  cost  us  something;  and  we  must  not  live 
even  in  the  apprehension  of  evil."  All  this  is 
changed ;  and  the  law  now  says,  "  Wait  till  you 
are  hurt ;  time  enough  to  meet  the  evil  when  it 
comes ;  you  have  no  right  to  do  a  certain  evil 
to  others,  to  prevent  an  uncertain  evil  to  your- 
selves." The  Catholics,  however,  are  told  that 
what  they  do  ask  is  objected  to,  from  the  feaf 


262 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


of  what  they  may  ask  ;  that  they  must  do  with- 
out that  which  is  reasonable,  for  fear  they  should 
ask  what  is  unreasonable.  "  I  would  give  you  a 
penny  (says  the  miser  to  the  beggar),  if  I  was 
quite  sure  you  would  not  ask  me  for  half  a 
crown." 

"  Nothing,  I  am  told,  is  now  so  common  on 
the  continent  as  to  hear  our  Irish  policy  dis- 
cussed. Till  of  late  the  extent  of  the  disabili- 
ties was  but  little  understood,  and  less  regarded, 
partly  because,  having  less  liberty  themselves, 
foreigners  could  not  appreciate  the  deprivations, 
and  partly  because  the  pre-eminence  of  Eng- 
land was  not  so  decided  as  to  draw  the  eyes  of 
the  world  on  all  parts  of  our  system.  It  was 
scarcely  credited  that  England,  that  knight- 
errant  abroad,  should  play  the  exclusionist  at 
home  ;  that  every  where  else  she  should  declaim 
against  oppression,  but  contemplate  it  without 
emotion  at  her  doors.  That  her  armies  should 
march,  and  her  orators  philippize,  and  her  poets 
sing  against  continental  tyranny,  and  3'et  that 
laws  should  remain  extant,  and  principles  be 
operative  within  our  gates,  which  are  a  bitter 
satire  on  our  philanthropy,  and  a  melancholy 
negation  of  our  professions.  Our  sentiments 
have  been  so  lofty,  our  deportment  to  foreigners 
so  haughty,  we  have  set  up  such  liberty  and 
such  morals,  that  no  one  could  suppose  that  we 
were  hypocrites.  Still  less  could  it  be  foreseen 
that  a  great  moralist,  called  Joseph  Surface, 
kept  a  'little  milliner'  behind  the  scenes,  we 
too  should  be  found  out  at  length  in  taking  the 
diversion  of  private  tyranny  after  the  most 
approved  models  for  that  amusement." — Letter 
to  Lord  Milton,  pp.  50,  51. 

We  sincerely  hope — we  firmly  believe — it 
never  will  happen  ;  but  if  it  were  to  happen, 
why  cannot  England  be  just  as  happy  with 
Ireland  being  Catholic,  as  it  is  with  Scotland 
being  Presbyterian  1  Has  not  the  Church  of 
England  lived  side  by  side  with  ihe  Kirk,  with- 
out crossing  or  jostling,  for  these  last  hundred 
years  1  Have  the  Presbyterian  members  enter- 
ed into  any  conspiracy  for  mincing  bishoprics 
and  deaneries  into  synods  and  presbyteries? 
And  is  not  the  Church  of  England  tenfold  more 
rich  and  more  strong  than  when  the  separation 
took  place  1  But  however  this  may  be,  the  real 
danger,  even  to  the  church  of  Ireland,  as  we 
have  before  often  remarked,  is  the  refusal  of 
Catholic  emancipation. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  phrenzy  of  many 
worthy  Protestants,  whenever  the  name  of  Ca- 
tholic is  mentioned,  that  the  greatest  possible 
diversity  of  religious  opinions  existed  between 
the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant — that  they  were 
as  different  as  fish  and  flesh — as  alkali  and  acid 
— as  cow  and  cart-horse ;  whereas  it  is  quite 
clear,  that  there  are  many  Protestant  sects 
whose  difference  from  each  other  is  much  more 
marked,  both  in  church  discipline  and  in  tenets 
of  faith,  than  that  of  Protestants  and  Catholics. 
We  maintain  that  Lambeth,  in  these  two  points. 


is  quite  as  near  to  the  Vatican  as  it  is  to  the 
Kirk — if  not  much  nearer. 

Instead  of  lamenting  the  power  of  the  priests 
over  the  lower  orders  of  the  Irish,  we  ought  to 
congratulate  ourselves  that  any  influence  can 
affect  or  control  them.  Is  the  tiger  less  formi- 
dable  in  the  forest  than  when  he  has  been 
caught  and  taught  to  obey  a  voice,  and  tremble 
at  an  hand?  But  we  overrate  the  power  of 
the  priest,  if  we  suppose  that  the  upper  orders 
are  to  encounter  all  the  dangers  of  treason  and 
rebellion,  to  confer  the  revenues  of  the  Protest- 
ant church  upon  the  Catholic  clergy.  If  the 
influence  of  the  Catholic  clergy  upon  men  of 
rank  and  education  is  so  unbounded,  why  can- 
not the  French  and  Italian  clergy  recover  their 
possessions,  or  acquire  an  equivalent  for  them  T 
They  are  starving  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  an 
influence  which  places  (as  we  think)  all  the 
wealth  and  power  of  the  country  at  their  feet — 
an  influence  which,  in  our  opinion,  overpowers 
avarice,  fear,  ambition,  and  is  the  master  of 
every  passion  which  brings  on  change  and 
movement  in  the  Protestant  world. 

We  conclude  with  a  few  words  of  advice  to 
the  diflferent  opponents  of  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion. 

To  the  No-Popery  Fool. 

You  are  made  use  of  by  men  who  laugh  at 
you,  and  despise  you  for  your  folly  and  igno- 
rance;  and  who,  the  moment  it  suits  their 
purpose,  will  consent  to  emancipation  of  the 
Catholics,  and  leave  you  to  roar  and  bellow  No 
Popery  !  to  vacancy  and  the  moon. 
To  the  No-Popery  Rogue. 

A  shameful  and  scandalous  game,  to  sport 
with  the  serious  interests  of  the  country,  in 
order  to  gain  some  increase  of  public  power ! 
7'o  the  Honest  No-Popery  People. 

We   respect  you   very  sincerely — but  are 
astonished  at  your  existence. 
To  the  Base. 

Sweet  children  of  turpitude,  beware  !  the 
old  anti-popery  people  are  fast  perishing  away. 
Take  heed  that  you  are  not  surprised  by  an 
emancipating  king,  or  an  emancipating  admin- 
istration. Leave  a  lams  pcenitcntieE .' — prepare 
a  place  for  retreat — get  ready  your  equivoca- 
tions and  denials.  The  dreadful  day  may  yet 
come,  when  liberality  may  lead  to  place  and 
power.  We  understand  these  mailers  here. 
It  is  the  safest  to  be  moderately  base — to  be 
flexible  in  shame,  and  to  be  always  ready  for 
what  is  generous,  good,  and  just,  when  any 
thing  is  to  be  gained  by  virtue. 
To  the  Catholics. 

Wait.  Do  not  add  to  your  miseries  by  a  mad 
and  desperate  rebellion.  Persevere  in  civil 
exertions,  and  concede  all  you  can  concede. 
All  great  alterations  in  human  affairs  are  pro- 
duced by  compromise. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


263 


NECKAR'S  LAST  VIEWS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


If  power  could  be  measured  by  territory,  or 
counted  by  population,  the  inveteracy,  and  the 
disproportion  which  exists  between  France  and 
England,  must  occasion  to  every  friend  of  the 
latter  country  the  most  serious  and  well-found- 
ed apprehensions.  Fortunately  however  for 
us,  the  question  of  power  is  not  only  what  is 
the  amount  of  population  1  but,  how  is  that 
population  governed  1  How  far  is  a  confidence 
in  the  stabilily  of  political  institutions  establish- 
ed by  an  experience  of  their  wisdom  ?  Are  the 
various  interests  of  society  adjusted  and  pro- 
tected by  a  system  of  laws  thoroughly  tried, 
gradually  ameliorated,  and  purely  administer- 
ed 1  What  is  the  degree  of  general  prosperity 
evinced  by  that  most  perfect  of  all  criteria,  ge- 
neral credit?  These  are  the  considerations  to 
which  an  enlightened  politician,  who  speculates 
on  the  future  destiny  of  nations,  will  direct  his 
attention,  more  than  to  the  august  and  impos- 
ing exterior  of  territorial  dominion,  or  to  those 
brilliant  moments,  when  a  nation,  under  the 
inlluence  of  great  passions,  rises  above  its 
neighbours,  and  above  itself,  in  military  re- 
nown. 

If  it  be  visionary  to  suppose  the  grandeur 
and  safety  of  the  two  nations  as  compatible 
and  co-existent,  we  have  the  important  (though 
the  cruel)  consolation  of  reflecting,  that  the 
French  have  yet  to  put  together  the  very  ele- 
ments of  a  civil  and  political  constitution;  that 
they  have  to  experience  all  the  danger  and  all 
the  inconvenience  which  result  from  the  rash- 
ness and  the  imperfect  views  of  legislators, 
who  have  every  thing  to  conjecture,  and  every 
thing  to  create  ;  that  they  must  submit  to  the 
confusion  of  repeated  change,  or  the  greater 
evil  of  obstinate  perseverance  in  error;  that 
they  must  live  for  a  century  in  that  slate  of 
perilous  uncertainty  in  which  every  revolution- 
ized nation  remains,  before  rational  liberty  be- 
comes feeling  and  habit,  as  well  as  law,  and  is 
written  in  the  hearts  of  men  as  plainly  as  in 
,  the  letter  of  the  statute;  and  that  the  opportu- 
nity of  beginning  this  immense  edifice  of  hu- 
man happiness  is  so  far  from  being  presented 
to  them  at  present,  that  it  is  extremely  problem- 
atical whether  or  not  they  are  to  be  bandied 
from  one  vulgar  usurper  to  another,  and  remain 
for  a  century  subjugated  to  the  rigour  of  a 
military  government,  at  once  the  scorn  and  the 
scourge  of  Europe.| 

To  the  more  pleasing  supposition,  that  the 
First  Consul  will  make  use  of  his  power  to 
give  his  country  a  free  constitution,  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  work  of  M.  Neckar  now  before 
us,aworkof  which  good  temper  is  the  charac- 
teristic excellence :  it  every  where  preserves 


•  Derniires  Vues  de  Poliliques,  el  de  Finance.  Par  M. 
Neckar.     An  10,  1802. 

+  All  this  13,  unfortunately,  as  true  now  as  it  was 
when  written  thirty  years  ago. 


that  cool  impartiality  which  it  is  so  difficult  to 
retain  in  the  discussion  of  subjects  connected 
with  recent  and  important  events  ;  modestly 
proposes  the  results  of  reflection  ;  and,  neither 
deceived  nor  wearied  by  theories,  examines  the 
best  of  all  that  mankind  have  said  or  done  for 
the  attainment  of  rational  liberty. 

The  principal  object  of  M.  Neckar's  book  is 
to  examine  this  question,  "An  opportunity  of 
election  supposed,  and  her  present  circumstan- 
ces considered — what  is  the  best  form  of  go- 
vernment which  France  is  capable  of  receiv- 
ing 1"  and  he  answers  his  own  query  by  giving 
the  preference  to  a  Republic  One  and  Indivisible. 

The  work  is  divided  into  four  parts. 

1.  An  Examination  of  the  present  constitu- 
tion of  France. 

2.  On  the  best  form  of  a  Republic  One  and 
Indivisible. 

.3.  On  the  best  form  of  a  Monarchical  Go- 
vernment. 

4.  Thoughts  upon  Finance. 

From  the  misfortune  which  has  hitherto  at- 
tended all  discussions  of  present  constitutions 
in  France,  M.  Neckar  has  not  escaped.  The 
subject  has  proved  too  rapid  for  the  author; 
and  its  existence  has  ceased  before  its  proper- 
ties were  examined.  This  part  of  the  work, 
therefore,  we  shall  entirely  pass  over  :  because, 
to  discuss  a  mere  name,  is  an  idle  waste  of 
time;  and  no  man  pretends  that  the  present 
constitution  of  France  can,  with  propriety,  be 
considered  as  any  thing  more.  We  shall  pro- 
ceed to  a  description  of  that  form  of  a  republi- 
can  government  which  appears  to  M.  Neckar 
best  calculated  to  promote  the  happiness  of  that 
country. 

Every  department  is  to  be  divided  into  five 
parts,  each  of  which  is  to  send  one  member. 
Upon  the  eve  of  an  election,  all  persons  paying 
200  livres  of  government  taxes  in  direct  con- 
tribution, are  to  assemble  together,  and  choose 
100  members  from  their  own  number,  who 
form  what  M.  Neckar  calls  a  chamber  of  indi- 
cation. This  chamber  of  indication  is  to  pre- 
sent five  candidates,  of  whom  the  people  are 
to  elect  one;  and  the  right  of  voting  in  this 
latter  election  is  given  to  every  body  engaged 
in  a  wholesale  or  retail  business  ;  to  all  super- 
intendents of  manufactures  and  trades;  to  all 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers 
and  soldiers  who  have  received  their  discharge ; 
and  to  all  citizens  paying,  in  direct  contribu- 
tion, to  the  amount  of  twelve  livres.  Votes 
are  not  to  be  given  in  one  spot,  but  before  the 
chief  magistrate  of  each  commune  where  the 
voter  resides,  and  there  inserted  in  registers ; 
from  a  comparison  of  which,  the  successful 
candidate  is  to  be  determined.  The  municipal 
officers  are  to  enjoy  the  right  of  recommending 
one  of  these  candidates  to  the  people,  who  are 
free  to  adopt  their  recommendation  ot  not.  as 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


they  may  think  proper.  The  right  of  voting  is 
confined  to  qualified  single  men  of  twenty-five 
years  of  age:  married  men  of  the  same  de- 
scription may  vote  at  any  age. 

To  this  plan  of  election  we  cannot  help 
thinking  there  are  many  great  and  insuperable 
objections.  The  first  and  infallible  conse- 
quence of  it  would  be,  a  devolution  of  the 
■whole  elective  franchise  upon  the  chamber  of 
indication,  and  a  complete  exclusion  of  the 
people  from  any  share  in  the  privilege :  for  the 
chamber  bound  to  return  five  candidates,  would 
take  care  to  return  four  out  of  the  five  so  tho- 
roughly objectionable,  that  the  people  would 
be  compelled  to  choose  the  fifth.  Such  has 
been  the  constant  effect  of  all  elections  so  con- 
stituted in  Great  Britain,  where  the  power  of 
conferring  the  office  has  always  been  found  to 
be  vested  in  those  who  named  the  candidates, 
not  in  those  who  selected  an  individual  from 
the  candidates  named. 

But  if  such  were  not  the  consequences  of  a 
double  election ;  and  if  it  were  so  well  consti- 
tuted, as  to  retain  that  character  which  the 
legislature  meant  to  impress  upon  it,  there  are 
other  reasons  which  would  induce  us  to  pro- 
nounce it  a  very  pernicious  institution.  The 
only  foundation  of  political  liberty  is  the  spirit 
of  the  people;  and  the  only  circumstance 
xvhich  makes  a  lively  impression  upon  their 
senses,  and  powerfully  reminds  them  of  their 
importance,  their  power,  and  their  rights, 
is  the  periodical  choice  of  their  represen- 
tatives. How  easily  that  spirit  may  be  to- 
tally extinguished,  and  of  the  degree  of  abject 
fear  and  slavery  to  which  the  human  race  may 
be  reduced  for  ages,  every  man  of  reflection  is 
sufficiently  aware  :  and  he  knows  that  the  pre- 
servation of  that  feeling  is,  of  all  other  objects 
of  political  science,  the  most  delicate  and  the 
most  difficult.  It  appears  to  us,  that  a  people 
•who  did  not  choose  their  representatives,  but 
only  those  who  chose  their  representatives, 
■would  very  soon  becoftie  indifferent  to  their 
elections  altogether.  To  deprive  them  of  their 
power  of  nominating  their  own  candidate, 
■would  be  still  worse.  The  eagerness  of  the 
people  to  vote,  is  kept  alive  by  their  occasional 
expulsion  of  a  candidate  who  has  rendered 
himself  objectionable,  or  the  adoption  of  one 
■who  knows  how  to  render  himself  agreeable 
to  them.  They  are  proud  of  being  solicited 
persmially  by  a  man  of  family  or  wealth.  The 
uproar  even,  and  the  confusion  and  the  clamour 
of  a  popular  election  in  England,  have  their 
use:  they  give  a  stamp  to  the  names.  Liberty, 
Constitution,  and  People :  they  infuse  sentiments 
which  nothing  but  violent  passions  and  gross 
objects  of  sense  cmdd  infuse ;  and  which  would 
never  exist,  perhaps,  if  the  sober  constituents 
■were  to  sneak,  one  by  one,  into  a  notary's  office 
to  deliver  their  votes  for  a  representative,  or 
■were  to  form  the  first  link  in  that  long  chain 
of  causes  and  effects,  which,  in  this  compound 
kind  of  elections,  ends  with  choosing  a  mem- 
ber of  parliament. 

"Above  all  things  (says  M.  Neckar)  languor 
IS  the  most  deadly  to  a  republican  government ; 
for  when  such  a  political  association  is  anima- 
ted neither  by  a  kind  of  instinctive  affection 
for  its  beauty,  nor  by  the  continual  homage  of 


reflection  to  the  happy  union  of  order  and 
liberty,  the  public  spirit  is  half  lost,  and  with  it 
the  republic.  The  rapid  brilliancy  of  despot- 
ism is  preferred  to  a  mere  complicated  ma- 
chine, from  which  every  symptom  of  life  and 
organization  is  fled." 

Sickness,  absence,  and  nonage,  would  (even, 
under  the  supposition  of  universal  suffrage)  re- 
duce the  voters  of  any  country  to  one  fourth 
of  its  population.  A  qualification  much  lower 
than  that  of  the  payment  of  twelve  livres  in 
direct  contribution,  would  reduce  that  fourth 
one  half,  and  leave  the  number  of  voters  in 
France  three  millions  and  a  half,  which,  divided 
by  600,  gives  between  five  and  six  thousand 
constituents  for  each  represensative ;  a  num- 
ber not  amounting  to  a  third  part  of  the  voters 
for  many  counties  in  England,  and  which  cer- 
tainly is  not  so  unwieldy  as  to  make  it  neces- 
sary to  have  recourse  to  the  complex  mechan- 
ism of  double  elections.  Besides,  too,  if  it 
could  be  believed  that  the  peril  ■were  consider- 
able, of  gathering  men  together  in  such  masses, 
we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  it  would 
be  infinitely  preferable  to  thin  their  numbers, 
by  increasing  the  value  of  the  qualification, 
than  to  obviate  the  apprehended  bad  efl^ects,  by 
complicating  the  system  of  election. 

M.  Neckar  (much  as  he  has  seen  and  ob- 
served,) is  clearly  deficient  in  that  kind  of  ex- 
perience which  is  gained  by  living  under  free 
governments:  he  mistakes  the  riots  of  a  free, 
for  the  insurrections  of  an  enslaved  people ; 
and  appears  to  be  impressed  with  the  most  tre- 
mendous notions  of  an  English  election.  The 
diflference  is,  that  the  tranquillity  of  an  arbi- 
trary government  is  rarely  disturbed,  but  from 
the  most  serious  provocations,  not  to  be  expi- 
ated by  any  ordinary  vengeance.  The  excesses 
of  a  free  people  are  less  important,  because 
their  resentments  are  less  serious ;  and  they 
can  commit  a  great  deal  of  apparent  disorder 
with  very  little  real  mischief.  An  English  mob, 
which,  to  a  foreigner,  might  convey  the  belief 
of  an  impending  massacre,  is  often  contented 
by  the  demolition  of  a  few  windows. 

The  idea  of  diminishing  the  number  of  con- 
stituents, rather  by  extending  the  period  of  non- 
age to  twenty-five  years,  than  by  increasing  the 
value  of  the  qualification,  appears  to  us  to  be 
new  and  ingenious.  No  person  considers  him- 
self as  so  completely  deprived  of  a  share  in 
the  government,  who  is  to  enjoy  it  when  he  be- 
comes older,  as  he  would  do,  were  that  privi- 
lege deferred  till  he  became  richer;  time 
comes  to  all,  wealth  to  few. 

This  assembly  of  representatives,  as  M. 
Neckar  has  constituted  it,  appears  to  us  to  be 
in  extreme  danger  of  turning  out  to  be  a  mere 
collection  of  country  gentlemen.  Every  thing 
is  determined  by  territorial  extent  and  popula- 
tion;  and  as  the  voters  in  towns  must,  in  any 
single  division,  be  almost  always  inferior  to  the 
country  voters,  the  candidates  will  be  returned 
in  virtue  of  large  landed  property  ;  and  that  in- 
finite advantage  which  is  derived  to  a  popular 
assembly,  from  the  variety  of  characters  of 
which  it  is  composed,  would  be  entirely  lost 
under  the  system  of  M.  Neckar.  The  sea-ports, 
the  universities,  the  great  commercial  towns, 
should  all  have  their  separate  oigans  in  the 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


265 


parliament  of  a  great  country.  There  should 
be  some  means  of  bringing  in  active,  able, 
young  men,  who  would  submit  to  the  labour  of 
business,  from  the  stimulus  of  honour  and 
wealth.  Others  should  be  there,  expressly  to 
speak  the  sentiments,  and  defend  the  interests 
of  the  executive.  Every  popular  assembi}^ 
must  be  grossly  imperfect,  that  is  not  composed 
of  such  heterogeneous  materials  as  these.  Our 
own  parliament  may  perhaps  contain  within 
itself  too  ma7iy  of  that  species  of  representa- 
tives, who  could  never  have  arrived  at  the  dig- 
nity under  a  pure  and  perfect  system  of  elec- 
tion ;  but,  for  all  the  practical  purposes  of  go- 
vernment, amidst  a  great  majority  t^airly  elected 
by  the  people,  we  should  always  wish  to  see  a 
certain  number  of  the  legislative  body  repre- 
senting interests  very  distinct  from  those  of  the 
people. 

The  legislative  part  of  his  constitution  M. 
Neckar  manages  in  the  following  manner. 
There  are  two  councils,  the  great  and  the  little. 
The  great  council  is  composed  of  five  mem- 
bers from  each  department,  elected  in  the  man- 
ner we  have  just  described,  and  amounting  to 
the  number  of  six  hundred.  The  assembly  is 
re-elected  every  five  years.  No  qualification* 
of  property  is  necessary  to  its  members,  who 
receive  each  a  salary  of  12,000  livres.  No  one 
is  eligible  to  the  assembly  before  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years.  The  little  national  council 
consists  of  one  hundred  members,  or  from  that 
number  to  one  hundred  and  twenty;  one  for 
each  department.  It  is  re-elected  every  ten 
years ;  its  members  must  be  thirty  years  of  age ; 
and  they  receive  the  same  salary  as  the  mem- 
bers of  the  great  council.  For  the  election  of 
the  little  council,  each  of  the  five  chambers  of 
indication,  in  every  departmeat,  gives  in  the 
name  of  one  candidate;  and,  from  the  five  so 
named,  the  same  voters  who  choose  the  great 
council  select  one. 

The  municipal  officers  enjoy,  in  this  election, 
the  same  right  of  recommetiding  one  of  the  can- 
didates to  the  people;  a  privilege  which  they 
would  certainly  exercise  indirectly,  without  a 
law,  wherever  they  could  exercise  it  with  any 
effect,  and  the  influence  of  which  the  sanction 
of  the  law  would  at  all  times  rather  diminish 
than  increase. 

The  grand  national  council  commences  all 
deliberations  which  concern  public  order,  and 
the  interest  of  the  state,  with  the  exception  of 
those  only  which  belong  to  finance.  Neverthe- 
less, the  executive  and  the  little  council  have 
it  in  their  power  to  propose  any  law  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  grand  council.  When  a  law 
has  passed  the  two  councils,  and  received  the 
sanction  of  the  executive  senate,  it  becomes 
binding  upon  the  people.  If  the  executive 
senate  disapprove  of  any  law  presented  to  them 
for  their  adoption,  they  are  to  send  it  back  to 
the  two  councils  for  their  reconsideration  ;  but 
if  it  pass  these  two  bodies  again,  with  the  ap- 
probation of  two-lhirds  of  the  members  of  each 
assembi}',  the  executive  has  no  longer  the 
power  of  withholding  its  assent.  All  measures 
of  finance  are  to  initiate  with  government. 

*  Nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  our  qualification 
fur  parliament :  it  is  nothing  but  a  foolish  and  expen- 
sive lie  on  parchment. 

34 


We  believe  M.  Neckar  to  be  right  in  his  idea 
of  not  exacting  any  qualification  of  property  in 
his  legislative  assemblies.  When  men  are  left 
to  choose  their  own  governors,  they  ate  guided 
in  their  choice  by  some  one  of  those  motives 
which  has  always  commanded  their  homage 
and  admiration : — if  they  do  not  choose  wealth, 
they  choose  birth  or  talents,  or  military  fame  ; 
and  of  all  these  species  of  pre-eminence,  a  large 
popular  assembly  should  be  constituted.  In 
England,  the  laws,  requiring  that  members  of 
parliament  should  be  possessed  of  certain  pro- 
perty, are  (except  in  the  instance  of  members 
for  counties)  practically  repealed. 

In  the  salaries  of  the  members  of  the  two 
councils,  with  the  exception  of  the  expense, 
there  is,  perhaps,  no  great  balance  of  good  or 
harm.  To  some  men  it  would  be  an  induce- 
ment to  become  senators;  toothers,  induced  by 
more  honourable  motives,  it  would  afford  the 
means  of  supporting  that  situation  without  dis- 
grace. Twenty-five  years  of  age  is  certainly 
too  late  a  period  for  the  members  of  the  great 
council.  Of  what  astonishing  displays  of  elo- 
quence and  talent  should  we  have  been  de- 
prived in  this  country  under  the  adoption  of  a 
similar  rule! 

The  institution  of  two  assemblies  constitutes 
a  check  upon  the  passion  and  precipitation  by 
which  the  resolutions  of  any  single  popular  as« 
sembly  may  occasionally  be  governed.  The 
chances,  that  one  will  correct  the  other,  do  not 
depend  solely  upon  their  dividuality,  but  upon 
the  different  ingredients  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed, and  that  difference  of  system  and  spirit, 
which  results  from  a  difference  of  conforma- 
tion. Perhaps  M.  Neckar  has  not  sufficiently 
attended  to  this  consideration.  The  difference 
between  his  two  assemblies  is  not  very  mate- 
rial ;  and  the  same  popular  fury  which  marked 
the  proceedings  of  the  one,  would  not  be  very 
sure  of  meeting  with  an  adequate  corrective  in 
the  dignified  coolness  and  wholesome  gravity 
of  the  other. 

All  power  which  is  tacitly  allowed  to  devolve 
upon  the  executive  part  of  a  government,  from 
the  experience  that  it  is  most  conveniently 
placed  there,  is  both  safer,  and  less  likely  to  be 
complained  of,  than  that  which  is  conferred 
upon  it  by  law.  If  M.  Neckar  had  placed  some 
agents  of  the  executive  in  the  great  council,  all 
measures  of  finance  would,  in  fact,  have  origi- 
nated in  them,  without  any  exclusive  right  to 
such  initiation;  but  the  right  of  initiation,  from 
M.  Neckar's  contrivance,  is  likely  to  excite  that 
discontent  in  the  people,  which  alone  can  render 
it  dangerous  and  objectionable. 

In  this  plan  of  a  republic,  every  thing  seems 
to  depend  upon  the  purity  and  the  moderation 
of  its  governors.  The  executive  has  no  con- 
nection with  the  great  council;  the  members  of 
the  great  council  have  no  motive  of  hope,  or 
interest,  to  consult  the  wishes  of  the  executive. 
The  assembly,  which  is  to  give  example  to  the 
nation,  and  enjoy  its  confidence,  is  composed  of 
six  hundred  men,  whose  passions  have  no  other 
control  than  that  pure  love  of  the  public,  which 
it  is  hoped  they  may  possess,  and  thai  cool  inves- 
tigation of  interests,  which  it  is  hoped  they  may 
pursue. 

Of  the  effects  of  such  a  constitution,  every 


266 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


thing  must  be  conjectured;  for  experience  ena- 
bles us  to  make  no  assertion  respecting  it. 
There  is  only  one  government  in  the  modern 
world,  which,  from  the  effects  it  has  produced, 
and  the  time  it  has  endured,  can  with  justice  be 
Called  good  and  free.  Its  constitution,  in  books, 
contains  the  description  of  a  legislative  assem- 
bly, similar  to  that  of  M.  Neckar's.  Happily, 
perhaps,  for  the  people,  the  share  they  have 
really  enjoyed  in  its  election,  is  much  less  ample 
than  that  allotted  to  them  in  this  republic  of  the 
closet.  How  long  a  really  popular  assembly 
Would  tolerate  any  rival  and  co-existing  power 
in  the  state — for  what  period  the  feeble  execu- 
tive, and  the  untitled,  unblazoned  peers  of  a 
republic,  could  not  stand  against  it — whether 
any  institutions,  compatible  with  the  essence 
and  meaning  of  a  republic,  could  prevent  it 
from  absorbing  all  the  dignity,  the  popularity 
and  the  power  of  the  state, — are  questions  that 
we  leave  for  the  resolution  of  wiser  heads  ;  with 
the  sincerest  joy,  that  we  have  only  a  theoretical 
interest  in  stating  them.* 

The  executive  senate  is  to  consist  of  seven  ; 
and  the  right  of  presenting  the  candidates,  and 
selecting  from  the  candidates  alternately  from 
one  assembly  to  the  other,  i.  e.on  a  vacancy, 
the  great  council  present  three  candidates  to 
the  little  council,  who  select  one  from  that 
number;  and,  on  the  next  vacancy,  by  the  in- 
version of  this  process,  the  little  council  pre- 
sent, and  the  great  council  select;  and  so  alter- 
nately. The  members  of  the  executive  must 
be  thirty-five  years  of  age.  Their  measures 
are  determined  by  a  majority.  The  president, 
called  the  Consul,  has  a  casting  vote:  his  sal- 
ary is  fixed  at  .300,000  livres;  that  of  all  the 
other  senators  at  60,000  livres.  The  otfice  of 
consul  is  annual.  Every  senator  enjoys  it  in 
his  turn.  Every  year  one  senator  goes  out, 
unless  re-elected;  which  he  may  be  once,  and 
even  twice,  if  he  unites  three-fourths  of  the 
votes  of  each  council  in  his  favour.  The  exe- 
cutive shall  name  to  all  civil  and  military  of- 
fices, except  to  those  of  mayors  and  municipali- 
ties. Political  negotiations,  and  connections 
with  foreign  countries,  fall  under  the  direction 
of  the  executive.  Declarations  of  war  or 
peace,  when  presented  by  the  executive  to  the 
legislative  body,  are  to  be  adopted,  the  first  by 
a  majority  of  three-fifths,  the  last  by  a  simple 
majority.  The  parade,  honours,  and  ceremo- 
nies of  the  executive,  devolve  upon  the  consul 
alone.  Themembersof  the  senate,  upon  going 
out  of  office,  become  members  of  the  little 
council,  to  the  number  of  seven.  Upon  the 
vacation  of  an  eighth  senator,  the  oldest  ex- 
senator  in  the  little  council  resigns  his  seat  to 
make  room  for  him.  All  responsibility  rests 
upon  the  consul  alone,  who  has  a  right  to  stop 
the  proceedings  of  a  majority  of  the  executive 
senate,  by  declaring  them  unconstitutional; 
and  if  the  majority  persevere,  in  spite  of  this 
declaration,  the  dispute  is  referred  to  and  de- 
cided by  a  secret  committee  of  the  little  coun- 
cil. 

M.  Neckar  takes  along  with  him  the  same 
mistake  through  the  whole  of  his  constitution. 


*  That  interest  is  at  present  not  quite  so  theoretical 
as  it  was. 


by  conferring  the  choice  of  candidates  on  one 
body,  and  the  election  of  the  member  on  an- 
other: so  that  though  the  alternation  would  fake 
place  between  the  two  councils,  it  would  turn 
out  to  be  in  an  order  directly  opposite  to  thai 
which  was  intended. 

We  perfectly  acquiesce  in  the  reasons  M. 
Neckar  has  alleged  for  the  preference  given  to 
an  executive  constituted  of  many  individuals, 
rather  than  of  one.  The  prize  of  supreme 
power  is  too  tempting  to  admit  of  fair  play  in 
the  game  of  ambition  ;  and  it  is  wise  to  lessen 
its  value  by  dividing  it :  at  least  it  is  wise  to 
do  so  under  a  form  of  government  that  cannot 
admit  the  better  expedient  of  rendering  the  ex- 
ecutive hereditary ;  an  expedient  (gross  and 
absurd  as  it  seems  to  be)  the  best  calculated, 
perhaps,  to  obviate  the  effects  of  ambition  upon 
the  stability  of  governments,  by  narrowing  the 
field  on  which  it  acts,  and  the  object  for  which 
it  contends.  The  Americans  have  determined 
otherwise,  and  adopted  an  elective  presidency: 
but  there  are  innumerable  circumstances,  as 
M.  Neckar  very  justly  observes,  which  render 
the  example  of  America  inapplicable  to  other 
governments.  America  is  a  federative  repub- 
lic, and  the  extensive  jurisdiction  of  the  indi- 
vidual states  exonerates  the  president  from  so 
great  a  portion  of  the  cares  of  domestic  go- 
vernment, that  he  may  almost  be  considered 
as  a  mere  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  America 
presents  such  an  immediate,  and  such  a  seduc- 
ing species  of  provision  to  all  its  inhabitants, 
that  it  has  no  idle  discontented  populace;  its 
population  amounts  only  to  six  millions,  and  it 
is  not  condensed  in  such  masses  as  the  popu- 
lation of  Europe.  After  all,  an  experiment  of 
twenty  years  is  never  to  be  cited  in  politics  ; 
nothing  can  be  built  upon  such  a  slender  infer- 
ence. Even  if  America  were  to  remain  sta- 
tionary, she  might  find  that  she  had  presented 
too  fascinating  and  irresistible  an  object  to  hu- 
man ambition:  of  course,  that  peril  is  increas- 
ed by  every  augmentation  of  a  people,  who  are 
hastening  on,  with  rapid  and  irresistible  pace, 
to  the  highest  eminences  of  human  grandeur. 
Some  contest  for  power  there  must  be  in  every 
free  state :  but  the  contest  for  vicarial  and  de- 
puted  power,  as  it  implies  the  presence  of  a 
moderator  and  a  master,  is  more  prudent  than 
the  struggle  for  that  which  is  original  and  su- 
preme. 

The  difliculty  of  reconciling  the  responsi- 
bility  of  the  executive  with  its  dignity,  M. 
Neckar  foresees ;  and  states,  but  does  not  reme- 
dy. An  irresponsible  executive,  the  jealousy 
of  a  republic  would  never  tolerate ;  and  its 
amenability  to  punishment,  by  degrading  it  in 
the  eyes  of  the  people,  diminishes  its  power. 

All  the  leading  features  of  civil  liberty  are 
copied  from  the  constitution  of  this  country, 
with  hardly  any  variation. 

Having  thus  finished  his  project  of  a  repub- 
lic, M.  Neckar  proposes  the  government  of  this 
country  as  the  best  model  of  a  temperate  and 
hereditary  monarchy;  pointing  out  such  alter- 
ations in  it  as  the  genius  of  the  French  people, 
the  particular  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
placed,  or  the  abuses  which  have  crept  into 
our  policy,  may  require.  From  one  or  the 
other  of  these  motives  he  re-establishes  the 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


267 


salique  law  ;*  forms  his  elections  after  the 
same  manner  as  that  previously  described  in 
his  scheme  of  a  republic ;  and  excludes  the 
clergy  from  the  house  of  peers.  This  latter 
assembly  M.  Neckar  composes  of  250  heredi- 
tary peers  chosen  from  the  best  families  in 
France,  and  of  50  assistant  peers  enjoying  that 
dignity  for  life  only,  and  nominated  by  the 
crown.  The  number  of  hereditary  peers  is 
limited  as  above ;  the  peerage  goes  only  in  the 
male  line ;  and  upon  each  peer  is  perpetually 
entailed  landed  property  to  the  amount  of 
30,000  livres.  This  partial  creation  of  peers 
for  life  only,  appears  to  remedy  a  very  material 
defect  in  the  English  constitution.  An  heredi- 
tary legislative  aristocracy  not  only  adds  to  the 
dignity  of  the  throne,  and  establishes  that  gra- 
dation of  ranks  which  is,  perhaps,  absolutely 
necessary  to  its  security,  but  it  transacts  a  con- 
siderable share  of  the  business  of  the  nation, 
as  well  in  the  framing  of  laws  as  in  the  dis- 
charge of  its  juridical  functions.  But  men  of 
rank  and  wealth,  though  they  are  interested  by 
a  splendid  debate,  will  not  submit  to  the  drudg- 
ery of  business,  much  less  can  they  be  supposed 
conversant  in  all  the  niceties  of  law  questions. 
It  is  therefore  necessary  to  add  to  their  number 
a  certain  portion  of  novi  homines,  men  of  estab- 
lished character  for  talents,  and  upon  whom 
the  previous  tenor  of  their  lives  has  necessa- 
rily impressed  the  habits  of  business.  The 
evil  of  this  is,  that  the  title  descends  to  their 
posterity,  without  the  talents  and  the  utility 
that  procured  it;  and  thedignity  of  the  peerage 
is  impaired  by  the  increase  of  its  numbers  : 
not  only  so,  but  as  the  peerage  is  the  reward 
of  military,  as  well  as  the  earnest  of  civil  ser- 
vices, and  as  the  annuity  commonly  granted 
with  it  is  only  for  one  or  two  lives,  we  are  in 
some  danger  of  seeing  a  race  of  nobles  wholly 
dependent  upon  the  crown  for  their  support, 
and  sacrificing  their  political  freedom  to  their 
necessities.  These  evils  are  effectually,  as  it 
should  seem,  obviated  by  the  creation  of  a  ccr- 
tai»\  number  of  peers  for  life  only ;  and  the  in- 
crease of  power  which  it  seems  to  give  to  the 
crown,  is  very  fairly  counteracted  by  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  episcopacy,  and  the  limitation 
of  the  hereditary  peerage.  As  the  weight  of 
business  in  the  upper  house  would  principally 
devolve  upon  the  created  peers,  and  as  they 
would  hardly  arrive  at  that  dignity  without 
having  previously  acquired  great  civil  or  mili- 
tary reputation,  the  consideration  they  would 
enjoy  would  be  little  inferior  to  that  of  the 
other  part  of  the  aristocracy.  When  the  no- 
blesse of  nature  are  fairly  opposed  to  the  noblesse 
created  by  political  institutions,  there  is  little 
fear  that  the  former  should  suffer  by  the  com- 
parison. 

If  the  clergy  are  suffered  to  sit  in  the  lower 
house,  the  exclusion  of  the  episcopacy  from 
the  upper  house  is  of  less  importance  :  but,  in 
some  part  of  the  legislative  bodies,  the  inter- 


*  A  most  sensible  and  valuable  law,  banishing  gal- 
lantry and  chivalry  from  cabinets,  and  preventing  the 
amiable  antics  of  grave  statesmen. 

t  The  most  useless  and  offensive  tumour  in  the  body 
politic,  is  the  titled  son  of  a  great  man  whose  merit  has 
placed  him  in  the  peerajre.  The  name,  face,  and  per- 
haps the  pension,  remain.  The  dtemon  is  gone;  or 
there  is  a  slight  flavour  from  the  cask,  but  it  is  empty. 


ests  of  the  church  ought  unquestionably  to  be 
represented.  This  consideration  M.  Neckar 
wholly  passes  over.* 

Though  this  gentleman  considers  an  heredi- 
tary monarchy  as  preferable  in  the  abstract,  he 
deems  it  impossible  that  such  a  government 
could  be  established  in  France,  under  her  pre- 
sent circumstances,  from  the  impracticability 
of  establishing  with  it  an  hereditary  aristocra- 
cy ;  because  the  property,  and  the  force  of 
opinion,  which  constituted  their  real  power,  are 
no  more,  and  cannot  be  restored.  Though  we 
entirely  agree  with  M.  Neckar,  that  an  heredi- 
tary aristocracy  is  a  necessary  part  of  temperate 
monarchy,  and  that  the  latter  must  exist  upon 
the  base  of  the  former,  or  not  at  all — we  are  by 
no  means  converts  to  the  very  decided  opinion 
he  has  expressed  of  the  impossibility  of  restor- 
ing them  both  to  France. 

We  are  surprised  that  M.  Neckar  should  at- 
tempt to  build  any  strong  argument  upon  the 
durability  of  opinions  in  nations  that  are  about 
to  undergo,  or  that  have  recently  undergone, 
great  political  changes.  What  opinion  was 
there  in  favour  of  a  republic  in  17801  Or 
against  it  in  17941  Or,  what  opinion  is  there 
now  in  favour  of  it  in  18021  Is  not  the  tide 
of  opinions,  at  this  moment,  in  France,  setting 
back  with  a  strength  equal  to  its  flowl  and  is 
there  not  reason  to  presume,  that,  for  some  time 
to  come,  their  ancient  institutions  may  be 
adored  with  as  much  fury  as  they  were  de- 
stroyed 1  If  opinion  can  revive  in  favour  of 
kings  (and  M.  Neckar  allows  it  may),  why  not 
in  favour  of  nobles  1  It  is  true  their  property 
is  in  the  hands  of  other  persons ;  and  the  whole 
of  that  species  of  proprietors  will  exert  them- 
selves to  the  utmost  to  prevent  a  restoration  so 
pernicious  to  their  interests.  The  obstacle  is 
certainly  of  a  very  formidable  nature.  But 
why  this  weight  of  property,  so  weak  a  weapon 
of  defence  to  its  ancient,  should  be  deemed  so 
irresistible  in  the  hands  of  its  present  possessors, 
we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive ;  unless,  indeed,  it 
be  supposed,  that  antiquity  of  possession  di- 
minishes the  sense  of  right  and  the  vigour  of 
retention ;  and  that  men  will  struggle  harder  to 
keep  what  they  have  acquired  only  yesterday, 
than  that  which  they  have  possessed,  by  them- 
selves or  their  ancestors,  for  six  centuries. 

In  France,  the  inferiority  of  the  price  of 
revolutionary  lands  to  others,  is  immense.  Of 
the  former  species,  church  land  is  considerably 
dearer  than  the  forfeited  estates  of  emigrants. 
Whence  the  difference  of  price,  but  from  the 
estimated  difference  of  security  1  Can  any  fact 
display  more  strongly  the  state  of  public  opinion 
with  regard  to  the  probability  of  a  future  resto- 
ration of  these  estates,  either  partial  or  total  1 
and  can  any  circumstance  facilitate  the  execu- 
tion of  such  a  project  more  than  the  general 
belief  that  it  will  be  executed  1  M.  Neckar 
allows,  that  the  impediments  to  the  formation 
of  a  republic  are  very  serious  ;  but  thinks  they 
would  all  yield  to  the  talents  and  activity  of 
Buonaparte,  if  he  were  to  dedicate  himself  to 

♦  The  parochial  clergy  are  as  much  unrepresented  in 
the  English  Parliament  as  they  are  in  the  Parliament 
of  Brobdignag.  The  bishops  make  just  what  laws  they 
please,  and  the  bearing  they  may  have  on  the  happiness 
of  the  clergy  at  large  never  for  one  moment  comes  inta 
the  serious  consideration  of  Pail'ament. 


268 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SIDNEY  SMITH. 


the  superintendence  of  such  a  government 
during  the  period  of  its  infancy  :  of  course, 
therefore,  he  is  to  suppose  the  same  power 
dedicated  to  the  formation  of  an  hereditary 
monarchy :  or  his  parallel  of  difficulties  is  un- 
just, and  his  preference  irrational.  Buonaparte 
could  represent  the  person  of  a  monarch,  during 
his  life,  as  well  as  he  could  represent  the  execu- 
tive of  a  republic ;  and  if  he  could  overcome 
the  turbulence  of  electors,  to  whom  freedom 
was  new,  he  could  appease  the  jealousy  that 
his  generals  would  entertain  of  the  returning 
nobles.  Indeed,  without  such  powerful  inter- 
vention, this  latter  objection  does  not  appear  to 
us  to  be  by  any  means  insuperable.  If  the  his- 
tory of  our  own  restoration  were  to  be  acted 
over  again  in  France,  and  royalty  and  aristo- 
cracy brought  back  by  the  military  successor 
of  Buonaparte,  it  certainly  could  not  be  done 
without  a  very  liberal  distribution  of  favours 
among  the  great  leaders  of  the  army. 

Jealousy  of  the  executive  is  one  feature  of  a 
republic ;  in  consequence,  that  government  is 
clogged  with  a  multiplicity  of  safeguards  and 
restrictions,  which  render  it  unfit  for  investi- 
gating complicated  details,  and  managing  ex- 
tensive relations  with  vigour,  consistency,  and 
despatch.  A  republic,  therefore,  is  better  fitted 
for  a  little  state  than  a  large  one. 

A  love  of  equality  is  another  very  strong 
principle  in  a  republic ;  therefore  it  does  not 
tolerate  hereditary  honour  or  wealth ;  and  all 
the  efl'ect  produced  upon  the  minds  of  the  people 
by  this  factitious  power  is  lost,  and  the  govern- 
ment weakened ;  but,  in  proportion  as  the 
government  is  less  able  to  command,  the  people 
should  be  more  willing  to  obey ;  therefore  a 
republic  is  better  suited  to  a  moral  than  an  im- 
moral people. 

A  people  who  have  recently  experienced  great 
evils  from  the  privileged  orders  and  from  mon- 
archs,  love  republican  forms  so  much,  that  the 
warmth  of  their  inclination  supplies,  in  some 
degree,  the  defect  of  their  institutions.  Inmie- 
diately,  therefore,  upon  the  destruction  of  des- 
potism, a  republic  may  be  preferable  to  a  limited 
monarchy. 

And  yet,  though  narrowness  of  territory, 
purity  of  morals,  and  recent  escape  from  des- 
potism, appear  to  be  the  circumstances  which 
most  strongly  recommend  a  republic,  M.  Neckar 
proposes  it  to  the  most  numerous  and  the  most 
profligate  people  in  Europe,  who  are  disgusted 
with  the  very  name  of  liberty,  from  the  incredi- 
ble evils  they  have  suffered  in  pursuit  of  it. 

Whatever  be  the  species  of  free  government 
adopted  by  France,  she  can  adopt  none  without 
the  greatest  peril.  The  miserable  dilemma  in 
which  men  living  under  bad  governments  are 
placed,  is,  that,  without  a  radical  revolution, 
they  may  never  be  able  to  gain  liberty  at  all; 
and,  with  it,  the  attainment  of  liberty  appears 
to  be  attended  with  almost  insuperable  difficul- 
ties. To  call  upon  a  nation,  on  a  sudden,  totally 
destitute  of  such  knowledge  and  experience,  to 
perform  all  the  manifold  functions  of  a  free 
constitution,  is  to  entrust  valuable,  delicate,  and 
abstruse  mechanism,  to  the  rudest  skill  and  the 
grossest  ignorance.  Public  acts  may  confer 
liberty;  but  experience  only  can  teach  a  people 
to  use  it;  and,  till  they  have  gained  that  expe- 


rience, they  are  liable  to  tumult,  to  jealousy,  to 
collision  of  powers,  and  to  every  evil  to  which 
men  are  exposed,  who  are  desirous  of  preserv- 
ing a  great  good,  without  knowing  how  to  set 
about  it.  In  an  old  established  system  of  liberty, 
like  our  own,  the  encroachments  which  one  de- 
partment of  the  state  makes  on  any  other,  are 
slow,  and  hardly  intentional ;  the  political  feel- 
ings and  the  constitutional  knowledge  which 
every  Englishman  possesses,  create  a  public 
voice,  which  tends  to  secure  the  tranquillity  of 
the  whole.  Amid  the  crude  sentiments  and 
new-born  precedents  of  sudden  liberty,  the 
crown  might  destroy  the  commons,  or  the 
commons  the  crown,  almost  before  the  people 
had  formed  any  opinion  of  the  nature  of  their 
contention.  A  nation  grown  free  in  a  single 
day,  is  a  child  born  with  the  limbs  and  the 
vigour  of  a  man,  who  would  take  a  drawn  sword 
for  his  rattle,  and  set  the  house  in  a  blaze,  that 
he  might  chuckle  over  the  splendour. 

Why  can  factious  eloquence  produce  such 
limited  effects  in  this  country?  Partly  because 
we  are  accustomed  to  it,  and  know  how  to  ap- 
preciate it.  We  are  acquainted  with  popular 
assemblies;  and  the  language  of  our  Parlia- 
ment produces  the  efiect  it  ought  upon  public 
opinion,  because  long  experience  enables  us  to 
conjecture  the  real  motives  by  which  men  are 
actuated;  to  separate  the  vehemence  of  party 
spirit  from  the  language  of  principle  and  truth; 
and  to  discover  whom  we  can  trust,  and  whom 
we  cannot.  The  want  of  all  this,  and  of  much 
more  than  this,  must  retard,  for  a  very  long  pe- 
riod, the  practical  enjoyment  of  liberty  in 
France,  and  present  very  serious  obstacles  to 
her  prosperity ;  obstacles  little  dreamed  of  by 
men  who  seem  to  measure  the  happiness  and 
future  grandeur  of  France  by  degrees  of  lon- 
gitude and  latitude,  and  who  believe  she  might 
acquire  liberty  with  as  much  facility  as  she 
could  acquire  Switzerland  or  Naples. 

M.  Neckar's  observations  on  the  finances  of 
France,  and  on  finance  in  general,  are  useful, 
entertaining,  and  not  above  the  capacity  of 
every  reader.  France,  he  says,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1781,  had  438  millions  of  revenue; 
and,  at  present  540  millions.  The  state  paid, 
in  1781,  about  21.5  millions  in  pensions,  the  in- 
terest of  perpetual  debts,  and  debts  for  life.  It 
pays,  at  present,  80  millions  in  interests  and 
pensions;  and  owes  about  12  millions  for  anti- 
cipations on  the  public  revenue.  A  considera- 
ble share  of  the  increase  of  the  revenue  is 
raised  upon  the  conquered  countries  ;  and  the 
people  are  liberated  from  tithes,  corvees,  and 
the  tax  on  salt.  This,  certainly,  is  a  magnifi- 
cent picture  of  finance.  The  best  informed 
people  at  Paris,  who  would  be  very  glad  to  con- 
sider it  as  a  copy  from  life,  dare  not  contend 
that  it  is  so.  At  least,  we  sincerely  ask  pardon 
of  M.  Neckar,  if  our  information  as  to  this 
point  be  not  correct :  but  we  believe  he  is  gene- 
rally considered  to  have  been  misled  by  the 
public  financial  reports. 

In  addition  to  the  obvious  causes  which  keep 
the  interest  of  money  so  high  in  France,  M. 
Neckar  states  one  which  we  shall  present  to 
our  readers : — 

"There  is  one  means  for  the  establishment 
of  credit,"  he  says,  "  equally  important  with 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


269 


the  others  which  I  have  stated — a  sentiment  of 
respect  for  morals,  sufficiently  diffused  to  over- 
awe the  government,  and  intimidate  it  from 
treating  with  bad  faith  any  solemn  engagements 
contracted  in  the  name  of  the  state.  It  is  this 
resped  for  morals  which  seems  at  present  to  have  dis- 
appeared? a  respect  which  the  Revolution  has 
destroyed,  and  which  is  unquestionably  one  of 
the  firmest  supports  of  national  faith." 

The  terrorists  of  this  country  are  so  ex- 
tremely alarmed  at  the  power  of  Buonaparte, 
that  they  ascribe  to  him  resources  which  M. 
Neckar  very  justly  observes  to  be  incompati- 
ble— despotism  and  credit.  Now,  clearly,  if  he 
is  so  omnipotent  in  France  as  he  is  represented 
to  be,  there  is  an  end  of  all  credit ;  for  nobody 
will  trust  him  whom  nobody  can  compel  to  pay; 
and  if  he  establishes  a  credit,  he  loses  all  that 
temporary  vigour  which  is  derived  from  a  re- 
volutionary government.  Either  the  despotism 
or  the  credit  of  France  directed  against  this 
country  would  be  highly  formidable;  but,  both 
together,  can  never  be  directed  at  the  same 
time. 

In  this'  part  of  his  work,  M.  Neckar  very 
justly  points  out  one  of  the  most  capital  defects 
of  Mr.  Pitt's  administration;  who  always  sup- 
posed that  the  power  of  France  was  to  cease 


with  her  credit,  and  measured  the  period  of  her 
existence  by  the  depreciation  of  her  assignats. 
Whereas,  France  was  never  more  powerful 
than  when  she  was  totally  unable  to  borrow  a 
single  shilling  in  the  whole  circumference  of 
Europe,  and  when  her  assignats  were  not  worth 
the  paper  on  which  they  were  stamped. 

Such  are  the  principal  contents  of  M.  Neck- 
ar's  very  respectable  work.  Whether,  in  the 
course  of  that  work,  his  political  notions  ap- 
pear to  be  derived  from  a  successful  study  of 
the  passions  of  mankind,  and  whether  his  plan 
for  the  establishment  of  a  republican  govern- 
ment in  France,  for  the  ninth  or  tenth  time, 
evinces  a  more  sanguine,  or  a  more  sagacious 
mind,  than  the  rest  of  the  world,  we  would  ra- 
ther our  readers  should  decide  for  themselves, 
than  expose  ourselves  to  any  imputation  of  ar- 
rogance, by  deciding  for  them.  But  when  we 
consider  the  pacific  and  impartial  disposition 
which  characterizes  the  Last  Views  on  Politics 
and  Finance,  the  serene  benevolence  which  it 
always  displays,  and  the  pure  morals  which  it 
always  inculcates,  we  cannot  help  entertaining 
a  high  respect  for  its  venerable  author,  and  feel- 
ing a  fervent  wish,  that  the  last  views  of  every 
public  man  may  proceed  from  a  heart  as  up- 
right, and  be  directed  to  objects  as  good. 
z2 


270 


WORKS  OF   THE  REV,  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


CATTEAU,  TABLEAU  DES  ETATS  DANOIS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


The  object  of  this  boob  is  to  exhibit  a  pic- 
ture of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark,  under  all  its 
social  relations,  of  politics,  statistics,  science, 
morals,  manners,  and  every  thing  which  can 
influence  its  character  and  importance,  as  a 
free  and  independent  collection  of  human 
beings. 

This  book  is,  upon  the  whole,  executed  with 
great  diligence  and  good  sense.  Some  sub- 
jects of  importance  are  passed  over,  indeed, 
with  too  much  haste;  but  if  the  publication 
had  exceeded  its  present  magnitude,  it  would 
soon  have  degenerated  into  a  mere  book  of 
reference,  impossible  to  be  read,  and  fit  only, 
like  a  dictionary,  for  the  purposes  of  occasional 
appeal:  It  would  not  have  been  a  picture  pre- 
senting us  with  an  interesting  epitome  of  the 
whole;  but  a  typographical  plan,  detailing, 
with  minute  and  fatiguing  precision,  every 
trifling  circumstance,  and  every  subordinate 
feature.  We  should  be  far  from  objecting  to  a 
much  more  extended  and  elaborate  perform- 
ance than  the  present;  because  those  who 
read,  and  those  who  write,  are  now  so  nume- 
rous, that  there  is  room  enough  for  varieties 
and  modifications  of  the  same  subject :  but 
information  of  this  nature,  conveyed  in  a  form 
and  in  a  size  adapted  to  continuous  reading, 
gains  in  surface  what  it  loses  in  depth, — and 
gives  general  notions  to  many,  though  it  can- 
not afford  all  the  knowledge  which  a  few  have 
it  in  their  power  to  acquire,  from  the  habits 
of  more  patient  labour,  and  more  profound 
research. 

This  work,  though  written  at  a  period  when 
enthusiasm  or  disgust  had  thrown  most  men's 
minds  ofi"  their  balance,  is  remarkable,  upon 
the  whole,  for  sobriety  and  moderation.  The 
observations,  though  seldom  either  strikingly 
ingenious  or  profound,  are  just,  temperate,  and 
always  benevolent.  We  are  so  far  from  per- 
ceiving any  thing  like  extravagance  in  Mr. 
Catteau,  that  we  are  inclined  to  think  he  is 
occasionally  too  cautious  for  the  interests  of 
truth ;  that  he  manages  the  court  of  Den- 
mark with  too  much  delicacy;  and  exposes, 
by  distant  and  scarcely  perceptible  touches, 
that  which  it  was  his  duty  to  have  brought 
out  boldly  and  strongly.  The  most  disa- 
greeable circumstance  in  the  style  of  the 
book  is,  the  author's  compliance  with  that 
irresistible  avidity  of  his  country  to  declaim 
upon  common-place  subjects.  He  goes  on, 
mingling  bucolic  details  and  sentimental  eff'u- 
sions,  melting  and  measuring,  crying  and  cal- 
cvilating,  in  a  manner  which  is  very  bad,  if  it 
is  poetry,  and  worse  if  it  is  prose.  In  speaking 
of  the  mode  of  cultivating  potatoes,  he  cannot 
avoid  calling  the  potato  a  modest  vegetable:  and 


*  Tableaux  des  Etat.i  Danois.    ParJsAN  PlERRE  Cat- 
teau.   3  tomes.    1S02.    a  Paris. 


when  he  comes  to  the  exportation  of  horses 
from  the  duchy  of  Holstein,  we  learn  that 
"these  animals  are  dragged  from  the  bosom  of 
their  peaceable  and  modest  country,  to  hear,  ia 
foreign  regions,  the  sound  of  the  warlike  trum- 
pet; to  carry  the  combatant  amid  the  hostile 
ranks;  to  increase  the  eclat  of  some  pompous 
procession ;  or  drag,  in  gilded  car,  some 
favourite  of  fortune." 

We  are  sorry  to  be  compelled  to  notice 
these  untimely  efl'usions,  especially  as  they 
may  lead  to  a  suspicion  of  the  fidelity  of  the 
work ;  of  which  fidelity,  from  actual  examina- 
tion of  many  of  the  authorities  referred  to,  we 
have  not  the  most  remote  doubt.  Mr.  Catteau 
is  to  be  depended  upon  as  securely  as  any 
writer,  going  over  such  various  and  extensive 
ground,  can  ever  be  depended  upon.  He  is 
occasionally  guilty  of  some  trifling  inaccura- 
cies ;  but  what  he  advances  is  commonly  de- 
rived from  the  most  indisputable  authorities ; 
and  he  has  condensed  together  a  mass  of  infor- 
mation, which  will  render  his  book  the  most 
accessible  and  valuable  road  of  knowledge,  to 
those  who  are  desirous  of  making  any  re- 
searches respecting  the  kingdom  of  Den- 
mark. 

Denmark,  since  the  days  of  piracy,  has 
hardly  been  heard  of  out  of  the  Baltic.  Mar- 
garet, by  the  union  of  Calmar,  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  monarchy,  which  (could  it  have  been 
preserved  by  hands  as  strong  as  those  which 
created  it)  would  have  exercised  a  powerful 
influence  upon  the  destinies  of  Europe,  and 
have  strangled,  perhaps  in  the  cradle,  the  in- 
fant force  of  Russia.  Denmark,  reduced  to 
her  ancient  bounds  by  the  patriotism  and 
talents  of  Gustavus  Vasa,  has  never  since 
been  able  to  emerge  into  notice  by  her  own 
natural  resources,  or  the  genius  of  her  minis- 
ters and  her  monarchs.  During  that  period, 
Sweden  has  more  than  once  threatened  to  give 
laws  to  Europe;  and,  headed  by  Charles  and 
Gustavus,  has  broke  out  into  chivalroiTs  enter- 
prises, with  an  heroic  valour,  which  merited 
wiser  objects,  and  greater  ultimate  success. 
The  spirit  of  the  Danish  nation  has,  for  the 
last  two  or  three  centuries,  been  as  little  car- 
ried to  literature  or  to  science,  as  to  war. 
They  have  written  as  little  as  they  have  done. 
With  the  exception  of  Tycho  Brahe  and  a 
volume  of  shells,  there  is  hardly  a  Danish 
book,  or  a  Danish  writer,  known  five  miles 
from  the  Great  Bell.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say, 
that  there  are  many  authors  read  and  admired 
in  Denmark :  there  are  none  that  have  passed 
the  Sound,  none  that  have  had  energy  enough 
to  force  themselves  into  the  circulation  of  Eu- 
rope, to  extort  universal  admiration,  and  live, 
without  the  aid  of  municipal  praise,  and  local 
approbation.  From  the  period,  however,  of  the 
first  of  the  Bernstorffs,  Denmark  has  made  a 


WORKS  OF  THE  EEV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


271 


great  spring,  and  has  advanced  more  within 
the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years,  than  for  the 
three  preceding  centuries.  The  peasants  are 
now  emancipated;  the  laws  of  commerce, 
foreign  and  interior,  are  simplified  and  ex- 
panded ;  the  transport  of  corn  and  cattle  is 
made  free ;  a  considerable  degree  of  liberty  is 
granted  to  the  press ;  and  slavery  is  to  cease 
this  very  year  in  their  West  Indian  possessions. 
If  Ernest  Bernstorff  was  the  author  of  some 
less  considerable  measures,  they  are  to  be 
attributed  more  to  the  times,  than  to  the  defects 
of  his  understanding,  or  of  his  heart.  To  this 
great  minister  succeeded  the  favourite  Struen- 
see,  and  to  him  Ove  Guildberg:  the  first,  with 
views  of  improvements,  not  destitute  of  libe- 
rality or  genius,  but  little  guided  by  judgment, 
or  marked  by  moderation ;  the  latter,  devoid 
of  that  energy  and  firmness  which  were  ne- 
cessary to  execute  the  good  he  intended.  In 
1788,  when  the  king  became  incapable  of  bu- 
siness, and  the  crown-prince  assumed  the  go- 
vernment. Count  Andrew  Bernstorff,  nephew 
of  Ernest,  was  called  to  the  ministry:  and, 
while  some  nations  were  shrinking  from  the 
very  name  of  innovation,  and  others  overturn- 
ing every  establishment  and  violating  every 
principle,  Bernstorfi"  steadily  pursued,  and  ulti- 
mately effected,  the  gradual  and  bloodless 
amelioration  of  his  country.  His  name  will 
ever  form  a  splendid  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Denmark.  The  spirit  of  economical  research 
and  improvement  which  emanated  from  him 
still  remains  ;  while  the  personal  character  of 
the  prince  of  Denmark,  and  the  zeal  with 
which  he  seconded  the  projects  of  his  favourite 
minister,  seem  to  afford  a  guarantee  for  the 
continuation  of  the  same  system  of  adminis- 
tration. 

In  his  analysis  of  the  present  state  of  Den- 
mark, Mr.  Catteau,  after  a  slight  historical 
sketch  of  that  country,  divides  his  subject  into 
sixteen  sections. 

I.  Geographical  and  physical  qualities  of 
the  Danish  territory :  2.  Form  of  Government; 
3.  Administration:  4.  Institutions  relative  to 
government  and  administration  :  5.  Civil  and 
criminal  laws,  and  judiciary  institutions  :  6. 
Military  system,  land,  army,  and  marine  :  7. 
Finance:  8.  Population :  9.  Productive  indus- 
try, comprehending  agriculture,  the  fisheries, 
and  the  extraction  of  mineral  substances:  10. 
Manufacturing  industry:  11.  Commerce,  in- 
terior and  exterior,  including  the  state  of  the 
great  roads,  the  canals  of  navigation,  the  mari- 
time insurances,  the  bank^  &c.  &c. :  12.  Es- 
tablishments of  charity  and  public  utility  :  13. 
Religion:  14.  Education  :  15.  Language,  cha- 
racter, manners,  and  customs:  16.  Sciences 
and  arts. — This  division  we  shall  follow. 

From  the  southern  limits  of  Holstein  to  the 
southern  extremity  of  Norway,  the  Danish  do- 
minions extend  to  300  miles*   in  length,  and 


*  The  mile  alluded  to  here,  and  through  the  whole  of 
the  book,  is  the  Danish  mile,  15  to  a  de£[ree,  or  4000  toises 
in  round  numbers :  the  ancient  mile  of  Norway  is  much 
more  considerable.  It  may  be  as  well  to  mention  here, 
that  the  Danes  reckon  their  money  by  rixdollars,  marks, 
and  schellings.  A  rixdollar  contains  6  marks,  and  a  mark 
16  schellings  ;  20  schellinss  are  equal  to  one  livre  ;  con- 
sequently,  the  pound  sterling  is  equal  to  4  r.  4  m.  14  ech., 
or  nearly  5  rixdollars. 


are,  upon  an  average,  from  about  50  to  60  in 
breadth ;  the  whole  forms  an  area  of  about 
8000  square  miles.  The  western  coast  of 
Jutland,  from  Riba  to  Lemvig,  is  principally 
alluvial,  and  presents  much  greater  advan- 
tages to  the  cultivator  than  he  has  yet  drawn 
from  it.  The  eastern  coast  is  also  extremely 
favourable  to  vegetation.  A  sandy  and  barren 
ridge  stretching  from  north  to  south,  between 
the  two  coasts,  is  unfavourable  to  every  spe- 
cies of  culture,  and  hardly  capable  of  support- 
ing the  wild  and  stunted  shrubs  which  lan- 
guish upon  its  surface.  Towards  the  north, 
where  the  Jutland  peninsula  terminates  in  the 
Baltic,  every  thing  assumes  an  aspect  of  bar- 
renness and  desolation.  It  is  Arabia,  without 
its  sun  or  its  verdant  islands  ;  but  not  without 
its  tempests  or  sands,  which  sometimes  over- 
whelm what  little  feeble  agriculture  they  may 
encounter,  and  convert  the  habitual  wretched- 
ness of  the  Jutlanders  into  severe  and  cruel 
misfortune.  The  Danish  government  has  at- 
tempted to  remedy  this  evil,  in  some  measure, 
by  encouraging  the  cultivation  of  those  kinds 
of  shrubs  which  grow  on  the  sea-shore,  and 
by  their  roots  give  tenacity  and  aggregation 
to  the  sand.  The  Elymus  Arenaria,  though 
found  to  be  the  most  useful  for  that  purpose, 
is  still  inadequate  to  the  prevention  of  the  ca- 
lamity.* 

The  Danish  isles  are  of  a  green  and  pleasant 
aspect.  The  hills  are  turfed  up  to  the  top,  or 
covered  with  trees ;  the  valleys  animated  by 
the  passage  of  clear  streams ;  and  the  whole 
strikingly  contrasted  with  the  savage  sterility, 
or  imposing  grandeur,  of  the  scenes  on  the  op- 
posite coast  of  Jutland.  All  the  seas  of  Den- 
mark are  well  stored  with  fish ;  and  a  vast 
number  of  deep  friths  and  inlets  affords  a  cheap 
and  valuable  communication  with  the  interior 
of  the  country. 

The  Danish  rivers  are  neither  numerous  nor 
considerable.  The  climate,  generally  speaking, 
is  moist  and  subject  to  thick  fogs,  which  al- 
most obscure  the  horizon.  Upon  a  mean  of 
twenty-six  years,  it  has  rained  for  a  hundred 
and  thirty  days  every  year,  and  thundered  for 
thirteen.  Their  summer  begins  with  June,  and 
ends  with  September.  A  calm  serene  sky,  and 
an  atmosphere  free  from  vapours,  are  very 
rarely  the  lot  of  the  inhabitants  of  Denmark ; 
but  the  humidity  with  which  the  air  is  impreg- 
nated is  highly  favourable  to  vegetation  ;  and 
all  kinds  of  corn  and  grass  are  cultivated 
there  with  great  success.  To  the  south  of 
Denmark  are  the  countries  of  Sleswick  and 
Holstein.  Nature  has  divided  these  countries 
into  two  parts ;  the  one  of  which  is  called 
Geetslund,  the  other  Murschland.  Geetsland  is 
the  elevated  ground  situated  along  the  Baltic. 
The  soil  resembles  that  of  Denmark.  The  di- 
vision of  Marschland  forms  a  band  or  stripe, 
which  extends  from  the  Elbe  to  the  frontiers 
of  Jutland,  an  alluvium  gained  and  preserved 
from  the  sea,  by  a  labour  which,  though  vigi- 
lant and  severe,  is  repaid  by  the  most  ample 


*  There  is  a  Danish  work,  by  Professor  Vibor?,  upon 
those  plants  which  grow  in  sand.  It  has  been  very  ac- 
tively distributed  in  Jutland,  by  the  Danish  administra- 
tion, and  might  be  of  considerable  service  in  Norfolk, 
and  other  parts  of  Great  Britain 


372 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


profits.  The  sea,  however,  in  all  these  allu- 
vial countries,  seldom  forgets  his  original 
rights.  Marschland,  in  the  midst  of  all  its 
tranquillity,  fat,  and  silence,  was  invaded  by 
this  element  in  the  year  1634,  with  the  loss  of 
whole  villages,  many  thousands  of  horned  cat- 
tle, and  1500  human  beings. 

Nature  is  as  wild  and  grand  in  Norway  as 
she  is  productive  in  Marschland.  Cataracts 
amid  the  dark  pines  ;  the  eternal  snow  on  the 
mountains ;  seas  that  bid  adieu  to  the  land, 
and  stretch  out  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  an  end- 
less succession  of  the  great  and  the  terrible, — 
leave  the  eye  and  the  mind  without  repose. 
The  climate  of  Norway  is  extremely  favoura- 
ble to  the  longevity  of  the  human  race,  and 
sutficiently  so  to  the  life  of  many  animals  do- 
mesticated by  man.  The  horses  are  of  good 
breed;  the  horned  cattle  excellent,  though 
small.  Crops  of  grain  are  extremely  precari- 
ous, and  often  perish  before  they  come  to  ma- 
turity.* 

In  1660,  the  very  year  in  which  this  happier 
country  was  laying  the  foundations  of  rational 
liberty  by  the  wise  restrictions  imposed  upon 
its  returning  monarch,  the  people  of  Denmark, 
by  a  solemn  act,  surrendered  their  natural 
rights  into  the  hands  of  their  sovereign,  en- 
dowed him  with  absolute  power,  and,  in  express 
■words,  declared  him,  for  all  his  political  acts, 
accountable  only  to  him  to  whom  all  kings 
and  governors  are  accountable.  This  revolu- 
tion, similar  to  that  effected  by  the  king  and 
people  at  Stockholm  in  1772,  was  not  a  change 
from  liberty  to  slavery ;  but  from  a  worse  sort 
of  slavery  to  a  better ;  from  the  control  of  an 
insolent  and  venal  senate,  to  that  of  one  man : 
it  was  a  change  which  simplified  their  degra- 
dation, and,  by  lessening  the  number  of  their 
tyrants,  put  their  servitude  more  out  of  sight. 
There  ceased  immediately  to  be  an  arbitrary 
monarch  in  every  parish,  and  the  distance  of 
the  oppressor  either  operated  as  a  diminution 
of  the  oppression,  or  was  thought  to  do  so. 
The  same  spirit,  to  be  sure,  which  urged  them 
to  victory  over  one  evil,  might  have  led  them 
on  a  little  farther  to  the  subjugation  of  both  ; 
and  they  might  have  limited  the  king,  by  the 
same  powers  which  enabled  them  to  dissolve 
the  senate.  But  Europe,  at  that  period,  knew 
no  more  of  liberty  than  of  galvanism  ;  and  the 
peasants  of  Denmark  no  more  dreamt  of  be- 
coming free  than  the  inhabitants  of  Paris  do 
at  this  moment. 

At  present,  Denmark  is  in  theory  one  of  the 
most  arbitrary  governments  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  It  has  remained  so  ever  since  the  revo- 
lution to  which  we  have  just  alluded ;  in  all 
which  period  the  Danes  have  not,  by  any  im- 
portant act  of  rebellion,  evinced  an  impatience 
of  their  yoke,  or  any  sense  that  the  enormous 
power  delegated  to  their  monarchs  has  been 
improperly  exercised.  In  fact,  the  Danish  go- 
vernment enjoys  great  reputation  for  its  for- 
bearance and  mildness;  and  sanctifies,  in  a 
certain  degree,  its  execrable  constitution,  by 
the  moderation  with  which  it  is  administered. 

*  We  shall  take  liule  notice  of  Iceland  in  this  review, 
ft-om  the  atlPTilion  we  mean  to  pay  to  that  subject  in 
the  review  of  "  Voyage  en  Iceland,  fait  par  ordre  de  sa 
Majestt  Danoise,"  5  vols.  1803. 


We  regret  extremely  that  Mr.  Catteau  has 
given  us,  upon  this  curious  subject  of  the 
Danish  government,  such  a  timid  and  sterile 
dissertation.  Many  governments  are  despotic 
in  law,  which  are  not  despotic  in  fact ;  not  be- 
cause they  are  restrained  by  their  own  mode- 
ration, but  because,  in  spite  of  their  theoretical 
omnipotence,  they  are  compelled,  in  many 
important  points,  to  respect  either  public 
opinion  or  the  opinion  of  other  balancing  pow- 
ers, which,  without  the  express  recognition  of 
law,  have  gradually  sprung  up  in  the  state. 
Russia,  and  Imperial  Rome,  had  its  p'^aetorian 
guards.  Turkey  has  its  uhlema.  Public  opi- 
nion almost  always  makes  some  exceptions  to 
its  blind  and  slavish  submission ;  and  in  bow- 
ing its  neck  to  the  foot  of  a  sultan,  stipulates 
how  hard  he  shall  tread.  The  very  fact  of  en- 
joying a  mild  government  for  a  century  and  a 
half,  must,  in  their  own  estimation,  have  given 
the  Danes  a  sort  of  right  to  a  mild  govern- 
ment. Ancient  possession  is  a  good  title  in  all 
cases  ;  and  the  King  of  Denmark  may  have 
completely  lost  the  power  of  doing  many  just 
and  many  unjust  actions,  from  never  having 
exercised  it  in  particular  instances.  What 
he  has  not  done  for  so  long  a  period,  he  may 
not  dare  to  do  now;  and  he  may  in  vain  pro- 
duce constitutional  parchment,  abrogated  by 
the  general  feelings  of  those  whom  they  were 
intended  to  control.  Instead  of  any  informa- 
tion of  this  kind,  the  author  of  the  Tableau  has 
given  us  at  full  length  the  constitutional  act 
of  1 660,  and  has  afforded  us  no  other  knowledge 
than  we  could  procure  from  the  most  vulgar 
histories;  as  if  state  papers  were  the  best 
place  to  look  for  constitutions,  and  as  if  the 
rights  of  king  and  people  were  really  adjusted, 
by  the  form  and  solemnity  of  covenant  and 
pacts  ;  by  oaths  of  allegiance,  or  oaths  of  coro- 
nation. 

The  king  has  his  privy  council,  to  which  he 
names  whom  he  pleases,  with  the  exception 
of  the  heir-apparent,  and  the  princes  of  the 
blood,  who  sit  there  of  right.  It  is  customary, 
also,  that  the  heads  of  colleges  should  sit 
there.  These  colleges  are  the  offices  in  which 
the  various  business  of  the  state  is  carried  on. 
The  chancelry  of  Denmark  interprets  all  laws 
which  concern  privileges  in  litigation,  and  the 
different  degrees  of  authority  belonging  to  va- 
rious public  bodies.  It  watches  over  the  in- 
terests of  church  and  poor:  issues  patents, 
edicts,  grants,  letters  of  naturalization,  legiti- 
macy, and  nobility.  The  archives  of  the  state 
are  also  under  its  custody.  The  German 
chancelry  has  the  same  powers  and  privileges 
in  Sleswick  and  Holstein,  which  are  fiefs  of 
the  empire.  There  is  a  college  for  foreign  af- 
fairs ;  two  colleges  of  finance  ;  and  a  college 
of  economy  and  commerce;  which,  divided 
into  four  parts,  directs  its  attention  to  four  ob- 
jects :  1.  Manufacturing  industry :  2.  Com- 
merce :  3.  Productions :  4.  Possessions  in  the 
East  Indies.  All  projects  and  speculations, 
relative  to  any  of  these  objects,  are  referred  to 
this  college ;  and  every  encouragement  givea 
to  the  prosecution  of  such  as  it  may  approve. 
There  are  two  other  colleges,  which  respec- 
tively manage  the  army  and  navy.  The  total 
number  is  nine. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


273 


The  court  of  Denmark  is  on  a  footing  of 
great  simplicity.  The  pomp  introduced  by 
Christian  IV.,  who  modelled  his  establishments 
after  those  of  Louis  XIV.,  has  been  laid  aside, 
and  a  degree  of  economy  adopted,  much  more 
congenial  to  the  manners  of  the  people,  and 
the  resources  of  the  country.  The  hereditary 
nobility  of  Denmark  may  be  divided  into  those 
of  the  ancient,  those  of  the  modern  fiefs,  and 
the  personal  nobility.  The  first  class  are  only 
distinguished  from  the  second,  by  the  more 
extensive  privileges  annexed  to  their  fiefs;  as 
it  has  been  the  policy  of  the  court  of  Denmark, 
in  latter  times,  not  to  grant  such  immunities 
to  the  possessors  of  noble  lands  as  had  been 
accorded  to  them  at  earlier  periods.  Both  of 
these  classes,  however,  derive  their  nobility 
from  their  estates,  which  are  inalienable,  and 
descend  according  to  the  laws  of  primogeni- 
ture. In  the  third  class,  nobility  derives  from 
the  person,  and  not  from  the  estate.  To  pre- 
vent the  female  noblesse  from  manning  be- 
neath their  rank,  and  to  preserve  the  dignity 
of  their  order,  nine  or  ten  Protestant  nunne- 
ries have  been  from  time  to  time  endowed,  in 
each  of  which  about  twelve  noble  women  are 
accommodated,  who,  not  bound  by  any  vow, 
find  in  these  societies  an  economical  and  ele- 
gant retirement.  The  nobility  of  Norway 
have  no  fiefs.  The  nobility  of  Holstein  and 
Sleswick  derive  their  nobility  from  their  fiefs, 
and  are  possessed  of  very  extensive  privileges. 
Every  thing  which  concerns  their  common 
interest  is  discussed  in  a  convention  held 
periodically  in  the  town  of  Keil ;  during  the 
vacations  of  the  convention,  there  is  a  perma- 
nent deputation  resident  in  the  same  town. 
Interests  so  well  watched  by  the  nobles  them- 
selves, are  necessarily  respected  by  the  court 
of  Denmark.  The  same  institution  of  free 
nunneries  for  the  female  nobility  prevails  in 
these  provinces.  Societies  of  this  sort  might 
perhaps  be  extended  to  other  classes,  and  to 
other  countries  with  some  utility.  The  only, 
objection  to  a  nunnery  is,  that  those  who 
change  their  mind  cannot  change  their  situa- 
tion. That  a  number  of  unmarried  females 
should  collect  together  into  one  mass,  and 
subject  themselves  to  some  few  rules  of  con- 
venience, is  a  system  which  might  aflbrd  great 
resources  and  accommodation  to  a  number  of 
helpless  individuals,  without  proving  injurious 
to  the  community ;  unless,  indeed,  any  very 
timid  statesman  shall  be  alarmed  at  the  pro- 
gress of  celibacy,  and  imagine  that  the  increase 
and  multiplication  of  the  human  race  may  be- 
come a  mere  antiquated  habit. 

The  lowest  courts  in  Denmark  are  com- 
posed of  a  judge  and  a  secretary,  both  chosen 
by  the  landed  proprietors  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion, but  confirmed  by  the  king,  in  whose  name 
all  their  proceedings  are  carried  on.  These 
courts  have  their  sessions  once  a  week  in 
Denmark,  and  are  attended  by  four  or  five 
bui'gesses  or  farmers,  in  the  capacity  of  asses- 
sors, who  occasionally  give  their  advice  upon 
subjects  of  which  their  particular  experience 
may  entitle  them  to  judge.  From  this  juris- 
diction there  is  appeal  to  a  higher  court,  held 
every  month  in  different  places  in  Denmark, 
by  judges  paid  by  the  crown.  The  last  appeal 
35 


for  Norway  and  Denmark  is  to  the  Hoiesie 
Rett,  or  supreme  court,  fixed  at  Copenhagen, 
which  is  occupied  for  nine  months  in  the 
year,  and  composed  half  of  noble,  half  of 
plebeian  judges.  This  is  the  only  tribunal  iu 
which  the  advocates  plead  viva,  voce,-  in  all  the 
others,  litigation  is  carried  on  by  writing. 
The  king  takes  no  cognisance  of  pecuniary 
suits  determined  by  this  court,  but  resei'ves  to 
himself  a  revision  of  all  its  sentences  which 
afiect  the  life  or  honour  of  the  subject.  It  has 
always  been  the  policy  of  the  court  of  Den- 
mark to  render  justice  as  cheap  as  possible. 
W^e  should  have  been  glad  to  have  learned 
from  Mr.  Catteau,  whether  or  not  the  cheap- 
ness of  justice  operates  as  an  encouragement 
to  litigation ;  and  whether  (which  we  believe 
is  most  commonly  the  case)  the  quality  of 
Danish  justice  is  not  in  the  ratio  of  the  price. 
But  this  gentleman,  as  we  have  before  re- 
marked, is  so  taken  up  by  the  formal  part  of 
institutions,  that  he  has  neither  leisure  nor 
inclination  to  say  much  of  their  spirit.  The 
Tribunal  of  Conciliation,  established  since  179.5, 
is  composed  of  the  most  intelligent  and  re- 
spectable men  in  the  vicinage,  and  its  sessions 
are  private.  It  is  competent  to  determine 
upon  a  great  number  of  civil  questions ;  and 
if  both  parties  agree  to  the  arrangement  pro- 
posed by  the  court,  its  decree  is  registered,  and 
has  legal  authority.  If  the  parties  cannot  be 
brought  to  agreement  by  the  amicable  inter- 
ference of  the  mediators,  they  are  at  full 
liberty  to  prosecute  their  suit  in  a  court  of 
justice.  All  the  proceedings  of  the  Tribunal 
of  Conciliation  are  upon  unstamped  paper, 
and  they  cannot  be  protracted  longer  than 
fifteen  days  in  the  country,  and  eight  days  in 
the  towns,  unless  both  parties  consent  to  a 
longer  delay.  The  expenses,  which  do  not 
exceed  three  shillings,  are  not  payable,  but  in 
case  of  reconciliation.  During  the  three  years 
preceding  this  institution,  there  came  before 
the  courts  of  law,  25,521  causes;  and,  for  the 
three  years  following,  9653,  making  the  asto- 
nishing difference  of  fifteen  thousand  eight  him- 
dred  and  sixty-three  lawsuits.  The  idea  of  this 
court  was  taken  from  the  Dutch,  among  whom 
it  likewise  produced  the  most  happy  effects. 
And  when  we  consider  what  an  important 
point  it  is,  that  there  should  be  time  for  dis- 
putants to  cool ;  the  strong  probability  there 
is,  that  four  or  five  impartial  men  from  the 
vicinage  will  take  a  right  view  of  the  case, 
and  the  reluctance  that  any  man  must  feel  to 
embark  his  reputation  and  property  in  opposi- 
tion to  their  opinion,  we  cannot  entertain  a 
doubt  of  the  beauty  and  importance  of  the 
invention.  It  is  hardly  possible  that  it  should 
be  bad  justice  which  satisfies  both  parties,  and 
this  species  of  mediation  has  no  validity  but 
upon  such  condition.  It  is  curious,  too,  to 
remark,  how  much  the  progress  of  rancour 
obstructs  the  natural  sense  of  justice;  it  ap- 
pears that  plaintiff  and  defendant  were  both 
satisfied  in  15,868  causes:  if  all  these  causes 
had  come  on  to  a  regular  hearing,  and  the 
parties  been  inflamed  by  the  expense  and  the 
publicity  of  the  quarrel,  we  d'-'ubf  'f  there 
would  have  been  one  single  man  out  of  the 
whole  number  who  would  have  acknowledged 


274 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


that  his  cause  was  justly  given  against 
him. 

There  are  some  provisions  in  the  criminal 
laAv  of  Denmark,  for  the  personal  liberty  of 
the  subject,  which  cannot  be  of  much  import- 
ance, so  long  as  the  dispensing  power  is  vested 
in  the  crown ;  however,  though  they  are  not 
much,  they  are  better  than  nothing ;  and  have 
probably  some  effect  in  offences  merely  crimi- 
nal, where  the  passions  and  interests  of  the 
governors  do  not  interfere.  Mr.  Catteau  con- 
siders the  law  which  admits  the  accused  to 
bail,  upon  finding  proper  security,  to  be  unjust, 
because  the  poor  cannot  avail  themselves  of 
it.  But  this  is  bad  reasoning :  for  every  coun- 
try has  a  right  to  impose  such  restrictions  and 
liens  upon  the  accused,  that  they  shall  be 
forthcoming  for  trial ;  at  the  same  time,  those 
restrictions  are  not  to  be  more  severe  than  the 
necessity  of  the  case  requires.  The  primary 
and  most  obvious  method  of  security  is  im- 
prisonment. Whoever  can  point  out  any 
other  method  of  effecting  the  same  object,  less 
oppressive  to  himself  and  as  satisfactory  to 
the  justice  of  the  country,  has  a  right  to  re- 
quire that  it  be  adopted;  whoever  cannot, 
must  remain  in  prison.  It  is  a  principle  that 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of,  that  an  accused 
person  is  presumed  to  be  innocent;  and  that 
no  other  vexation  should  be  imposed  upon 
him  than  what  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
purposes  of  future  investigation.  The  im- 
prisonment of  a  poor  man,  because  he  cannot 
find  bail,  is  not  a  gratuitous  vexation,  but  a 
necessary  severity  ;  justified  only,  because  no 
iither  nor  milder  mode  of  security  can,  in  that 
particular  instance,  be  produced. 

Inquisitorial  and  penal  torture  is,  in  some 
instances,  allowed  by  the  laws  of  Denmark: 
the  former,  after  having  been  abolished,  was 
re-established  in  1771.  The  corporations  have 
been  gradually  and  covertly  attacked  in  Den- 
mark, as  they  have  been  in  Great  Britain. 
The  peasants,  who  had  before  been  attached 
to  the  soil,  were  gradually  enfranchised  be- 
tween 1788  and  1800;  so  that,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  latter  j^ear,  there  did  not  remain  a  single 
slave  in  the  Danish  dominions ;  or,  to  speak 
more  correctly,  slavery  was  equalized  among 
all  ranks  of  people.  We  need  not  descant  on 
the  immense  importance  of  this  revolution;  and 
if  Mr.  Catteau  had  been  of  the  same  opinion,  we 
should  have  been  spared  two  pages  of  very  bad 
declamation;  beginning,  in  the  true  French 
style,  with  "oh  toi,"  and  going  on  with  what 
might  be  expected  to  follow  such  a  beginning. 

The  great  mass  of  territorial  proprietors  in 
'Denmark  are  the  signiors,  possessing  fiefs  with 
very  extensive  privileges  and  valuable  exemp- 
'tions  from  taxes.  Many  persons  hold  lands 
under  these  proprietors,  with  interests  in  the 
land  of  very  diflerent  descriptions.  There  are 
some  cultivators  who  possess  freeholds,  but 
the  number  of  these  is  very  inconsiderable. 
The  greater  number  of  farmers  are  what  the 
French  call  Metayers,  put  in  by  the  landlord, 
furnished  with  stock  and  seed  at  his  expense, 
and  repaying  him  in  product,  labour,  or  any 
other  manner  agreed  on  in  the  contract.  This 
is  the  first,  or  lowest  stage  of  tenantry,  and 
iS  tl^e  surest  sign  of  a  poor   country.    The 


feudal  system  never  took  root  very  deeply  in 
Norway :  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  are 
freehold,  and  cultivated  by  their  owners. 
Those  which  are  held  under  the  few  privileged 
fiefs  which  still  exist  in  Norway,  are  subjected 
to  less  galling  conditions  than  farms  of  a  simi- 
lar tenure  in  Denmark.  Marriage  is  a  mere 
civil  contract  among  the  privileged  orders : 
the  presence  of  a  priest  is  necessary  for  its 
celebration  among  the  lower  orders.  In  every 
large  town,  there  are  two  public  tutors  ap- 
pointed, who,  in  conjunction  with  the  magis- 
trates, watch  over  the  interests  of  wards,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  occupy  themselves 
with  the  care  of  the  education  of  children 
within  the  limits  of  their  jurisdiction.  Natural 
children  are  perhaps  more  favoured  in  Den- 
mark than  in  any  other  kingdom  of  Europe ; 
they  have  half  the  portion  which  the  law 
allots  to  legitimate  children,  and  the  whole  if 
there  are  no  legitimate. 

A  very  curious  circumstance  took  place  in 
the  kingdom  of  Denmark,  in  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  relative  to  the  infliction  of  capital 
punishments  upon  malefactors.  They  were 
attended  from  the  prison  to  the  place  of  execu- 
tion by  priests,  accompanied  by  a  very  nu- 
merous procession,  singing  psalms,  &c.  &c. : 
which  ended,  a  long  discourse  was  addressed 
by  the  priest  to  the  culprit,  who  was  hung  as 
soon  as  he  had  heard  it.  This  spectacle,  and 
all  the  pious  cares  bestowed  upon  the  cri- 
minals, so  far  seduced  the  imaginations  of  the 
common  people,  that  many  of  them  committed 
murder  purposely  to  enjoy  such  inestimable 
advantages,  and  the  government  was  positively 
obliged  to  make  hanging  dull  as  well  as  deadly, 
before  it  ceased  to  be  an  object  of  popular 
ambition. 

In  1796,  the  Danish  land  forces  amounted 
to  74,654,  of  which  50,880  were  militia.* 
Amongst  the  troops  on  the  Norway  establish- 
ment, is  a  regiment  of  skaters.  The  pay  of  a 
colonel  in  the  Danish  service  is  about  1740 
rixdoUars  per  annum,  with  some  perquisites; 
that  of  a  private  "6  schellings  a  day.  The 
entry  into  the  Danish  states  from  the  German 
side  is  na.turally  strong.  The  passage  between 
Lubeck  and  Hamburg  is  only  eight  miles,  and 
the  country  intersected  by  marshes,  rivers, 
and  lakes.  The  straits  of  the  Baltic  afford 
considerable  security  to  the  Danish  isles ;  and 
there-  are  very  few  points  in  which  an  army 
could  penetrate  through  the  Norway  moun- 
tains to  overrun  that  country.  The  principal 
fortresses  of  Denmark  are  Copenhagen, 
Rendsbhurg,  Gluchstadt,  and  Frederickshall. 
In  1801,  the  Danish  navy  consisted  of  3  ships 
of  80  guns,  12  of  74,  2  of  70,  3  of  64,  and  2  of 
60;  4  frigates  of  40,  3  of  36,  3  of  24,  and  a 
number  of  small  vessels  ;  in  all,  22  of  the  line, 
and  10  frigate s.f 


*The  militia  is  not  embodied  in  regiments  by  itself, 
but  divided  among  tlie  various  regiments  of  the  line. 

f  In  1791,  the  Swedish  army  amounted  to  47,000  men, 
regulars  and  militia  ;  their  navy  to  not  more  than  16 
ships  of  the  line  :  before  the  war  it  was  about  equal  to 
the  Danish  navy.  The  author  of  Voyage  des  ileux  Fran- 
(ais  places  }he  regular  troops  of  Russia  at  250,000  men 
exclusive  of  guards  and  garrisons;  and  her  navy,  as  it 
existed  in  1791,  at  30  frigates,  and  50  sail  of  the  line,  of 
which  8  were  of  110  guns.  This  is  a  brief  picture  of  the 
forces  of  the  Baltic  powers. 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


275 


The  revenues  of  Denmark  are  derived  from 
the  interest  of  a  capital  formed  lij  the  sale  of 
crown  lands  ;  from  a  share  in  the  tithes  ;  from 
the  rights  of  fishing  and  hunting  let  to  farm ; 
from  licenses  granted  to  the  farmers  to  distil 
their  own  spirits ;  from  the  mint,  post,  turn- 
pikes, lotteries,  and  the  passage  of  the  Sound. 
About  the  year  1750,  the  number  of  vessels 
which    passed    the   Sound    both   ways,  was 
annually  from   4000   to    5000;    in    1752,  the 
number  of  6000  was  considered  as  very  ex- 
traordinary.   They  have    increased  since  in 
the  following  ratio  : — 

1770         -         -         7,736 
1777         -         -         9,047 
1783         -         -       11,166 
1790         -         -         9,734 
1796         -         -       12,113 
1800         -         -         9,048 
In    1770,   the   Sound    duties    amounted  to 
459,890  rixdollars ;   and  they  have  probably 
been  increased  since  that  period  to  about  half 
a  million.     To  these  sources  of  revenue  are 
to  be  added,  a  capitation  tax,  a  land  tax,  a  tax 
on  rank,  a  tax  on  places,  pensions,  and  the 
clergy;  the  stamps,  customs,  and  excise;  con- 
stituting a  revenue  of  7,270,172  rixdollars.* 
The  following  is  a  table  of  the  expenses  of  the 
Danish  government. 

Rixdollars. 
The  court        .-.-.--         250,000 
The  minnr  branches  of  the  royal  family         -         180,000 
Civil  servants         ------         707,500 

Hecret  service  money  and  pensions  -  -  231,000 
Army      --------      2,080,000 

Navy       -        -        - 1,200,000 

East"  India  colonies  -----  180,000 
linunties  to  commerce  and  manufactures  -  300,000 
Annuities        -------  27,000 

Buildings  and  repairs 120,000 

Interest  of  the  public  debt  -  -  -  -  1,100,000 
Sinking  fund 150,000 

-      6,525,500 


Total 


The  state  of  the  Danish  debt  does  not  ap- 
pear to  be  well  ascertained.  Voyage  des  deux 
Frangais  makes  it  amount  to  13,645,046  rix- 
dollars. Catteau  seems  to  think  it  must  have 
been  above  20,000,000  rixdollars  at  that  period. 
The  Danish  government  has  had  great  re- 
course to  the  usual  expedient  of  issuing  paper 
mone)%  So  easy  a  method  of  getting  rich  has 
of  course  been  abused  ;  and  the  paper  was,  in 
the  j-ear  1790,  at  a  discount  of  8,  9,  and  10 
per  cent.  There  is,  in  general,  a  great  want 
of  specie  in  Denmark;  for,  though  all  the 
Sound  duties  are  paid  in  gold  and  silver,  the 
government  is  forced  to  export  a  considerable 
quantity  of  the  precious  metals,  for  the  payment 
of  its  foreign  debts  and  agents ;  and,  in  spite 
of  the  rigid  prohibitions  to  the  contrary,  the 
Jews,  who  swarm  at  Copenhagen,  export 
Danish  ducats  to  a  large  value.  The  court  of 
Denmark  has  no  great  credit  out  of  its  own 
dominions,  and  has  always  experienced  a  con- 
siderable  difhculty   in   raising    its    loans   in 

*  Upon  the  subject  of  the  Danish  revenues,  see  Toze's 
Introduction  to  the  Statistics,  edited  and  improved  by 
Tli'inz,  1799,  tom.  xi.  From  this  work,  Mr.  Catteau  has 
tnken  his  information  concerning  the  Danish  revenues. 
Soe  also  the  Ifith  cap.  vol.  ii.  of  Voyage  des  deux  Frangais, 
\vhic!i  is  admirable  for  e.xtent  and  precision  of  informa- 
tion. In  t'eiieral,  indeed,  this  work  cannot  be  too  much 
attended  to  by  those  who  wish  to  become  acquainted 
Vi'nh  the  statistics  of  the  north  of  Europe. 


Switzerland,  Genoa,  and  Holland,  the   usual 
markets  it  has  resorted  to  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  census  taken  in  1769,  the  return  was 
as  follows : — 

In  Denmark    -----    785,690 
Norway  -----    722,141 

Iceland  -----     46,201 

Ferro  Isles       -----       4,754 

Sleswick 243,605 

Holstein  -----    134,665 

Oldenbourg  and  Delmenhurst        -     79,071 

2,017,127 


This  census  was  taken  during  the  summer, 
a  season  in  which  great  numbers  of  sailors 
are  absent  from  their  families  ;  and  as  it  does 
not  include  the  army,  the  total  ought,  perhaps, 
to  be  raised  to  2,225,000.  The  present  popula- 
tion of  the  Danish  states,  calculating  from  the 
tables  of  life  and  death,  should  be  about  two 
millions  and  a  half;  the  census  latel}^  taken 
has  not  yet  been  published.  From  registers 
kept  for  a  number  of  years,  it  appears  that  the 
number  of  marriages  were  to  the  whole  popula- 
tion, as  1  to  125;  and  the  number  of  births  to 
the  whole  population,  were  as  1  to  32  or  33  ; 
of  deaths,  as  1  to  38.  In  1797,  in  the  diocese 
of  Vibourg,  out  of  8600  children,  80  were 
bastard :  in  the  diocese  of  Fionia,  280  out  of 
1146.  Out  of  1356,  dead  in  the  first  of  these 
dioceses,  100  had  attained  the  age  of  80,  and 
one  of  100.  In  1769,  the  population  of  the 
towns  was  144,105;  in  1787,  it  was  142,880. 
In  the  first  of  these  years,  the  population  of 
the  country  was  641,485;  and  in  the  latter, 
667,165.  The  population  of  Copenhagen  con- 
sisted, in  the  year  1799,  of  42,142  males,  and 
41,476  females.  The  deaths  exceeded  the 
births,  says  Mr.  Catteau ;  and  to  prove  it,  he 
exhibits  a  table  of  deaths  and  births  for  six 
years.  Upon  calculating  this  table,  however, 
it  appears,  that  the  sum  of  the  births,  at  Co- 
penhagen, during  that  period,  exceeds  the  sum 
of  the  deaths  by  491,  or  nearly  82  per  annum,- 
about  jTrVn  of  *he  whole  population  of  the  city. 
The  whole  kingdom  increases  j-Sj-^,  or  nearly 
~ij  in  a  year.*  There  is  no  city  in  Denmark 
proper,  except  Copenhagen,  which  has  a  po- 
pulafion  of  more  than  5000  souls.  The  density 
of  population  in  Denmark  proper  is  about 
1300  to  the  square  mile.f  The  proportion  of 
births  and  deaths  in  the  duchies  is  the  same 
as  in  Denmark ;  that  of  marriages,  as  1  to  115. 
Altona,  the  second  city  in  the  Danish  domi- 
nions, has  a  population  of  20,000.  The  density 
of  population  in  Marschland  is  6000  per  square 
mile.  The  paucity  of  inhabitants  in  Norway 
is  not  merely  referable  to  the  difliculties  of  sub- 
sistence, but  to  the  administrative  system 
established  there,  and  to  the  bad  state  of  its 
civil  and  economical  laws.  It  has  been  more 
than  once  exposed  to  the  horrors  of  famine,  by 
the  monopoly  of  the  commerce  of  grain  esta- 
blished there,  from  which,  however,  it  has  at 
length  been  delivered.  The  proportion  of 
births  to  the  living,  is  as  1  to  35 ;.  that  of  death.s 
to  the  living,  as  1  to  49.+     So  that  the  whole 


*  The  average  time  in  which  old  countries  double  their 
population  is  stated  by  Adam  Smith  to  be  about  600 
years. 

+  The  same  rule  is  used  here  .is  in  p.  279. 

t  This  proportion  is  very  remarkable  proof  of  ibg 
longevity  of  the  Norwegians. 


276 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


Danish  dominions  increase,  every  year,  bj'' 
about  2ff3  '  ^^'^  Norway,  which  has  the  worst 
climate  and  soil,  by  about  ^r.^  ?  exceeding  the 
common  increase  by  nearly  r^ljf  of  the  whole 
population.  Out  of  26,197  persons  who  died 
in  Denmark  in  1799,  there  were  165  between 
80  and  100;  and  out  of  IS.Sr^i  who  died  in 
Norway  the  same  3^ear,  there  were  208  indi- 
viduals of  the  same  advanced  age.  The 
country  population  is  to  the  town  population 
in  the  ratio  of  13  to  137.  In  some  pai'ts  of 
Nordland  and  Finmarken,  the  population  is  as 
low  as  15  to  the  square  mile. 

Within  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years,  the 
Danes  have  done  a  great  deal  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  country.  The  peasants,  as  we 
have  before  mentioned,  are  freed  from  the  soil. 
The  greater  part  of  the  clerical,  and  nriuch  of 
the  lay  tithes  are  redeemed,  and  the  corvees 
and  other  servile  tenures  begin  to  be  commuted 
for  money.  A  bank  of  credit  is  established 
at  Copenhagen,  for  the  loan  of  money  to  per- 
sons engaged  in  speculations  of  agriculture 
and  mining.  The  interest  is  4  per  cent.,  and 
the  money  is  repaid  by  instalments  in  the 
course  of  from  21  to  28  years.  In  the  course 
of  12  years,  the  bank  has  lent  about  three  mil- 
lions of  rixdoUars.  The  external  and  domestic 
commerce  of  grain  is  now  placed  upon  the 
most  liberal  footing.  The  culture  of  potatoes 
(ce  fruit  modeste)  has  at  length  found  its  way 
into  Denmark,  after  meeting  with  the  same 
objections  which  it  experienced  at  its  first  in- 
troduction from  every  nation  in  Europe.  Hops 
are  a  good  deal  attended  to  in  Fionia,  though 
enough  are  not  yet  grown  for  the  supply  of 
the  country.  Tobacco  is  cultivated  in  the  en- 
virons of  Fredericia,  in  Jutland,  by  the  indus- 
trious descendants  of  a  French  colony  planted 
there  by  Frederick  IV.  Very  little  hemp  and 
flax  are  grown  in  the  Danish  dominions.  They 
had  veterinary  schools  previous  to  the  present 
establishment  of  them  in  Great  Britain.  In- 
deed, there  was  a  greater  necessity  for  them  in 
Denmark;  as  no  country  in  Europe  has  suf- 
fered so  severely  from  diseases  among  its 
animals.  The  decay  of  the  woods  begins  to 
be  very  perceptible ;  and  great  quantities,  both 
for  fuel  and  construction,  are  annually  im- 
ported from  the  other  countries  bordering  the 
Baltic.  They  Lave  pit-coal ;  but,  either  from 
its  inferior  quality,  or  their  little  skill  in  work- 
ing it,  they  are  forced  to  purchase  to  a  con- 
siderable amount  from  England.  The  Danes 
have  been  almost  driven  out  of  the  herring 
market  by  the  Swedes.  Their  principal  ex- 
port of  this  kind  is  dried  fi  sh ;  though,  at  Altona, 
Iheir  fisheries  are  carried  on  with  more  ap- 
pearance of  enterprise  than  elsewhere.  The 
districts  of  Hedemarken,  Hodcland,  Toten,  and 
Romerige,  are  the  parts  of  Norway  most  cele- 
brated for  the  cultivation  of  grain,  which  prin- 
cipally consists  of  oats.  The  distress  in  Nor- 
way is  sometimes  so  great,  that  the  inhabitants 
are  compelled  to  make  bread  of  various  sorts 
af  lichens,  mingled  with  their  grain.  It  has 
lately  been  discovered  that  the  Lichen  rangif- 
erus,  or  rein-deer's  moss,  is  extremely  well 
calculated  for  that  purpose.  The  Norway 
fisheries  bring  to  the  amount  of  a  million  and 
a  half  of  rixdoUars  annually  into  the  country. 


The  most  remarkable  mines  in  Norway  are, 
the  gold  mines  of  Edsvold,  the  silver  mines  of 
Konigsberg,  the  copper  mines  of  Rseraas,  and 
the  iron  mines  of  Arendal  and  Kragers,  the 
cobalt  mines  of  Fossum,  and  the  black-lead 
mines  of  Englidal.  The  court  of  Denmark  is 
not  yet  cured  of  the  folly  of  entering  into  com- 
mercial speculations  on  its  own  account.  From 
the  year  1769  to  1792,  78,000  rixdoUars  per 
annum  have  been  lost  on  the  royal  mines  alone. 
Norway  produces  marble  of  different  colours, 
very  beautiful  granites,  mill,  and  whet-stones, 
and  alum. 

The  principal  manufactures  of  Denmark  are 
those  of  cloth,  cotton-printing,  sugar  refining, 
anA  porcelain  ;  of  which  latter  manufactures, 
carried  on  by  the  crown,  the  patient  proprie- 
tors hope  that  the  profits  may  at  some  future 
period  equal  the  expenses.  The  manufactories 
for  large  and  small  arms  are  at  Frederick- 
waerk  and  Elsineur ;  and,  at  the  gates  of  Co- 
penhagen, there  has  lately  been  erected  a  cot- 
ton spinning-mill  upon  the  construction  so 
well  known  in  England.  At  Tendern,  in  Sles- 
wick,  there  is  a  manufacture  of  lace  ;  and  very 
considerable  glass  manufactories  in  several 
parts  of  Norway.  All  the  manufacturing  arts 
have  evidently  travelled  from  Lubeck  and 
Hamburg;  the  greater  part  of  the  manufac- 
turers arc  of  German  parentage ;  and  vast 
numbers  of  manufacturing  Germans  are  to  be 
met  with,  not  only  in  Denmark,  but  throughout 
Sweden  and  Russia. 

The  Ho] stein  canal,  uniting  the  Baltic  and 
the  North  Sea,  is  extremely  favourable  to  the 
interior  commerce  of  Denmark,  by  rendering 
unnecessary  the  long  and  dangerous  voyage 
round  the  peninsula  of  .Tutland.  In  the  year 
1785,  there  passed  through  this  canal  409 
Danish,  and  44  foreign  ships.  In  the  year 
1798,  1086  Danish,  and  1164  foreign.  This 
canal  is  so  advantageous,  and  the  passage 
round  Jutland  so  very  bad,  that  goods,  before 
the  creation  of  the  canal,  were  very  often  sent 
by  land  from  Lubeck  to  Hamburg.  The 
amount  of  cargoes  despatched  from  Copenha- 
gen for  Iceland,  between  the  years  1764  and 
1784,  was  2,560,000  rixdoUars;  that  of  the 
returns,  4,665,000.  The  commerce  with  the 
isles  of  Foeroe  is  quite  inconsiderable.  The 
exports  from  Greenland,  in  the  year  1787, 
amounted  to  168,475  rixdoUars  ;  its  imports 
to  74,427.  None  of  these  possessions  are  suf- 
fered to  trade  with  foreign  nations,  but  through 
the  intervention  of  the  mother  country.  The 
cargoes  despatched  to  the  Danish  West  Indies 
consist  of  all  sorts  of  provisions,  of  iron,  of 
copper,  of  various  Danish  manufactures,  and 
of  some  East  India  goods.  The  returns  are 
made  in  sugar,  rum,  cotton,  indigo,  tobacco, 
and  coffee.  There  are  about  75  vessels  em- 
ployed in  this  commerce,  from  the  burden  of 
40  to  200  tons. 

If  the  slave  trade,  in  pursuance  of  the  laws 
to  that  effect,  ceases  in  the  Danish  colonies, 
the  establishments  on  the  coast  of  Africa  Avill 
become  rather  a  burden  than  a  profit.  What 
measures  have  been  taken  to  insure  the  aboli- 
tion, and  whether  or  not  the  philanthropy  of 
the  mother  country  is  likely  to  be  defeated  by 
the  interested  views  of  the  colonists,  are  deli- 


WORKS    OF    THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


277 


cate  points,  which  Mr.  Catteau,  who  often 
seems  to  think  more  of  himself  than  of  his 
reader,  passes  over  with  his  usual  timidity  and 
caution.  The  present  year  is  the  period  at 
which  all  further  importation  of  negroes  ought 
to  cease ;  and  if  this  wise  and  noble  law  be 
really  carried  into  execution,  the  Danes  will 
enjoy  the  glory  of  having  been  the  first  to 
erase  this  foulest  blot  in  the  morality  of  Europe, 
and  to  abolish  a  wicked  and  absurd  traffic, 
which  purchases  its  luxuries  at  the  price  of 
impending  massacre,  and  present  oppression. 
Deferred  revenge  is  always  put  out  to  com- 
pound interest,  and  exacts  its  dues  with  more 
than  Judaical  rigour.  The  Africans  have 
begun  with  the  French : 

Jam  prozimus  ardet 

Ucalegon. 

Tea,  rhubarb,  and  porcelain  are  the  princi- 
pal articles  brought  from  China.  The  factories 
in  the  East  Indies  send  home  cotton  cloths, 
silk,  sugar,  rice,  pepper,  ginger,  indigo,  opium, 
and  arrack.  Their  most  important  East  Indian 
settlement  is  Fredericksnager.*  Denmark, 
after  having  been  long  overshadowed  by  the 
active  industry  of  the  Hanseatic  towns,  and 
embarrassed  by  its  ignorance  of  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  commerce,  has  at  length  established 
important  commercial  connections  with  all  the 
nations  of  Europe,  and  has  regulated  those 
connections  by  very  liberal  and  enlightened 
principles.  The  regulations  for  the  customs, 
published  in  1791,  are  a  very  remarkable 
proof  of  this  assertion.  Every  thing  is  there 
arranged  upon  the  most  just  and  simple  prin- 
ciples ;  and  the  whole  code  evidences  the 
striking  progress  of  mercantile  knowledge  in 
that  countr}^.  In  looking  over  the  particulars 
of  the  Danish  commerce,  we  were  struck  with 
the  immense  increase  of  their  freightage  dur- 
ing the  wars  of  this  country ;  a  circumstance 
which  should  certainly  have  rendered  them 
ratht^  less  disposed  to  complain  of  the  vexa- 
tions imposed  upon  the  neutral  powers  during 
such  periods.-j-  In  the  first  six  months  of  the 
year  1796,  5032  lasts  of  Danish  shipping  were 
taken  up  by  strangers  for  American  voyages 
only,  'rhe  commercial  tonnage  of  Denmark 
is  put  at  about  85,000  lasts. 

There  appears  to  exist  in  the  kingdom  of 
Denmark,  according  to  the  account  of  Mr. 
Catteau,  a  laudable  spirit  of  religious  tolera- 
tion ;  such  as,  in  some  instances,  we  might 
copy,  with  great  advantage,  in  this  island.  It 
is  not,  for  instance,  necessary  in  Denmark, 
that  a  man  should  be  a  Lutheran,  before  he 
can  be  the  mayor  of  a  town;  and,  incredible 
as  it  may  seem  to  some  people,  there  are  many 
officers  and  magistrates,  who  are  found  capable 
of  civil  trusts,  though  they  do  not  take  the 
sacraments,  exactly  in  the  forms  prescribed 
by  the  established  church.     There  is  no  doubt, 


*  We  should  very  willinely  have  eone  throii(rh  every 
branch  of  the  Danish  commerce,  if  vve  had  not  been  ap- 
prehensive of  extendingthis  article  loo  far.  Mr.  Catteau 
pives  no  general  tables  of  the  Danish  e.xpnrts  and  im- 
ports. A  German  work  places  them,  for  the  year  1768, 
as  follows: — Exports,  3,067.051  rixdoUars;  imports, 
3.21.5.0S5. —  Ur.  Kundev,  par  Oatfpart. 

+  To  say  nothing  of  the  increased  sale  of  Norway  tim- 
ber, out  of  St>,nOO  lasts  exported  from  Norway,  1799, 
76,000  came  to  Great  Britain. 


however,  of  the  existence  of  this  very  extraor- 
dinary fact;  and,  if  Mr.  Catteau's  authority  is 
called  in  question,  we  are  ready  to  corroborate 
it  by  the  testimony  of  more  than  one  dozen 
German  statists.  The  Danish  church  consists 
of  13  bishops,  227  archpriests,  and  2462  priests. 
The  principal  part  of  the  benefices  are,  in 
Norway,  in  the  gift  of  the  crown.  In  some 
parts  of  Denmark,  the  proprietors  of  the  pri- 
vileged lands  are  the  patrons  ;  in  other  parts, 
the  parishes.  The  revenues  of  the  clergy  are 
from  the  same  sources  as  our  own  clergy. 
The  sum  of  the  church  revenues  is  computed 
to  be  1,391,895  rixdollars  ;  which  is  little  more 
than  500  for  each  clergyman.*  The  court  of 
Denmark  is  so  liberal  upon  the  subject  of  sec- 
taries, that  the  whole  royal  family  and  the 
Bishop  of  Seland  assisted  at  the  M^orship  of  the 
Calvinists  in  1789,  when  they  celebrated,  in  the 
most  public  manner,  the  centenary  of  the 
foundation  of  their  church.  In  spite  of  this 
tolerant  spirit,  it  is  computed  that  there  are  not 
more  than  1800  Calvinists  in  the  whole  Danish 
dominions.  At  Christianfield,  on  the  frontiers 
of  Sleswick  and  Jutland,  there  is  a  colony  of 
Northern  Quakers,  or  Hernhutes,  of  which 
Mr.  Catteau  has  given  a  very  agreeable 
account.  They  appear  to  be  characterized  by 
the  same  neatness,  order,  industry,  and  ab- 
surdity, as  their  brethren  in  this  country;  tak- 
ing the  utmost  care  of  the  sick  and  destitute, 
and  thoroughly  persuaded  that  by  these  good 
deeds,  aided  by  long  pockets  and  slouched  hats, 
they  are  acting  up  to  the  true  spirit  of  the 
Gospel.  The  Greenlanders  were  converted  to 
Christianity  by  a  NorAvegian  priest,  named 
John  Egede.  He  was  so  eminently  successful 
in  the  object  of  his  mission,  and  contrived  to 
make  himself  so  very  much  beloved,  that  his 
memory  is  still  held  among  them  in  the  highest 
veneration ;  and  they  actually  date  their  chro- 
nology from  the  year  of  his  arrival,  as  we  do 
ours  from  the  birth  of  our  Saviour. 

There  are,  in  the  University  of  Copenhagen, 
seven  professors  of  theology,  two  of  civil  law, 
two  of  mathematics,  one  of  Latin  and  rhetoric, 
one  of  Greek,  one  of  oriental  languages,  one 
of  history,  five  of  medicine,  one  of  agriculture, 
and  one  of  statistics.  They  enjoy  a  salary  of 
from  1000  to  1500  rixdollars,  and  are  well 
lodged  in  the  university.  The  University  of 
Copenhagen  is  extremely  rich,  and  enjoys  an 
income  of  3,000,000  rixdollars.  Even  Mr. 
Catteau  admits  that  it  has  need  of  reform.  In 
fact,  the  reputation  of  universities  is  almost 
always  short-lived,  or  else  it  survives  their 
merit.  If  they  are  endowed,  professors  be- 
come fat-witted,  and  never  imagine  that  the 


'itte 
;iln 


arts  and  sciences  are  any  thing  else  but  in- 
comes. If  universities,  slenderly  endowed, 
are  rendered  famous  by  the  accidental  occur- 
rence of  a  few  great  teachers,  the  number  of 
scholars  attracted  there  by  the  reputation  of 
the  place,  makes  the  situation  of  a  professor 
worth  intriguing  for.  The  learned  pate  is  not 
fond  of  ducking  to  the  golden  fool.  He  who 
has  the  best  talents  for  getting  the  office,  has 
most  commonly  the  least  for  filling  it;  and 


*  The  Jews,  however,  a.e  still  prohibited  from  enlei 
i  ing  the  kingdom  of  Norway. 
3  A 


278 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


men  are  made  moral  and  mathematical  teach- 
ers by  the  same  trick  and  filthiness  with  which 
they  are  made  tide-waiters,  and  clerks  of  the 
kitchen. 

The  number  of  students  in  the  University 
of  Copenhagen  is  about  700 :  they  come  not 
only  from  Denmark,  but  from  Norway  and 
Iceland :  the  latter  are  distinguished  as  well 
for  the  regularity  of  their  manners,  as  for  the 
intensity  of  their  application;  the  instruments 
of  which  application  are  furnished  to  them  by 
a  library  containing  60,000  volumes.  The 
Danes  have  primary  schools  established  in 
the  towns,  but  which  have  need  of  much  re- 
form, before  they  can  answer  all  the  beneficial 
ends  of  such  an  institution.  We  should  have 
been  happy  to  have  learned  from  Mr.  Calteau, 
the  degree  of  information  diffused  among  the 
lower  orders  in  the  Danish  dominions  ;  but 
upon  this  subject  he  is  silent.  In  the  Univer- 
sity of  Keil  there  is  aii  institution  for  the  in- 
struction of  schoolmasters;  and  in  the  list  of 
students  in  the  same  university,  we  were  a 
good  deal  amused  to  find  only  one  student 
dedicating  himself  to  belles  lettres. 

The  people  of  Holstein  and  Sleswick  are 
Dutch  in  their  manners,  character,  and  ap- 
pearance. Their  language  is  in  general  the 
low  German ;  though  the  better  sort  of  peo- 
ple in  the  towns  begin  to  speak  high  German.* 
In  Jutland  and  the  isles,  the  Danish  language 
is  spoken  :  within  half  a  century  this  language 
has  been  cultivated  with  some  attention  :  be- 
fore that  period,  the  Danish  writers  preferred  to 
make  use  of  the  Latin  or  the  German  language. 
It  is  in  the  island  of  Finland  that  it  is  spoken 
Avith  the  greatest  purity.  The  Danish  charac- 
ter is  not  agreeable.  It  is  marked  by  silence, 
phlegm,  and  reserve.  A  Dane  is  the  excess 
and  extravagance  of  a  Dutchman;  more 
breeched,  more  ponderous,  and  more  satur- 
nine. He  is  not  often  a  bad  member  of  society 
in  the  great  points  of  morals,  and  seldom  a 
good  one  in  the  lighter  requisites  of  manners. 
His  understanding  is  alive  only  to  the  useful 
and  the  profitable  ;  he  never  lives  for  what  is 
merely  gracious,  courteous,  and  ornamental. 
His  faculties  seem  to  be  drenched  and  slack- 
ened by  the  eternal  fogs  in  which  he  resides  ; 
he  is  never  alert,  elastic,  nor  serene.  His  state 
of  animal  spirits  is  so  low,  that  what  in  other 
countries  would  be  deemed  dejection,  proceed- 
ing from  casual  misfortune,  is  the  habitual 
tenour  and  complexion  of  his  mind.  In  all 
the  operations  of  his  understanding,  he  must 
have  time.  He  is  capable  of  undertaking 
great  journeys ;  but  he  travels  only  a  foot 
pace,  and  never  leaps  nor  runs.  He  loves 
arithmetic  better  than  lyric  poet^',  and  affects 
Cocker  rather  than  Pindar.  He  is  slow  to 
speak  of  fountains  and  amorous  maidens  ;  but 
can  take  a  spell  at  porisms  as  well  at  another ; 
and  will  make  profound  and  extensive  com- 
binations of  thought,  if  you  pay  him  for  it, 
and  do  not  insist  that  he  shall  either  be  brisk 
or  brief.    There  is  something,  on  the  conti-ary, 


*  Mr.  Catteau  s  description  of  Heligoland  is  entertain- 
inff.  In  an  island  containini:  a  population  of  2000,  there' 
is  neither  horse,  cart,  nor  ptouah.  We  roiil'i  not  have 
imagined  the  possibility  of  such  a  fact  in  any  part  of 
Furope. 


extremely  pleasing  in  the  Norwegian  style  of 
character.  The  Norwegian  expresses  firm 
ness  and  elevation  in  all  that  he  says  and  does. 
In  comparison  with  the  Danes,  he  has  always 
been  a  free  man  ;  and  you  read  his  history  in 
his  looks.  He  is  not  apt,  to  be  sure,  to  for- 
give his  enemies ;  but  he  does  not  deserve 
any ;  for  he  is  hospitable  in  the  extreme,  and 
prevents  the  needy  in  their  wants.  It  is  not 
possible  for  a  writer  of  this  country  to  speak 
ill  of  the  Norwegians ;  for,  of  all  strangers, 
the  people  of  Norway  love  and  admire  the 
British  the  most.  In  reading  Mr.  Catteau's 
account  of  the  congealed  and  blighted  Lap- 
landers, we  were  struck  with  the  infinite  de- 
light they  must  have  in  dying ;  the  only  cir- 
cumstance in  which  they  can  enjoy  any  supe- 
riority over  the  rest  of  mankind ;  or  which 
tends,  in  their  instance,  to  verify  the  theory 
of  the  equality  of  human  condition. 

If  we  pass  over  Tycho  Brahe,  and  the  well 
known  history  of  the  Scaldes,  of  the  chronicles 
of  Isleif,  Scemunder,  Hiinfronde,  Snorro,  Sturle- 
son,  and  other  Islandic  worthies,  the  list  of 
Danish  literati  will  best  prove  that  they  have 
no  literati  at  all.  Are  there  twenty  persons  in 
Great  Britain  who  have  ever  heard  of  Longo- 
montanus,  Nicholas  Stenaonis,  Sperling  Lati- 
renburg,  Huitfeild,  Gramn,  Holberg,  Lange- 
beck,  Carstens,  Suhm,  Kofod,  Anger"!  or  of 
the  living  Wad,  Fabricius,  Hanch,  Tode,  and 
ZaegaT  We  do  not  deny  merit  to  these  various 
personages  ;  many  of  them  may  be  much  ad- 
mired by  those  who  are  more  conversant  in 
Danish  literature  than  we  can  pretend  to  be : 
but  they  are  certainly  not  names  on  which  the 
learned  fame  of  any  country  can  be  built  very 
high.  They  have  no  classical  celebrity  and 
dift\ision :  they  are  not  an  universal  language; 
they  have  not  enlarged  their  original  dominion, 
and  become  the  authors  of  Europe  instead  of 
the  authors  of  Denmark.  It  would  be  loss  of 
time  to  speak  of  the  fine  arts  in  Denmark : 
they  hardly  exist. 

We  have  been  compelled  to  pass  over  many 
parts  of  Mr.  Catteau's  book  more  precipitately 
than  we  could  have  wished;  but  we  hope  we 
have  said  and  exhibited  enough  of  it,  to  satisfy 
the  public  that  it  is,  upon  the  whole,  a  very 
valuable  publication.  The  two  great  requisites 
for  his  undertaking,  moderation  and  industry, 
we  are  convinced  this  gentleman  possesses  in 
an  eminent  degree.  He  represents  every  thing 
without  prejudice,  and  he  represents  every  tiling 
authentically.  The  same  cool  and  judicious 
disposition  which  clears  him  from  the  spirit 
of  party,  makes  him  perhaps  cautious  in  excess. 
We  are  convinced  that  every  thing  he  says 
is  true  ;  but  we  have  been  sometimes  induced 
to  suspect  that  we  do  not  see  the  whole  truth. 
After  all,  perhaps,  he  has  told  as  much  trulh 
as  he  could  do,  compatibly  with  the  opportunity 
of  telling  any.  A  person  more  disposed  to 
touch  upon  critical  and  offensive  subjects 
might  not  have  submitted  as  diligently  to  the 
investigation  of  truth,  with  which  passion 
was  not  concerned.  How  few  writers  are,  at 
the  same  time,  laborious,  impartial,  and  in- 
trepid ! 

We  cannot  conclude  this  article  without 
exnressing  the  high  sense  we  entertain  of  the 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


279 


importance  of  such  researches  as  those  in 
which  Mr.  Catteau  has  been  engaged.  They 
must  form  the  basis  of  all  interior  regulations, 
and  ought  principally  to  influence  the  conduct 
of  every  country  in  its  relations  towards  fo- 
reign powers.  As  they  contain  the  best  esti- 
mate of  the  wealth  and  happiness  of  a  people, 
they  bring  theory  to  the  strictest  test ;  and 
measure,  better  than  all  reasoning,  the  wisdom 
with  which  laws  are  made,  and  the  mildness 
with  which  they  are  administered.  If  such 
judicious  and  elaborate  surveys  of  the  state 
of  this  and  other  countries  in  Europe,  had 
been  made  from  time  to  time  for  the  last  two 


centuries,  they  would  have  quickened  and 
matured  the  progress  of  knowledge,  and  the 
art  of  governing  by  throwing  light  on  the  spi- 
rit and  tendency  of  laws ;  they  would  have 
checked  the  spirit  of  officious  interference  in 
legislation ;  have  softened  persecution,  and 
expanded  narrow  conceptions  of  national  po- 
licy. The  happiness  of  a  nation  would  have 
been  proclaimed  by  the  fulness  of  its  garners, 
and  the  multitudes  of  its  sheep  and  oxen ;  and 
rulers  might  sometimes  have  sacrificed  their 
schemes  of  ambition,  or  their  unfeeling  splen- 
dour, at  the  detail  of  silent  fields,  empty  har- 
bours, and  famished  peasants. 


THOUGHTS  ON  THE  RESIDENCE  OE  THE  CLERGY/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1S03.] 


This  pamphlet  is  the  production  of  a  gen- 
tleman who  has  acquired  a  right  to  teach  the 
duties  of  the  clerical  character  by  fulfilling 
them;  and  who  has  exercised  that  right  in  the 
present  instance,  with  honour  to  himself,  and 
benefit  to  the  public.  From  the  particular 
character  of  understanding  evinced  in  this 
work,  we  should  conceive  Dr.  Sturges  to  pos- 
sess a  very  powerful  claim  to  be  heard  on  all 
questions  referable  to  the  decision  of  practi- 
cable good  sense.  He  has  availed  himself  of 
his  experience  to  observe ;  and  of  his  observa- 
tion, to  judge  well:  he  neither  loves  his  pro- 
fession too  little,  nor  too  much  ;  is  alive  to  its 
interests,  without  being  insensible  to  those  of 
the  community  at  large;  and  treats  of  those 
points  where  his  previous  habits  might  render 
a  little  intemperance  venial,  as  well  as  proba- 
ble, with  the  most  perfect  good  humour  and 
moderation. 

As  exceptions  to  the  general  and  indisputa- 
ble principle  of  residence.  Dr.  Sturges  urges 
the  smallness  of  some  livings;  the  probability 
that  their  incumbents  be  engaged  in  the  task 
of  education,  or  in  ecclesiastical  duty,  in  situa- 
tions where  their  talents  may  be  more  appro- 
priately and  importantly  employed.  Dr.  Stur- 
ges is  also  of  opinion,  that  the  power  of  en- 
forcing residence,  under  certain  limits,  should 
be  invested  in  the  bishops ;  and  that  the  acts 
prohibiting  the  clergy  to  hold  or  cultivate  land 
should  be  in  a  great  measure  repealed. 

We  sincerely  hope  that  the  two  cases  sug- 
gested by  Dr.  Sturges,  of  the  clergyman  who 
may  keep  a  school,  or  be  engaged  in  the  duty 
of  some  parish  not  his  own,  will  be  attended 
to  in  the  construction  of  the  approaching  bill, 
and  ad)nitted  as  pleas  for  non-residence.  It 
certainly  is  better  that  a  clergyman  should  do 
the  duty  of  his  own  benefice,  rather  than  of 
any  other.  But  the  injury  done  to  the  com- 
munity, is  not  commensurate  with  the  vexa- 
tion imposed  upon  the  individual.  Such  a 
measure  is   either  too  harsh,  not  to    become 

*  Tnoughts  on  the  Residence  of  the  Clergy.  By  John 
Stubges,  LL.  U. 


obsolete ;  or,  by  harassing  the  clergy  with  a 
very  severe  restriction,  to  gain  a  very  dispro- 
portionate good  to  the  community,  would  bring 
the  profession  into  disrepute,  and  have  a  ten- 
dency to  introduce  a  class  of  men  into  the 
church,  of  less  liberal  manners,  education,  and 
connection ;  points  of  the  utmost  importance, 
in  our  present  state  of  religion  and  wealth. 
Nothing  has  enabled  men  to  do  wrong  with 
impunity  so  much  as  the  extreme  severity  of 
the  penalties  with  which  the  law  has  threatened 
them.  The  only  method  to  insure  success  to 
the  bill  for  enforcing  ecclesiastical  residence, 
is  to  consult  the  convenience  of  the  clergy  in 
its  construction,  as  far  as  is  possibly  consist- 
ent with  the  object  desired,  and  even  to  sacri- 
fice something  that  ought  to  be  done,  in  order 
that  much  may  be  done.  Upon  this  principle, 
the  clergyman  should  not  be  conilned  to  his 
parsonage-house,  but  to  the  precincts  of  his 
parish.  Some  advantage  would  certainly  at- 
tend the  residence  of  the  clergy  in  their  official 
mansions ;  but,  as  we  have  before  observed, 
ihe  good  one  party  would  obtain,  bears  no  sort 
of  proportion  to  the  evil  the  other  would 
sufl'er. 

Upon  the  propriety  of  investing  the  bench 
of  bishops  with  a  power  of  enforcing  resi- 
dence, we  confess  ourselves  to  entertain  very 
serious  doubts.  A  bishop  has  frequently  a 
very  temporary  interest  in  his  diocese :  he  has 
favours  to  ask;  and  he  must  grant  them. 
Leave  of  absence  will  be  granted  to  powerful 
intercession  ;  and  refused,  upon  stronger  pleas, 
to  men  without  friends.  Bishops  are  frequently 
men  advanced  in  years,  or  immersed  in  study. 
A  single  person  who  compels  many  others  to 
their  duty,  has  much  odium  to  bear,  and  much 
activity  to  exert.  A  bishop  is  subject  to  ca- 
price, and  enmity,  and  passion,  in  common 
with  other  individuals;  there  is  some  danger, 
also,  that  his  power  over  the  clergy  may  be 
converted  to  a  political  purpose.  From  innu- 
merable causes,  which  might  be  reasoned 
upon  to  great  length,  we  are  apprehensive  the 
object  of  the  legislature  will  be  entirely  frus- 


280 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


trated  in  a  few  years,  if  it  be  committed  to 
espiscopal  superintendence  and  care  ;  though, 
upon  the  first  view  of  the  subject,  no  other 
scheme  can  appear  so  natural  and  so  wise. 

Dr.  Sturges  observes,  that  after  all  the  con- 
ceivable justifications  of  non-residence  are 
enumerated  in  the  act,  many  others  must  from 
time  to  time  occur,  and  indicate  the  propriety 
of  vesting  somewhere  a  discretionary  power. 
If  this  be  true  of  the  penalties  by  which  the 
clergy  are  governed,  it  is  equally  true  of  all 
other  penal  laws ;  and  the  law  should  extend 
to  every  offence  the  contingency  of  discre- 
tionary omission.  The  objection  to  this  sys- 
tem is,  that  it  trusts  too  much  to  the  sagacity 
and  the  probity  of  the  judge,  and  exposes  a 
country  to  the  partial,  lax,  and  corrupt  admi- 
nistration of  its  laws.  It  is  certainly  incon- 
venient, in  many  cases,  to  have  no  other  guide 
to  resort  to  but  the  unaccommodating  man- 
dates of  an  act  of  Parliament :  yet,  of  the  two 
inconveniences,  it  is  the  least.  It  is  some  pal- 
liation of  the  evils  of  discretionary  power, 
that  it  should  be  exercised  (as  by  the  court 
of  chancery)  in  the  face  of  day,  and  that  the 
moderator  of  law  should  himself  be  moderated 
by  the  force  of  precedent  and  opinion.  A 
bishop  will  exercise  his  discretionary  power 
in  the  dark ;  he  is  at  full  liberty  to  depart  to- 
morrow from  the  precedent  he  has  established 
to-day;  and  to  apply  the  same  decisions  to 
different,  or  different  decisions  to  the  same  cir- 
cumstances, as  his  humour  or  interest  may 
dictate.  Such  power  may  be  exercised  well 
under  one  judge  of  extraordinary  integrity; 
but  it  is  not  very  probable  he  will  find  a  pro- 
per successor.  To  suppose  a  series  of  men 
so  much  superior  to  temptation,  and  to  con- 
struct a  system  of  church  government  upon 
such  a  supposition,  is  to  build  upon  sand,  with 
materials  not  more  durable  than  the  founda- 
tion. 

Sir  William  Scott  has  made  it  ver)'  clear,  by 
his  excellent  speech,  that  it  is  not  possible,  in 
the  present  state  of  the  revenues  of  the  En- 
glish church,  to  apply  a  radical  cure  to  the 
evil  of  non-residence.    It  is  there  stated,  that 


out  of  11,700  livings,  there  are  6000  under 
80/.  per  annum  ,•  many  of  those,  20/.,  30/.,  and 
some  as  low  as  2/.  or  3/.  per  annum.  In  such 
a  state  of  endowment,  all  idea  of  rigid  resi- 
dence is  out  of  the  question.  Emoluments 
which  a  footman  would  spurn,  can  hardly  re- 
compense a  scholar  and  a  gentleman.  A  mere 
palliation  is  all  that  can  be  applied ;  and  these 
are  the  ingredients  of  which  we  wish  such  a 
palliation  should  be  composed : — 

1.  Let  the  clergymen  have  the  full  liberty  of 
farming,  and  be  put  in  this  respect  exactly  upon 
a  footing  with  laymen. 

2.  Power  to  reside  in  any  other  house  in 
the  parish,  as  well  as  the  parsonage-house,  and 
to  be  absent  five  months  in  the  year. 

3.  Schoolmasters,  and  ministers  bona  fide 
discharging  ministerial  functions  in  another 
parish,  exempt  from  residence. 

4.  Penalties  in  proportion  to  the  value  of 
livings,  and  number  of  times  the  offence  has 
been  committed. 

5.  Common  informers  to  sue  as  at  present; 
though  probably  it  might  be  right  to  make  the 
name  of  one  parishioner  a  necessary  addition; 
and  a  proof  of  non-residence  might  be  made  to 
operate  as  a  nonsuit  in  an  action  for  tithes. 

6.  No  action  for  non-residence  to  lie  where 
the  benefice  was  less  than  80/.  per  annum; 
and  the  powers  of  bishops  to  remain  precisely 
as  they  are. 

These  indulgences  would  leave  the  clergy 
without  excuse,  would  reduce  the  informations 
to  a  salutary  number,  and  diminish  the  odium 
consequent  upon  them,  by  directing  their  ef- 
fects against  men  who  regard  church  prefer- 
ment merely  as  a  source  of  revenue,  not  as  an 
obligation  to  the  discharge  of  important  duties. 

We  venture  to  prognosticate,  that  a  bill  of 
greater  severity  either  will  not  pass  the  House 
of  Commons,  or  will  fail  of  its  object.  Con- 
sidering the  times  and  circumstauces,  we  are 
convinced  we  have  stated  the  greate?t  quan- 
tum of  attainable  good;  which  of  course  will 
not  be  attained,  by  the  customary  error,  of  at- 
tending to  what  is  desirable  to  be  done,  rather 
than  to  what  it  is  practicable  to  do. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


281 


TEAYELS  FROM  PALESTINE/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1807.] 


In  the  year  1432,  many  great  lords  in  the 
dominions  of  Burgundy,  holding  offices  under 
Duke  Philip  le  Bon,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Je- 
rusalem. Among  them  was  his  first  esquire- 
carver  La  Brocquiere,  who,  having  performed 
many  devout  pilgrimages  in  Palestine,  re- 
turned sick  to  Jerusalem,  and  during  his  con- 
valescence, formed  the  bold  scheme  of  return- 
ing to  France  over  land.  This  led  him  to 
traverse  the  western  parts  of  Asia,  and  East- 
ern Europe ;  and,  during  the  whole  journey, 
except  towards  the  end  of  it,  he  passed  through 
the  dominions  of  the  Musselmen.  The  execu- 
tion of  such  a  journey,  even  at  this  day, 
would  not  be  without  difficulty;  and  it  was 
then  thought  to  be  impossible.  It  was  in  vain 
that  his  companions  attempted  to  dissuade 
him  ;  he  was  obstinate  ;  and,  setting  out,  over- 
came every  obstacle ;  returned  in  the  course 
of  the  year  1433,  and  presented  himself  to  the 
Duke  in  his  Saracen  dress,  and  on  the  horse 
which  had  carried  him  during  the  whole  of 
his  journey.  The  duke,  after  the  fashion  of 
great  people,  conceiving  that  the  glory  of  his 
esquire-carver  was  his  own,  caused  the  work 
to  be  printed  and  published. 

The  following  is  a  brief  extract  of  this  va- 
liant person's  peregrinations.  "  After  perform- 
ing the  customary  pilgrimages,  we  went,"  says 
La  Brocquiere,  '•  to  the  mountain  where  Jesus 
fasted  forty  days ;  to  Jordan,  where  he  was 
baptized;  to  the  church  of  St.  Martha,  where 
Lazarus  was  raised  from  the  dead ;  to  Bethle- 
hem, where  he  was  born ;  to  the  birth-place  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist;  to  the  house  of  Zacha- 
riah ;  and,  lastly,  to  the  holy  cross,  where  the 
tree  grew  that  formed  the  real  cross."  From 
Jerusalem  the  first  gentleman-carver  betook 
himself  to  Mount  Sinai,  paying  pretty  hand- 
somely to  the  Saracens  for  that  privilege. 
These  infidels  do  not  appear  to  have  ever  pre- 
vented the  Christian  pilgrims  from  indulging 
their  curiosity  and  devotion  in  visiting  the 
most  interesting  evangelical  objects  in  the 
Holy  Land;  but,  after  charging  a  good  round 
price  for  this  gratification,  contented  them- 
selves with  occasionally  kicking  them,  and 
spitting  upon  them.  In  his  way  to  Mount  Si- 
nai, the  esquire-carver  passed  through  the  Val- 
ley of  Hebron,  where  he  tells  us,  Adam  was 
created ;  and  from  thence  to  Gaza,  where  they 
showed  him  the  columns  of  the  building  which 
Samson  pulled  doM'n ;  though,  of  the  identity 
of  the  building,  the  esquire  seems  to  entertain 
some  doubts.  At  Gaza  five  of  his  companions 
fell  sick  and  returned  to  Jerusalem.  The  se- 
cond day's  journey  in  the  desert  the  carver 
fell  ill  also, — returned  to  Gaza,  where  he  was 


*  The  Travels  of  Bertrandon  de  la  Brocquiire,  First  Es- 
quire-Carver to  Philip  le  Bon,  Dvke  of  Burirundy,  during 
the  years  1432,  143S.— Translated  from  the  French,  by 
Thomas  Johnes,  Esq. 

36 


cured  by  a  Samaritan, — and  finding  his  way 
back  to  Jerusalem,  hired  some  pleasant  lodg 
ings  on  Mount  Sion. 

Before  he  proceeded  on  his  grand  expedi- 
tion over  land,  he  undertook  a  little  expedition 
to  Nazareth,  hearing,  first  of  all,  divine  service 
at  the  Cordeliers,  and  imploring,  at  the  tomb 
of  our  lady,  her  protection  for  his  journey. 
From  Jerusalem  their  first  stage  was  Acre, 
where  they  gave  up  their  intended  expedition, 
and  repaired  to  Baruth,  whence  Sir  Samsou 
de  Lalaing  and  the  author  sallied  afresh,  un- 
der better  auspices,  to  Damascus.  He  speaks 
with  great  pleasure  of  the  valley  where  Noah 
built  the  ark,  through  which  valley  he  passed 
in  his  way  to  Damascus ;  upon  entering  which 
town  he  was  knocked  down  by  a  Saracen  for 
wearing  an  ugly  hat, — as  he  probably  would- 
be  in  London  for  the  same  offence  in  the  yeaf 
1807.  At  Damascus,  he  informs  us  the  Chris- 
tians are  locked  up  every  night, — as  they  are 
in  English  workhouses,  night  and  da}^  when 
they  happen  to  be  poor.  The  greatest  misfor- 
tune attendant  upon  this  Damascene  incarce- 
ration, is  the  extreme  irregularity  with  which 
the  doors  are  opened  in  the  morning,  their 
janitor  having  no  certain  hour  of  quitting  hi.s 
bed.  At  Damascus,  he  saw  the  place  where 
St.  Paul  had  a  vision.  "  I  saw  also,"  says  he, 
"  the  stone  from  which  St.  George  mounted  his 
horse,  when  he  went  to  combat  the  dragon. 
It  is  two  feet  square ;  and  they  say  that,  when 
formerly  the  Saracens  attempted  to  carry  it 
away,  in  spite  of  all  the  streiigth  they  em- 
ployed, they  could  not  succeed."  After  hav- 
ing seen  Damascus,  he  returns  witri  Sir  Sam- 
son to  Baruth ;  and  communicates  his  inten- 
tions of  returning  over  land  to  France  to  his 
companions.  They  state  to  him  the  astonish- 
ing difficulties  he  will  have  to  overcome  in  the 
execution  of  so  extraordinary  a  project;  but 
the  admirable  carver,  determined  to  make  no 
bones,  and  to  cut  his  way  through  every  ob- 
stacle, persists  in  his  scheme,  and  bids  them  a 
final  adieu.  He  is  determined,  however,  not 
to  be  baflled  in  his  subordinate  expedition  to 
Nazareth ;  and,  having  now  got  rid  of  his  timid 
companions,  accomplishes  it  with  ease.  We 
shall  here  present  our  readers  with  an  extract 
from  this  part  of  his  journal,  requesting  them 
to  admire  the  naif  manner  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  vestiges  of  ecclesiastical  history.^ 

"Acre,  though  in  a  plain  of  about  four 
leagues  in  extent,  is  surrounded  on  three  sides 
by  mountains,  and  on  the  fourth  by  the  sea. 
I  made  acquaintance  there  with  a  Venetian 
merchant  called  Aubert  Franc,  who  received 
me  well,  and  procured  me  much  useful  infor- 
mation respecting  my  two  pilgrimages,  by 
which  I  profited.  With  the  aid  of  his  advice, 
I  took  the  road  to  Nazareth;  and,  having 
crossed  an  extensive  plain,  came  to  the  foun- 
2a2 


282 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tain,  the  water  of  which  our  Lord  changed  into 
wine  at  the  marriage  of  Archetreclin ;  it  is 
near  a  village  where  St.  Peter  is  said  to  have 
been  born. 

"  Nazareth  is  another  large  village,  built 
between  two  mountains ;  but  the  place  where 
the  angel  Gabriel  came  to  announce  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  that  she  would  be  a  mother,  is  in 
a  pitiful  state.  The  church  that  had  been  there 
built  is  entirely  destroyed;  and  of  the  house 
wherein  our  lady  was  when  the  angel  ?p- 
peared  to  her,  not  the  smallest  remnant  exi 's. 

"  From  Nazareth  I  went  to  Mount  Tabor, 
the  place  v/here  the  transfiguration  of  our  Lord, 
and  many  other  miracles  took  efiect.  These 
pasturages  attract  the  Arabs  who  come  thither 
with  their  beasts;  and  I  was  forced  to  engage 
four  additional  men  as  an  escort,  two  of  whom 
were  Arabs.  The  ascent  of  the  mountain  is 
rugged,  because  there  is  no  road;  I  performed 
it  on  the  back  of  a  mule,  but  it  took  me  two 
hours.  The  summit  is  terminated  by  an  al- 
most circular  plain  of  about  two  bow-shots  in 
length,  and  one  in  width.  It  was  formerly  en- 
closed with  walls,  the  ruins  of  which,  and  the 
ditches,  are  still  visible  :  within  the  wall,  and 
around  it,  were  several  churches,  and  one  es- 
pecially, where,  although  in  ruins,  full  pardon 
for  vice  and  sin  is  gained. 

"  We  went  to  lodge  at  Samaria,  because  I 
wished  to  see  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  where  it  is 
said  St.  Peter  was  accustomed  to  fish ;  and, 
by  so  doing,  some  pardons  may  be  gained,  for 
it  was  the  ember  week  of  September.  The 
Moucre  left  me  to  myself  the  whole  day.  Sa- 
maria is  situated  on  the  extremity  of  a  moun- 
tain. We  entered  at  the  close  of  day,  and  left 
it  at  midnight  to  visit  the  lake.  The  Moucre 
had  proposed  this  hour  to  evade  the  tribute 
exacted  from  all  who  go  thither;  but  the 
night  hindered  me  from  seeing  the  surround- 
ing country. 

"I  went  first  to  Joseph's  Well,  so  called 
from  his  being  cast  into  it  by  his  brethren. 
There  is  a  handsome  mosque  near  it,  which  I 
entered  with  my  Moucre,  pretending  to  be  a 
Saracen. 

"Further  on  is  a  stone  bridge  over  the  Jar- 
don,  called  Jacob's  Bridge,  on  accoun,t  of  a 
house  hard  by,  said  to  be  the  residence  of  that 
patriarch.  The  river  flows  from  a  gentle  lake 
situated  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  to  the  north- 
west, on  which  Namcardin  has  a  very  hand- 
some castle." — (pp.  122 — 128.) 

From  Damascus,  to  which  he  returns  after 
his  expedition  to  Nazareth,  the  first  carver  of 
Philip  le  Bon  sets  out  with  the  caravan  for 
Bursa.  Before  he  begins  upon  his  journey, 
he  expatiates  with  much  satisfaction  upon  the 
admirable  method  of  shoeing  horses  at  Damas- 
cus,— a  panegyric  which  certainly  gives  us 
the  lowest  ideas  of  that  art  in  the  reign  of 
Philip  le  Bon  ;  for  it  appears  that,  out  of  fifty 
days,  his  horse  was  lame  for  twenty-one,  owing 
to  this  ingenious  method  of  shoeing.  As  a 
mark  of  gratitude  to  the  leader  of  the  caravan, 
the  esquire  presents  him  with  a  pot  of  green 
ginger;  and  the  caravan  proceeds.  Before  it 
has  advanced  one  day's  journey,  the  esquire, 
however,  deviates  from  the  road,  to  pay  his 
devoirs  to  a  miraculous  image  of  our  Lady  of 


Serdenay,  which  always  sweats — not  ordinary 
sudorific  matter — but  an  oil  of  great  ecclesias- 
tical efficacy.  While  travelling  with  the  cara- 
van, he  learnt  to  sit  cross-legged,  got  drunk 
privately,  and  was  nearly  murdered  by  some 
Saracens,  who  discovered  that  he  had  money. 
In  some  parts  of  Syria,  M.  de  la  Brocquiere 
met  with  an  opinion,  which  must  have  been 
extremely  favourable  to  the  spirit  of  proselyt- 
ism,  in  so  very  hot  a  country — an  opinion 
that  the  infidels  have  a  very  bad  smell,  and  that 
this  is  only  to  be  removed  by  baptism.  But  as 
the  baptism  was  according  to  the  Greek  ritual, 
by  total  immersion,  Bertrandon  seems  to  have 
a  distant  suspicion  that  this  miracle  may  be 
resolved  into  the  simple  phenomenon  of  wash- 
ing. He  speaks  well  of  the  Turks,  and  repre- 
sents them,  to  our  surprise,  as  a  very  gay, 
laughing  people.  We  thought  Turkish  gravity 
had  been  almost  proverbial.  The  natives  of. 
the  countries  through  which  we  passed  pray 
(says  he)  for  the  conversion  of  Christians ; 
and  especially  request  that  there  may  be  never 
sent  among  them  again  such  another  terrible 
man  as  Godfrey  of  Boulogne.  At  Couhongue 
the  caravan  broke  up ;  and  here  he  quitted  a 
Mameluke  soldier,  who  had  kept  him  company 
during  the  whole  of  the  journey,  and  to  whose 
courage  and  fidelity  Europe,  Philip  le  Bon,  and 
Mr.  Johnes  of  Hafod,  are  principally  indebted 
for  the  preservation  of  the  first  esquire-carver. 

"I  bade  adieu,"  he  says,  "  to  my  Mameluke. 
This  good  man,  whose  name  was  Mohammed, 
had  done  me  innumerable  services.  He  was 
very  charitable,  and  never  refused  alms  when 
asked  in  the  name  of  God.  It  was  through 
charity  he  had  been  so  kind  to  me  ;  and  I  must 
confess  that,  without  his  assistance,  I  could 
not  have  performed  my  journey  without  in- 
curring the  greatest  danger;  and  that  had  it 
not  been  for  his  kindness,  I  should  often  have 
been  exposed  to  cold  and  hunger,  and  much 
embarrassed  with  my  horse. 

"  On  taking  leave  of  him,  I  was  desirous  of 
showing  my  gratitude;  but  he  would  not  ac- 
cept of  any  thing  except  a  piece  of  our  fine 
European  cloth  to  cover  his  head,  which  seem- 
ed to  please  him  much.  He  told  me  all  the 
occasions  that  had  come  to  his  knowledge,  on 
which,  if  it  had  not  been  for  him,  I  should  have 
run  risks  of  being  assassinated,  and  warned 
me  to  be  very  circumspect  in  my  connections 
with  the  Saracens,  for  that  there  were  among 
them  some  as  wicked  as  the  Franks.  I  write 
this  to  recall  to  my  reader's  memory,  that  the 
person  who,  from  his  love  to  God,  did  me  so 
many  and  essential  kindnesses,  was  a  man 
not  of  our  faith."— (pp.  196,  197.) 

For  the  rest  of  the  journey,  he  travelled  with 
the  family  of  the  leader  of  the  caravan,  without 
any  occurrence  more  remarkable  than  those 
we  have  already  noticed ; — arrived  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  passed  through  Germany  to 
the  court  of  Philip  le  Bon.  Here  his  narrative 
concludes.  Nor  does  the  carver  vouclisafe  to 
inform  us  of  the  changes  which  time  had  made 
in  the  appetite  of  that  great  prince, — whether 
veal  was  more  pleasing  to  him  than  Iamb, — if 
his  favourite  morsels  were  stiiJ  in  request, — 
if  animal  succulence  were  as  grateful  to  him 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


283 


as  before  the  departure  of  the  carver, — or  if 
this  semisanguineous  partiality  had  given  way 
to  a  taste  for  cinereous  and  torrefied  meats. 
All  these  things  the  first  esquire-carver  might 
have  said, — none  of  them  he  does  say, — nor 
does  Mr.  Johnes  of  Hafod  supply,  by  any 
antiquarian  conjectures  of  his  own,  the  dis- 
tressing silence  of  the  original.     Saving  such 


omissions,  there  is  something  pleasant  in  the 
narrative  of  this  arch-divider  of  fowls.  He  is 
an  honest,  brave,  liberal  man;  and  tells  his 
singular  story  with  great  brevity  and  plainness. 
We  are  obliged  to  Mr.  Johnes  for  the  amuse- 
ment he  has  afforded  us ;  and  we  hope  he  will 
persevere  in  his  gentlemanlike,  honourable, 
and  useful  occupations. 


LETTER*  ON  THE  CUMTE^S  SALAM  BILL.t 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1808.] 


The  poverty  of  curates  has  long  been  a 
favourite  theme  with  novelists,  sentimental 
tourists,  and  elegiac  poets.  But  notwith- 
standing the  known  accuracy  of  this  class  of 
philosophers,  we  cannot  help  suspecting  that 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  misconception  in  the 
popular  estimate  of  the  amount  of  the  evil. 

A  very  great  proportion  of  all  the  curacies 
in  England  are  filled  with  men  to  whom  the 
emolument  is  a  matter  of  subordinate  import- 
ance. They  are  filled  by  young  gentlemen 
who  have  recently  left  college,  who  of  course 
are  able  to  subsist  as  they  had  subsisted  for 
seven  years  before,  and  who  are  glad  to  have 
an  opportunity,  on  any  terms,  of  acquiring  a 
practical  familiarity  with  the  duties  of  their 
profession.  They  move  away  from  them  to 
higher  situations  as  vacancies  occur;  and 
make  way  for  a  new  race  of  ecclesiastical 
apprentices.  To  those  men,  the  smallness  of 
the  appointment  is  a  grievance  of  no  very 
great  magnitude  ;  nor  is  it  fair  with  relation  to 
them,  to  represent  the  ecclesiastical  order  as 
degraded  by  the  indigence  to  which  some  of 
its  members  are  condemned.  With  regard, 
again,  to  those  who  take  curacies  merely  as  a 
means  of  subsistence,  and  with  the  prospect 
of  remaining  permanently  in  that  situation,  it 
is  certain  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  them 
are  persons  born  in  a  very  humble  rank  in 
society,  and  accustomed  to  no  greater  opulence 
than  that  of  an  ordinary  curate.  There  are 
scarcely  any  of  those  persons  who  have  taken 
a  degree  in  an  university,  and  not  very  many 
who  have  resided  there  at  all.  Now  the  son 
of  a  small  Welsh  farmer,  who  works  hard 
every  day  for  less  than  40/.  a  year,  has  no 
great  reason  to  complain  of  degradation  or 
disappointment,  if  he  get  from  50/.  to  100/. 
for  a  moderate  portion  of  labour  one  day  in 
seven.  The  situation,  accordingly,  is  looked 
upon  by  these  people  as  extremely  eligible ; 
and  there  is  a  great  competition  for  curacies, 
even  as  they  are  now  provided.     The  amount 


*  A  Letter  to  the  Rtsrht  Honourable  Spencer  Perceval,  on 
a  Subject  connected  vith  his  Bill,  now  under  Disc7tssion  in 
Parliament,  for  improving  the  Situation  of  Stipendiary 
Curates.    8vo.     Hatctwrd,  London.     1808. 

i  Now  we  are  all  dead,  it  may  be  aiiinsin?  to  state 
that  I  was  excited  to  this  article  by  Sir  William  Scott, 
who  brousht  me  the  book  in  his  pocket;  and  begged  I 
would  attend  to  it,  carefully  concealing  his  name;  my 
own  opinions  happened  entirely  to  agree  with  his. 


of  the  evil,  then,  as  to  the  curates  themselves, 
cannot  be  considered  as  very  enormous,  when 
there  are  so  few  who  either  actually  feel,  or 
are  entitled  to  feel,  much  discontent  on  the 
subject.  The  late  regulations  about  residence, 
loo,  by  diminishing  the  total  number  of  cu- 
rates, will  obviously  throw  that  office  chiefly 
into  the  hands  of  the  well  educated  and  com- 
paratively independent  young  men,  who  seek 
for  the  situation  rather  for  practice  than  pro- 
fit, and  do  not  complain  of  the  want  of  emolu- 
ment. 

Still  we  admit  it  to  be  an  evil,  that  the  resi- 
dent clergyman  of  a  parish  should  not  be  ena- 
bled to  hold  a  respectable  rank  in  society  from 
the  regular  emoluments  of  his  office.  But  it 
is  an  evil  which  does  not  exist  exclusively 
among  curates  ;  and  which,  wherever  it  exists, 
we  are  afraid  is  irremediable,  without  the  de- 
struction of  the  Episcopal  church,  or  the  aug- 
mentation of  its  patrimony.  More  than  one- 
half  of  the  livings  in  England  are  under  80/. 
a  year;  and  the  whole  income  of  the  church, 
including  that  of  the  bishops,  if  thrown  into  a 
common  fund,  would  not  afford  above  180/.  for 
each  living.  Unless  Mr.  Perceval,  therefore, 
will  raise  an  additional  million  or  two  for  the 
church,  there  must  be  poor  curates, — and  poor 
rectors  also;  and  unless  he  is  to  reduce  the 
Episcopal  hierarchy  to  the  republican  equality 
of  our  Presbyterian  model,  he  must  submit  to 
very  considerable  inequalities  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  this  inadequate  provision. 

Instead  of  applying  any  of  these  remedies, 
however, — instead  of  proposing  to  increase 
the  income  of  the  church,  or  to  raise  a  fund 
for  its  lowest  servants  by  a  general  assess- 
ment upon  those  who  are  more  opulent, — in- 
stead of  even  trying  indirectly  to  raise  the  pay 
of  curates,  by  raising  their  qualifications  in 
respect  of  regular  education,  Mr.  Perceval  has 
been  able,  after  long  and  profound  study,  to 
fmd  no  better  cure  for  the  endemic  poverty  of 
curates,  than  to  ordain  all  rectors  of  a  certain 
income  to  pay  them  one-fifth  part  of  their 
emoluments,  and  to  vest  certain  alarming 
powers  in  the  bishops  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
trolling their  appointment.  Now  this  scheme, 
it  appears  to  us,  has  all  the  faults  which  it  is 
possible  for  such  a  scheme  to  have.  It  is 
unjust  and  partial  in  its  principle, — it  is  evi- 
dently altogether  and  utterly  inefficient  for  the 


284 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


correction  of  the  evil  in  question, — and  it  in- 
troduces other  evils  infinitely  greater  than  that 
which  it  vainly  proposes  to  abolish. 

To  this  project,  however,  for  increasing  the 
salary  of  curates,  Mr.  Perceval  has  been  so 
long  and  so  obstinately  partial,  that  he  re- 
turned to  the  charge  in  the  last  session  of  Par- 
liament, for  the  third  time ;  and  experienced, 
in  spite  of  his  present  high  situation,  the  same 
defeat  which  had  baffled  him  in  his  previous 
attempts. 

Though  the  subject  is  gone  by  once  more 
for  the  present,  we  cannot  abstain  from  be- 
stowing a  little  gentle  violence  to  aid  its 
merited  descent  into  the  gulf  of  oblivion,  and 
to  extinguish,  if  possible,  that  resurgent  prin- 
ciple which  has  so  often  disturbed  the  serious 
business  of  the  country,  and  averted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  from  the  great  scenes  that 
are  acting  in  the  world — to  search  for  some 
golden  medium  between  the  selfishness  of  the 
sacred  principal,  and  the  I'apacity  of  the  sacred 
deputy. 

If  church  property  is  to  be  preserved,  that 
precedent  is  not  without  danger  which  dis- 
poses at  once  of  a  fifth  of  all  the  valuable 
livings  in  England.  We  do  not  advance  this 
as  an  argument  of  any  great  importance 
against  the  bill,  but  only  as  an  additional  rea- 
son why  its  utility  should  be  placed  in  the 
clearest  point  of  view,  before  it  can  attain  the 
assent  of  well-wishers  to  the  English  establish- 
ment. 

Our  first  and  greatest  objection  to  such  a 
measure,  is  the  increase  of  power  which  it 
gives  to  the  bench  of  bishops, — an  evil  which 
may  produce  the  most  serious  eflfects,  by 
placing  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy  under  the 
absolute  control  of  men  who  are  themselves 
so  much  under  the  influence  of  the  crown. 
This,  indeed,  has  been  pretty  eff'ectually  ac- 
complished, by  the  late  residence  bill  of  Sir 
William  Scott;  and  our  objection  to  the  pre- 
sent bill  is,  that  it  tends  to  augment  that  ex- 
cessive power  before  conferred  on  the  prelacy. 

If  a  clergyman  lives  in  a  situation  which  is 
destroying  his  constitution,  he  cannot  ex- 
change with  a  brother  clergyman  without  the 
consent  of  the  bishop;  in  whose  hands,  under 
such  circumstances,  his  life  and  death  are 
actually  placed.  If  he  wishes  to  cultivate  a 
little  land  for  his  amusement  or  better  sup- 
port,— he  cannot  do  it  without  the  license  of 
the  bishop.  If  he  wishes  to  spend  the  last 
three  or  four  months  with  a  declining  wife  or 
child  at  some  spot  where  better  medical  assist- 
ance can  be  procured — he  cannot  do  so  with- 
out permission  of  the  bishop.  If  he  is  struck 
with  palsy,  or  racked  with  stone — the  bishop 
can  confine  him  in  the  most  remote  village  in 
England.  In  short,  the  power  which  the 
bishops  at  present  possess  over  their  clergy 
is  so  enormous,  that  none  but  a  fool  or  a  mad- 
man would  think  of  compromising  his  future 
happiness,  by  giving  the  most  remote  cause 
of  offence  to  his  diocesan.  We  ought  to  re- 
collect, however,  that  the  clergy  constitute  a 
body  of  12  or  15,000  educated  persons;  that 
the  whole  concern  of  education  devolves  upon 
them;  thatsome  share  of  the  talents  and  in- 
formation which  exist  in  the  country  must 


naturally  fall  to  their  lot ;  and  that  the  com- 
plete subjugation  of  such  a  body  of  men  can- 
not, in  any  point  of  view,  be  a  matter  of  in- 
difference to  a  free  country. 

It  is  in  vain  to  talk  of  the  good  character 
of  bishops.  Bishops  are  men ;  not  always  the 
wisest  of  men ;  not  always  preferred  for  emi- 
nent virtues  and  talents,  or  for  any  good  rea- 
son whatever  known  to  the  public.  They  are 
almost  always  devoid  of  striking  and  indeco- 
rous vices ;  but  a  man  may  be  very  shallow, 
very  arrogant,  and  very  vindictive,  though  a 
bishop  ;  and  pursue  with  unrelenting  hatred  a 
subordinate  clergyman,  whose  principles  he 
dislikes,*  and  whose  genius  he  fears.  Bishops, 
besides,  are  subject  to  the  infirmities  of  old  age, 
like  other  men  ;  and  in  the  decay  of  strength 
and  understanding,  will  be  governed  as  other 
men  are,  by  daughters  and  wives,  and  who- 
ever ministers  to  their  daily  comforts.  We 
have  no  doubt  that  such  cases  sometimes  oc- 
cur; and  produce,  whenever  they  do  occur,  a 
very  capricious  administration  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs.-j-  As  the  power  of  enforcing  resi- 
dence must  be  lodged  somewhere,  why  not 
give  the  bishop  a  council,  consisting  of  two- 
thirds  ecclesiastics,  and  one-third  laymen:  and 
meeting  at  the  same  time  as  the  sessions  and 
deputy  sessions ; — the  bishop's  license  for  non- 
residence  to  issue,  of  course,  upon  their  re- 
commendation. Considering  the  vexatious 
bustle  of  a  new,  and  the  laxity  of  an  aged 
bishop,  we  cannot  but  think  that  a  diocese 
would  be  much  more  steadily  administered 
under  this  system  than  by  the  present  means. 

Examine  the  constitutional  eflects  of  the 
power  now  granted  to  the  bench.  Whaf  hin- 
ders a  bishop  from  becoming  in  the  hands  of 
the  court  a  very  important  agent  in  all  county 
elections  1  what  clergyman  would  dare  to  re- 
fuse him  his  vote  1  But  it  will  be  said  that  no 
bishop  will  ever  condescend  to  such  sort  of 
intrigues : — a  most  miserable  answer  to  a  most 
serious  objection.  The  temptation  is  admit- 
ted,— the  absence  of  all  restraint ;  the  danger- 
ous consequences  are  equally  admitted;  and 
the  only  preservative  is  the  personal  charac- 
ter of  the  individual.  If  this  style  of  reason- 
ing were  general,  what  would  become  of  law, 
constitution,  and  every  wholesome  restraint 
which  we  have  been  accumulating  for  so 
many  centuries  1  We  have  no  intention  to 
speak  disrespectfully  of  constituted  authori- 
ties ;  but  when  men  can  abuse  power  with 
impunity,  and  recommend  themselves  to  their 
superiors  by  abusing  it,  it  is  but  common 
sense  to  suppose  that  power  will  be  abused; 
if  it  is,  the  country  will  hereafter  be  convulsed 
to  its  very  entrails,  in  tearing  away  that  power 
from  the  prelacy  which  has  been  so  improvi- 
dently  conferred  upon  them.  It  is  useless  to 
talk  of  the  power  they  anciently  possessed. 
They  have  never  possessed  it  since  England 
has  been  what  it  now  is.  Since  we  have  en- 
joyed practically  a  free  constitution,  the 
bishops  have,  in  point  of  fact,  possessed  little 
or  no  power  of  oppression  over  their  clergy. 

*  Bold  language  fnr  the  year  1808. 

+  I  have  seen  in  the  course  of  my  life,  as  the  mind  of 
the  prelate  decayed,  wife  bishops,  daughter  bishops,  but. 
ler  bishops,  and  even  cook  and  housekeeper  bishops. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


285 


It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  we 
are  speaking  only  of  probabilities :  the  fact 
may  turn  out  to  be  quite  the  reverse  ;  the 
power  vested  in  the  bench  may  be  exercised 
for  spiritual  purposes  only,  and  with  the  great- 
est moderation.  We  shall  be  extremely  happy 
to  find  that  this  is  the  case;  and  it  will  reflect 
great  honour  upon  those  who  have  corrected 
the  improvidence  of  the  legislature  by  their 
own  sense  of  propriety. 

It  is  contended  by  the  friends  of  this  law, 
that  the  respectability  of  the  clergy  depends  in 
some  measure  on  their  wealth;  and  that,  as 
the  rich  bishop  reflects  a  sort  of  worldly  con- 
sequence upon  the  poor  bishop,  and  the  rich 
rector  upon  the  poor  rector ; — so,  a  rich  class 
of  curates  could  not  fail  to  confer  a  greater 
degree  of  importance  upon  that  class  of  men 
in  general.  This  is  all  very  well,  if  you  in- 
tend to  raise  up  some  new  fund  in  order  to 
enrich  curates :  but  you  say  that  the  riches 
of  some  constitute  the  dignity  of  the  whole ; 
and  then  you  immediately  take  away  from  the 
rector  the  superfluous  wealth  which,  according 
to  your  own  method  of  reasoning,  is  to  deco- 
rate and  dignify  the  order  of  men  to  whom 
he  belongs !  The  bishops  constitute  the  first 
class  in  the  church ;  the  beneficed  clergy  the 
second;  the  curates  the  last.  Why  are  you 
to  take  from  the  second  to  give  to  the  lasf? 
Why  not  as  well  from  the  first*  to  give  to  the 
second — if  you  really  mean  to  contend  that 
the  first  and  second  are  already  too  rich  ] 

It  is  not  true,  however,  that  the  class  of  rec- 
tors is  generally  either  too  rich,  or  even  rich 
enough.  There  are  6000  livings  below  80/. 
per  annum,  which  is  not  very  much  above  the 
average  allowance  of  a  curate.  If  every  rec- 
tor, however,  who  has  more  than  500/.  is 
obliged  to  give  a  fifth  part  to  a  curate,  there 
seems  to  be  no  reason  why  every  bishop  who 
has  more  than  1000/.  should  not  give  a  fifth 
part  among  the  poor  rectors  in  his  diocese.  It 
is  in  vain  to  say  this  assessment  upon  I'ectors 
is  reasonable  and  right,  because  they  may  re- 
side and  do  duty  themselves,  and  then  they 
will  not  need  a  curate ; — that  their  non-resi- 
dence, in  short,  is  a  kind  of  delinquency  for 
which  they  compound  by  this  fine  to  the 
parish.  If  more  than  half  of  the  rectories  in 
England  are  under  80/.  a  year,  and  some  thou- 
sands of  them  under  40/.,  pluralities  are  abso- 
lutely necessary;  and  clergymen,  who  have  not 
the  gift  of  ubiquity,  must  be  non-resident  at 
some  of  them.  Curates,  therefore,  are  not  the 
deputies  of  negligent  rectors ; — they  are  an 
order  of  priests  absolutely  necessary  in  the 
present  form  of  the  Church  of  England:  and 
a  rector  incurs  no  shadow  of  delinquency  by 
employing  one,  more  than  the  king  does  by 
appointing  a  lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland,  or  a 
commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  instead  of  doing  the  duty 
of  these  offices  in  person.  If  the  legislature, 
therefore,  is  to  interfere  to  raise  the  natural, 
t.  e.  the  actual  wages  of  this  order  of  men,  at 
the  expense  of  the  more  opulent  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  there  seems  to  be  no  sort  of  reason 
for  exempting  the  bishops  from  their  share  in 


♦  The  first  unfortunately  make  the  Jaws. 


this  pious  contribution,  or  for  refusing  to  make 
a  similar  one  for  the  benefit  of  all  rectors  who 
have  less  than  100/.  per  annum. 

The  true  reason,  however,  for  exempting 
my  lords  the  bishops  from  this  imposition  is, 
that  they  have  the  privilege  of  voting  upon  all 
bills  brought  in  by  Mr.  Perceval,  and  of  ma- 
terially affecting  his  comfort  and  security  by 
their  parliamentary  control  and  influence. 
This,  however,  is  to  cure  what  you  believe  to 
be  unjust,  by  means  which  you  must  know  to 
be  unjust;  to  fly  out  against  abuses  which 
may  be  remedied  without  peril,  and  to  con- 
nive at  them  when  the  attempt  at  a  remedy  is 
attended  with  political  danger;  to  be  mute  and 
obsequious  towards  men  who  enjoy  church  pro- 
perty to  the  amount  of  8  or  19,000/.  per  an- 
num ;  and  to  be  so  scandalized  at  those  who 
possess  as  many  hundreds,  that  you  must  melt 
their  revenues  down  into  curacies,  and  save 
to  the  eye  of  political  economy  the  spectacle 
of  such  flagrant  inequality ! 

In  the  same  style  of  reasoning,  it  may  be 
asked  why  the  lay  improprietors  are  not  com- 
pelled to  advance  the  salary  of  their  perpetual 
curacies,  up  to  a  fifth  of  their  estates?  The 
answer,  too,  is  equally  obvious — Many  lay  im- 
proprietors have  votes  in  both  houses  of  Par- 
liament; and  the  only  class  of  men  this 
cowardly  reformation  attacks,  is  that  which 
has  no  means  of  saying  any  thing  in  its  owa 
defence. 

Even  if  the  enrichment  of  curates  were  the 
most  imperious  of  all  duties,  it  might  very 
well  be  questioned,  whether  a  more  unequal  and 
pernicious  mode  of  fulfilling  it  could  be  devised 
than  that  enjoined  by  this  bill.  Curacies  are 
not  granted  for  the  life  of  the  curate;  but  for 
the  life  or  incumbency  or  good-liking  of  the 
rector.  It  is  only  rectors  worth  500/.  a-year 
who  are  compelled  by  Mr.  Perceval  to  come 
down  with  a  fifth  to  their  deputy ;  and  these 
form  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  whole 
non-resident  rectors;  so  that  the  great  multi- 
tude of  curates  must  remain  as  poor  as  for- 
merly,— and  probably  a  little  more  discontented. 
Suppose,  however,  that  one  has  actually  entered 
on  the  enjoyment  of  250/.  per  annum.  His 
wants,  and  his  habits  of  expense,  are  enlarged 
by  this  increase  of  income.  In  a  year  or  two 
his  rector  dies,  or  exchanges  his  living;  and 
the  poor  man  is  reduced,  by  the  eS'ects  of  com- 
parison, to  a  much  worse  state  than  before  the 
operation  of  the  bill.  Can  any  person  say  that 
this  is  a  wise  and  effectual  mode  of  ameliorat- 
ing the  condition  of  the  lower  clergy!  To  us 
it  almost  appears  to  be  invented  for  the  express 
purpose  of  destroying  those  habits  of  economy 
and  caution,  which  are  so  indispensably  neces- 
sary to  their  situation.  If  it  is  urged  that  the 
curate,  knowing  his  wealth  only  to  be  tempo- 
rary, will  make  use  of  it  as  a  means  of  laying 
up  a  fund  for  some  future  day, — we  admire  the 
good  sense  of  the  man  :  but  what  becomes  of 
all  the  provisions  of  the  bill?  what  becomes 
of  that  opulence  which  is  to  confer  respecta- 
bility upon  all  around  it,  and  to  radiate  even 
upon  the  curates  of  Wales?  The  money  was 
expressly  given  to  blacken  his  coat, — to  render 
him  convex  and  rosy, — to  give  him  a  sort  of 
pseudo-rectorial  appearance,  and  to  dazzle  the 


286 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


parishioners  at  the  rate  of  250?.  per  annum. 
The  poor  man,  actuated  by  those  principles  of 
common  sense  which  are  so  contrary  to  all  the 
provisions  of  the  bill,  chooses  to  make  a  good 
thing  of  it,  because  he  knows  it  will  not  last; 
wears  his  old  coat,  rides  his  lean  horse,  and 
defrauds  the  class  of  curates  of  all  the  advan- 
tages which  they  were  to  derive  from  the  sleek- 
ness and  splendour  of  his  appearance. 

It  is  of  some  importance  to  the  welfare  of  a 
parish,  and  the  credit  of  the  church,  that  the 
curate  and  his  rector  should  live  upon  good 
terms  together.  Such  a  bill,  however,  throws 
between  them  elements  of  mistrust  and  hatred, 
which  must  render  their  agreement  highly  im- 
probable. The  curate  would  be  perpetually 
prying  into  every  little  advance  which  the 
rector  made  upon  his  tithes,  and  claiming  his 
proportionate  increase.  No  respectable  man 
could  brook  such  inquisition ;  some,  we  fear, 
would  endeavour  to  prevent  its  effects  by  clan- 
destine means.  The  church  would  be  a  per- 
petual scene  of  disgraceful  animosities ;  and 
the  ears  of  the  bishop  never  free  from  the 
clamours  of  rapacity  and  irritation. 

It  is  some  slight  defect  in  such  a  bill,  that  it 
does  not  proportion  reward  to  the  labour  done, 
but  to  the  wealth  of  him  for  whom  it  is  done. 
The  curate  of  a  parish  containing  400  persons, 
may  be  paid  as  much  as  another  person  who 
has  the  care  of  10,000;  for,  in  England,  there 
is  very  little  proportion  between  the  value  of  a 
living,  and  the  quantity  of  duty  to  be  performed 
by  its  clergyman. 

The  bill  does  not  attain  its  object  in  the  best 
way.  Let  the  bishop  refuse  to  allow  of  any  cu- 
rate upon  a  living  above  500Z.  per  annum,  who  is 
not  a  Master  of  Arts  of  one  of  the  universities. 
Such  curates  will  then  be  obtained  at  a  price 
which  will  render  it  worth  the  while  of  such 
men  to  take  curacies  ;  and  such  a  degree  and 
situation  in  society  will  secure  good  curates 
much  more  effectually  than  the  complicated 
provisions  of  this  bill :  for,  prima  facie,  it  ap- 
pears to  us  much  more  probable,  that  a  curate 
should  be  respectable,  who  is  a  Master  of  Arts 
in  some  English  university,  than  if  all  that  we 
knew  about  him  was,  that  he  had  a  fifth  of  the 
profits  of  the  living.  The  object  is,  to  fix  a 
good  clergyman  in  a  parish.  The  law  will  not 
trust  the  non-resident  rector  to  fix  both  the  price 
and  the  person;  but  fixes  the  price,  and  then 
leaves  him  the  choice  of  the  person.  Our  plan 
is,  to  fix  upon  the  description  of  person,  and 
then  to  leave  the  price  to  find  its  level ;  for  the 
good  price  by  no  means  implies  a  good  person, 
but  the  good  person  will  be  sure  to  get  a  good 
price. 

Where  the  living  will  admit  of  it,  we  have 
commonly  observed  that  the  English  clergy  are 
desirous  of  putting  in  a  proper  substitute.  If 
this  is  so,  the  bill  is  unnecessary;  for  it  pro- 
ceeds on  the  very  contrary  supposition,  that 
the  great  mass  of  opulent  clergy  consult  no- 
thing but  economy  in  the  choice  of  their 
curates. 

It  is  very  galling  and  irksome  to  any  class 
of  men  to  be  compelled  to  disclose  their  pri- 
vate circumstances;  a  provision  contained  in, 
and  absolutely  necessary  to  this  bill,  under 
which  the  diocesan  can   alway?   compel  the 


minister  to  disclose  the  full  value  of  his 
living. 

After  all,  however,  the  main  and  conclusive 
objection  to  the  bill  is,  that  its  provisions  are 
drawn  from  such  erroneous  principles,  and 
betray  such  gross  ignorance  of  human  nature, 
that  though  it  would  infallibly  produce  a 
thousand  mischiefs  foreseen  and  not  foreseen, 
it  would  evidently  have  no  effect  whatsoever 
in  raising  the  salaries  of  curates.  We  do  not 
put  this  as  a  case  of  common  buyer  and  seller; 
we  allow  that  the  parish  is  a  third  party,  having 
an  interest;*  we  fully  admit  the  right  of  the  le- 
gislature to  interfere  for  their  relief.  We  only 
contend,  that  such  interference  would  be  neces- 
sarily altogether  ineffectual,  so  long  as  men 
can  be  found  capable  of  doing  the  duty  of  cu- 
rates, and  willing  to  do  it  for  less  than  the 
statutory  viinimum. 

If  there  is  a  competition  of  rectors  for  cu- 
rates, it  is  quite  unnecessary  and  absurd  to 
make  laws  in  favour  of  curates.  The  demand 
for  them  will  do  their  business  more  effectually 
than  the  law.  If,  on  the  contrary  (as  the  fact 
plainly  is),  there  is  a  competition  of"  curates  for 
employment,  is  it  possible  to  prevent  this  order 
of  men  from  labouring  under  the  regulation 
price]  Is  it  possible  to  prevent  a  curate  from 
pledging  himself  to  his  rector,  that  he  will 
accept  only  half  the  legal  salary,  if  he  is  so 
fortunate  as  to  be  preferred  among  an  host  of 
rivals,  who  are  willing  to  engage  on  the  same 
terms  1  You  may  make  these  contracts  illegal : 
What  then  1  Men  laugh  at  such  prohibitions  ; 
and  they  always  become  a  dead  letter.  In  nine 
instances  out  of  ten,  the  contract  would  be 
honourably  adhered  to;  and  then  what  is  the 
use  of  Mr.  Perceval's  lawl  Where  the  con- 
tract was  not  adhered  to,  whom  would  the  law 
benefit? — A  man  utterly  devoid  of  every  par- 
ticle of  honour  and  good  faith.  And  this  is 
the  new  species  of  curate,  who  is  to  reflect  dig- 
nity and  importance  upon  his  poorer  brethren! 
The  law  encourages  breach  of  faith  between 
gambler  and  gambler;  it  arms  broker  against 
broker: — but  it  cannot  arm  clergyman  against 
clergyman.  Did  any  human  being  before,  ever 
think  of  disseminating  such  a  principle  among 
the  teachers  of  Christianity?  Did  any  eccle- 
siastic law,  before  this,  ever  depend  for  its 
success  upon  the  mutual  treachery  of  men  who 
ought  to  be  examples  to  their  fellow-creatures 
of  every  thing  that  is  just  and  upright. 

We  have  said  enough  already  upon  the  ab- 
surdity of  punishing  all  rich  rectors  for  non- 
residence,  as  for  a  presumptive  delinquency. 
A  law  is  already  passed,  fixing  what  shall  be 
legal  and  sufficient  causes  for  non-residence. 
Nothing  can  be  more  unjust,  then,  than  to 
punish  that  absence  which  you  admit  to  be 
legal.  If  the  causes  of  absence  are  too  nume- 
rous, lessen  them ;  but  do  not  punish  him  who 
has  availed  himself  of  their  existence.  We 
deny,  however,  that  they  are  too  numerous. 
There  are  GOOO  livings  out  of  11,000  in  the 
English  church  under  QQl.  per  annum ;  many 


*  We  rempinbor  Horace's  description  of  the  misery  of 
a  parish  where  there  is  no  resident  clergyman. 

"  Illacrymabiles 

llrcentiir,  ignoliriue  long! 
Nocte,  carent  guia  vate  sacro." 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


287 


of  these  20?.,  many  301.  per  annum.  The  whole 
task  of  education  at  the  university,  public 
schools,  private  families,  and  in  foreign  travel, 
devolves  upon  the  clergy.  A  great  part  of  the 
literature  of  their  country  is  in  their  hands. 
Residence  is  a  very  proper  and  necessary  mea- 
sure ;  but,  considering  all  these  circumstances, 
it  requires  a  great  deal  of  moderation  and 
temper  to  carry  it  into  effect,  without  doing 
more  mischief  than  good.  At  present,  how- 
ever, the  torrent  sets  the  other  way.  Every 
lay  plunderer,  and  every  fanatical  coxcomb,  is 
forging  fresh  chains  for  the  English  clergy; 
and  we  should  not  be  surprised,  in  a  very  little 
time,  to  see  them  absenting  themselves  from 
their  benefices  by  a  kind  of  daj'-rule,  like 
prisoners  in  the  king's  bench.  The  first  bill, 
which  was  brought  in  by  Sir  William  Scott, 
always  saving  and  excepting  the  power  granted 
to  the  bishops,  is  full  of  useful  provisions,  and 
characterized  throughout  by  great  practical 
Avisdom.  We  have  no  doubt  but  that  it  has, 
upon  the  ivhole,  improved  the  condition  of  the 
English  church.  Without  caution,  mildness, 
or  information,  however,  it  was  peculiarly  un- 


fortunate to  follow  such  a  leader.  We  are 
extremely  happy  the  bill  was  rejected.  We 
have  seldom  witnessed  more  of  ignorance  and 
error  stuffed  and  crammed  into  so  very  narrow 
a  compass.  Its  origin,  we  are  confident,  is 
from  the  Tabernacle;  and  its  consequences 
would  have  been,  to  have  sown  the  seeds  of 
discord  and  treachery  in  an  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution, which,  under  the  care  of  prudent  and 
honest  men,  may  always  be  rendered  a  source 
of  public  happiness. 

One  glaring  omission  in  this  bill  we  had 
almost  forgotten  to  mention.  The  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer  has  entirely  neglected  to 
make  any  provision  for  that  very  meritorious 
class  of  men,  the  lay  curates,  who  do  all  the 
business  of  those  oifices,  of  which  lazy  and 
non-resident  placemen  receive  the  emoluments. 
So  much  delicacy  and  conscience,  however, 
are  hei-e  displayed  on  the  subject  of  pocketing 
unearned  emoluments,  that  we  have  no  doubt 
the  moral  irritability  of  this  servant  of  the 
crown  will  speedily  urge  him  to  a  species  of 
reform,  of  which  he  may  be  the  object  as  well 
as  the  moA'er. 


PEOCEEDINGS  OF  THE  SOCIETY  EOE  THE 
SUPPRESSION  OE  VICE.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1809.] 


A  SOCIETY  that  holds  out  as  its  object  the 
suppression  of  vice,  must  at  first  sight  con- 
ciliate the  favour  of  eveiy  respectable  person ; 
and  he  who  objects  to  an  institution  calculated 
apparently  to  do  so  much  good,  is  bound  to 
give  very  clear  and  satisfactory  reasons  for 
his  dissent  from  so  popular  an  opinion.  We 
certainly  have,  for  a  long  time,  had  doubts  of 
its  utility;  and  now  think  ourselves  called 
upon  to  state  the  grounds  of  our  distrust. 

Though  it  were  clear  that  individual  inform- 
ers are  useful  auxiliaries  to  the  administration 
of  the  laws,  it  would  by  no  means  follow  that 
these  informers  should  be  allowed  to  com- 
bine,— to  form  themselves  into  a  body,^ — to 
make  a  public  purse, — and  to  prosecute  under 
a  common  name.  An  informer,  whether  he 
is  paid  by  the  week,  like  the  agents  of  this 
society — or  by  the  crime,  as  in  common  cases — 
is,  in  general,  a  man  of  a  very  indifferent 
character.  So  much  fraud  and  deception  are 
necessaiy  for  casrying  on  his  trade — it  is  so 
odious  to  his  fellow  subjects, — that  no  man  of 
respectability  will  ever  undertake  it.  It  is 
evidently  impossible  to  make  such  a  character 
otherwise  tlian  odious.     A  man  who  receives 


*  Statement  of  the  Proceedivs's  of  the  Society  for  the 
Suppression  of  Vice,  from  July  9  to  JVovernher  12,  read  at 
their  General  Meeting,  held  JVorernber  12,  1804.  With  an 
ylppendix,  containina-  the  Plan  of  the  Society,  <^-c.  Src.  &-c. 
London.     1804. 

^n  Mdress  to  the  Public  from  the  Societv  for  the  Sup- 
pression of  Vice,  iustituted  in  London,  1802.  Part  the 
Second.  Containing  an  Account  of  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Spciet'/  from  its  original  Institution.    London.    1804. 


weekly  pay  for  prying  into  the  transgressions 
of  mankind,  and  bringing  them  to  conse- 
quent punishment,  will  always  be  hated  by 
mankind;  and  the  office  must  fall  to  the  lot  of 
some  men  of  desperate  fortunes  and  ambigu- 
ous character.  The  multiplication,  therefore, 
of  such  officers,  and  the  extensive  patronage 
of  such  characters,  may,  by  the  management 
of  large  and  opulent  societies,  become  an  evil 
nearly  as  great  as  the  evils  they  would  Sup- 
press. The  alarm  which  a  private  and  dis- 
guised accuser  occasions  in  a  neighbourhood, 
is  knoMTi  to  be  prodigious,  not  only  to  the 
guilty,  but  to  those  who  may  be  at  once  inno- 
cent, and  ignorant,  and  timid.  The  destruction 
of  social  confidence  is  another  evil,  the  conse- 
quence of  information.  An  informer  gets 
access  to  my  house  or  family, — worms  my 
secret  out  of  me, — and  then  betrays  me  to  the 
magistrate.  Now,  all  these  evils  may  be 
tolerated  in  a  small  degree,  while,  in  a  greater 
degree,  they  would  be  perfectly  intolerable. 
Thirty  or  forty  informers  I'oaming  about  the 
metropolis,  may  frighten  the  mass  of  offenders 
a  little,  and  do  some  good :  ten  thousand  in 
formers  would  either  create  an  insurrection, 
or  totally  destroy  the  confidence  and  cheerful- 
ness of  private  life.  Whatever  may  be  said, 
therefore,  of  the  single  and  insulated  informer, 
it  is  quite  a  new  question  when  v.'e  come  to  a 
corporation  of  informers  supported  by  large 
contributions.  The  one  may  be  a  good,  thu 
other  a  verj'^  serious  evil;  the  one  legal,  the 
other  wholly  out  of  the  contemplation  of  law, — 


288 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


•which  often,  and  very  wisely,  allows  individu- 
als to  do  what  it  forbids  to  many  individuals 
assembled. 

If  once  combination  is  allowed  for  the  sup- 
pression of  vice,  where  are  its  limits  to  be  1 
Its  capital  may  as  well  consist  of  100,000Z.  per 
annum,  as  of  a  thousand:  its  numbers  may 
increase  from  a  thousand  subscribers,  which 
this  society,  it  seems,  had  reached  in  its 
second  year,  to  twenty  thousand:  and,  in  that 
case,  what  accused  persons  of  an  inferior 
condition  of  life  would  have  the  temerity  to 
stand  against  such  a  society  1  Their  man- 
dates would  very  soon  be  law ;  and  there  is 
no  compliance  into  which  they  might  not 
frighten  the  common  people,  and  the  lower 
orders  of  tradesmen.  The  idea  of  a  society 
of  gentlemen,  calling  themselves  an  associa- 
tion for  the  suppression  of  vice,  would  alarm 
any  small  offender  to  a  degree  that  would 
make  him  prefer  any  submission  to  any  re- 
sistance. He  would  consider  the  very  fact  of 
being  accused  by  them,  as  almost  sufficient  to 
ruin  him. 

An  individual  accuser  accuses  at  his  own 
expense ;  and  the  risk  he  runs  is  a  good 
security  that  the  subject  will  not  be  harassed 
by  needless  accusations, — a  security  which, 
of  course,  he  cannot  have  against  such  a 
society  as  this,  to  whom  pecuniary  loss  is  an 
object  of  such  little  consequence.  It  must 
never  be  forgotten,  that  this  is  not  a  society 
for  punishing  people  who  have  been  found  to 
transgress  the  law,  but  for  accusing  persons  of 
transgressing  the  law;  and  that  before  trial, 
the  accused  person  is  to  be  considered  as 
innocent,  and  is  to  have  every  fair  chance  of 
establishing  his  innocence.  He  must  be  no 
common  defendant,  however,  who  does  not 
contend  against  such  a  society  with  very  fear- 
ful odds ; — the  best  counsel  engaged  for  his 
opponents, — great  practice  in  the  particular 
court,  and  particular  species  of  cause, — wit- 
nesses thoroughly  hackneyed  in  a  court  of 
justice, — and  an  unlimited  command  of  money. 
It  by  no  means  follows,  that  the  legislature,  in 
allowing  individuals  to  be  informers,  meant 
to  subject  the  accused  person  to  the  superior 
weight  and  power  of  such  societies.  The 
very  influence  of  names  must  have  a  con- 
siderable weight  with  the  jury.  Lord  Dart- 
mouth, Lord  Radstock,  and  the  Bishop  of 
Durham,  versus  a  Whitechapel  butcher  or  a 
publican  !  Is  this  a  fair  contest  before  a  jury] 
It  is  not  so  even  in  London;  and  what  must  it 
be  in  the  country,  where  a  society  for  the  sup- 
pression of  vice  may  consist  of  all  the  prin- 
cipal persons  in  the  neighbourhood'?  These 
societies  are  now  established  in  York,  in 
Reading,  and  in  many  other  large  towns. 
Wherever  this  is  the  case,  it  is  far  from 
improbable  that  the  same  persons,  at  the 
Quarter  or  Town  Sessions,  may  -  be  both 
judges  and  accusers;  and  still  more  fatally 
so,  if  the  offence  is  tried  by  a  special  jury. 
This  is  already  most  notoriously  the  case  in 
societies  for  the  preservation  of  game.  They 
prosecute  a  poacher ; — the  jury  is  special ; 
and  the  poor  wretch  is  found  guilty  by  the 
very  same  persons  who  have  accused  him. 

If  it  is  lawful  for  respectable  men  to  com- 


bine for  the  purpose  of  turning  informers,  it 
is  lawful  for  the  lowest  and  most  despicable 
race  of  informers  to  do  the  same  thing ;  and 
then  it  is  quite  clear  that  every  species  of 
wickedness  and  extortion  would  be  the  conse- 
quence. We  are  rather  surprised  that  no 
society  of  perjured  attorneys  and  fraudulent 
bankrupts  has  risen  up  in  this  metropolis,  for 
the  suppression  of  vice.  A  chairman,  deputy- 
chairman,  subscriptions,  and  an  annual  ser- 
mon would  give  great  dignity  to  their  proceed- 
ings ;  and  they  would  soon  begin  to  take  some 
rank  in  the  world. 

It  is  true  that  it  is  the  duty  of  grand  juries 
to  inform  against  vice ;  but  the  law  knows  the 
probable  number  of  grand  jurymen,  the  times 
of  their  meeting,  and  the  description  of  per- 
sons of  whom  they  consist.  Of  voluntaiy 
societies  it  can  know  nothing, — their  numbers, 
their  wealth,  or  the  character  of  their  mein- 
bers.  It  may  therefore  trust  to  a  grand  jury 
what  it  would  by  no  means  trust  to  an  un- 
known combination.  A  vast  distinction  is  to 
be  made,  too,  between  official  duties  and 
voluntary  duties.  The  first  are  commonly 
carried  on  with  calmness  and  moderation; 
the  latter  often  characterized,  in  their  execu- 
tion, by  rash  and  intemperate  zeal. 

The  present  society  receives  no  members 
but  those  who  are  of  the  Church  of  England. 
As  we  are  now  arguing  the  question  generally, 
we  have  a  right  to  make  any  supposition.  It 
is  equally  free,  therefore,  upon  general  princi- 
ples, for  a  society  of  sectarians  to  combine 
and  exclude  members  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land; and  the  suppression  of  vice  may  thus 
come  in  aid  of  Methodism,  Jacobinism,  or 
of  any  set  of  principles,  however  perilous, 
either  to  church  or  state.  The  present  society 
may,  perhaps,  consist  of  persons  whose  senti- 
ments on  these  points  are  rational  and  respecta- 
ble. Combinations,  however,  of  this  sort  may 
give  birth  to  something  far  differem;  and  such  a 
supposition  is  the  fair  way  of  trying  the  question. 

We  doubt  if  there  be  not  some  mischief  in 
averting  the  fears  and  hopes  of  the  people 
from  the  known  and  constituted  authorities  of 
the  country  to  those  self-created  powers  ; — a 
society  that  punishes  in  the  Strand, — another 
which  rewards  at  Lloyd's  Coffee-house !  If 
these  things  get  to  any  great  height,  they  throw 
an. air  of  insignificance  over  those  branches 
of  the  government  to  whom  these  cares  pro- 
perly devolve,  and  whose  authority  is  by 
these  means  assisted,  till  it  is  superseded.  It 
is  supposed  that  a  project  must  necessarily  be 
good,  because  it  is  intended  for  the  aid  of  law 
and  government.  At  this  rate,  there  should  he 
a  society  m  aid  of  the  government,  for  pro- 
curing intelligence  from  foreign  parts,  with 
accredited  agents  all  over  Europt,  There 
should  be  a  voluntary  transport  board,  and  a 
gratuitous  victualling  office.  There  should  be 
a  duplicate,  in  short,  of  every  department  of 
the  state, — the  one  appointed  by  the  king,  the 
other  by  itself.  There  should  be  a  real  Lord 
Glenbervie  in  the  woods  and  forests,- -and  with 
him  a  monster,  a  voluntary  Lord  Glenbervie, 
serving  without  pay,  and  guiding  gratis,  with 
secret  counsel,  the  axe  of  his  prototype.  If  it 
be  asked,  who  are  the  constituted  authorities 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


289 


who  are  legally  appointed  to  watch  over  morals, 
and  whose  functions  the  society  usurp  ?  our  an- 
swer is,  that  there  are  in  England  about  12,000 
clerg}',  not  unhandsomely  paid  for  persuading 
the  people,  and  about  4000  justices,  30  grand 
juries,  and  40,000  constables,  whose  duty  and 
whose  inclination  it  is  to  compel  them  to  do 
right.  Under  such  circumstances,  a  voluntary 
moral  society  does  indeed  seem  to  be  the  purest 
result  of  volition  ;  for  there  certainly  is  not  the 
smallest  particle  of  necessity  mingled  with  its 
existence. 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  a  society  for  the 
suppression  of  vice  can  ever  be  kept  within 
the  bounds  of  good  sense  and  modei-ation.  If 
there  are  many  members  who  have  really  be- 
come so  from  a  feeling  of  duty,  there  will  ne- 
cessarily be  some  who  enter  the  society  to 
hide  a  bad  character,  and  others  whose  object 
it  is  to  recommend  themselves  to  their  betters 
by  a  sedulous  and  bustling  inquisition  into  the 
immoralities  of  the  public.  The  loudest  and 
noisiest  suppressors  will  always  carry  it  against 
the  more  prudent  part  of  the  community ;  the 
most  violent  will  be  considered  as  the  most 
moral ;  and  those  who  see  the  absurdity  will, 
from  the  fear  of  being  thought  to  encourage 
vice,  be  reluctant  to  oppose  it. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  keep  public 
opinion  on  the  side  of  virtue.  To  their  autho- 
rized and  legal  correctors,  mankind  are,  on 
common  occasions,  ready  enough  to  submit ; 
hut  there  is  something  in  the  self-erection  of 
a  voluntary  magistracy  which  creates  so  much 
disgust,  that  it  almost  renders  vice  popular, 
and  puts  the  oflence  at  a  premium.  We  have 
no  doubt  but  that  the  immediate  effect  of  a 
voluntary  combination  for  the  suppression  of 
vice,  is  an  involuntary  combination  in  favour 
of  the  vices  to  be  suppressed ;  and  this  is  a 
very  serious  drawback  from  any  good  of 
which  such  societies  may  be  the  occasion ; 
for  the  state  of  morals,  at  any  one  period,  de- 
pends much  more  upon  opinion  than  law ; 
and  to  bring  odious  and  disgusting  auxiliaries 
to  the  aid  of  virtue,  is  to  do  the  utmost  possi- 
ble good  to  the  cause  of  vice.  We  regret  that 
mankind  are  as  they  are ;  and  we  sincerely 
wish,  that  the  species  at  large  were  as  com- 
pletely devoid  of  every  vice  and  infirmity  as 
the  president,  vice-president,  and  committee  of 
the  suppressing  society ;  but,  till  they  are  thus 
regenerated,  it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence 
to  teach  them  virtue  and  religion  in  a  manner 
which  will  not  make  them  hate  both  the  one 
and  the  other.  The  greatest  delicacy  is  re- 
quired in  the  application  of  violence  to  moral 
and  religious  sentiment.  We  forget  that  the 
object  is,  not  to  produce  the  outward  compli- 
ance, but  to  raise  up  the  inward  feeling,  which 
secures  the  outward  compliance.  You  may 
drag  men  into  church  by  main  force,  and  pro- 
secute them  for  bu)'ing  a  pot  of  beer, — and  cut 
them  off  from  the  enjoyment  of  a  leg  of  mut- 
ton; — and  you  may  do  all  this,  till  you  make 
the  common  people  hate  Sunday,  and  the 
clergy,  and  religion,  and  every  thing  which  re- 
lates to  such  subjects.  There  are  many  crimes, 
indeed,  where  persuasion  cannot  be  waited  for, 
and  where  the  untaught  feelings  of  all  men  go 
along  with  the  violence  of  the  law.  A  robber 
37 


and  a  murderer  must  be  knocked  on  the  head 
like  mad  dogs  ;  but  we  have  no  great  opinion 
of  the  possibility  of  indicting  men  into  piety, 
or  of  calling  in  the  quarter  sessions  to  the  aid 
of  religion.  You  may  produce  outward  con- 
formity by  these  means ;  but  you  are  so  far  from 
producing  (the  only  thing  worth  producing) 
the  inward  feeling,  that  you  incur  a  great  risk 
of  giving  birth  to  a  totally  opposite  sentiment. 

The  violent  modes  of  making  men  good, 
just  alluded  to,  have  been  resorted  to  at  pe- 
riods when  the  science  of  legislation  was  not  so 
well  understood  as  it  now  is ;  or  when  the 
manners  of  the  age  have  been  peculiarly 
gloomy  or  fanatical.  The  improved  know- 
ledge, and  the  improved  temper  of  later  times, 
push  such  laws  into  the  back  ground,  and 
silently  repeal  them.  A  suppressing  society, 
hunting  every  where  for  penalty  and  informa- 
tion, has  a  direct  tendency  to  revive  ancient 
ignorance  and  fanaticism, — and  to  re-enact 
laws,  which,  if  ever  they  ought  to  have  existed 
at  all,  were  certainly  calculated  for  a  very  dif- 
ferent style  of  manners,  and  a  very  diflerent 
degree  of  information.  To  compel  men  to  go 
to  church,  under  a  penalty,  appears  to  us  to  be 
absolutely  absurd.  The  bitterest  enemy  of 
religion  will  necessarily  be  that  person  who 
is  driven  to  a  compliance  with  its  outward 
ceremonies,  by  informers  and  justices  of  the 
peace.  In  the  same  manner,  any  constable 
who  hears  another  sM^ear  an  oath,  has  a  right 
to  seize  him,  and  carry  him  before  a  magistrate, 
where  he  is  to  be  fined  so  much  for  each  exe- 
cration. It  is  impossible  to  carry  such  laws 
into  execution ;  and  it  is  lucky  that  it  is  im- 
possible,— for  their  execution  would  create  an 
infinitely  greater  evil  than  it  attempted  to 
remedy.  The  common  sense  and  common 
feeling  of  mankind,  if  left  to  themselves,  would 
silently  repeal  such  laws  ;  and  it  is  one  of  the 
evils  of  these  societies,  that  they  render  ab- 
surdity eternal,  and  ignorance  indestructible. 
Do  not  let  us  be  misunderstood:  upon  the  ob- 
ject to  be  accomplished,  there  can  be  but  one 
opinion  ; — it  is  only  upon  the  means  employed, 
that  there  can  be  the  slightest  difference  of 
sentiment.  To  go  to  church  is  a  duty  of  the 
greatest  possible  importance ;  and  on  the  blas- 
phemy and  vulgarity  of  swearing,  there  can 
be  but  one  opinion.  But  such  duties  are  not 
the  objects  of  legislation  ;  they  must  be  left  to 
the  general  state  of  public  sentiment;  which 
sentiment  must  be  influenced  by  example,  by 
the  exertions  of  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  and, 
above  all,  by  education.  The  fear  of  God  can 
never  be  taught  b}'  constables,  nor  the  plea- 
sures of  religion  be  learnt  from  a  common  in- 
former. 

Beginning  with  the  best  intentions  in  the 
world,  such  societies  must,  in  all  probability, 
degenerate  into  a  receptacle  for  every  species 
of  tittle-tattle,  impertinence,  and  malice.  Men, 
whose  trade  is  rat-catching,  love  to  catch  rats  ; 
the  bug-destroyer  seizes  on  his  bug  with  de- 
light ;  and  the  suppressor  is  gratified  by  find- 
ing his  A'ice.  The  last  soon  becomes  a  mere 
tradesman  like  the  others;  none  of  them  mo- 
ralize, or  lament  that  their  respective  evils 
should  exist  in  the  world.  The  public  feeling 
is  swallowed  up  in  the  pursuit  of  a  daily  occu- 
2B 


290 


WOEKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pation,  and  in  the  display  of  a  technical  skill. 
Here,  then,  is  a  society  of  men,  who  invite 
accusation, — who  receive  it  (almost  unknown 
to  themselves)  with  pleasure, — and  who,  if  they 
hate  dulness  and  inoccupation,  can  have  very 
little  pleasure  in  the  innocence  of  their  fellow- 
creatures.  The  natural  consequence  of  all 
this  is,  that  (besides  that  portion  of  rumour 
which  every  member  contributes  at  the  weekly 
meeting),  their  table  must  be  covered  with 
anonymous  lies  against  the  character  of  indi- 
■yiduals.  Every  servant  discharged  from  his 
master's  service, — every  villain  wlx)  hates  the 
man  he  has  injured, — every  cowardly  assassin 
of  character, — now  knows  where  his  accusa- 
tions will  be  received,  and  where  they  cannot 
fail  to  produce  some  portion  of  the  mischievous 
effects  which  he  wishes.  The  very  first  step 
of  such  a  society  should  be,  to  declare,  in  the 
plainest  manner,  that  they  would  never  receive 
any  anonymous  accusation.  This  Avould  be 
the  only  security  to  the  public,  that  they  were 
not  degrading  themselves  into  a  receptacle  for 
malice  and  falsehood.  Such  a  declaration 
would  inspire  some  species  of  confidence  ;  and 
make  us  believe  that  their  object  was  neither 
the  love  of  power,  nor  the  gratification  of  un- 
charitable feelings.  The  society  for  the  sup- 
pression, however,  have  done  no  such  thing. 
They  request,  indeed,  the  signature  of  the  in- 
formers whom  they  invite  ;  but  they  do  not  (as 
they  ought)  make  that  signature  an  indispen- 
sable condition. 

Nothing  has  disgusted  us  so  much  in  the 
proceedings  of  this  society,  as  the  control 
which  they  exercise  over  the  amusements  of 
the  poor.  One  of  the  specious  titles  under 
which  this  legal  meanness  is  gratified  is.  Pre- 
vention of  Cruelty  to  Ardmals, 

Of  cruelty  to  animals,  let  the  reader  take  the 
following  specimens : — 

Running  an  iron  hook  in  the  intestines  of 
an  animal ;  presenting  this  first  animal  to 
another  as  his  food;  and  then  pulling  this  se- 
cond creature  up,  and  suspending  him  by  the 
barb  in  his  stomach. 

Riding  a  horse  till  he  drops,  in  order  to  see 
an  innocent  animal  torn  to  pieces  b};-  dogs. 

Keeping  a  poor  animal  upright  for  many 
weeks,  to  communicate  a  peculiar  hardness  to 
his  flesh. 

Making  deep  incisions  into  the  flesh  of 
another  animal,  while  living,  in  order  to  make 
the  muscles  more  firm. 

Immersing  another  animal,  while  living,  in 
hot  water. 

Now  we  do  fairly  admit,  that  such  abomi- 
nable cruelties  as  these  are  worthy  of  the  inter- 
ference of  the  law :  and  that  the  society  should 
have  punished  them,  cannot  be  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  any  feeling  mind. — But  stop,  gentle 
reader  !  these  cruelties  are  the  cruelties  of  the 
suppressing  committee,  not  of  the  poor.  You 
must  not  think  of  punishing  these. — The  first 
of  these  cruelties  passes  under  the  pretty 
name  of  angling , — and  therefore  there  can  be 
no  harm  in  it — the  more  particularly  as  the 
president  himself  has  one  of  the  best  preserved 
trout  streams  in  England. — The  next  is  luinl- 
i;?? ; — and  as  many  of  the  vice-presidents  and 
of  the  committee  hxmt,  it  is  not  possible  there 


can  be  any  cruelty  in  hunting.*  The  next  is, 
a  process  for  making  brawn — a  dish  never 
tasted  by  the  poor,  and  therefore  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  indictment.  The  fourth  is  the  mode 
of  crvnping  cod;  and  the  fifth  of  boiling  lob- 
sters ;  all  high-life  cruelties,  with  which  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  has  no  business  to  meddle. 
The  real  thing  %vhich  calls  forth  the  sympa- 
thies, and  harrows  up  the  soul,  is  to  see  a 
number  of  boisterous  artisans  baiting  a  bull, 
or  a  bear ;  not  a  savage  hare,  or  a  carnivorous 
stag, — but  a  poor,  innocent,  timid  bear; — not 
pursued  by  magistrates,  and  deputy  lieutenants, 
and  men  of  education, — but  by  those  who 
must  necessarily  seek  their  relaxation  in  noise 
and  tumultuous  merriment, — by  men  whose 
feelings  are  blunted,  and  whose  understanding 
is  Avholly  devoid  of  refinement.  The  society 
detail,  with  symptoms  of  great  complacency, 
their  detection  of  a  bear-beating  in  Black-boy 
Alley,  Chick  Lane,  and  the  prosecution  of  the 
oflenders  before  a  magistrate.  It  appears  to 
us,  that  nothing  can  be  more  partial  and  un- 
just than  this  kind  of  proceedings.  A  man  of 
ten  thousand  a  year  may  worry  a  fox  as  much 
as  he  pleases, — may  encourage  the  breed  of  a 
mischievous  animal  on  purpose  to  worry  it; 
and  a  poor  labourer  is  carried  before  a  ma- 
gistrate for  paying  sixpence  to  see  an  exhibi- 
tion of  courage  between  a  dog  and  a  bear ! 
Any  cruelty  may  be  practised  to  gorge  the 
stomachs  of  the  rich, — none  to  enliven  the 
holidays  of  the  poor.  We  venerate  those 
feelings  which  really  protect  creatures  sus- 
ceptible of  pain,  and  incapable  of  complaint. 
But  heaven-born  pity,  now-a-days,  calls  for 
the  income  tax,  and  the  Court  Guide ;  and 
ascertains  the  rank  and  fortune  of  the  tor- 
mentor before  she  weeps  for  the  pain  of  the 
sufterer.  It  is  astonishing  how  the  natural 
feelings  of  mankind  are  distorted  by  false 
theories.  Nothing  can  be  more  mischievous 
than  to  say,  that  the  pain  inflicted  by  the  dog 
of  a  man  of  quality  is  not  (when  the  strength 
of  the  two  animals  is  the  same)  equal  to  that 
produced  by  the  cur  of  a  butcher.  Haller,  in 
his  Pathology,  expressly  says,  that  the  animal 
bitten  knows  no  difference  in  the  quality  of  the 
biting  animal's  master;  and  it  is  now  the  uni- 
versal opinion  among  all  enlightened  men, 
that  the  misery  of  the  brawner  would  be  very 
little  diminished,  if  he  could  be  made  sensible 
that  he  was  to  be  eaten  up  only  by  persons  of 
the  first  fashion.  The  contrary  supposition 
seems  to  us  to  be  absolute  nonsen?e;  it  is  the 
desertion  of  the  true  Baconian  philosophy,  and 
the  substitution  of  mere  unsupported  conjec- 
ture in  its  place.  The  trespass,  however, 
which  calls  forth  all  the  energies  of  a  sup- 
pressor, is  the  sound  of  a  fiddle.     That  the 


♦  "IIow  reasonable  creatures"  (says  the  socipty) 
"can  enjoy  a  pastime  which  is  the  cause  of  such  suffer- 
incs  to  brute  animals,  or  how  they  can  consider  them- 
selves entitled,  for  their  own  amusement,  to  stimulate 
those  animals,  by  means  of  the  antipathies  whicli  Pro- 
vidence has  thought  proper  to  place  between  them,  to 
worry  and  tear,  and  of^en  to  destroy  each  other,  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive.  So  inhuman  a  practice,  by  a  retri- 
bution peculiarly  just,  tends  obviously  to  render  the 
human  character  brutal  and  ferocious,"  &c.  &o. 
(Address,  p.  71,  72.)  We  take  it  for  granted,  that  the 
reader  sees  clearly  that  no  part  of  this  description  can 
possibly  apply  to  the  case  o{  hunting. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


291 


common  people  are  really  enjoying  them- 
selves, is  now  beyond  all  doubt:  and  away 
rush  secretary,  president,  and  committee,  to 
clap  the  cotillon  into  the  compter,  and  to  bring 
back  the  life  of  the  poor  to  its  regular  standard 
of  decorous  gloom.  The  gambling  houses  of 
St.  James's  remain  untouched.  The  peer 
ruins  himself  and  his  family  with  impunity; 
while  the  Irish  labourer  is  privately  whipped 
for  not  making  a  better  use  of  the  excellent 
moral  and  religious  education  which  he  has 
received  in  the  days  of  his  youth  ! 

It  is  not  true,  as  urged  by  the  society,  that 
the  vices  of  the  poor  are  carried  on  in  houses 
of  public  resort,  and  those  of  the  rich  in  their 
own  houses.     The  society  cannot  be  ignorant 
of  the  innumerable  gambling  houses  resorted 
to  by  men  of  fashion.     Is  there  one  they  have 
suppressed,  or  attempted  to  suppress"?     Can 
any  thing  be  more  despicable  than  such  dis- 
tinctions as  these  1     Those  who  make  them 
seem  to  have  for  other  persons'  vices  all  the 
rigour  of  the  ancient  Puritans — without  a  par- 
ticle of  their  honesty,  or  their  courage.     To 
suppose  that  any  society  will  ever  attack  the 
vices  of  people  of  fashion,  is  wholly  out  of  the 
question.    If  the  society  consisted  of  trades- 
men, they  would  infallibly  be  turned  off  by  the 
vicious  customers  whose  pleasures  they  inter- 
rupted :  and  what  gentlemen  so  fond  of  sup- 
pressing, as  to  interfere  with  the  vices  of  good 
company,  and    inform    against   persons  who 
were  reall}'-  genteel  1      He  knows  very  well 
that   the   consequence   of    such    interference 
would  be  a  complete  exclusion  from  elegant 
society;  that  the  upper  classes  could  not  and 
would  not  endure  it;  and  that  he  must  irame- 
diatel}'  lose  his  rank  in  the  world,  if  his  zeal 
subjected  fashionable  offenders  to  the  slightest 
inconvenience  from  the  law.     Nothing,  there- 
fore, remains,  but  to  rage  against  the  Sunday 
dinners  of  the  poor,  and  to  prevent  a  brick- 
layer's labourer  from  losing,  on  the  seventh 
day,  that  beard  which  has  been  augmenting 
the  other  six.     We  see  at  the  head  of  this 
society  the  names  of  several  noblemen,  and  of 
other  persons  moving  in  the  fashionable  world. 
Is  it  possible  they  can  be  ignorant  of  the  in- 
numerable offences  against  the  law  and  mo- 
rality  which    are   committed    by   their   own 
acquaintances  and  connections  1     Is  there  one 
single  instance  where  they  have  directed  the 
attention  of  the  society  to  this  higher  species 
of  suppression,  and  sacrificed  men  of  consi- 
deration to  that  zeal  for  virtue  which  watches 
so  acutely  over  the  vices  of  the  poor!      It 
would  give  us  verv  little   pleasure  to  see  a 
duchess  sent  to  the  Poultry  compter ;  but  if  we 
saw  the  society  flying  at  such  high  game,  we 
should   at   least   say   they   were   honest    and 
courageous,   whatever    judgment    we    might 
form  of  their  good  sense.      At  present  they 
should  denominate  themselves  a  society  for 
suppressing  the  vices  of  persons  whose  income 
does  not  exceed  500/.  per  annum;  and  then,  to 
put  all  classes  upon  an  equal  footing,  there 
must  be  another  society  of  barbers,  butchers, 
and  bakers,  to  return  to  the  higher  classes  that 
moral  characier,  by  which  they  are  so  highly 
benefited. 
To  show  how  impossible  it  is  to  keep  such 


societies  within  any  kind  of  bounds,  we  shall 
quote  a  passage  respecting  circulating  libra- 
ries, from  their  proceedings. 

"Your  committee  have  good  reasons  for 
believing,  that  the  circulation  of  their  notices 
among  the  printsellers,  Avarning  them  against 
the  sale  or  exhibition  of  indecent  representa^ 
tions,  has  produced,  and  continues  to  produce, 
the  best  eflects. 

"  But  they  have  to  lament  that  the  extended 
establishments  of  circulating  libraries,  how- 
ever useful  they  may  be,  in  a  variety  of 
respects,  to  the  easy  and  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge,  are  extremely  injurious  to  morals 
and  religion,  by  the  indiscriminate  admission 
which  they  give  to  works  of  a  prurient  and 
immoral  nature.  It  is  a  toilsome  task  to  any 
virtuous  and  enlightened  mind,  to  wade  through 
the  catalogues  of  these  collections,  and  much 
more  to  select  such  books  from  them  as  have 
only  an  apparent  bad  tendency.  But  your 
committee  being  convinced  that  their  attention 
ought  to  be  directed  to  those  institutions  which 
possess  such  powerful  and  numerous  means 
of  poisoning  the  minds  of  young  persons,  and 
especially  of  the  female  youth,  have  therefore 
begun  to  make  some  endeavours  towards  their 
better  regulation." — Statement  of  the  Proceedings 
for  1804,  pp.  11,  12. 

In  the  same  spirit,  we  see  them  writing  to  a 
country  magistrate  in  Devonshire,  respecting 
a  wake  advertised  in  the  public  papers.  No- 
thing can  be  more  presumptuous  than  such 
conduct,  or  produce,  in  the  minds  of  impartial 
men,  a  more  decisive  impression  against  the 
society. 

The  natural  answer  from  the  members  of 
the  society  (the  only  answer  they  have  ever 
made  to  the  enemies  of  their  institution)  will 
be,  that  we  are  lovers  of  vice, — desirous  of 
promoting  indecency,  of  destroying  the  Sab- 
bath, and  of  leaving  mankind  to  the  unre- 
strained gratification  of  their  passions.  We 
have  only  very  calmly  to  reply,  that  we  are 
neither  so  stupid  nor  so  wicked  as  not  to  con- 
cur in  every  scheme  which  has  for  its  object 
the  preservation  of  rational  religion  and  sound 
morality; — but  the  scheme  must  be  well  con- 
certed,— and  those  who  are  to  carry  it  into 
execution  must  deserve  our  confidence,  from 
their  talents  and  their  character.  Upon  reli- 
gion and  morals  depends  the  happiness  of 
mankind; — but  the  fortune  of  knaves  and  the 
power  of  fools  are  sometimes  made  to  rest  on 
the  same  apparent  basis ;  and  we  will  never 
(if  we  can  help  it)  allow  a  rogue  to  get  rich, 
or  a  blockhead  to  get  powerful,  under  the 
sanction  of  these  awful  words.  We  do  not  by 
any  means  intend  to  apply  these  contemptuous 
epithets  to  the  Society  for  the  Suppression. 
That  there  are  among  their  number  some  very 
odious  hypocrites,  is  not  impossible;  that 
many  men  who  believe  they  come  there  from 
the  love  of  virtue,  do  really  join  the  society 
from  the  love  of  power,  we  do  not  doubt:  but 
we  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  great  mass 
of  subscribers  consists  of  persons  wlio  have 
very  sincere  intentions  of  doing  good.  That 
they  have,  in  some  instances,  done  a  great 
deal  of   good,  we   admit  with   the  greatest 


293 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pleasure.  We  believe,  that  in  the  hands  of 
truly  honest,  intrepid,  and  above  all,  discreet 
men,  such  a  society  might  become  a  valuable 
institution,  improve  in  some  degree  the  public 
morals,  and  increase  the  public  happiness. 
So  many  qualities,  however,  are  required  to 
carry  it  on  well, — the  temptations  to  absurdity 
and  impertinence  are  so  very  great, — that  we 
ever  despair  of  seeing  our  wishes  upon  this 
subject  realized.  In  the  present  instance,  our 
object  has  been  to  suppress  the  arrogance  of 
suppressors, — to  keep  them  within  due  bounds, 


— to  show  them  that  to  do  good  requires  a 
little  more  talent  and  reflection  than  they  are 
aware  of, — and,  above  all,  to  impress  upon 
them  that  true  zeal  for  virtue  knows  no  dis- 
tinction between  the  rich  and  the  poor;  and 
that  the  cowardly  and  the  mean  can  never  be 
the  true  friends  of  morality,  and  the  promoters 
of  human  happiness.  If  they  attend  to  these 
rough  doctrines,  they  will  ever  find  in  the 
writers  of  this  journal  their  warmest  ad- 
mirers, and  their  most  sincere  advocates  and 
friends. 


CHAEACTEES  OF  POX/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1809.] 


This  singular  work  consists  of  a  collection 
of  all  the  panegyrics  passed  upon  Mr.  Fox, 
after  his  decease,  in  periodical  publications, 
speeches,  sermons,  or  elsewhere,- — in  a  pane- 
gyric upon  Mr.  Fox  by  Philopatris  himself, — 
and  in  a  volume  of  notes  by  the  said  Philo- 
patris upon  the  said  panegyric. 

Of  the  panegyrics,  that  by  Sir  James  Mack- 
intosh appears  to  us  to  be  by  far  the  best.  It 
is  remarkable  for  good  sense,  acting  upon  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  his  subject,  for  simpli- 
city, and  for  feeling.  Amid  the  languid  or 
turgid  efforts  of  mediocrity,  it  is  delightful  to 
notice  the  skill,  attention,  and  resources,  of  a 
superior  man, — of  a  man,  too,  who  seems  to 
feel  what  he  writes, — w'ho  does  not  aim  at 
conve)dng  his  meaning  in  rhetorical  and  orna- 
mental phrases,  but  who  uses  plain  words  to 
express  strong  sensations.  We  cannot  help 
wishing,  indeed,  that  Sir  James  Mackintosh 
had  been  more  diffuse  upon  the  political  cha- 
racter of  Mr.  Fox,  the  great  feature  of  whose 
life  was  the  long  and  unwearied  opposition 
which  he  made  to  the  low  cunning,  the  profli- 
gate extravagance,  the  sycophant  mediocrity, 
and  the  stupid  obstinacy  of  the  English  court. 

To  estimate  the  merit  and  the  difficulty  of 
this  opposition,  we  must  remember  the  enor- 
mous influence  which  the  crown,  through  the 
medium  of  its  patronage,  exercises  in  the  re- 
motest corners  of  the  kingdom, — the  number 
of  fubjects  whom  it  pays, — the  much  greater 
number  whom  it  keeps  in  a  state  of  expecta- 
tion,— and  the  ferocious  turpitude  of  those 
mercenaries  whose  present  profits  and  future 
hopes  are  threatened  by  honest,  and  exposed 
by  eloquent  men.  It  is  the  easiest  of  all  things, 
too,  in  this  country,  to  make  Englishmen  be- 
lieve that  those  who  oppose  the  government 
wish  to  ruin  the  country.  The  English  are  a 
very  busy  people ;  and,  with  all  the  faults  of 
their  governors,  they  are  still  a  very  happy 
people.  They  have,  as  they  ought  to  have,  a 
perfect  confidence  in  the  administration  of 
justice.     The  rights  which  the  different  classes 


*  Chararters  of  the  late  Charles  James  Fox,    By  Phi- 
lopatris Vakvicensis.    2  vols.    8vo. 


of  mankind  exercise  the  one  over  the  other 
are  arranged  upon  equitable  principles.  Life, 
liberty,  and  property  are  protected  from  the 
violence  and  caprice  of  power.  The  visible 
and  immediate  stake,  therefore,  for  which 
English  politicians  play,  is  not  large  enough 
to  attract  the  notice  of  the  people,  and  to  call 
them  off  from  their  daily  occupations,  to  in- 
vestigate thoroughly  the  characters  and  mo- 
tives of  men  engaged  in  the  business  of  legis- 
lation. The  people  can  only  understand,  and 
attend  to  the  last  results  of  a  long  series  of 
measures.  They  are  impatient  of  the  details 
which  lead  to  these  results ;  and  it  is  the 
easiest  of  all  things  to  make  them  believe  that 
those  who  insist  upon  such  details  are  actuated 
only  by  factious  motives.  We  are  all  now 
groaning  under  the  weight  of  taxes :  but  how 
often  was  Mr.  Fox  followed  by  the  curses  of 
his  country  for  protesting  against  the  two 
wars  which  have  loaded  us  with  these  taxes  1 
— the  one  of  which  wars  has  made  America 
independent,  and  the  other  rendered  France 
omnipotent.  The  case  is  the  same  with  all 
the  branches  of  public  liberty.  If  the  broad 
and  palpable  question  were,  whether  every 
book  which  issues  from  the  press  should  be 
subjected  to  the  license  of  a  general  censor, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  blacken  the  charac- 
ter of  any  man  who,  so  called  upon,  defended 
the  liberty  of  publishing  opinions.  But,  when 
the  attorney-general  for  the  time  being  ingra- 
tiates himself  Avith  the  court,  by  nibbling  at 
this  valuable  privilege  of  the  people,  it  is  very 
easy  to  treat  hostility  to  his  measures  as  a 
minute  and  frivolous  opposition  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  to  persuade  the  mass  of  mankind 
that  it  is  so.  In  fact,  when  a  nation  has  be- 
come free,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  persuade 
them  that  their  freedom  is  only  to  be  preserved 
by  perpetual  and  minute  jealousy.  They  do 
not  observe  that  there  is  a  constant,  perhaps 
an  unconscious,  effort,  on  the  part  of  their 
governors,  to  diminish,  and  so  ultimately  to 
destroy,  that  freedom.  They  stupidly  imagine 
that  what  is,  will  always  be;  and,  consented 
with  the  good  they  have  already  gained,  are 
easily  pex'suaded  to  suspect  and  vilify  those 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


29» 


friends — the  object  of  whose  life  it  is  to  pre- 
serve that  good,  and  to  increase  it. 

It  was  the  lot  of  Mr.  Fox  to  fight  this  battle 
for  the  greater  part  of  his  life ;  in  the  course 
of  which  time  he  never  was  seduced  by  the 
love  of  power,  wealth,  or  popularity,  to  sacri- 
fice the  happiness  of  the  many  to  the  interest 
of  the  few.  He  rightly  thought,  that  kings,  and 
all  public  officers,  were  instituted  only  for  the 
good  of  those  over  whom  they  preside ;  and 
he  acted  as  if  this  conviction  was  always 
present  to  his  mind;  disdaining  and  with- 
standing that  idolatrous  tendency  of  mankind, 
by  which  they  so  often  not  only  suffer,  but 
invite  ruin  from  that  power  which  they  them- 
selves have  wisely  created  for  their  own  hap- 
piness. He  loved,  too,  the  happiness  of  his 
countrymen  more  than  their  favour ;  and  while 
others  were  exhausting  the  resources,  by  flat- 
tering the  ignorant  prejudices  and  foolish 
passions  of  the  country,  Mr.  Fox  was  content 
to  be  odious  to  the  people,  so  long  as  he  could 
be  useful  also.  It  will  be  long  before  we  wit- 
ness again  such  pertinacious  opposition  to  the 
alarming  power  of  the  crown,  and  to  the  fol- 
lies of  our  public  measures,  the  necessary 
consequence  of  that  power.  That  such  oppo- 
sition should  ever  be  united  again  with  such 
extraordinary  talents,  it  is,  perhaps,  in  vain 
to  hope. 

One  little  exception  to  the  eulogium  of  Sir 
James  Mackintosh  upon  Mr.  Fox,  Ave  cannot 
help  making.  We  are  no  admirers  of  Mr. 
Fox's  poetry.  His  Vers  de  Socie/e  appears  to 
us  flat  and  insipid.  To  write  verses  was  the 
only  thing  which  Mr.  Fox  ever  attempted  to 
do,  without  doing  it  well.  In  that  single  in- 
stance he  seems  to  have  mistaken  his  talent. 

Immediately  after  the  collection  of  panegy- 
rics which  these  volumes  contain,  follows  the 
eulogium  of  Mr.  Fox  by  Philopatris  himself; 
and  ilien  a  volume  of  notes  upon  a  variety  of 
topics  which  this  eulogium  has  suggested.  Of 
the  laudatory  talents  of  this  Warwickshire 
patriot,  we  shall  present  our  readers  with  a 
specimen. 

"  Mr.  Fox,  though  not  an  adept  in  the  use 
of  political  wiles,  was  very  unlikely  to  be  the 
dupe  of  them.  He  was  conversant  in  the 
ways  of  man,  as  well  as  in  the  contents  of 
books.  He  was  acquainted  with  the  peculiar 
language  of  states,  their  peculiar  forms,  and 
the  grounds  and  efl^ects  of  their  peculiar 
usages.  From  his  earliest  youth,  he  had  in- 
vestigated the  science  of  politics  in  the  greater 
and  the  smaller  scale  ;  he  had  studied  it  in 
the  records  of  history,  both  popular  and  rare 
— in  the  conferences  of  ambassadors — in  the 
archives  of  royal  cabinets — in  the  minuter 
detail  of  memoirs — and  in  collected  or  strag- 
gling anecdotes  of  the  wrangles,  intrigues,  and 
cabals,  which,  springing  up  in  the  secret  re- 
cesses of  courts,  shed  their  baneful  influence 
on  the  determinations  of  sovereigns,  the  for- 
tune of  favourites,  and  the  tranquillity  of  king- 
doms. But  that  statesmen  of  all  ages,  like 
priests  of  all  religions,  are  in  all  respects 
alike,  is  a  doctrine  the  propagation  of  which 
he  left,  as  an  inglorious  privilege,  tn  the  misan- 
thrope, to  the  recluse,  to  the  faciious  incen- 
diar_v,  and  to  the  unlettered  multitude.     For 


himself  he  thought  it  no  veiy  extraordinary 
stretch  of  penetration  or  charity,  to  admit  that 
human  nature  is  everywhere  nearly  as  capable 
of  emulation  in  good,  as  in  evil.  He  boasted 
of  no  very  exalted  heroism,  in  opposing  the 
calmness  and  firmness  of  conscious  integrity 
to  the  shuffiing  and  slippery  movements,  the 
feints  in  retreat,  and  feints  in  advance,  the 
dread  of  being  over-reached,  or  detected  in 
attempts  to  over-reach,  and  all  the  other  humi- 
liating and  mortifying  anxieties  of  the  most 
accomplished  proficients  in  the  art  of  diplo- 
macy. He  reproached  himself  for  no  guilt, 
when  he  endeavoured  to  obtain  that  respect 
and  confidence  which  the  human  heart  una- 
voidably feels  in  its  intercourse  with  persons 
who  neither  M'ound  our  pride,  nor  take  aim  at 
our  happiness,  in  a  war  of  hollow  and  ambi- 
guous words.  He  was  sensible  of  no  weak- 
ness in  believing  that  politicians,  who,  after 
all,  'knew  only  as  they  are  known,'  may,  like 
other  human  beings,  be  at  first  the  involuntary 
creatures  of  circumstances,  and  seem  incor- 
rigible from  the  want  of  opportunities  or  in- 
citements to  correct  themselves;  that,  bereft 
of  the  pleas  usually  urged  in  vindication  of 
deceit,  by  men  who  are  fearful  of  being  de- 
ceived, they,  in  their  official  dealings  with  him, 
would  not  wantonly  lavish  the  stores  they  had 
laid  up  for  huckstering  in  a  traffic,  which, 
ceasing  to  be  profitable,  would  begin  to  be 
infamous;  and  that,  possibly,  here  and  there, 
if  encouraged  by  example,  they  might  learn 
to  prefer  the  shorter  process,  and  surer  results 
of  plain  dealing,  to  the  delays,  the  vexations, 
and  the  uncertain  or  transient  success,  both  of 
old-fashioned  and  new-fangled  chicanery." — 
(I.  209—211.) 

It  is  impossible  to  read  this  singular  book 
without  being  everywhere  struck  with  the 
lofty  and  honourable  feelings,  the  enlightened 
benevolence,  and  sterling  honesty  with  which 
it  abounds.  Its  author  is  everywhere  the  cir- 
cumspect friend  of  those  moral  and  religious 
principles  upon  Avhich  the  happiness  of  so- 
ciety rests.  Though  he  is  never  timid,  nor 
prejudiced,  nor  bigoted,  his  piety,  not  prudish 
and  full  of  antiquated  and  aflfected  tricks,  pre- 
sents itself  with  an  earnest  aspect,  and  in  a 
manly  form;  obedient  to  reason,  prone  to  in- 
vestigation, and  dedicated  to  honest  purposes 
The  writer,  a  clergyman,  speaks  of  himself  as 
a  very  independent  man,  who  has  always  ex- 
pressed his  opinion  without  any  fear  of  con- 
sequences, or  any  hope  of  bettering  his  con- 
dition. We  sincerely  believe  he  speaks  the 
truth ;  and  revere  him  for  the  life  he  has  le3. 
Political  independence — discouraged  enough 
in  these  times  among  all  classes  of  men — is 
sure,  in  the  timid  profession  of  the  church,  to 
doom  a  man  to  eternal  poverty  and  obsciirity. 

There  are  occat-iTinally,  in  Philopatris,  a 
great  vigour  of  style  and  felicity  of  expres- 
sion. His  display  of  classical  learning  is 
quite  unrivalled — his  reading  various  ana 
good ;  and  we  may  observe,  at  intervals,  a 
talent  for  wit,  of  which  he  might  have  availea 
himself  to  excellent  purpose,  had  it  been  com- 
patible with  the  dignified  style  in  which  he 
generally  conveys  his  sentiments.  With  ali 
these  excellent  qualities  of  head  and  heart,  we 
2b2 


294 


■WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


have  seldom  met  with  a  writer  more  full  of 
faults  than  Philopatris.  There  is  an  event  re- 
corded in  the  Bible,  which  men  who  write 
books  should  keep  constantly  in  their  remem- 
brance. It  is  there  set  forth,  that  many  cen- 
turies ago,  the  earth  was  covered  with  a  great 
flood,  by  which  the  Avhole  of  the  human  race, 
with  the  exception  of  one  family,  were  de- 
stroyed. It  appears  also,  that  from  thence,  a 
great  alteration  was  made  in  the  longevity  of 
mankind,  who,  from  a  range  of  seven  or  eight 
hundred  years,  which  they  enjoyed  before  the 
flood,  were  confined  to  their  present  period  of 
seventy  or  eighty  years.  This  epoch  in  the 
history  of  man  gave  birth  to  the  twofold  divi- 
sion of  the  antediluvian  and  postdiluvian  style 
of  writing,  the  latter  of  which  naturally  con- 
tracted itself  into  those  inferior  limits  which 
were  better  accommodated  to  the  abridged  du- 
ration of  human  life  and  literary  labour.  Now, 
to  forget  this  event, — to  write  Avithout  the  fear 
of  the  deluge  before  his  eyes,  and  to  handle  a 
subject  as  if  mankind  could  lounge  over  a 
pamphlet  for  ten  years,  as  before  their  sub- 
mersion,— is  to  be  guilty  of  the  most  grievous 
error  into  which  a  writer  can  possibly  fall. 
The  author  of  this  book  should  call  in  the  aid 
of  some  brilliant  pencil,  and  cause  the  dis- 
tressing scenes  of  the  deluge  to  be  portrayed 
in  the  most  lively  colours  for  his  use.  He 
should  gaze  at  Noah  and  be  brief.  The  ark 
should  constantly  remind  him  of  the  little  time 
there  is  left  for  reading;  and  he  should  learn, 
as  they  did  in  the  ark,  to  crowd  a  great  deal 
of  matter  into  a  very  little  compass. 

Philopatris  must  not  only  condense  what  he 
says  into  a  narrower  compass,  but  he  must 
say  it  in  a  more  natural  manner.  Some  per- 
sons can  neither  stir  hand  nor  foot  without 
making  it  clear  that  they  are  thinking  of  them- 
selves, and  laying  little  traps  for  approbation. 
In  the  course  of  two  long  volumes,  the  Pati-iot 
of  "Warwick  is  perpetually  studying  modes 
and  postures: — the  subject  is  the  second  con- 
sideration, and  the  mode  of  expression  the 
first.  Indeed,  whole  pages  together  seem  to 
be  mere  exercises  upon  the  English  language, 
to  evince  the  copiousness  of  our  synonymes, 
and  to  show  the  various  methods  in  Avhich 
the  parts  of  speech  can  be  marshalled  and 
arrayed.  This,  which  would  be  tiresome 
in  the  ephemeral  productions  of  a  newspa- 
per, is  intolerable  in  two  closely  printed 
volumes. 

Again,  strange  as  it  may  appear  to  this  au- 
thor to  say  so,  he  must  not  fall  into  the  fre- 
quent mistake  of  rural  politicians,  by  sup- 
posing that  the  understandings  of  all  Europe 
are  occupied  with  him  and  his  opinions.  His 
ludicrous  self-importance  is  perpetually  de- 
stroying the  effect  of  virtuous  feeling  and  just 
observation,  leaving  his  readers  with  a  dispo- 
sition to  laugh,  where  they  might  otherwise 
learn  and  admire. 

"I  have  been  asked,  why,  after  pointing  out 
by  name  the  persons  who  seemed  to  me  most 
qualified  for  reforming  our  penal  code,  I  de- 
clined mentioning  such  ecclesiastics  as  might 
with  propriety  be  employed  in  preparing  for 
the  use  of  the  churches  a  grave  and  impres- 
sive discourse  on  tire  authority  of  human  laws ; 


and  as  other  men  may  ask  the  same  question 
which  my  friend  did,  I  have  determined,  after 
some  deliberation,  to  insert  the  substance  of 
my  answer  in  this  place. 

"  If  the  public  service  of  our  church  should 
ever  be  directly  employed  in  giving  effect  to 
the  sanctions  of  our  penal  code,  the  office  of 
drawing  up  such  a  discourse  as  I  have  ven- 
tured to  recommend  would,  I  suppose,  be  as- 
signed to  more  than  one  person.  My  eccle- 
siastical superiors  will,  I  am  sure,  make  a 
wise  choice.  But  they  will  hardly  condemn 
me  for  saying,  that  the  best  sense  expressed  in 
the  best  language  may  be  expected  from  the 
Bishops  of  Landaff,  Lincoln,  St.  David's, 
Cloyne,  and  Norwich,  the  Dean  of  Christ 
Church,  and  the  President  of  Magdalen  Col- 
lege, Oxford.  I  mean  not  to  throw  the  slightest 
reproach  upon  other  dignitaries  whom  I  have 
not  mentioned.  But  I  should  imagine  that" 
few  of  my  enlightened  contemporaries  hold  an 
opinion  different  from  my  own,  upon  the  mas- 
culine understanding  of  a  Watson,  the  sound 
judgment  of  a  Tomlin,the  extensive  erudition 
of  a  Burgess,  the  exquisite  taste  and  good  na- 
ture of  a  Bennet,  the  calm  and  enlightened 
benevolence  of  a  Bathurst,  the  various  and 
valuable  attainments  of  a  Cyril  Jackson,  or 
the  learning,  wisdom,  integrity,  and  piety  of  a 
Martin  Rou'th." — (pp.  524,  525.) 

In  the  name  of  common  modesty,  what 
could  it  have  signified  whether  this  author  had 
given  a  list  of  ecclesiastics  whom  he  thought 
qualified  to  preach  about  human  laws  ?  what 
is  his  opinion  worth  1  who  called  for  iti  who 
wanted  it  ?  how  many  millions  will  be  influ- 
enced by  it? — and  who,  oh  gracious  Heaven! 
who  are  a  Burgess, — a  Tomlin, — a  Bennet, — a 
Cyril  Jackson, — a  Martin  Routh  1 — A  Tom, — a 
Jack, — a  Harry, — a  Peter?  All  good  men 
enough  in  their  generation  doubtless  they  are. 
But  what  have  they  done  for  the  broad  a? 
what  has  any  one  of  them  perpeti'ated,  which 
will  make  him  be  remembered,  out  of  the 
sphere  of  his  private  virtues,  six  months  after 
his  decease?  Surely,  scholars  and  gentlemen 
can  drink  tea  with  each  uiher,  and  eat  bread 
and  butter,  without  all  this  laudatory  crack- 
ling. 

Philopatris  has  employed  a  great  deal  of 
time  upon  the  subject  of  capital  punishments, 
and  has  evinced  a  great  deal  of  very  laudable 
tenderness  and  humanity  in  discussing  it.  We 
are  scarcely,  however,  converts  to  that  system 
which  would  totally  abolish  the  punishment 
of  death.  That  it  is  much  too  frequently  in- 
flicted in  this  country,  we  readily  admit ;  but 
we  suspect  it  will  be  always  necessary  to  re- 
serve it  for  the  most  pernicious  crimes.  Death 
is  the  most  terrible  punishment  to  the  common 
people,  and  therefore  the  most  preventive.  It 
does  not  perpetually  outrage  the  feelings  of 
those  who  are  innocent,  and  likely  to  remain 
innocent,  as  would  be  the  case  from  the  spec- 
tacle of  convicts  working  in  the  highroads 
and  public  places.  Death  is  the  most  irrevo- 
cable punishment,  which  is  in  some  sense  a 
good ;  for,  however  necessary  it  might  be  to 
inflict  labour  and  imprisonment  for  life,  it 
would  never  be  dbne.  Kings  and  legislatures 
would  take  pity  after  a  great  lapse  of  years ; 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


295 


the  punishment  would  be  remitted,  and  its  pre- 
ventive efficacy,  therefore,  destroyed.  We 
agree  with  Philopatris,  that  tlie  executions 
should  be  more  solemn  ;  but  still  the  English 
are  not  of  a  very  dramatic  turn,  and  the  thing 
must  not  be  got  up  too  finely.  Philopatrist 
and  Mr.  Jeremy  Bentham  before  him,  lay  a 
vast  stress  upon  the  promulgation  of  laws, 
and  treat  the  inattention  of  the  English  govern- 
ment to  this  point  as  a  serious  evil.  It  may 
be  so — but  we  do  not  happen  to  remember  any 
man  punished  for  an  offence  which  he  did  not 
know  to  be  an  ofience ;  though  he  might  not 
know  exactly  the  degree  in  which  it  was 
punishable.  Who  are  to  read  the  laws  to  the 
people  ?  who  would  listen  to  them  if  they 
were  readl  who  would  comprehend  them  if 
they  listened  1  In  a  science  like  law  there 
must  be  technical  phrases  known  only  to  pro- 
fessional men :  business  could  not  be  carried 
on  without  them:  and  of  what  avail  would  it 
be  to  repeat  such  phrases  to  the  people  7 
Again,  what  laws  are  to  be  repeated,  and  in 
what  places  1  Is  a  law  respecting  the  number 
of  threads  on  the  shuttle  of  a  Spitalfields 
weaver  to  be  read  to  the  corn-growers  of  the 
Isle  of  Thanet  1  If  not,  who  is  to  make  the 
selection  1  If  the  law  cannot  be  comprehended 
by  listening  to  the  viva  voce  repetition,  is  the 
reader  to  explain  it,  and  are  there  to  be  law 
lectures  all  over  the  kingdom  ]  The  fact  is, 
that  the  evil  does  not  exist.  Those  who  are 
most  likely  to  commit  the  offence  soon  scent  out 


the  newly  devised  punishments,  and  have  been 
long  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  old  ones. 
Of  the  nice  applications  of  the  law  they  are 
indeed  ignorant ;  but  they  purchase  the  requi- 
site skill  of  some  man  whose  business  it  is  to 
acquire  it ;  and  so  they  get  into  less  mischief 
by  trusting  to  others  than  they  would  do  if 
they  pretended  to  inform  theinselves.  Tha 
people,  it  is  true,  are  ignorant  of  the  laws ; 
but  they  are  ignorant  only  of  the  laws  that  do 
not  concern  them.  A  poacher  knows  nothing 
of  the  penalties  to  which  he  exposes  himself 
by  stealing  ten  thousand  pounds  from  the  pub- 
lic. Commissioners  of  public  boards  are 
unacquainted  with  all  the  decretals  of  our 
ancestors  respecting  the  wiring  of  hares ;  but 
the  one  pockets  his  extra  per  centage,  and  the 
other  his  leveret,  with  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
the  laws — the  particular  laws  which  it  is  his 
business  to  elude.  Philopatris  will  excuse  us 
for  differing  from  him  upon  a  subject  where 
he  seems  to  entertain  such  strong  opinions. 
We  have  a  real  respect  for  all  his  opinions: — 
no  man  could  form  them  who  had  not  a  good 
heart  and  a  sound  understanding.  If  we  have 
been  severe  upon  his  style  of  writing,  it  is  be- 
cause we  know  his  weight  in  the  common- 
wealth: and  we  wish  that  the  many  young 
persons  who  justly  admire  and  imitate  him 
should  be  turned  to  the  difficult  task  of  imi- 
tating his  many  excellences,  rather  than  the 
useless  and  easy  one  of  copying  his  few  de- 
fects. 


OESERVATIOIN^S  ON  THE  HISTOUICAL  WOKK  OE  THE 
EIGHT  HONOUMBLE  CHARLES  JAMES  EOX.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1809.] 


This  is  an  extraordinary  performance  in 
itself; — but  the  reasons  assigned  for  its  publi- 
cation are  still  more  extraordinary.  A  per- 
son of  Mr.  Rose's  consequence — incessantly 
occupied,  as  he  assures  us,  "  with  ofhcial  du- 
ties, which  take  equally,"  according  to  his  ele- 
gant expression,  "  from  the  disembarrassment 
of  the  mind  and  the  leisure  of  time," — thinks  it 
absolutely  necessary  to  explain  to  his  country 
the  motives  which  have  led  him  to  do  so  idle 
a  thing  as  to  write  a  book.  He  would  not 
have  it  supposed,  however,  that  he  could  be 
tempted  to  so  questionable  an  act  by  any  light 
or  ordinary  consideration.  Mr.  Fox  and  other 
literary  loungers  may  write  from  a  love  of 
fame,  or  a  relish  for  literature ;  but  the  official 
labours  of  Mr.  Rose  can  only  be  suspended  by 
higher  calls.  All  his  former  publications,  he 
informs  us,  originated  in  a  "sense  of  public 
duty;"  and  the  present,  in  "an  impulse  of  pri- 


*  Observations  on  the  Historical  Work  of  the  Hirrjit 
ITonourahle  Charles  .Tames  Fox.  By  the  Right  Honniiralile 
Groroe  Rosk.  pp.  215.  If'ifh  a  JiTnrratirr  nf  the  Events 
vjhick  ocrurreif  in  the  Enterprise  of  the  Ear!  of  Argyle  in 
\635.     By  Sir  P.vtrick  Hume.    Loudon.  1S09. 


vafe  friendship."  An  ordinary  reader  may, 
perhaps,  find  some  difficulty  in  comprehending 
how  Mr.  Rose  could  he  ^^  impelled  by  private 
friendship,"  to  publish  a  heavy  quarto  of  po- 
litical observations  on  Mr.  Fox's  history: — and 
for  our  own  part,  we  must  confess,  that  after 
the  most  diligent  perusal  of  liis  long  explana- 
tion, we  do  not  in  the  least  comprehend  it  yet. 
The  explanation,  however,  which  is  very  cu- 
rious, it  is  our  duty  to  lay  before  our  readers. 

Mr.  Rose  was  much  patronised  by  the  late 
Earl  of  Marchmont,  who  left  him  liis  family 
papers,  with  an  injunction  to  make  use  of 
them,  "  if  it  should  ever  become  necessary." 
Among  these  papers  was  a  narrative  by  Sir 
Patrick  Hume,  the  earl's  grandfather,  of  'he 
occurrences  which  befell  him  and  his  associ- 
ates in  the  unfortunate  expedition  undertaken 
by  the  Earl  of  Argylc  in  1685.  Mr.  Fox,  in 
detailing  the  history  of  that  expedition,  has 
passed  a  censure,  as  Mr.  Rose  thinks,  on  the 
character  of  Sir  Patrick;  and,  to  obviate  the 
effects  of  that  censure,  he  now  finds  it"ne- 
cessar}""  to  publish  this  volume. 

All  this  sounds  very  chivalrous  and  affec- 


296 


WORKS    OF   THE    REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


tionate ;  but  we  have  three  little  remarks  to 
make.  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Fox  passes  no 
censure  on  Sir  Patrick  Hume.  In  the  second 
place,  this  publication  does  by  no  means  obvi- 
ate the  censure  of  which  Mr.  Rose  complains. 
And,  thirdly,  it  is  utterly  absurd  to  ascribe  Mr. 
Rose's  part  of  the  volume,  in  which  Sir  Pat- 
rick Hume  is  scarcely  ever  mentioned,  to  any 
anxiety  about  his  reputation. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  quite  certain  that  Mr. 
Fox  passes  no  censure  on  Sir  Patrick  Hume. 
On  the  contrary,  he  says  of  him,  that  "he  had 
early  distinguished  himself  in  the  cause  of 
liberty;"  and  afterwards  rates  him  so  very 
highly  as  to  think  it  a  sufficient  reason  for 
construing  some  doubtful  points  in  Sir  John 
Cochrane's  conduct  favourably,  that  "  he  had 
always  acted  in  conjunction  with  Sir  Patrick 
Hume,  who  is  proved  by  the  subsequent  events, 
and,  indeed,  by  the  whole  lenour  of  his  life  and  con- 
duct, to  have  been  uniformly  sincere  and  zealous  in 
the  cause  of  his  country."  Such  is  the  deliberate 
and  unequivocal  testimony  which  Mr.  Fox  has 
borne  to  the  character  of  this  gentleman ;  and 
such  the  historian,  whose  unjust  censures  have 
compelled  the  Right  Honourable  George  Rose 
to  indite  250  quarto  pages,  out  of  pure  regard 
to  the  injured  memory  of  this  ancestor  of  his 
deceased  patron. 

Such  is  Mr.  Fox's  opinion,  then,  of  Sir  Pat- 
rick Hume;  and  the  only  opinion  he  anytohere 
gives  of  his  character.  With  regard  to  his  con- 
duct, he  observes,  indeed,  in  one  place,  that  he 
and  the  other  gentlemen  engaged  in  the  enter- 
prise appear  to  have  paid  too  little  deference 
to  the  opinion  of  their  noble  leader;  and  nar- 
rates, in  another,  that,  at  the  breaking  up  of 
their  little  army,  they  did  not  even  stay  to  rea- 
son with  him,  but  crossed  the  Clyde  with  such 
as  would  follow  them.  Now,  Sir  Patrick's 
own  narrative,  so  far  from  contradicting  either 
of  these  statements,  confirms  them  both  in  the 
most  remarkable  manner.  There  is  scarcely 
a  page  of  it  that  does  not  show  the  jealous  and 
controlling  spirit  which  was  exercised  towards 
their  leader ;  and,  with  regard  to  the  conclud- 
ing scene,  Sir  Patrick's  own  account  makes 
infinitely  more  strongly  against  himself  and 
Sir  John  Cochrane,  than  the  general  state- 
ment of  Mr.  Fox.  So  far  from  staying  to  argue 
with  their  general  before  parting  with  him,  it 
appears  that  Sir  Patrick  did  not  so  much  as 
see  him;  and  that  Cochrane,  at  whose  sugges- 
tion he  deserted  him,  had  in  a  manner  ordered 
that  unfortunate  nobleman  to  leave  their  com- 
pany. The  material  words  of  the  narrative 
are  these : — 

"  On  coming  down  to  Kilpatrick,  I  met  Sir 
John  (Cochrane),  with  others  accompanieing 
him;  who  talieing  niee  by  the  hand,  turned  mee, 
saying.  My  heart,  goe  you  with  mee  1  Whither 
goe  you,  said  11  Over  Glide  by  boate,  said 
he. — I :  Wher  is  Argyle  1  I  must  see  him. — 
He :  He  is  gone  away  to  his  owne  countrey, 
you  cannot  see  him. — I :  How  comes  this 
change  of  resolution,  and  that  wee  went  not 
together  to  Glasgow  1 — He  :  It  is  no  time  to 
ansv/er  qjiestions,  but  I  shall  satisfy  you  after- 
ward. To  the  boates  wee  came,  filled  2,  and 
irowed  over,"  &c. — "  An  honest  gentleman  who 


was  present,  told  mee  afterward  the  manner 
of  his  parting  with  the  Erie.  Argyle  being  in 
the  roome  with  Sir  John,  the  gentleman  com- 
ing in,  found  confusion  in  the  Erie's  counte- 
nance and  speach.  In  end  he  said,  Sir  John,  I 
pray  advise  mee  what  shall  I  doe ;  shall  I  goe 
over  Glide  with  you,  or  shall  I  goe  to  my  owne 
countrey"?  Sir  John  answered.  My  Lord,  I 
have  told  you  my  opinion ;  you  have  some  High- 
landers here  about  you;  it  is  best  you  goe  to  your 
owne  countrey  ivith  them,  for  it  is  to  no  purpose  for 
you  to  go  over  Clide.  My  lord,  faire  you  well. 
Then  cali'd  the  gentleman.  Come  aivay.  Sir ; 
who  followed  him  when  I  met  with  him." — Sir  P. 
Hume's  Narrative,  pp.  63,  64. 

Such  are  all  the  censures  which  Mr.  Fox 
passes  upon  this  departed  worthy;  and  such 
the  contradiction  which  Mr.  Rose  now  thinks  it 
necessary  to  exhibit.  It  is  very  true  that  Mn 
Fox,  in  the  course  of  his  narrative,  is  under 
the  necessity  of  mentioning,  on  the  credit  of 
all  the  historians  who  have  treated  of  the  sub- 
ject, that  Argyle,  after  his  capture,  did  express 
himself  in  terms  of  strong  disapprobation  both 
of  Sir  Patrick  Hume  and  of  Sir  John  Cochrane; 
and  said,  that  their  ignoi-ance  and  misconduct 
were,  though  not  designedly,  the  chief  cause  of 
his  failure.  Mr.  Fox  neither  adopts  nor  rejects 
this  sentiment.  He  gives  his  own  opinion,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  in  terms  of  the  highest 
encomium,  on  the  character  of  Sir  Patrick 
Hume,  and  merely  repeats  the  expressions  of 
Argyle  as  he  fovmd  them  in  Wodrow  and  the 
other  historians,  and  as  he  was  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  repeating  them,  if  he  was  to  give 
any  account  of  the  last  words  of  that  unfortu- 
nate nobleman.  It  is  this  censure  of  Argyle, 
then,  perhaps,  and  not  any  censure  of  Mr.  Fox's, 
that  Mr.  Rose  intended  to  obviate  by  the  publi- 
cation before  us.  But,  upon  this  supposition, 
how  did  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Fox's  book  con- 
stitute that  necessity  which  compelled  the  tender 
conscience  of  Lord  Marchmont's  executor  to 
give  to  the  world  this  long-lost  justification  of 
his  ancestor]  The  censure  did  not  appear  for 
the  first  time  in  Mr.  Fox's  book.  It  was  re- 
peated, during  Sir  Patrick's  own  life,  in  all  the 
papere  of  the  time,  and  in  all  the  historians 
since.  Sir  Patrick  lived  nearly  forty  good 
years  after  this  accusation  of  Argyle  was  made 
public ;  and  thirty-six  of  those  years  in  great 
credit,  honour,  and  publicity.  If  he  had 
thought  that  the  existence  of  such  an  accusa- 
tion constituted  a  kind  of  moral  necessity  for 
the  publication  of  his  narrative,  it  is  evident 
that  he  would  himself  have  published  it ;  and 
if  it  was  not  necessary  then,  while  he  was 
alive,  to  suflTer  by  the  censure  of  his  leader,  or 
to  profit  by  its  refutation,  it  is  not  easy  to  un- 
derstand how  it  should  be  necessary  now,  when 
130  years  have  elapsed  from  the  date  of  it,  and 
the  bones  of  its  author  have  reposed  for  nearly 
a  century  in  their  peaceful  and  honoured 
monument. 

That  the  naiTative  never  was  published  be- 
fore, though  the  censure,  to  which  it  is  supposed 
to  be  an  antidote,  had  been  published  for  more 
than  a  century,  is  a  pretty  satisfactory  proof 
that  those  who  were  most  interested  and  best 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


297 


qualified  to  judge,  either  did  not  consider  tlie 
censure  as  very  deadly,  or  the  antidote  as  very 
efTectual.  We  are  very  well  contented  to  leave 
it  doubtful  which  of  these  was  the  case ;  and 
we  are  convinced  that  all  the  readers  of  Mr. 
Rose's  book  will  agree  that  it  is  still  very 
doubtful.  Sir  Patrick,  in  his  narrative,  no 
doubt,  says  that  Argyle  was  extremely  arrogant, 
self-willed,  and  obstinate  ;  but  it  is  equally  cer- 
tain, that  the  earl  said  to  him  that  he  was 
jealous,  disobedient,  and  untractable.  Both 
were  men  of  honour  and  veracity;  and,  we 
doubt  not,  believed  what  they  said.  It  is  even 
possible  that  both  may  have  said  truly;  but,  at 
this  distance  of  time,  and  with  no  new  evidence 
but  ihe  averment  of  one  of  the  parties,  it  would 
be  altogether  ridiculous  to  pretend  to  decide 
which  may  have  come  nearest  to  an  impartial 
statement.  Before  the  publication  of  the  pre- 
sent narrative,  it  is  plain  from  Wodrow,  Bur- 
net, and  other  writers,  that  considerable  blame 
was  generally  laid  on  Argyle  for  his  perempto- 
riness  and  obstinacy;  and,  now  that  the  narra- 
tive is  published,  it  is  still  more  apparent  than 
ever  that  he  had  some  ground  for  the  charges 
he  made  against  his  officers.  The  whole 
tenour  of  it  shows  that  they  were  constantly  in 
the  habit  of  checking  and  thwarting  him;  and 
we  have  already  seen  that  it  gives  a  very  lame 
and  unsatisfactory  account  of  their  strange 
desertion  of  him,  when  their  fortunes  appeared 
to  be  desperate. 

It  is  perfectly  plain,  therefore,  we  conceive, 
that  the  publication  of  Mr.  Fox's  book  consti- 
tuted neither  a  necessity  nor  an  intelligible  in- 
ducement for  the  publication  of  this  narrative; 
and  that  the  narrative,  now  that  it  is  published, 
has  no  tendency  to  remove  any  slight  shade 
of  censure  that  history  may  have  thrown  over 
the  temper  or  prudence  of  Sir  Patrick  Hume. 
But,  even  if  all  this  had  been  otherwise — if 
Mr.  Fox  had,  for  the  first  time,  insinuated  a 
censure  on  this  defunct  whig,  and  if  the  narra- 
tive had  contained  the  most  complete  refuta- 
tion of  such  a  censure, — this  might,  indeed, 
have  accounted  for  the  publication  of  Sir 
Patrick's  narrative  ;  but  it  could  not  have  ac- 
counted at  all  for  the  publication  of  Mr.  Rose's 
book — the  only  thing  to  be  accounted  for.  The 
narrative  is  given  as  an  appendix  of  65  pages 
to  a  volume  of  upwards  of  300.  In  publishing 
the  narrative,  Mr.  Rose  did  not  assume  the 
character  of  "an  author,"  and  was  not  called 
upon,  by  the  responsibility  of  that  character, 
to  explain  to  the  world  his  reasons  for  "  sub- 
mitting himself  to  their  judgment."  It  is  only 
for  his  book,  then,  exclusive  of  the  narrative, 
that  Mr.  Rose  can  be  understood  to  be  ofljering 
any  apology;  and  the  apology  he  offers  is,  that 
it  sprung  from  the  impulse  of  private  friend- 
ship. When  the  matter  is  looked  into,  how- 
ever, it  turns  out,  that  though  private  friendship 
may,  by  a  great  stretch,  be  supposed  to  have 
dictated  the  publication  of  the  appendix,  it  can 
by  no  possibility  account,  or  help  to  account, 
for  the  composition  of  the  book.  Nay,  the  ten- 
dency and  tenour  of  the  book  are  such  as  this 
ardent  and'  romantic  friendship  must  necessa- 
rily condemn.  It  contains  nothing  whatever 
in  praise  or  in  defence  of  Sir  Patrick  Hume ; 
but  it  contains  a  very  keen,  and  not  a  very 
38 


candid,  attack  upon  his  party  and  his  principles. 
Professing  to  be  published  from  anxiety  to  vin- 
dicate and  exalt  the  memory  of  an  insurgent 
revolution  whig,  it  consists  almost  entirely  of 
an  attempt  to  depreciate  whig  principles,  and 
openly  to  decry  and  vilify  such  of  Mr.  Fox's 
opinions  as  Sir  Patrick  Hume  constantly  ex- 
emplified in  his  actions.  There  never  was  an 
effect,  we  believe,  imputed  to  so  improbable  a 
cause. 

Finally,  we  may  ask,  if  Mr.  Rose's  view,  in 
this  publication,  was  merely  to  vindicate  the 
memory  of  Sir  Patrick  Hume,  why  he  did  not 
put  into  Mr.  Fox's  hands  the  information  which 
would  have  rendered  all  vindication  unneces- 
sary 1  It  was  known  to  all  the  world,  for 
several  years,  that  Mr.  Fox  was  engaged  in  the 
history  of  that  period;  and  if  Mr.  Rose  really 
thought  that  the  papers  in  his  custody  gave  a 
different  view  of  Sir  Patrick's  conduct  from 
that  exhibited  in  the  printed  authorities,  was  it 
not  his  duty  to  put  Mr.  Fox  upon  his  guard 
against  being  misled  by  them,  and  to  commu- 
nicate to  him  those  invaluable  documents  to 
which  he  could  have  access  in  no  other  way  i 
Did  he  doubt  that  Mr.  Fox  would  have  candour 
to  state  the  truth,  or  that  he  would  have  stated 
with  pleasure  any  thing  that  could  exalt  the 
character  of  a  revolution  whigl  Did  he 
imagine  that  any  statement  of  his  could  ever 
obtain  equal  notoriety  and  effect  with  a  state- 
ment in  Mr.  Fox's  history  1  Or  did  he  poorly 
withhold  this  information,  that  he  might  detract 
from  the  value  of  that  history,  and  have  to 
boast  to  the  public  that  there  was  one  point 
upon  which  he  was  better  informed  than  that 
illustrious  statesman?  As  to  the  preposterous 
apology  which  seems  to  be  hinted  at  in  the 
book  itself,  viz.,  that  it  was  Mr.  Fox's  business 
to  have  asked  for  these  papers,  and  not  Mr. 
Rose's  to  have  offered  them,  we  shall  only 
observe,  that  it  stands  on  a  point  of  etiquette, 
which  would  scarcely  be  permitted  to  govern 
the  civilities  of  tradesmen's  wives;  and  that  it 
seems  not  a  little  unreasonable  to  lay  Mr.  Fox 
under  the  necessity  of  asking  for  papers,  the 
very  existence  of  which  he  could  have  no 
reason  to  expect.  This  narrative  of  Sir  Pat- 
rick Hume  has  now  lain  in  the  archives  of 
his  family  for  130  years,  unknown  and  unsus 
pected  to  all  but  its  immediate  proprietor;  and, 
distinguished  as  Sir  Patrick  was  in  his  day  in 
Scotland,  it  certainly  does  not  imply  any  extra- 
ordinary stupidity  in  Mr.  Fox,  not  to  know,  by 
intuition,  that  there  were  papers  of  his  in  exist- 
ence which  might  afllbrd  him  some  light  on  the 
subject  of  his  history. 

We  may  appear  to  have  dwelt  too  long  on 
these  preliminary  considerations,  since  the 
intrinsic  value  of  Mr.  Rose's  observations  cer- 
tainly will  not  be  affected  by  the  truth  or  the 
fallacy  of  the  motives  he  has  assigned  for  pub- 
lishing them.  It  is  impossible,  however,  not 
to  see  that,  when  a  writer  assigns  a  false 
motive  for  his  coming  forward,  he  is  commonly 
conscious  that  the  real  one  is  discreditable; 
and  that  to  expose  the  hollowness  of  such  a 
pretence,  is  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  whole- 
some distrust  of  his  general  fairness  an<l  tem- 
per. Any  body  certainly  had  a  right  tc  publish 
remarks  on  Mr.  Fox's  work — and  nobody  a 


298 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


better  right  than  Mr.  Rose  ;  and  if  he  had  stated 
openly,  that  all  the  habits  and  connections  of 
his  life  had  led  him  to  wish  to  see  that  work 
discredited,  no  one  would  have  been  entitled  to 
complain  of  his  exertions  in  the  cause.  When 
he  chooses  to  disguise  this  motive,  however, 
and  to  assign  another  which  does  not  at  all 
account  for  the  phenomenon,  we  are  so  far 
from  forgetting  the  existence  of  the  other,  that 
we  are  internally  convinced  of  its  being  much 
stronger  than  we  should  otherwise  have  sus- 
pected; and  that  it  is  only  dissembled,  because 
it  exists  in  a  degree  that  could  not  have  been 
decently  avowed.  For  the  same  reason,  there- 
fore, of  enabling  our  readers  more  distinctly 
to  appreciate  the  intellect  and  temper  of 
this  right  honourable  author,  we  must  say 
a  word  or  two  more  of  his  Introduction, 
before  proceeding  to  the  substance  of  his 
remarks. 

Besides  the  edifying  history  of  his  motive 
for  writing,  we  are  favoured,  in  that  singular 
piece,  with  a  number  of  his  opinions  upon 
points  no  way  connected  with  Mr.  Fox  or  his 
history;  and  with  a  copious  account  of  his 
labours  and  studies  in  all  kinds  of  juridical 
and  constitutional  learning.  In  order  to  con- 
firm an  opinion  that  a  minute  knowledge  of  our 
ancient  history  is  not  necessary  to  understand 
our  actual  constitution,  he  takes  an  unintelligi- 
ble survey  of  the  progress  of  our  government, 
from  the  days  of  King  Alfred, — and  quotes 
Lord  Coke,  Plowden,  Doomsday  Book,  Lord 
Ellesmere,  Rymer's  FoE;dera,  Dugdale's  Ori- 
gines,  the  Rolls  of  Parliament,  Whitelock,  and 
Abbot's  Records;  but,  above  all,  "a  report 
which  /  made  several  years  ago  on  the  state 
of  the  records  in  7ny  custody."  He  then  goes 
on,  in  the  most  obliging  manner,  to  inform  his 
readers  that  "  Vertot's  Account  of  the  Revolu- 
tions of  Rome  has  been  found  very  useful  by 
persons  who  have  read  the  Roman  History; 
but  the  best  model  that  I  have  met  with  for 
such  a  work  as  appears  to  me  to  be  much 
wanted,  is  a  short  History  of  Poland,  which  I 
translated  nearly  forty  years  ago,  but  did  not 
publish  ;  the  manuscript  of  which  his  majesty 
at  the  time  did  me  the  honour  to  accept;  and 
it  probably  is  still  in  his  majesty's  library." — 
Introduction,  pp.  xxiv.  xxv. 

Truly  all  this  is  very  interesting,  and  very 
much  to  the  purpose: — but  scarcely  more  so 
than  eight  or  nine  pages  that  follow,  containing 
a  long  account  of  the  conversations  which 
Lord  Marchmont  had  with  Lord  Bolingbroke, 
about  the  politics  of  Queen  Anne's  ministers, 
and  which  Mr.  Rose  now  gives  to  the  world 
from  his  recollection  of  various  conversations 
between  himself  and  Lord  Marchmont.  He 
tells  us,  moreover,  that,  "  accustomed  as  he  has 
been  to  official  accuracy  in  statement,"  he  had 
naturally  a  quick  eye  for  mistakes  in  fact  or 
in  deduction; — that  "having  long  enjoyed  the 
confidence  and  affectionate  friendship  of  Mr. 
Pitt,"  he  has  been  more  scrupulous  than  he 
would  otherwise  have  been  in  ascertaining  the 
grounds  of  his  animadversions  on  the  work  of 
his  great  rival; — and  that,  notwithstanding  all 
this  anxiety,  and  the  want  of  "disembarrass- 
ment of  mind"  and  "leisure  of  time,"  he  has 
compiled  this  volume  ia  about  as  many  weeks 


as  Mr.  Fox  took  years  to  the  work  on  which  it 
comments  ! 

For  the  Observations  themselves,  we  must 
say  that  we  have  perused  them  with  conside- 
rable pleasure — not  certainly  from  any  extra- 
ordinary gratiiication  which  we  derived  from 
the  justness  of  the  sentiments,  or  the  elegance 
of  the  style,  but  from  a  certain  agreeable  sur- 
prise which  we  experienced  on  finding  how 
few  parts  of  Mr.  Fox's  doctrine  were  considered 
as  vulnerable,  even  by  Mr.  Rose ;  and  in  how 
large  a  proportion  of  his  freest  and  strongest 
observations  that  jealous  observer  has  ex- 
pressed his  most  cordial  concurrence.  The 
Right  Honourable  George  Rose,  we  rather  be- 
lieve, is  commonly  considered  as  one  of  the 
least  whiggish  or  democratical  of  all  the  pub- 
lic characters  who  have  lived  in  our  times ; 
and  he  has  himself  acknowledged,  that  a  long 
habit  of  political  opposition  to  Mr.  Fox  had 
perhaps  given  him  a  stronger  bias  against  his 
favourite  doctrines  than  he  might  otherwise 
have  entertained.  It  was,  therefore,  no  slight 
consolation  to  us  to  find  that  the  true  princi- 
ples of  English  liberty  had  made  so  great  a 
progress  in  the  opinions  of  all  men  in  upper 
life,  as  to  extort  such  an  ample  admission  of 
them,  even  from  a  person  of  Mr.  Rose's  habits 
and  connections.  As  we  fear,  however,  that 
the  same  justness  and  liberality  of  thinking 
are  by  no  means  general  among  the  more  ob- 
scure retainers  of  party  throughout  the  country, 
we  think  it  may  not  be  without  its  use  to  quote 
a  few  of  the  passages  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  just  to  let  the  vulgar  tories  in  the 
provinces  see  how  much  of  their  favourite 
doctrines  has  been  abjured  by  their  more  en- 
lightened chief  and  leaders  in  the  seat  of  go- 
vernment. 

In  the  first  place,  there  are  all  the  passages 
(which  it  would  be  useless  and  tedious  to  re- 
cite) in  -w^hich  the  patriotism  and  public  virtue 
of  Sir  P.  Hume  are  held  up  to  the  admiration 
of  posterity.  Now,  Sir  P.  Hume,  that  true  and 
sincere  lover  of  his  country,  whose  "talents 
and  virtues  his  sovereign  acknowledged  and 
rewarded,"  and  "  whose  honours  have  been 
attended  by  the  suffrage  of  his  country  and  the 
approbation  of  good  men,"  was,  even  in  the 
reign  of  Charles,  concerned  in  designs  analo- 
gous to  those  of  Russell  and  Sydney; — and, 
very  soon  after  the  accession  of  James,  and 
(as  Mr.  Rose  thinks)  before  that  monarch  had 
done  any  thing  in  the  least  degree  blameable, 
rose  up  openly  in  arms,  and  endeavoured  to 
stir  up  the  people  to  overthrow  the  existing 
government.  Even  Mr.  Fox  hesitated  as  to 
the  wisdom  and  the  virtue  of  those  engaged  iu 
such  enterprises  ; — and  yet  Mr.  Rose,  profess- 
ing to  see  danger  in  that  writer's  excessive 
zeal  for  liberty,  writes  a  book  to  extol  the  pa- 
triotism of  a  premature  insurgent. 

After  this  we  need  not  quote  our  author's 
warm  panegyrics  on  the  Revolution — "  thai 
glorious  event  to  Avhich  the  measures  of  James 
necessarily  led," — or  on  the  character  of  Lord 
Sommers,  "  whose  wisdom,  talents,  political 
courage  and  virtue,  would  alone  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  insure  the  success  of  that  measure." 
It  may  surprise  some  of  his  pfilitical  admirers 
a  little  more,  however,  to  find  him  professing 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


299 


vhat  he  "concws  with  Mr.  Fox  as  to  the  expe- 
diency of  the  bill  of  exclusion,"  (that  boldest 
and  most  decided  of  all  whig  measures) ;  and 
thinks  "  that  the  events  which  took  place  in 
the  next  reign  afford  a  strong  justification  of 
the  conduct  of  the  promoters  of  that  measure." 
When  his  tory  friends  have  digested  that  sen- 
timent, they  may  look  at  his  patriotic  invec- 
tives against  the  degrading  connection  of  the 
two  last  of  the  Stuart  princes  with  the  court 
of  France ;  and  the  "  scandalous  profligacy  by 
which  Charles  and  his  successor  betrayed  the 
best  interests  of  their  country  for  miserable 
stipends."  There  is  something  veiy  edifying, 
indeed,  though  we  should  fear  a  little  alarm- 
ing to  courtly  tempers,  in  the  warmth  with 
which  our  author  winds-  up  his  diatribe  on 
this  interesting  subject.  "  Every  one,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  who  carries  on  a  clandestine  corre- 
spondence with  a  foreign  power,  in  matters 
touching  the  interests  of  Great  Britain,  is  pri- 
ma facie  guilty  of  a  great  moral,  as  well  as  po- 
litical, crime.  If  a  subject,  he  is  a  traitor  to 
his  king  and  his  country ;  and  if  a  monarch, 
he  is  a  traitor  to  the  crown  which  he  ivears,  and  to 
the  empire  which  he  governs.  There  may,  by 
possibility,  be  circumstances  to  extenuate  the 
former;  there  can  be  none  to  lessen  our  de- 
testation of  the  latter." — (pp.  149,  150.) 

Conformably  to  these  sentiments,  Mr.  Rose 
expresses  his  concurrence  with  all  that  Mr. 
Fox  says  of  the  arbitrary  and  oppressive  mea- 
sures which  distinguished  the  latter  part  of 
Charles's  reign  ; — declares  that  "  he  has  mani- 
fested great  temperance  and  forbearance  in 
the  character  which  he  gives  of  Jelferies  ; — 
and  tindcrstated  the  enormity  of  the  cruel  and 
detestable  proceedings  of  the  Scottish  govern- 
ment, in  its  unheard  of  acts  of  power,  and  the 
miseries  and  persecutions  which  it  inflicted  ;" 
admits  that  Mr.  Fox's  work  treated  of  a  period 
"in  which  the  tyranny  of  the  sovereign  at  home 
was  not  redeemed  by  any  glory  or  success 
abroad  ;" — and  speaks  of  the  Revolution  as  the 
era  "  when  the  full  measure  of  the  monarch's 
tyrannical  usurpations  made  irsistance  a  duty  para- 
mount to  every  consideration  of  personal  or  public 
danger." 

It  is  scarcely  possible,  we  conceive,  to  read 
these,  and  many  other  passages  which  might 
be  quoted  from  the  work  before  us,  without 
taking  the  author  for  a  whig;  and  it  certainly 
is  not  easy  to  comprehend  how  the  writer  of 
them  could  quarrel  with  any  thing  in  Mr. 
Fox's  history,  for  want  of  deference  and  vene- 
ration for  the  monarchical  part  of  our  consti- 
tution. To  say  the  truth,  we  have  not  alwaj^s 
been  able  to  satisfy  ourselves  of  the  worthy 
author's  consistency ;  and  holding,  as  we  are 
inclined  to  do,  that  his  natural  and  genuine 
sentiments  are  liberal  and  manly,  we  can  only 
account  for  the  narrowness  and  unfairness  of 
some  of  his  remarks,  by  supposing  them  to 
originate  from  the  habits  of  his  practical  poli- 
tics, and  of  that  long  course  of  opposition,  in 
which  he  learned  to  consider  it  a  duty  to  his 
party  to  discredit  every  thing  that  came  from 
the  advocate  of  the  people.  W^e  shall  now  say 
a  word  or  two  on  the  remarks  themselves, 
which,  as  we  have  already  noticed,  will  be 
found  to  be  infinitely  fewer,  and  more  insigni- 


ficant, than  any  one,  looking  merely  at  the 
bulk  of  the  volume,  could  possibly  have  con- 
jectured. 

The  first,  of  any  sort  of  importance,  is  made 
on  those  passages  in  which  Mr.  Fox  calls  the 
execution  of  the  king  "  a  far  less  violent  mea- 
sure than  that  of  Lord  Straflbrd;"  and  says, 
"  that  there  was  something  in  the  splendour  and 
magnanimity  of  the  act,  which  has  served  to 
raise  the  character  of  the  nation  in  the  opinion 
of  Europe  in  general."  Mr.  Rose  takes  great 
oflence  at  both  these  remarks ;  and  says,  that 
the  constitution  itself  was  violated  by  the  exe- 
cution of  the  king,  while  the  case  of  Lord 
Strafford  was  but  a  private  injury.  We  are 
afraid  Mr.  Rose  does  not  perfectly  understand 
Mr.  Fox, — otherwise  it  would  be  difficult  not 
to  agree  with  him.  The  grossness  of  Lord 
Strafford's  case  consisted  in  this,  that  a  bill  of 
attainder  was  brought  in,  after  a  regular  pro- 
ceeding by  impeachment  had  been  tried  against 
him.  He  was  substantially  acquitted,  by  the 
most  unexceptionable  process  known  in  our 
law,  before  the  bill  of  attainder  came  to  declare 
him  guilty,  and  to  punish  him.  There  Avas 
here,  therefore,  a  most  flagrant  violation  of  all 
law  and  justice,  and  a  precedent  for  endless 
abuses  and  oppressions.  In  the  case  of  the 
king,  on  the  other  hand,  there  could  be  no  vio- 
lation of  settled  rules  or  practice  ;  because  the 
case  itself  was  necessarily  out  of  the  purview 
of  every  rule,  and  could  be  drawn  into  no  pre- 
cedent. The  constitution,  no  doubt,  was  ne- 
cessarily destroyed  or  suspended  by  the  trial ; 
but  Mr.  Rose  appears  to  forget  that  it  had  been 
destroyed  or  suspended  before,  by  the  tear,  or 
by  the  acts  of  the  king  which  brought  on  the 
war.  If  it  was  lawful  to  fight  against  the  king, 
it  must  have  been  lawful  to  take  him  prisoner: 
after  he  Avas  a  prisoner,  it  was  both  lawful  and 
necessary  to  consider  what  should  be  done 
with  him ;  and  every  deliberation  of  this  sort 
had  all  the  assumption,  and  none  of  the  fair- 
ness of  a  trial.  Yet  Mr.  Rose  has  himself 
told  us,  that  "  there  are  cases  in  which  resist- 
ance becomes  a  paramount  duty;"  and  pro- 
bably is  not  prepared  to  say,  tliat  it  was  more 
violent  and  criminal  to  drive  King  James  from 
the  throne  in  1688,  than  to  wrest  all  law  and 
justice  to  take  the  life  of  Lord  Strafford  in 
164L  Yet  the  constitution  was  as  much 
violated  by  the  forfeiture  of  the  one  sove- 
reign, as  by  the  trial  and  execution  of  the 
other.  It  was  impossible  that  the  trial  of  King 
Charles  might  have  terminated  in  a  sentence 
of  mere  deprivation  ;  and  if  James  had  fought 
against  his  people,  and  been  conquered,  he 
might  have  been  tried  and  executed.  The  con- 
stitution was  gone  for  the  time,  in  both  casiss, 
as  soon  as  force  was  mutually  appealed  to ; 
and  the  violence  that  followed  thereafter,  to 
the  person  of  the  monarch,  can  receive  no  ag- 
gravation from  any  view  of  that  nature. 

With  regard,  again,  to  the  loyal  horror  which 
Mr.  Rose  expresses,  when  Mr.  Fox  speaks  of 
the  splendour  and  magnanimity  of  the  pro- 
ceedings against  the  king,  it  is  probable  that 
this  zealous  observer  was  not  aware,  that  his 
favourite  "  prerogative  writer,"  Mr.  Hume,  hai 
used  the  same,  or  still  loftier  expressions,  izi 
relation  to  the  same  event.   Some  of  the  words 


300 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


of  that  loyal  and  unsuspected  historian  are  as 
follows : — "  the  pomp,  the  dignity,  the  cere- 
mony of  this  transaction,  correspond  to  the 
greatest  conceptions  that  are  suggested  in  the 
annals  of  human  kind ; — the  delegates  of  a 
great  people  sitting  in  judgment  upon  their 
supreme  magistrate,  and  trying  him  for  his 
mismanagement  and  breach  of  trust."*  Cor- 
dially as  we  agree  with  Mr.  Fox  in  the  unpro- 
fitable severity  of  this  example,  it  is  impossi- 
ble, we  conceive,  for  any  one  to  consider  the 
great,  grave,  and  solemn  movement  of  the 
nation  that  led  to  it,  or  the  stern  and  dispas- 
sionate temper  in  which  it  was  conducted, 
without  feeling  that  proud  contrast  between 
this  execution  and  that  of  all  other  deposed 
sovereigns  in  history, — which  led  Mr.  Fox,  in 
common  with  Mr.  Hume,  and  every  other 
writer  on  the  subject,  to  make  use  of  the  ex- 
pressions which  have  been  alluded  to. 

When  Mr.  Rose,  in  the  close  of  his  remarks 
upon  this  subject,  permits  himself  to  insinu- 
ate, that  if  Mr.  Fox  thought  such  high  praise 
due  to  the  publicity,  &c.,  of  King  Charles's 
trial,  he  must  have  felt  unbounded  admiration 
at  that  of  Lewis  XVI.,  he  has  laid  himself  open 
to  a  charge  of  such  vulgar  and  uncandid  un- 
fairness, as  was  not  to  have  been  at  all  ex- 
pected from  a  person  of  his  rank  and  descrip- 
tion. If  Lewis  XVI.  had  been  openly  in  arms 
against  his  people, — if  the  Convention  had 
required  no  other  victim — and  had  settled  into 
a  regular  government  as  soon  as  he  was  re- 
moved,— there  might  have  been  more  room 
for  a  parallel, — to  which,  as  the  fact  actually 
stands,  every  Briton  must  listen  with  indigna- 
tion. Lewis  XVI.  was  wantonly  sacrificed  to 
the  rage  of  an  insane  and  bloodthirsty  faction, 
and  tossed  to  the  executioner  among  the  com- 
mon supplies  for  the  guillotine.  The  publi- 
city and  parade  of  his  trial  were  assumed  from 
no  love  of  justice,  or  sense  of  dignity;  but 
from  a  low  principle  of  profligate  and  clamo- 
rous defiance  to  every  thing  that  had  become 
displeasing:  and  ridiculous  and  incredible  as 
it  would  appear  of  any  other  nation,  we  have 
not  the  least  doubt  that  a  certain  childish  emu- 
lation of  the  avenging  liberty  of  the  English 
had  its  share  in  producing  this  paltry  copy  of 
our  grand  and  original  daring.  The  insane 
coxcombs  who  blew  out  their  brains,  after  a 
piece  of  tawdry  declamation,  in  some  of  the 
provincial  assemblies,  were  about  as  like  Cato 
or  Hannibal,  as  the  trial  and  execution  of 
Lewis  was  like  the  condemnation  of  King 
Charles.  Our  regicides  were  serious  and  ori- 
ginal at  least,  in  the  bold,  bad  deeds  which 
they  committed.  The  regicides  of  France 
were  poor  theatrical  imitators, — intoxicated 
with  blood  and  with  power,  and  incapable  even 
of  forming  a  sober  estimate  of  the  guilt  or  the 
consequences  of  their  actions.  Before  leav- 
ing this  subject,  we  must  remind  our  readers 
that  Mr.  Fox  unequivocally  condemns  the  exe- 
cution of  the  king;  and  spends  some  time  in 
showing  that  it  was  excusable  neither  on  the 
ground  of  present  expediency  nor  future  warn- 
ing. After  he  had  finished  that  statement,  he 
proceeds  to  say,  that  notwithstanding  what  the 
more  reasonable  part  of  mankind  may  think, 


♦  Hume's  History,  vol.  vii.  p.  141. 


it  is  to' be  doubted,  whether  that  proceeding 
has  not  served  to  raise  the  national  character 
in  the  eyes  of  foreigners,  &c. ;  and  then  goes 
on  to  refer  to  the  conversations  he  had  him- 
self witnessed  on  that  subject  abroad.  A  man 
must  be  a  very  zealous  royalist,  indeed,  to  dis- 
believe or  be  offended  with  this. 

Mr.  Rose's  next  observation  is  in  favour  of 
General  Monk;  upon  whom  he  is  of  opinion 
that  Mr.  Fox  has  been  by  far  too  severe, — at 
the  same  time  that  he  fails  utterly  in  obviating 
any  of  the  grounds  upon  which  that  severity 
is  justified.  Monk  was  not  responsible  alone, 
indeed,  for  restoring  the  king,  without  taking 
any  security  for  the  people  ;  but  as  wielding 
the  whole  power  of  the  army,  by  which  that 
restoration  was  effected,  he  is  certainly  chiefly 
responsible  for  that  most  criminal  omission- 
As  to  his  indifference  to  the  fate  of  his  com- 
panions in  arms,  Mr.  Rose  does,  indeed,  quote 
the  testimony  of  his  chaplain,  who  wrote  a 
complimentary  life  of  his  patron,  to  prove 
that,  on  the  trial  of  the  regicides,  he  behaved 
with  great  moderation.  We  certainly  do  not 
rate  this  testimony  very  highly;  and  do  think 
it  far  more  than  compensated  by  that  of  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  who,  in  the  life  of  her  husband, 
says,  that  on  the  first  proceedings  against  the 
regicides  in  the  House  of  Commons,  "  Monk 
sate  still,  and  had  not  one  word  to  interpose 
for  any  man,  but  ivas  as  forivard  to  set  vengeance 
on  foot  as  any  one."*  And  a  little  afterwards 
she  adds,  apparently  from  her  own  personal 
knowledge  and  observation,  that  "before  the 
prisoners  were  brought  to  the  Tower,  Monk 
and  his  wife  came  one  evening  to  the  garden, 
and  caused  them  to  be  brought  down,  only  to 
stare  at  them, — which  was  such  a  behaviour 
for  that  man,  who  had  betrayed  so  many  of 
those  that  had  honoured  and  trusted  him,  &c., 
as  no  story  can  parallel  the  inhumanity  of."f 

With  regard  again  to  Mr.  Fox's  charge  of 
Monk's  tamely  acquiescing  in  the  insults  so 
meanly  put  on  the  illustrious  corps  of  his  old 
commander  Blake,  it  is  perfectly  evident,  even 
from  the  authorities  referred  to  by  Mr.  Rose, 
that  Blake's  body  was  dug  up  by  the  king's 
order,  among  others,  and  removed  out  of  the 
hallowed  precincts  of  Westminster,  to  be  re- 
interred,  with  twenty  more,  in  one  pit  at  St. 
Margaret's. 

But  the  chief  charge  is,  that  on  the  trial  of 
Argyle,  Monk  spontaneously  sent  down  some 
confidential  letters,  which  turned  the  scale  of 
evidence  against  that  unfortunate  nobleman. 
This  statement,  to  which  Mr.  Fox  is  most  ab- 
surdly blamed  for  giving  credit,  is  made  on 
the  authority  of  the  three  historians  who  lived 
nearest  to  the  date  of  the  transaction,  and  who 
all  report  it  as  quite  certain  and  notorious. 
These  historians  are  Burnet,  Baillie,  and  Cun- 
ningham ;  nor  are  they  contradicted  by  any 
one  writer  on  the  subject,  except  Dr.  Camp- 
bell, who,  at  a  period  comparatively  recent, 
and  without  pretending  to  have  discovered  any 
new  document  on  the  subject,  is  pleased  to  dis- 
believe them  upon  certain  hypothetical  and  ar- 
gumentative reasons  of  his  own.  These  rea- 
sons Mr.  Laing  has  examined  and  most  satis- 
factorily obviated  in  his  history ;  and  Mr.  Rose 


*  Life  of  Colonel  Hutchinson,  p.  372.     t  Ibid.  p.  378. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


301 


has  exerted  incredible  industry  to  defend.  The 
Scottish  records  for  that  period  have  perished ; 
and  for  this  reason,  and  because  a  collection 
of  pamphlets  and  newspapers  of  that  age,  in 
Mr.  Rose's  possession,  make  no  mention  of  the 
circumstance,  he  thinks  fit  to  discredit  it  alto- 
gether. If  this  kind  of  scepticism  were  to  be 
indiilged,  there  would  be  an  end  of  all  reliance 
on  history.  In  this  particular  case,  both  Bur- 
net and  Baillie  speak  quite  positively,  from 
the  information  of  contemporaries  ;  and  state  a 
circumstance  that  would  very  well  account 
for  the  silence  of  the  formal  accounts  of  the 
trial,  if  any  such  had  been  preserved,  viz.,  that 
Monk's  letters  were  not  produced  till  after  the 
evidence  was  finished  on  both  sides,  and  the 
debate  begun  on  the  result; — an  irregularity, 
by  the  way,  by  much  too  gross  to  have  been 
charged  against  a  public  proceeding  without 
any  foundation. 

Mr.  Rose's  next  observation  is  directed  ra- 
ther against  Judge  Blackstone  than  against 
Mr.  Fox;  and  is  meant  to  show,  that  this 
learned  person  was  guilty  of  great  inaccuracy 
in  representing  the  year  1679  as  the  era  of 
good  laws  and  bad  government.  It  is  quite 
impossible  to  follow  him  through  the  dull  de- 
tails and  feeble  disputations  by  which  he  la- 
bours, to  make  it  appear  that  our  laws  were 
not  very  good  in  1679,  and  that  they,  as  well 
as  the  administration  of  them,  were  much 
mended  after  the  Revolution.  Mr.  Fox's,  or 
rather  Blackstone's  remark  is  too  obviously 
and  strikingly  true  in  substance,  to  admit  of 
any  argument  or  illustration.* 

The  next  charge  against  Mr.  Fox  is  for  say- 
ing, that  if  Charles  II.'s  ministers  betrayed 
him,  he  betrayed  them  in  return ;  keeping, 
from  some  of  them  at  least,  the  secret  of  what 

*Mr.  Rose  talks  a  ?retit  deal,  and  justly,  about  the 
advantages  of  the  judges  not  being  removable  at  plea- 
sure; and,  with  a  groat  air  of  erudition,  informs  us, 
that  after  6  Charles,  all  the  commissions  were  made 
guamdiii  nobis  placuerit.  Mr.  Rose's  researches,  we  fear, 
do  not  often  go  beyond  the  records  in  his  custody.  If  he 
had  loolfpd  into  Rushworth's  Collection,  he  would  have 
found,  that,  in  1641,  King  Charles  agreed  to  make  the 
commission,  qnamdiu  se  bene  a-esserint ;  and  that  some 
of  those  illegally  removed  in  the  following  reign,  though 
not  officiating  in  court,  still  retained  certain  functions  in 
consequence  of  that  appointment.  The  following  is  the 
passage,  at  p.  12fi5,  vol.  iii.  of  Rushworth  :  "After  the 
passing  of  these  votes  (16th  December,  1640)  against  the 
judges,  and  transmitting  them  to  the  House  of  Peers, 
and  their  concurring  with  the  House  of  Commons  therein, 
an  address  was  made  unto  the  king  shortly  after,  that 
his  majesty,  for  the  future,  would  not  make  any  judge 
by  patent  durhin-  pleasure ;  but  that  they  may  hold  their 
places  hereafter,  quamdiu  se  bene  gesserint ;  and  his  ma- 
jesty did  really  grant  the  same.  And  in  his  speech  to 
l)oth  houses  of  Parliament,  at  the  time  of  giving  his 
royal  assent  to  two  bills,  one  to  take  away  the  High 
Commission  Court,  and  the  other  the  Court  of  Star- 
Chamber,  and  regulating  the  power  of  the  council  table, 
he  hath  this  passage;  'If  you  consider  what  I  have 
done  this  Parliament,  discontents  will  not  sit  in  your 
hearts ;  for  I  hope  you  remember,  that  I  have  granted, 
that  the  judges  liereafter  shall  hold  their  places  quamdiu 
se  bene  gesserint.'  And  likewise,  his  gracious  majesty 
King  Cliarles  the  Second  observed  the  same  rule  and 
method  in  granting  patents  to  judges,  quamdiu  se  bene 
pesscrint ;  as  appears  upon  record  in  the  Rolls  ;  viz.,  to 
Sergeant  Slide  to  be  Lord  (;hief  Justice  of  the  King's 
Bench.  Sir  Orlando  Bridgeman  to  be  Lord  Chief  Baron, 
and  afterwards  to  be  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Common 
Pleas;  to  Sir  Robert  Forster,and  others.  Mr.  Sergeant 
Archer,  now  living,  notwithstaiidinir  his  removal,  still  en- 
joys his  patent,  being  quamdiu  se  bene  gesserint ;  and  re- 
ceives a  share  in  the  profits  of  the  court,  as  to  fees  and 
other  proceedings,  by  virtue  of  his  said  patent :  and  his 
name  is  used  in  those  fines,  &;c.,  as  a  j  udge  of  that  court." 


he  was  pleased  to  call  his  religion,  and  the 
state  of  his  connections  with  France.  After 
the  furious  attack  which  Mr.  Rose  has  made 
in  another  place  upon  this  prince  and  his 
French  connections,  it  is  rather  surprising  to 
see  with  what  zeal  he  undertakes  his  defence 
against  this  very  venial  sort  of  treachery,  of 
concealing  his  shame  from  some  of  his  more 
respectable  ministers.  The  attempt,  however, 
is  at  least  as  unsuccessful  as  it  is  unaccount- 
able. Mr.  Fox  says  only,  that  some  of  the 
ministers  were  not  trusted  with  the  secret ; 
and  both  Dalrymple  and  Macpherson  say,  that 
none  but  the  Calholic  counsellors  were  admit- 
ted to  this  confidence.  Mr.  Rose  mutters,  that 
there  is  no  evidence  of  this;  and  himself  pro- 
duces an  abstract  of  the  secret  treaty  between 
Lewis  and  Charles,  of  May,  1670,  to  which  the 
subscriptions  of  four  Catholic  ministers  of  the 
latter  are  affixed  ! 

Mr.  Fox  is  next  taxed  with  great  negligence 
for  saying,  that  he  does  not  know  what 
proof  there  is  of  Clarendon's  being  privy  to 
Charles  receiving  money  from  France ;  and 
very  long  quotations  are  inserted  from  the 
correspondence  printed  by  Dalrymple  and 
Macpherson — which  do  not  prove  Clarendon's 
knowledge  of  any  money  being  received,  though 
they  do  seem  to  establish  that  he  must  have 
known  of  its  being  stipulated  for. 

After  this  comes  Mr.  Rose's  grand  attack ; 
in  which  he  charges  the  historian  with  his 
whole  heavy  artillery  of  argument  and  quota- 
tion, and  makes  a  vigorous  effort  to  drive  him 
from  the  position,  that  the  early  arid  primary 
object  of  James's  reign  was  not  to  establish 
popery  in  this  country,  but  in  the  first  place 
to  render  himself  absolute :    and   that,  for  a 
considerable  time,  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
aimed  at  any  thing  more  than  a  complete  tole- 
ration  for   his   oAvn   religion.     The   grounds 
upon  which  this  opinion  is  maintained  by  Mr. 
Fox  are  certainly  very  probable.    There  is,  in 
the  first  place,  his  zeal  for  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land during  his  brother's  life,  and  the  violent 
oppressions  by  which  he  enforced  a  Protestant 
test  in  Scotland ;  secondly,  the  fact  of  his  carry- 
ing on  the  government  and  the  persecution  of 
nonconformist's  by  Protestant  ministers;  and, 
thirdly,  his  addresses  to  his  Parliament,  and 
the  tenour  of  much  of  his  correspondence  with 
Lewis.     In  opposition  to  this,  Mr.  Rose  quotes 
an  infinite  variety  of  passages  from  Barillon's 
correspondence,  to  show  in   general  the  un- 
feigned zeal  of  this  unfortunate  prince  for  his 
religion,  and  his  constant  desire  to  glorify  and 
advance  it.    Now,  it  is  perfectly  obvious,  in 
the  first  place,  that  Mr.  Fox  never  intended  to 
dispute  James's  zeal  for  popery ;  and,  in  the 
second  place,  it  is  very  remarkable,  that  in  the 
first  seven  passages  quoted  by  Mr.  Rose,  nothing 
more  is  said  to  be  in  the  king's  contemplation 
than  the  complete  toleration  of  that  religion. 
"  The  free  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion  in 
their  own  houses," — the  abolition  of  the  penal 
laws  against  Catholics, — "  the  free  exercise 
of  that  religion,"  &c.  &c.,  are  the  only  objects 
to  which  the  zeal  of  the  king  is  said  to  be 
directed ;  and  it  is  not  till  after  the  suppression 
of  Monmouth's  rebellion,  that  these  phrases 
are  exchanged  for  "  a  resolution  to  establish  the 
20 


302 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Catholic  religion,"  or  "  to  get  that  religion  esta- 
blished;" though  it  would  be  fair,  perhaps,  to 
interpret  some  even  of  these  phrases  with  re- 
ference to  those  which  precede  them  in  the 
correspondence  ;  especially  as,  in  a  letter  from 
Lewis  to  Barillon,  so  late  as  20th  August, 
1685,  he  merely  urges  the  great  expediency 
of  James  establishing  "the  free  exercise"  of  that 
religion. 

After  all,  in  reality,  there  is  not  much  sub- 
stantial difference  as  to  this  point  between  the 
historian  and  his  observer.  Mr.  Fox  admits 
most  explicitly,  that  James  was  zealous  in  the 
cause  of  popery;  and  that  after  Monmouth's 
execution,  he  made  attempts  equally  violent 
and  undisguised  to  restore  it.  Mr.  Rose,  on 
the  other  hand,  admits  that  he  was  exceeding- 
ly desirous  to  render  himself  absolute  ;  and 
that  one  ground  of  his  attachment  to  popery 
probably  was,  its  natural  aflinity  with  an  arbi- 
trary government.  Upon  which  of  these  two 
objects  he  set  the  chief  value,  and  which  of 
them  he  wished  to  make  subservient  to  the 
other,  it  is  not  perhaps  now  very  easy  to  de- 
termine. In  addition  to  the  authorities  referred 
to  by  Mr.  Fox,  however,  there  are  many  more 
which  tend  directly  to  show  that  one  great 
ground  of  his  antipathy  to  the  reformed  reli- 
gion was,  his  conviction  that  it  led  to  rebellion 
and  republicanism.  There  are  very  many 
passages  in  Barillon  to  this  effect;  and,  in- 
deed, the  burden  of  all  Lewis's  letters  is  to 
convince  James  that  "  the  existence  of  mo- 
narchy" in  England  depended  on  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Catholics.  Barillon  says  (Fox, 
App.  p.  125),  that  "the  king  often  declares 
publicly,  that  all  Calvinists  are  naturally  ene- 
mies to  royalty,  and  above  all,  to  royalty  in 
England."  And  Burnet  observes  (vol.  i. 
p.  73),  that  the  king  told  him,  "that  among 
other  prejudices  he  had  against  the  Protestant 
religion,  this  was  one,  that  his  brother  and 
himself  being  in  many  companies  in  Paris 
incognito  (during  the  Commonwealth),  where 
there  were  Protestants,  he  found  they  were  all 
alienated  from  them,  and  great  admirers  of 
Cromwell ;  so  he  believed  they  iverc  all  rebels  in 
their  h,:arts."  It  will  not  be  forgotten  either, 
tha*'  in  his  first  address  to  the  council,  on  his 
accession,  he  made  use  of  those  memorable 
words  : — "I  know  the  principles  of  the  Church 
of  England  are  for  monarchy,  and  therefore  I 
shall  always  take  care  to  defend  and  support 
it."  While  he  retained  this  opinion  of  its 
loyalty,  accordingly,  he  did  defend  and  sup- 
port it;  and  did  persecute  all  dissidents  from 
its  doctrine,  at  least  as  violently  as  he  after- 
wards did  those  who  opposed  popery.  It  Avas 
only  when  he  found  that  the  orthodox  doc- 
trines of  non-resistance  and  jus  divinum  would 
not  go  all  lengths,  and  that  even  the  bishops 
would  not  send  his  proclamation  to  their 
clergy,  that  he  came  to  class  them  with  the 
rest  of  the  heretics,  and  to  rely  entirely  upon 
the  slavish  votaries  of  the  Roman  supersti- 
tion. 

The  next  set  of  remarks  is  introduced  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  that  Mr.  Fox  has  gone 
rather  too  far,  in  staling  that  the  object  both 
of  Charles  and  James  in  taking  money  from 
Lewis  was  to  render  themselves  independent 


of  Parliament,  and  to  enable  them  to  govern 
without  those  assemblies.  Mr.  Rose  admits 
that  this  was  the  point  which  both  monarchs 
were  desirous  of  attaining;  and  merely  says, 
that  it  does  not  appear  that  either  of  them  ex- 
pected that  the  calling  of  Parliaments  could 
be  entirely  dispensed  with.  There  certainly 
is  not  here  any  worthy  subject  of  contention. 

The  next  point  is,  as  to  the  sums  of  money 
which  Barillon  says  he  distributed  to  the 
whig  leaders,  as  well  as  to  the  king's  minis- 
ters. Mr.  Rose  is  very  liberal  and  i-ational  on 
this  subject;  and  thinks  it  not  unfair  to  doubt 
the  accuracy  of  the  account  which  this  minis- 
ter renders  of  his  disbursements.  He  even 
quotes  two  passages  from  Mad.  de  Sevigne,  to 
show  that  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  he 
had  enriched  himself  greatly  by  his  mission 
to  England.  In  a  letter  written  during  the 
continuance  of  that  mission,  she  says,  "  Baril- 
lon s'enva,  &c. ;  son  emploi  est  admirable  cetle 
annee  ;  il  mangera  cinquante  mille  francs ;  mais 
il  sait  bien  ou  les  prendre.'"  And  after  his  final 
return,  ^she  says  he  is  old  and  rich,  and  looks 
without  envy  on  the  brilliant  situation  of  M. 
D'Avaus.  The  only  inference  he  draws  from 
the  discussion  is,  that  it  should  have  a  little 
shaken  Mr.  Fox's  confidence  in  his  accuracy. 
The  answer  to  which  obviously  is,  that  his 
mere  dishonesty,  Avhere  his  private  interest 
was  concerned,  can  afford  no  reason  for  doubt- 
ing his  accuracy  where  it  was  not  afiected. 

In  the  concluding  section  of  his  remarks, 
Mr.  Rose  resumes  his  eulogium  on  Sir  Patrick 
Hume, — introduces  a  splendid  encomium  on 
the  Marquis  of  Montrose, — brings  authority 
to  show  that  torture  was  used  to  extort  con- 
fession in  Scotland  even  after  the  Revolu- 
tion,— and  then  breaks  out  into  a  high  tory 
rant  against  Mr.  Fox,  for  supposing  that  the 
councillors  who  condemned  Argyle  might  not 
be  very  easy  in  their  consciences,  and  for  call- 
ing tho-se  who  were  hunting  down  that  noble- 
man's dispersed  followers  "authorized  assas- 
sins." James,  he  says,  was  their  lauful  sove- 
reign; and  the  parties  in  question  having  been 
in  open  rebellion,  it  was  the  evident  duty  of 
all  who  had  not  joined  with  them  to  suppress 
them.  We  are  not  very  fond  of  arguing  gene- 
ral points  of  this  nature;  and  the  question 
here  is  fortunately  special  and  simple.  If  the 
tyranny  and  oppression  of  James  in  Scotland — 
the  unheard-of  enormity  of  which  Mr.  Rose 
owns  that  Mr.  Fox  has  understated — had  al- 
ready given  that  country  a  far  juster  title  to 
renounce  him  than  England  had  in  1688;  then 
James  was  not  "  their  lawful  sovereign"  in  any 
sense  in  which  that  phrase  can  be  understood 
by  a  free  people ;  and  those  whose  cowardice 
or  despair  made  them  submit  to  be  the  instru- 
ments of  the  tyrant's  vengeance  on  one  who 
had  armed  for  their  deliverance,  may  very  in- 
nocently be  presumed  to  have  suffered  some 
remorse  for  their  compliance.  With  regard, 
again,  to  the  phrase  of  "authorized  assassins," 
it  is  plain,  from  the  context  of  Mr.  Fox,  that 
it  is  not  applied  to  the  regular  forces  acting 
against  the  remains  of  Argyle's  n)-w)frf  follow- 
ers, but  to  those  individuals,  whether  military 
or  not,  who  pursued  the  disarmed  and  soli- 
tary fugitives,  for  the  purpose  of  butchering 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


303 


them  in  cold  blood,  in  their  caverns  and  moun- 
tains. 

Such  is  the  substance  of  Mr.  Rose's  obser- 
vations ;  which  certainly  do  not  appear  to  us 
of  any  considerable  value — though  they  indi- 
cate, throughout,  a  laudable  industry,  and  a 
still  more  laudable  consciousness  of  infe- 
riority,— together  with  (what  we  are  deter- 
mined to  believe)  a  natural  disposition  to 
liberality  and  moderation,  counteracted  by  the 
littleness  of  party  jealousy  and  resentment. 
We  had  noted  a  great  number  of  petty  mis- 
representations and  small  inaccuracies ;  but 
in  a  work  which  is  not  likely  either  to  be 
much  read,  or  long  remembered,  these  things 
are  not  worth  the  trouble  of  correction. 

Though  the  book  itself  is  very  dull,  how- 
ever, we  must  say  that  the  Appendix  is  very 
entertaining.  Sir  Patrick's  narrative  is  clear 
and  spirited ;  but  what  delights  us  far  more,  is 
another  and  more  domestic  and  miscellaneous 
narrative  of  the  adventures  of  his  family,  from 
the  period  of  Argyle's  discomfiture  till  their 
return  in  the  train  of  King  William.  This  is 
from  the  hand  of  Lady  Murraj',  Sir  Patrick's 
grand-daughter ;  and  is  mostly  furnished  from 
the  information  of  her  mother,  his  favourite 
and  exemplary  daughter.  There  is  an  air  of 
cheerful  magnanimity  and  artless  goodness 
about  this  little  history,  which  is  extremely 
engaging  :  and  a  variety  of  traits  of  Scottish 
simplicity  and  homeliness  of  character,  which 
recommend  it,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  our 
national  feelings.  Although  we  have  already 
enlarged  this  article  beyond  its  proper  limits, 
we  must  give  our  readers  a  few  specimens  of 
this  singular  chronicle. 

After  Sir  Patrick's  escape,  he  made  his  way 
to  his  own  castle,  and  was  concealed  for  some 
time  in  a  vault  under  the  church,  where  his 
daughter,  then  a  girl  under  twenty,  went  alone, 
every  night,  with  an  heroic  fortitude,  to  com- 
fort and  feed  him.  The  gaiety,  however, 
which  lightened  this  perilous  intercourse,  is  to 
us  still  more  admirable  than  its  heroism. 

"She  went  every  night  by  herself,  at  mid- 
night, to  carry  him  victuals  and  drink;  and 
stayed  with  him  as  long  as  she  could  to  get 
home  before  day.  In  all  this  time,  my  grand- 
father showed  the  same  constant  composure, 
and  cheerfulness  of  mind,  that  he  continued  to 
possess  to  his  death,  which  was  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four;  all  which  good  qualities  she  in- 
herited from  him  in  a  high  degree.  Often  did 
they  laugh  heartily  in  that  doleful  habitation,  at 
different  accidents  that  happened.  She  at  that 
time  had  a  terror  for  a  churchyard,  especially 
in  the  dark,  as  is  not  uncommon  at  her  age, 
by  idle  nursery  stories  ;  but  when  engaged  by 
concern  for  her  father,  she  stumbled  over  the 
graves  every  night  alone,  without  fear  of  any 
kind  entering  her  thoughts,  but  for  soldiers 
and  parties  in  search  of  him,  which  the  least 
noise  or  motion  of  a  leaf  put  her  in  terror  for. 
The  minister's  house  was  near  the  church. 
The  first  night  she  went,  his  dogs  kept  such  a 
barking  as  put  her  in  the  utm-ost  fear  of  a  dis- 
covery. My  grandmother  sent  for  the  minister 
next  day,  and,  upon  pretence  of  a  mad  dog, 
got  him  to  hang  all  his  dogs.  There  was  also 
difficulty  of  getting  victuals  to  carry  him,  with- 


out the  servants  suspecting:  the  only  way  it 
was  done,  was  by  stealing  it  off  her  plate  at 
dinner,  into  her  lap.  Many  a  diverting  story 
she  has  told  about  this,  and  other  things  of  the 
like  nature.  Her  father  liked  sheep's  head ; 
and,  while  the  children  were  eating  their  broth, 
she  had  conveyed  most  of  one  into  her  lap. 
When  her  brother  Sandy  (the  late  Lord  March 
mont)  had  done,  he  looked  up  with  astonish- 
ment and  said,  'Mother,  will  you  look  at 
Grizzel ;  while  we  have  been  eating  our  broth, 
she  has  eat  up  the  whole  sheep's  head.'  This 
occasioned  so  much  mirth  ajnong  them,  that  her 
father,  at  night,  was  greatly  entertained  by  it ;  and 
desired  Sandy  might  have  a  share  in  the  next" — 
App.  p.  [v.] 

They  then  tried  to  secrete  him  in  a  low  room 
in  his  own  house;  and,  for  this  purpose,  to  con- 
trive a  bed  concealed  under  the  floor,  which 
this  affectionate  and  light-hearted  girl  secretly 
excavated  herself,  by  scratching  up  the  earth 
with  her  nails,  "  till  she  left  not  a  nail  on  her 
fingers,"  and  carrying  it  into  the  garden  at 
night  in  bags.  At  last,  however,  they  all  got 
over  to  Holland,  where  they  seem  to  have  lived 
in  great  poverty, — but  in  the  same  style  of 
magnanimous  gaiety  and  cordial  affection,  of 
which  some  instances  have  been  recited.  This 
admirable  young  woman,  who  lived  afterwards 
with  the  same  simplicity  of  character  in  the 
first  society  in  England,  seems  to  have  exerted 
herself  in  a  way  that  nothing  but  affection 
could  have  rendered  tolerable,  even  to  one  bred 
up  to  drudgery. 

"All  the  time  they  were  there"  (says  his 
daughter),  "there  was  not  a  week  my  mother 
did  not  sit  up  two  nights,  to  do  the  business 
that  was  necessary.  She  went  to  market; 
went  to  the  mill  to  have  their  corn  ground, 
which,  it  seems,  is  the  way  with  good  mana- 
gers there;  dressed  the  linen;  cleaned  the 
house  ;  made  ready  dinner;  mended  the  child- 
ren's stockings,  and  other  clothes ;  made  what 
she  could  for  them  ;  and,  in  short,  did  every 
thing.  Her  sister  Christian,  who  was  a  year 
or  two  younger,  diverted  her  father  and  mother, 
and  the  rest,  who  were  fond  of  music.  Out  of 
their  small  income  they  bought  a  harpsichord 
for  little  money  (but  is  a  Rucar*),  now  in  my 
custody,  and  most  valuable.  My  aunt  played 
and  sung  well,  and  had  a  great  deal  of  life  and 
humour,  but  no  turn  to  business.  Though  my 
mother  had  the  same  qualifications,  and  liked 
it  as  well  as  she  did,  she  was  forced  to  drudge; 
and  many  jokes  used  to  pass  betwixt  the  sisters 
about  their  different  occupations," — p.  [ix.] 

"Her  brother  soon  afterwards  entered  into 
the  Prince  of  Orange's  guards :  and  her  con- 
stant attention  was  to  have  him  appear  right  in 
his  linen  and  dress.  They  wore  little  point 
cravats  and  cuffs,  which  many  a  night  she  sat 
up  to  have  in  as  good  order  for  him  as  any  in 
the  place ;  and  one  of  their  greatest  expenses 
was  in  dressing  him  as  he  ought  to  be.  As 
their  house  was  always  full  of  the  unfortunate 
banished  people  like  themselves,  they  seldom 
went  to  dinner,  without  three,  or  four,  or  five 
of  them,  to  share  with  them;  and  many  a  hun- 
dred times  I  have  heard  her   say,  she  could 

*  An  eminent  maker  of  that  time. 


304 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


never  look  back  upon  their  manner  of  living 
there,  without  thinking  it  a  miracle.  They  had 
no  want,  but  plenty  of  every  thing  they  desired, 
and  much  contentment;  and  always  declared 
It  the  most  pleasing  part  of  her  life,  though 
Ihey  were  not  without  their  little  distresses ; 
but  to  them  they  were  rather  jokes  than  grievances. 
The  professors,  and  men  of  learning  in  the 
place,  came  often  to  see  my  grandfather.  The 
best  entertainment  he  could  give  them  was  a 
glass  of  alabast  beer,  which  was  a  better  kind 
of  ale  than  common.  He  sent  his  son  An- 
drew, the  late  Lord  Kimmerghame,  a  boy,  to 
draw  some  for  them  in  the  cellar :  he  brought 
it  up  with  great  diligence;  but  in  the  other 
hand  the  spigot  of  the  barrel.  My  grandfather 
said,  'Andrew,  what  is  that  in  your  hand]' 
When  he  saw  it  he  run  down  with  speed  ;  but 
the  beer  was  all  run  out  before  he  got  there. 
This  occasioned  much  mirth;  though,  perhaps, 
they  did  not  well  know  where  to  get  more." — 
pp.  [x.  xi.] 


Sir  Patrick,  we  are  glad  to  hear,  retained  this 
kindly  cheerfulness  of  character  to  the  last; 
and,  after  he  was  an  earl  and  chancellor  of 
Scotland,  and  unable  to  stir  with  gout,  had 
himself  carried  to  the  room  where  his  children 
and  grandchildren  were  dancing,  and  insisted 
on  beating  time  with  his  foot.  Nay,  when 
dying  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four,  he 
could  not  resist  his  old  propensity  to  joking, 
but  uttered  various  pleasantries  on  the  disap- 
pointment the  worms  would  meet  with,  when, 
after  boring  through  his  thick  coffin,  they 
would  find  little  but  bones. 

There  is,  in  the  Appendix,  besides  these 
narrations,  a  fierce  attack  upon  Burnet,  which 
is  full  of  inaccuracies  and  ill  temper ;  and 
some  interesting  particulars  of  Monmouth's 
imprisonment  and  execution.  We  dare  say 
Mr.  Rose  could  publish  a  volume  or  two  of 
very  interesting  tracts;  and  can  venture -to 
predict  that  his  collections  will  be  much  more 
popular  than  his  observations. 


DISTUEBANCES  AT  MADEAS; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1810.] 


The  disturbances  which  have  lately  taken 
place  in  our  East  Indian  possessions,  would, 
at  any  period,  have  excited  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  alarm ;  and  those  feelings  are,  of 
course,  not  a  little  increased  by  the  ruinous 
aspect  of  our  European  affairs.  The  revolt 
of  an  army  of  eighty  thousand  men  is  an  event 
■which  seems  to  threaten  so  nearly  the  ruin  of 
the  country  in  which  it  happens,  that  no  com- 
mon curiosity  is  excited  as  to  the  causes  which 
could  have  led  to  it,  and  the  means  by  which 
its  danger  was  averted.  On  these  points,  we 
shall  endeavour  to  exhibit  to  our  readers  the 
informaticn  afforded  to  us  by  the  pamphlets 
whose  titles  we  have  cited.  The  first  of  these 
is  understood  to  be  written  by  an  agent  of  Sir 
George  Barlow,  sent  over  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  defending  his  measures  ;  the  second  is 
most  probably  the  production  of  some  one  of 
the  dismissed  officers,  or,  at  least,  founded  upon 
their  representations;  the  third  statement  is  by 
Mr.  Petrie, — and  we  most  cordially  recommend 
it  to  the  perusal  of  our  readers.  It  is  charac- 
terized, throughout,  by  moderation,  good  sense, 
and  a  feeling  of  duty.  We  have  seldom  read 
a  narrative,  which,  on  the  first  face  of  it,  look- 
ed so  much  like  truth.  It  has,  of  course,  pro- 
duced the  ruin  and  dismissal  of  this  gentleman, 
though  we  have  not  the  shadow  of  doubt,  that 
if  his  advice  had  been  followed,  every  unplea- 


*  JiTarrative  of  the  Orifrin  and  Pron-ress  of  the  Dissen- 
sions at  the  Presidency  of  Madras,  founded  on  Original 
Papers  and  Correspondence.     Lloyd,  London,  1810. 

jiccount  of  the  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  late  Discon- 
tents of  the  Mrmy  on  the  Madras  Establishment.  Cadell 
and  Davies,  London,  1810. 

Statement  of  Facts  delivered  to  the  Right  Ifononralile 
Lord  Minto.  By  William  I'etkie  Esq.  Stockdale, 
London,  1610. 


sant  occurrence  which  has  happened  in  India 
might  have  been  effectually  prevented. 

In  the  year  1802,  a  certam  monthly  allow- 
ance, proportioned  to  their  respective  ranks, 
was  given  to  each  officer  of  the  coast  army,  to 
enable  him  to  provide  himself  with  camp 
equipage;  and  a  monthly  allowance  was  also 
made  to  the  commanding  officers  of  the  native 
corps,  for  the  provision  of  the  camp  equipage 
of  these  corps.  This  arrangement  was  com- 
monly called  the  tent  contract.  Its  intention  (as 
the  pamphlet  of  Sir  George  Barlow's  agent 
very  properly  states)  was  to  combine  facility 
of  movement  in  military  operations  with  views 
of  economy.  In  the  general  revision  of  its 
establishments,  set  on  foot  for  the  purposes  of 
economy  by  the  Madras  government,  this  con- 
tract was  considered  as  entailing  upon  them  a 
very  unnecessary  expense  ;  and  the  then  com- 
mander-in-chief, General  Craddock,  directed 
Colonel  Munro,  the  quartermaster-general,  to 
make  a  report  to  him  upon  the  subject.  The 
report,  which  was  published  almost  as  soon  as 
it  was  made  up*,  recommends  the  abolition  of 
this  contract;  and,  among  other  passages  for 
the  support  of  this  opinion,  has  the  following 
one: — 

"  Six  yeai's'  experience  of  the  practical 
effects  of  the  existing  system  of  the  camp 
equipage  equipment  of  the  native  army,  has 
afforded  means  of  forming  a  judgment  relative 
to  its  advantages  and  efficiency  which  were 
not  possessed  by  the  persons  who  proposed 
its  introduction ;  and  an  attentive  examination 
of  its  operations  during  that  period  of  time 
has  suggested  the  following  observations  re- 
garding it: — " 

After  stating  that  the  contract  is  needlessly 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


305 


expensive — that  it  subjects  the  Company  to 
the  same  charges  for  troops  in  garrison  as  for 
those  in  the  field — the  report  proceeds  to  state 
the  following  observation,  made  on  the  autho- 
rity o£  six  years'  experience  and  attentive  examina- 
tion. 

"  Thirdly.  By  granting  the  same  allowances 
in  peace  and  war  for  the  equipment  of  native 
corps,  while  the  expenses  incidental  to  that 
charge  are  unavoidably  much  greater  in  war 
than  peace,  it  places  the  interest  and  duty  of 
officers  commanding  native  corps  in  direct 
opposition  to  one  another.  It  makes  it  their 
interest  that  their  corps  should  not  be  in  a 
state  of  efficiency  fit  for  field  service,  and 
therefore  furnishes  strong  inducements  to 
neglect  their  most  important  duties." — .Accurate 
and  .Authentic  Narrative,  pp.  117,  118. 

Here,  then,  is  not  only  a  proposal  for  re- 
ducing the  emoluments  of  the  principal  offi- 
cers of  the  Madras  army,  but  a  charge  of  the 
most  flagrant  nature.  The  first  they  might 
possibly  have  had  some  right  to  consider  as  a 
hardship ;  but,  when  severe  and  unjust  invec- 
tive was  superadded  to  strict  retrenchment — 
when  their  pay  and  their  reputation  were 
diminished  at  the  same  time — it  cannot  be 
considered  as  surprising,  that  such  treatment, 
on  the  part  of  the  government,  should  lay  the 
foundation  for  a  spirit  of  discontent  in  those 
troops  who  had  recently  made  such  splendid 
additions  to  the  Indian  empire,  and  establish- 
ed, in  the  progress  of  these  acquisitions,  so 
high  a  character  for  discipline  and  courage. 
It  must  be  remembered,  that  an  officer  on 
European  and  one  on  Indian  service  are  in 
very  different  situations,  and  propose  to  them 
selves  very  different  objects.  The  one  never 
thinks  of  making  a  fortune  by  his  profession, 
while  the  hope  of  ultimately  gaining  an  inde- 
pendence is  the  principal  motive  for  which 
the  Indian  officer  banishes  himself  from  his 
country.  To  diminish  the  emoluments  of  his 
profession  is  to  retard  the  period  of  his  return, 
and  to  frustrate  the  purpose  for  which  he  ex- 
poses his  life  and  health  in  a  burning  climate, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  world.  We  make 
these  observations,  certainlv.  without  any  idea 
of  denying  the  right  of  the  East  maia  Com- 
pany to  make  any  retrenchments  they  may 
think  proper,  but  to  show  that  it  is  a  right 
which  ought  to  be  exercised  with  great  deli- 
cacy and  with  sound  discretion — that  it  should 
only  be  exercised  when  the  retrenchment  is  of 
real  importance — and  above  all,  that  it  should 
always  be  accompanied  with  every  mark  of 
suavity  and  conciliation.  Sir  George  Barlow, 
on  the  contrary,  committed  the  singular  im- 
prudence of  stigmatizing  the  honour,  and 
wounding  the  feelings  of  the  Indian  officers. 
At  the  same  moment  that  he  diminishes  their 
emoluments  he  tells  them,  that  the  India  Com- 
pany take  away  their  allowances  for  tents, 
because  those  allowances  have  been  abused 
in  the  meanest,  most  profligate,  and  most  un- 
soldier-like  manner;  for  this  and  more  than 
this  is  conveyed  in  the  report  of  Colonel 
Munro,  published  by  order  of  Sir  George  Bar- 
low. If  it  was  right,  in  the  first  instance,  to 
diminish  the  emoluments  of  so  vast  an  array, 
39 


it  was  certainly  indiscreet  to  give  such  reasons 
for  it.  If  any  individual  had  abused  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  tent-contract,  he  might  have 
been  brought  to  a  court-martial;  and,  if  his 
guilt  had  been  established,  his  punishment,  we 
will  venture  to  assert,  would  not  have  occa- 
sioned a  moment  of  complaint  or  disaffection 
in  the  army ;  but  that  a  civilian,  a  gentleman 
accustomed  only  to  the  details  of  commerce, 
should  begin  his  government,  over  a  settle- 
ment with  which  he  was  utterly  unacquainted, 
by  telling  one  of  the  bravest  set  of  officers  in 
the  world,  that,  for  six  years  past,  they  had 
been,  in  the  basest  manner,  sacrificing  their 
duty  to  their  interest,  does  ap«pear  to  us  an  in- 
stance of  indiscretion  which,  if  frequently 
repeated,  would  soon  supersede  the  necessity 
of  any  further  discussion  upon  Indian  affairs. 

The  whole  transaction,  indeed,  appears  to 
have  been  gone  into  with  a  disregard  to  the 
common  professional  feelings  of  an  army, 
which  is  to  us  utterly  inexplicable.  The 
opinion  of  the  commander-in-chief,  General 
Macdowall,  was  never  asked  upon  the  sub- 
ject; not  a  single  witness  was  examined;  the 
whole  seems  to  have  depended  upon  the 
report  of  Colonel  Munro,  the  youngest  staff- 
ofRcer  of  the  army,  published  in  spite  of  the 
earnest  remonstrance  of  Colonel  Capper,  the 
adjutant-general,  and  before  three  days  had 
been  given  him  to  substitute  his  own  plan, 
which  Sir  George  Barlow  had  promised  to 
read  before  the  publication  of  Colonel  Munro's 
report.  Nay,  this  great  plan  of  reduction  was 
never  even  submitted  to  the  military  board,  by 
whom  all  subjects  of  that  description  were, 
according  to  the  orders  of  the  court  of  directoi's, 
and  the  usage  of  the  service,  to  be  discussed 
and  digested,  previous  to  their  coming  before 
government. 

Shortly  after  the  promulgation  of  this  very 
indiscreet  paper,  the  commander-in-chief.  Ge- 
neral Macdowall,  received  letters  from  almost 
all  the  officers  commanding  native  corps, 
representing,  in  terms  adapted  to  the  feelings 
of  each,  the  stigma  which  was  considered  to 
attach  to  them  individually,  and  appealing  to 
the  authority  of  the  commander-in-chief  for 
redress  against  such  charges,  and  to  his  per- 
sonal experience  for  their  falsehood.  To  these 
letters  the  general  replied,  that  the  orders  in 
question  had  been  prepared  tvithout  ar.y  refer- 
ence to  his  opinion,  and  that,  as  the  matter  waa 
so  far  advanced,  he  deemed  it  inexpedient  to 
interfere.  The  officers  commanding  corps, 
finding  that  no  steps  were  taken  to  remove  the 
obnoxious  insinuations,  and  considering  that, 
while  they  remained,  an  indelible  disgrace  was 
cast  upon  their  characters,  prepared  charges 
against  Colonel  Munro.  These  charges  were 
forwarded  to  General  Macdowall,  referred  by 
him  to  the  judge  advocate  general,  and  re- 
turned, with  his  objections  to  them,  to  the 
officers  who  had  preferred  the  charges.  For 
two  months  after  this  period,  General  Mac- 
dowall appears  to  have  remained  in  a  state  of 
uncertainty,  as  to  whether  he  would  or  would 
not  bring  Colonel  Munro  to  a  court-martial 
upon  the  charges  preferred  against  him  by  the 
commanders  of  corps.  At  last,  urged  by  tne 
discontents  of  the  army,  he  determined  in  the 
2c  2 


306 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


affirmative ;  and  Colonel  Munro  was  put  in 
arrest,  preparatory  to  his  trial.  Colonel  Munro 
then  appealed  directly  to  the  governor,  Sir 
George  Barlow;  and  was  released  by  a  posi- 
tive order  from  him.  It  is  necessary  to  state, 
that  all  appeals  of  officers  to  the  government 
in  India  always  pass  through  the  hands  of  the 
commander-in-chief;  and  this  appeal,  there- 
fore, of  Colonel  Munro,  directed  to  the  govern- 
ment, was  considered  by  General  Macdowall 
as  a  great  infringement  of  military  discipline. 
We  have  very  great  doubts  whether  Sir  George 
Barlow  was  not  guilty  of  another  great  mistake 
in  preventing  this  court-martial  from  taking 
place.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  no  servant 
of  the  public  is  amenable  to  justice  for  doing 
what  the  government  orders  him  to  do;  but 
he  is  not  entitled  to  protection  under  the  pre- 
tence of  that  order,  if  he  has  done  something 
which  it  evidently  did  not  require  of  him.  If 
Colonel  Munro  had  been  ordered  to  report 
upon  the  conduct  of  an  individual  officer, — 
and  it  could  be  proved  that,  in  gratification  of 
private  malice,  he  had  taken  that  opportunity 
of  stating  the  most  infamous  and  malicious 
falsehoods, — could  it  be  urged  that  his  conduct 
might  not  be  fairly  scrutinized  in  a  court  of 
justice,  or  a  court-martial  1  If  this  were  other- 
wise, any  duty  delegated  by  government  to  an 
individual  would  become  the  most  intolerable 
source  of  oppression :  he  might  gratify  every 
enmity  and  antipathy — indulge  in  every  act  of 
malice — vilify  and  traduce  every  one  whom 
he  hated — and  then  shelter  himself  under  the 
plea  of  public  service.  Every  body  has  a 
right  to  do  what  the  supreme  power  orders 
him  to  do ;  but  he  does  not  thereby  acquire  a 
right  to  do  what  he  has  not  been  ordered  to  do. 
Colonel  Munro  was  directed  to  make  a  report 
upon  the  state  of  the  army:  the  officers  whom 
he  has  traduced  accuse  him  of  reporting 
something  utterly  different  from  the  state  of 
the  army — something  which  he  and  every 
body  else  knew  to  be  different — and  this  for 
the  malicious  purpose  of  calumniating  their 
reputation.  If  this  was  true,  Colonel  Munro 
could  not  plead  the  authority  of  government ; 
for  the  authority  of  government  was  afforded 
to  him  for  a  very  different  purpose.  In  this 
view  of  the  case,  we  cannot  see  how  the  dig- 
nity of  government  was  attacked  by  the  pro- 
posal of  the  court-martial,  or  to  what  other 
remedy  those  who  had  suffered  fi'om  his  abuse 
of  his  power  could  have  had  recourse.  Colonel 
Munro  had  been  promised,  by  General  Mac- 
dowall, that  the  court-martial  should  consist 
of  king's  officers :  there  could  not,  therefore, 
have  been  any  rational  suspicion  that  his  trial 
would  have  been  unfair,  or  his  judges  unduly 
influenced. 

Soon  after  Sir  George  Barlow  had  shown 
this  reluctance  to  give  the  complaining  officers 
an  opportunity  of  re-establishing  their  injured 
character,  General  Macdowall  sailed  for  Eng- 
land, and  left  behind  him,  for  publication,  an 
order,  in  which  Colonel  Munro  was  repri- 
manded for  a  violent  breach  in  military  disci- 
pline, in  appealing  to  the  governor  otherwise 
than  through  the  customary  and  prescribed 
channel  of  the  commander-in-chief.  As  this 
paper  is  very  short,  and  at  the  same  time  very 


necessary  to  the  right  comprehension  of  this 
case,  we  shall  lay  it  before  our  readers. 

"  G.  O.  by  the  Commander-in-chief. 

"The  immediate  departure  of  Lieutenant 
General  Macdowall  from  Madras  will  prevent 
his  pursuing  the  design  of  bringing  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Munro,  quartermaster-general,  to  trial, 
for  disrespect  to  the  commander-in-chief,  for 
disobedience  of  orders,  and  for  contempt  of 
military  authority,  in  having  resorted  to  the 
power  of  the  civil  government,  in  defiance  of 
the  judgment  of  the  officer  at  the  head  of  the 
army,  who  had  placed  him  under  arrest,  on 
charges  preferred  against  him  by  a  number 
of  officers  commanding  native  corps,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  appeal  direct  to  the  honourable 
the  president  in  council,  Lieutenant-General 
Macdowall  has  received  positive  orders  from 
the  chief  secretary  to  liberate  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Munro  from  arrest. 

"  Such  conduct  on  the  part  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Munro,  being  destructive  of  subordi- 
nation, subversive  of  military  discipline,  a 
violation  of  the  sacred  rights  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  holding  out  a  most  dan- 
gerous example  to  the  service,  Lieutenant- 
General  Macdowall,  in  support  of  the  dignity 
of  the  profession,  and  his  own  station  and 
character,  feels  it  incumbent  on  him  to  express 
his  strong  disapprobation  of  Lieuten  ant-Colonel 
Munro's  unexampled  proceedings,  and  con- 
siders it  a  solemn  duty  imposed  upon  him  to 
reprimand  Lieutenant-Colonel  Munro  in  gene- 
ral orders;  and  he  is  hereby  reprimanded 
accordingly.  (Signed)  T.  Boles,  d.  a.  g." — 
Jiccur.  Sf  Auth.  Nar.  pp.  68,  69. 

•  Sir  George  Barlow,  in  consequence  of  this 
paper,  immediately  deprived  General  Mac- 
dowall of  his  situation  of  commander-in-chief, 
which  he  had  not  yet  I'esigned,  though  he  had 
quitted  the  settlement ;  and  as  the  official  sig- 
nature of  the  deputy  adjutant-general  appeared 
to  the  paper,  that  officer  also  was  suspended 
from  his  situation.  Colonel  Capper,  the  adju- 
tant-general, in  the  most  honourable  manner 
informed  Sir  George  Barlow,  that  he  was  the 
culpable  and  responsible  person ;  and  that  the 
name  of  his  deputy  only  appeared  to  the  paper 
in  consequence  of  his  positive  order,  and  be- 
cause he  himself  happened  to  be  absent  on 
shipboard  with  General  Macdowall.  This 
generous  conduct  on  the  part  of  Colonel  Cap- 
per involved  himself  in  punishment,  without 
extricating  the  innocent  person  whom  he  in- 
tended to  protect.  The  Madras  government, 
always  swift  to  condemn,  doomed  him  to  the 
same  punishment  as  Major  Boles ;  and  he 
was  suspended  from  his  office. 

This  paper  we  have  read  over  with  great 
attention;  and  we  really  cannot  see  wherein 
its  criminality  consists,  or  on  what  account  it 
could  have  drawn  down  upon  General  Mac- 
dowall so  severe  a  punishment  as  the  priva- 
tion of  the  high  and  dignified  office  which 
he  held.  The  censure  upon  Colonel  Munro 
was  for  a  violation  of  the  regular  etiquette 
of  the  army,  in  appealing  to  the  governor 
otherwise  than  through  the  channel  of  the 
commander-in-chief.  This  was  an  entirely 
new  offence  on  the  part  of  Colonel  Munro. 


WORKS  OF  THE  IlEV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


307 


Sir  George  Barlow  had  given  no  opinion  upon 
it;  it  had  not  been  discussed  between  him 
arid  the  commander-in-chief;  and  the  com- 
mander-in-chief was  clearly  at  liberty  to  act 
in  this  point  as  he  pleased.  He  does  not  repri- 
mand Colonel  Munro  for  obeying  Sir  George 
Barlow's  orders ;  for  Sir  George  had  given  no 
orders  upon  the  subject ;  but  he  blames  him 
for  transgressing  a  well-known  and  important 
rule  of  the  service.  We  have  great  doubts  if 
he  was  not  quite  right  in  giving  this  reprimand. 
But  at  all  events,  if  he  was  TVTong, — if  Colonel 
Munro  was  not  guilty  of  the  offence  imputed, 
still  the  erroneous  punishment  which  the 
general  had  inflicted  merited  no  such  severe 
retribution  as  that  resorted  to  by  Sir  George 
Barlow.  There  are  no  reflections  in  the 
paper  on  the  conduct  of  the  governor  or  the 
government.  The  reprimand  is  grounded  en- 
tirely upon  the  breach  of  that  military  disci- 
pline which  it  was  undoubtedly  the  business 
of  General  Macdowall  to  maintain  in  the  most 
perfect  purity  and  vigour.  Nor  has  the  paper 
any  one  expression  in  it  foreign  to  this  pur- 
pose. We  were,  indeed,  not  a  little  astonished 
at  reading  it.  We  had  imagined  that  a 
paper,  which  drew  after  it  such  a  long  train 
of  dismissals  and  suspensions,  must  have 
contained  a  declaration  of  war  against  the 
Madras  government, — an  exhortation  to  the 
troops  to  throw  off  their  allegiance, — or  an 
advice  to  the  natives  to  drive  their  intrusive 
masters  away,  and  become  as  free  as  their 
forefathers  had  left  them.  Instead  of  this,  we 
find  nothing  more  than  a  common  reprimand 
from  a  commander-in-chief  to  a  subordinate 
officer,  for  transgressing  the  bounds  of  his 
duty.  If  Sir  George  Barlow  had  governed 
kingdoms  six  months  longer,  we  cannot  help 
thinking  he  woula  have  been  a  little  more 
moderate. 

But  whatever  difference  of  opinion  there 
may  be  respecting  the  punishment  of  General 
Macdowall,  we  can  scarcely  think  there  can 
be  any  with  regard  to  the  conduct  observed 
towards  the  adjutant-general  and  his  deputy. 
They  were  the  subordinates  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  and  were  peremptorily  bound  to  pub- 
lish any  general  orders  which  he  might  com- 
mand them  to  publish.  They  would  have 
been  liable  to  very  severe  punishment  if  they 
had  not;  and  it  appears  to  us  the  most  flagrant 
outrage  against  all  justice  to  convert  their 
obedience  into  a  fault.  It  is  true,  no  subordi- 
nate officer  is  bound  to  obey  any  order  which 
is  plainly,  and  to  any  common  apprehension, 
illegal ;  but  then  the  illegality  must  be  quite 
manifest;  the  order  must  imply  such  a  contra- 
diction to  common  sense,  and  such  a  violation 
of  duties  superior  to  the  duty  of  military 
obedience,  that  there  can  be  scarcely  two 
opinions  on  the  subject.  Wherever  any  fair 
doubt  can  be  raised,  the  obedience  of  the 
inferior  officer  is  to  be  considered  as  proper 
and  meritorious.  Upon  any  other  principle, 
his  situation  is  the  most  cruel  imaginable: 
he  is  liable  to  the  severest  punishment,  even 
to  instant  death,  if  he  refuses  to  obey ;  and  if 
he  does  obey,  he  is  exposed  to  the  animadver- 
sion of  the  civil  power,  which  teaches  him 
that  he  ought  to  have  canvassed  the  order, — 


to  have  remonstrated  against  it, — and,  in  case 
this  opposition  proved  ineffectual,  to  have 
disobeyed  it.  We  have  no  hesitation  in  pro- 
nouncing the  imprisonment  of  Colonel  Capper 
and  Major  Boles  to  have  been  an  act  of  great 
severity  and  great  indiscretion,  and  such  as 
might  very  fairly  give  great  offence  to  an  army, 
who  saw  themselves  exposed  to  the  same 
punishments,  for  the  same  adherence  to  their 
duties. 

"The  measure  of  removing  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Capper  and  Major  Boles,"  says  Mr. 
Petrie,  "was  universally  condemned  by  the 
most  respectable  officers  in  the  army,  and  not 
more  so  by  the  officers  in  the  Company's  ser- 
vice, than  by  those  of  his  majesty's  regiments. 
It  was  felt  by  all  as  the  introduction  of  a  most 
dangerous  principle,  and  setting  a  pernicious 
example  of  disobedience  and  insubordination 
to  all  the  gradations  of  military  rank  and 
authority;  teaching  inferior  officers  to  ques- 
tion the  legality  of  the  orders  of  their  superiors, 
and  bringing  into  discussion  questions  which 
may  endanger  the  very  existence  of  govern- 
ment. Our  proceedings  at  the  time  operated 
like  an  electric  shock,  and  gave  rise  to  combi- 
nations, associations,  and  discussions,  preg- 
nant with  danger  to  every  constituted  authority 
in  India.  It  was  observed  that  the  removal 
of  General  Macdowall  (admitting  the  expe- 
diency of  the  measure)  sufficiently  vindicated 
the  authority  of  government,  and  exhibited  to 
the  army  a  memorable  proof  that  the  supreme 
power  is  vested  in  the  civil  authorit3\ 

"The  offence  came  from  the  general,  and 
he  was  punished  for  it;  but  to  suspend  from 
the  service  the  mere  instruments  of  office,  for 
the  ordinary  transmission  of  an  order  to  the 
army,  was  universally  condemned  as  an  act 
of  inapplicable  severity,  which  might  do  infi- 
nite mischief,  but  could  not  accomplish  any 
good  or  beneficial  purpose.  It  was  to  court 
unpopularity,  and  adding  fuel  to  the  flame, 
which  was  ready  to  burst  forth  in  every  divi- 
sion of  the  army ;  that  to  vindicate  the  mea- 
sure .on  the  assumed  illegality  of  the  order,  is 
to  resort  to  a  principle  of  a  most  dangerous 
tendency,  capable  of  being  extended  in  its  ap- 
plication to  purposes  subversive  of  the  foun- 
dations of  all  authority,  civil  as  well  as  mili- 
tary. If  subordinate  officers  are  encouraged 
to  judge  of  the  legality  of  the  orders  of  their 
superiors,  we  introduce  a  precedent  of  incal- 
culable mischief,  neither  justified  by  the  spirit 
nor  practice  of  the  laws.  Is  it  not  better  to 
have  the  responsibility  on  the  head  of  the 
authority  which  issues  the  order,  except  in 
cases  so  plain  that  the  most  common  capacity 
can  judge  of  their  being  direct  violations  of 
the  established  and  acknowledged  laws  1  Is 
the  intemperance  of  the  expressions,  the  indis- 
cretions of  the  opinions,  the  ."flammatory 
tendency  of  the  order,  so  eminently  dangerous, 
so  evidently  calculated  to  excite  to  mutiny  and 
disobedience,  so  strongly  marked  with  features 
of  criminality,  as  not  to  be  mistaken  ?  Was 
the  order,  I  beg  leave  to  ask,  of  this  descrip- 
tion, of  such  a  nature  as  to  justify  the  adjutant- 
general  and  his  deputy  in  their  refusal  to  pub- 
lish it,  to  disobey  the  order  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  to  revolt  from  his  authority,  and  to 


308 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


complain  of  him  to  the  government?  Such 
■were  the  views  I  took  of  that  unhappy  trans- 
action ;  and,  as  I  foresaw  serious  mischief 
from  the  measure,  not  only  to  the  discipline 
of  the  army,  but  even  to  the  security  of  the 
civil  government,  it  was  my  duty  to  state  my 
opinion  to  Sir  G.  Barlow,  and  to  use  every 
argument  which  my  reason  suggested,  to  pre- 
vent the  publication  of  the  order.  In  this  I 
completely  failed;  the  suspension  took  effect; 
and  the  match  was  laid  that  has  communicated 
the  flame  to  almost  every  military  mind  in 
India.  I  recorded  no  dissent ;  for,  as  a  formal 
opposition  could  only  tend  to  exonerate  myself 
from  a  certain  degree  of  responsibility,  with- 
out effecting  any  good  public  purpose,  and 
might  probably  be  misconstrued  or  miscon- 
ceived by  those  to  whom  our  proceedings  were 
made  known,  it  was  a  more  honourable  dis- 
charge of  my  duty  to  relinquish  this  advan- 
tage, than  to  comply  with  the  mere  letter  of 
the  order  respecting  dissents.  I  explained  this 
motive  of  my  conduct  to  Sir  G.  Barlow." — 
Statement  of  Facts,  pp.  20 — 23. 

After  these  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the 
Madras  government,  the  disaffection  of  the 
troops  rapidly  increased ;  absurd  and  violent 
manifestoes  were  published  by  the  general 
officers ;  government  was  insulted ;  and  the 
army  soon  broke  out  into  open  mutiny. 

When  the  mutiny  was  fairly  begun,  the  con- 
duct of  the  Madras  government  in  quelling  it, 
seems  nearly  as  objectionable  as  that  by  which 
it  had  been  excited.  The  governor,  in  attempt- 
ing to  be  dignified,  perpetually  fell  into  the  most 
puerile  irritability ;  and  wishing  to  be  firm, 
was  guilty  of  injustice  and  violence.  Invita- 
tions to  dinner  were  made  an  affair  of  state. 
Long  negotiations  appear  respecting  whole 
corps  of  officers  who  refused  to  dine  with  Sir 
George  Barlow;  and  the  first  persons  in  the 
settlement  were  employed  to  persuade  them  to 
eat  the  repast  which  his  excellency  had  pre- 
pared for  them.  A  whole  school  of  military 
lads  were  sent  away,  for  some  trifling  display 
of  partiality  to  the  cause  of  the  army;  and 
every  unfortunate  measure  recurred  to,  which 
a  weak  understanding  and  a  captious  temper 
could  employ  to  bring  a  government  into  con- 
tempt. Officers  were  dismissed;  butdismissed 
without  trial,  and  even  without  accusation. 
The  object  seemed  to  be  to  punish  somebody : 
whether  it  was  the  right  or  the  wrong  person 
was  less  material.  Sometimes  the  subordinate 
was  selected,  where  the  principal  was  guilty; 
sometimes  the  superior  was  sacrificed  for  the 
ungovernable  conduct  of  those  who  were  un- 
der his  charge.  The  blows  were  strong 
enough ;  but  they  came  from  a  man  who  shut 
his  eyes,  and  struck  at  random: — conscious 
that  he  must  do  something  to  repel  the  danger ; 
— but  so  agitated  by  its  proximity  that  he  could 
not  look  at  it,  or  take  a  pi'oper  aim. 

Among  other  absurd  measures  resorted  to 
by  this  new  eastern  emperor,  was  the  notable 
expedient  of  imposing  a  test  upon  the  oflicers 
of  the  army,  expressive  of  their  loyalty  and 
attachment  to  the  government ;  and  as  this 
was  done  at  a  time  when  some  officers  were  in 
open  rebellion,  others  fluctuating,  and  many 
ilmost  resolved  to  adhere  to  their  duty,  it  had 


the  very  natural  and  probable  effect  of  uniting 
them  all  in  opposition  to  government.  To 
impose  a  test,  or  trial  of  opinions,  is  at  all 
times  an  unpopular  species  of  inquisition ;  and 
at  a  period  when  men  were  hesitating  whether 
they  should  obey  or  not,  was  certainly  a  very 
dangerous  and  rash  measure.  It  could  be  no 
security ;  for  men  who  would  otherwise  rebel 
against  their  government,  certainly  would  not 
be  restrained  by  any  verbal  barriers  of  this 
kind ;  and,  at  the  same  time  that  it  promised 
no  effectual  security,  it  appeared  to  increase 
the  danger  of  irritated  combination.  This 
very  rash  measure  immediately  produced  the 
strongest  representations  and  remonstrances 
frcnn  king's  officers  of  the  most  unquestionable 
loyalty. 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Vesey,  commanding  at 
Palamcotah,  apprehends  the  most  fatal  conse- 
quences to  the  tranquillity  of  the  southern  pro- 
vinces, if  Colonel  Wilkinson  makes  any  hos- 
tile movements  from  Trichinopoly.  In  different 
letters  he  states,  that  such  a  step  must  inevi- 
tably throw  the  company's  troops  into  open 
revolt.  He  has  ventured  to  write  in  the 
strongest  terms  to  Colonel  Wilkinson,  entreat- 
ing him  not  to  march  against  the  southern 
troops,  and  pointing  out  the  ruinous  conse- 
quences which  may  be  expected  from  such  a 
measure. 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  Stuart  in  Travancore, 
and  Colonel  Forbes  in  Malabar,  have  written, 
that  they  are  under  no  apprehension  for  the 
tranquillity  of  those  provinces,  or  for  the  fide- 
lity of  the  company's  troops,  if  government 
does  not  insist  on  enforcing  the  orders  for  the 
signature  of  the  test ;  but  that,  if  this  is  at- 
tempted, the  security  of  the  country  will  be 
imminently  endangered.  These  orders  are  to 
be  enforced;  and  I  tremble  for  the  conse- 
quences."— Statement  of  Facts,  pp.  53,  54. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Honourable 
Colonel  Stuart,  commanding  a  king's  regi- 
ment, was  soon  after  received  by  Sir  George 
Barlow ; — 

"The  late  measures  of  government,  as  car- 
ried into  effect  at  the  Presidency  and  Trichi- 
nopoly, have  created  a  most  violent  ferment 
among  the  corps  here.  At  those  places  where 
the  European  force  was  so  far  superior  in 
number  to  the  native,  the  measure  probably 
was  executed  without  difliculty;  but  here, 
where  there  are  seven  battalions  of  sepoys, 
and  a  company  and  a  half  of  artillery,  to  our 
one  regiment,  I  found  it  totally  impossible  to 
carry  the  business  to  the  same  length,  parti- 
cularly as  any  tumult  among  our  own  corps 
would  certainly  bring  the  people  of  Travan- 
core upon  us. 

"  It  is  in  vain,  therefore,  for  me,  with  the 
small  force  I  can  depend  upon,  to  attempt  to 
stem  the  torrent  here  by  any  acts  of  violence. 

"Most  sincerely  and  anxiously  do  I  wish 
that  the  present  tumult  may  subside,  without 
fatal  consequences ;  which,  if  the  present  vio- 
lent measures  are  continued,  I  much  fear  will 
not  be  the  case.  If  blood  is  once  spilt  in  the 
cause,  there  is  no  knowing  where  it  may  end; 
and  the  probable  consequences  will  be,  that 
India  will  be  lost  for  ever.    So  many  officers 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


309 


of  the  army  have  gone  to  such  lengths,  that, 
unless  a  general  amnesty  is  granted,  tranquil- 
lity can  never  be  restored. 

"The  honourable  the  governor  in  council 
will  not,  I  trust,  impute  to  me  any  other  mo- 
tives for  having  thus  given  my  opinion.  I  am 
actuated  solely  by  anxiety  for  the  public  good 
and  the  benefit  of  my  country ;  and  I  think  it 
my  duty,  holding  the  responsible  situation  I 
now  do,  to  express  my  sentiments  at  so  awful 
a  period. 

"  Where  there  are  any  prospects  of  success, 
it  might  be  right  to  persevere;  but,  where 
every  day's  experience  proves,  that  the  more 
coercive  the  measures  adopted,  the  more  vio- 
lent are  the  consequences,  a  different  and 
more  conciliatory  line  of  conduct  ought  to  be 
adopted.  I  have  the  honour,  &c." — Statement 
of  Facts,  pp.  55,  56. 

"A  letter  from  Colonel  Forbes,  commanding 
in  Malabar,  states,  that  to  prevent  a  revolt  in 
the  province,  and  the  probable  march  of  the 
company's  troops  towards  Seringapatam,  he 
had  accepted  of  a  modification  in  the  test,  to 
be  signed  by  the  officers  on  their  parole,  to 
make  no  hostile  movements  until  the  pleasure 
of  the  government  was  known. — Disapproved 
by  government,  and  ordered  to  enforce  the 
former  orders." — Statement  of  Facts,  p.  61. 

It  can  scarcely  be  credited,  that  in  spite  of 
these,  repeated  renionstrances  from  othcers, 
whose  loyalty  and  whose  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject could  not  be  suspected,  this  test  was  or- 
dered to  be  enforced,  and  the  severest  rebukes 
inflicted  upon  those  who  had  presumed  to 
doubt  of  its  propriety,  or  suspend  its  operation. 
Nor  let  any  man  say  that  the  opinionative 
person  Avho  persevered  in  this  measure  saw 
more  clearly  and  deeply  into  the  consequence 
of  his  own  measures  than  those  who  were 
about  him;  for  unless  Mr.  Petrie  has  been 
guilty,  and  repeatedly  guilty,  of  a  most  down- 
right and  wih^iil  falsehood.  Sir  George  Barlow 
had  not  the  most  distant  conception,  during  all 
these  measures,  that  the  army  would  ever 
venture  upon  revolt. 

"  Government,  or  rather  the  head  of  the  go- 
vernment, was  never  correctly  informed  of  the 
actual  state  of  the  army,  or  I  think  he  would 
have  acted  otherwise ;  he  was  told,  and  he 
was  willing  to  believe,  that  the  discontents 
were  confined  to  a  small  part  of  the  troops  ; 
that  a  great  majority  disapproved  of  their 
proceedings,  and  were  firmly  and  unalterably 
attached  to  government." — Statement  of  Fads, 
pp.  23,  24. 

In  a  conversation  which  Mr.  Petrie  had  with 
Sir  George  Barlow  upon  the  subject  of  the 
army — and  in  the  course  of  which  he  recom- 
mends to  that  gentleman  more  lenient  mea- 
sures, and  warns  him  of  the  increasing  disaf- 
fection of  the  troops — he  gives  us  the  following 
account  of  Sir  George  Barlow's  notions  of  the 
then  state  of  the  army : — 

"  Sir  G.  Barlow  assured  me  I  was  greatly 
misinformed ;  that  he  could  rely  upon  his  in- 
telligence ;  and  would  produce  to  council  the 
must  satisfactory  and  unequivocal  proofs  of 
the  fidelity  of  nine-tenths  of  the  army ;  that 


discontents  were  confined  almost  exclusively 
to  the  southern  division  of  the  army ;  that  the 
troops  composing  the  subsidiary  force,  those 
in  the  ceded  districts,  in  the  centre,  and  a  part 
of  the  northern  division,  were  all  untainted 
by  those  principles  which  had  misled  the  rest 
of  the  army." — Statement  of  Facts,  pp.  27,  28. 

All  those  violent  measures,  then,  the  spirit 
and  wisdom  of  which  have  been  so  much  ex- 
tolled, Avere  not  measures  of  the  consequences 
of  which  their  author  had  the  most  distant 
suspicion.  They  were  not  the  acts  of  a  man 
who  knew  that  he  must  unavoidably,  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty,  irritate,  but  that  he 
could  ultimately  overcome  that  irritation. 
They  appear,  on  the  contrary,  to  have  pro- 
ceeded from  a  most  gross  and  scandalous 
ignorance  of  the  opinions  of  the  army.  He 
expected  passive  submission,  and  met  with 
universal  revolt.  So  far,  then,  his  want  of 
intelligence  and  sagacity  are  unquestionably 
proved.  He  did  not  proceed  with  useful  mea- 
sures, and  run  the  risk  of  a  revolt,  for  which 
he  was  fully  prepared;  but  he  carried  these 
measures  _  into  execution,  firmly  convinced 
that  they  would  occasion  no  revolt  at  all.* 

The  fatal  nature  of  this  mistake  is  best  ex- 
emplified by  the  means  recurred  to  for  its 
correction.  The  grand  expedient  relied  upon 
was  to  instigate  the  natives,  men  and  officers, 
to  disobey  their  European  commanders ;  an 
expedient  by  which  present  safety  was  secured 
at  the  expense  of  every  principle  upon  which 
the  permanence  of  our  Indian  empire  rests. 
There  never  was  in  the  Avorld  a  more  singular 
spectacle  than  to  see  a  few  thousand  Europeans 
governing  so  despotically  fifty  or  sixty  mil- 
lions of  people,  of  different  climate,  religion, 
and  habits — forming  them  into  large  and  well- 
disciplined  armies — and  leading  them  out  to 
the  further  subjugation  of  the  native  powers 
of  India.  But  can  any  words  be  strong 
enough  to  paint  the  rashness  of  provoking  a 
mutiny,  which  could  only  be  got  under  by 
teaching  these  armies  to  act  against  their  Eu- 
ropean commanders,  and  to  use  their  actual 
strength  in  overpowering  their  officers  ] — or, 
is  any  man  entitled  to  the  praise  of  firmness 
and  sagacity,  who  gets  rid  of  a  present  danger 
by  encouraging  a  principle  which  renders  that 
danger  more  frequent  and  more  violent  1  We 
will  venture  to  assert,  that  a  more  unwise  or 
a  more  .unstatesmanlike  action  was  never 
committed^  by  any  man  in  any  country;  and 
we  are  grievously  mistaken,  if  any  length  of 
time  elapse  before  the  evil  consequences  of  it 
are  felt  and  deplored  by  every  man  who  deems 
the  welfare  of  our  Indian  colonies  of  any  im- 
portance to  the  prosperity  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. We  cannot  help  contrasting  the  manage- 
ment of  the  discontent  of  the  Madras  army, 
with  the  manner  in  which  the  same  difficulty 
was  got  over  with  the  army  at  Bengal.  A 
little  increase  of  attention  and  emolument  to 
the  head  of  that  army,  under  the  management 
of  a  man  of  rank  and  talents,  dissipated  ap- 


*  We  should  have  been  alarmed,  to  have  seen  Sir 
Georze  Barlow,  junior,  churchwarden  of  St.  George's, 
Hanover  Square,— an  office  so  nobly  filled  by  Giblet  an(l 
Leslie  :  it  was  an  huye  affliction  to  see  so  incapable  a 
man  at  the  h«ad  of  the  Indian  empire. 


310 


"WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pearances  which  the  sceptred  pomp  of  a  mer- 
chant's clerk  would  have  blown  up  into  a 
rebellion  in  three  weeks  ;  and  yet  the  Bengal 
army  is  at  this  moment  in  as  good  a  state  of 
discipline,  as  the  English  fleet  to  which  Lord 
Howe  made  such  abject  concessions — and  in 
a  state  to  be  much  more  permanently  depended 
upon  than  the  army  which  has  been  so  effec- 
tually ruined  by  the  inconveniently  great  soul 
of  the  present  governor  of  Madras. 

Sir  George  Barlow's  agent,  though  faithful 
to  his  employment  of  calumniating  those  who 
were  in  any  degree  opposed  to  his  principal, 
seldom  loses  sight  of  sound  discretion,  and 
confines  his  invectives  to  whole  bodies  of  men, 
except  where  the  dead  are  concerned.  Against 
Colonel  Capper,  General  Macdowall,  and  Mr. 
Roebuck,  who  are  now  no  longer  alive  to 
answer  for  themselves, he  is  intrepidly  severe; 
in  all  these  instances  he  gives  a  full  loose  to 
his  sense  of  duty,  and  inflicts  upon  them  the 
severest  chastisement.  In  his  attack  upon  the 
civilians,  he  is  particularly  careful  to  keep  to 
generals ;  and  so  rigidly  does  he  adhere  to  this 
principle,  that  he  docs  not  support  his  asser- 
tion, that  the  civil  service  was  disaflected  as 
well  as  the  military,  by  one  single  name,  one 
single  fact,  or  by  any  other  means  whatever, 
than  his  cvn  affirmation  of  the  fact.  The 
truth  (as  might  be  supposed  to  be  the  case 
from  such  sort  of  evidence)  is  diametrically 
opposite.  Nothing  could  be  more  exemplary, 
during  the  whole  of  the  rebellion,  than  the  con- 
duct of  the  civil  servants ;  and  though  the 
courts  of  justice  were  interfered  wilh,^though 
the  most  respectable  servants  of  the  company 
were  punished  for  the  verdicts  they  had  given 
as  jurymen, — though  many  were  dismissed  for 
the  slightest  opposition  to  the  pleasure  of  go- 
vernment, even  in  the  discharge  of  official 
duties,  where  remonstrance  was  absolutely  ne- 
cessary,— though  the  greatest  provocation  was 
given,  and  the  greatest  opportunity  afforded  to 
the  civil  servants  for  revolt, — there  is  not  a 
single  instance  in  which  the  shadow  of  disaf- 
fection has  been  proved  against  any  civil  ser- 
vant. This  we  say,  from  an  accurate  exami- 
nation of  all  the  papers  which  have  been 
published  on  the  subject;  and  we  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  affirm,  that  there  never  was  a  more 
unjust,  unfounded,  and  profligate  charge  made 
against  any  body  of  men;  nor  have  we 
often  witnessed  a  more  complete  scene  of 
folly  and  violence,  than  the  conduct  of  the 
Madras  government  to  its  civil  servants, 
exhibited  during  the  whole  period  of  the 
mutiny. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  appears  to  us,  that  the 
Indian  army  was  ultimately  driven  into  revolt 
by  the  indiscretion  and  violence  of  the  Madras 
government;  and  that  every  evil  which  has 
happened  might,  with  the  greatest  possible  fa- 
cility, have  been  avoided. 

We  have  no  sort  of  doubt  that  the  governor 
always  meant  well;  but,  we  are  equally  certain 
that  he  almost  always  acted  ill ;  and  where  in- 
capacity rises  to  a  certain  height,  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes  the  motive  is  of  very  little  con- 
sequence. That  the  late  Gen.  Macdowall  was 
a  weak  man,  is  unquestionable.  He  was  also 
irritated  (and  not  without  reason),  because  he 


was  deprived  of  a  seat  in  council,  which  the 
commanders  before  him  had  commonly  en- 
joyed. A  little  attention,  however,  on  the  part 
of  the  government — the  compliment  of  con- 
sulting him  upon  subjects  connected  with  his 
profession — any  of  those  little  arts  which  are 
taught,  not  by  a  consummate  political  skill,  but 
dictated  by  common  good  nature,  and  by  the 
habit  of  mingling  with  the  world,  would  have 
produced  the  eff'ects  of  conciliation,  and  em- 
ployed the  force  of  General  Macdowall's  au- 
thority in  bringing  the  army  into  a  better 
temper  of  mind.  Instead  of  this,  it  appears  to 
have  been  almost  the  object,  and  if  not  the 
object,  certainly  the  practice  of  the  Madras 
government,  to  neglect  and  insult  this  officer. 
Changes  of  the  greatest  importance  were  made 
without  his  advice,  and  even  without  any  com- 
munication with  him  ;  and  it  was  too  visible 
to  those  whom  he  was  to  command,  that  he 
himself  possessed  no  sort  of  credit  with  his 
superiors.  As  to  the  tour  which  General  Mac- 
dowall is  supposed  to  have  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  spreading  disaffection  among  the 
troops,  and  the  part  which  he  is  represented 
by  the  agents  to  have  taken  in  the  quarrels  of 
the  civilians  with  the  government,  we  utterly 
discredit  these  imputations.  They  are  unsup- 
ported by  any  kind  of  evidence  ;  and  we  believe 
them  to  be  mere  inventions,  circulated  by  the 
friends  of  the  Madras  government.  General 
Macdowall  appears  to  us  to  have  been  a  weak, 
pompous  man;  extremely  out  of  humour;  of- 
fended with  the  slights  he  had  experienced; 
and  whom  any  man  of  common  address  might 
have  managed  with  the  greatest  ease  :  but  we 
do  not  see,  in  any  part  of  his  conduct,  the 
shadow  of  disloyalty  and  disaffection;  and  we 
are  persuaded  that  the  assertion  would  never 
have  been  made,  if  he  himself  had  been  alive 
to  prove  its  injustice. 

I3esides  the  contemptuous  treatment  of  Gen. 
Macdowall,  we  have  great  doubts  whether  the 
Madras  government  ought  not  to  have  suffered 
Colonel  Munro  to  be  put  upon  his  trial ;  and 
to  punish  the  officers  who  solicited  that  trial 
for  the  purgation  of  their  own  characters, 
appears  to  us  (whatever  the  intention  was)  to 
have  been  an  act  of  mere  tyranny.  We  think, 
too,  that  General  Macdowall  was  very  hastily 
and  unadvisedly  removed  from  his  situation; 
and  upon  the  unjust  treatment  of  Colonel 
Capper  and  Major  Boles  there  can  scarcely  be 
two  opinions.  In  the  progress  of  the  mutiny, 
instead  of  discovering  in  the  Madras  govern- 
ment any  appearances  of  temper  and  wisdom, 
they  appear  to  us  to  have  been  quite  as  much 
irritated  and  heated  as  the  army,  and  to  have 
been  betrayed  into  excesses  nearly  as  criminal, 
and  infinitely  more  contemptible  and  puerile. 
The  head  of  a  great  kingdom  bickering  with 
his  officers  about  invitations  to  dinner — the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  negotiating 
that  the  dinner  should  be  loyally  eaten — the 
obstinate  absurdity  of  the  test — the  total  want 
of  selection  in  the  objects  of  punishment — and 
the  wickedness,  or  the  insanity,  of  teaching  the 
Sepoy  to  rise  against  his  European  officer — the 
contempt  of  the  decision  of  juries  in  civil 
cases — and  the  punishment  of  the  juries  them- 
selves ;  such  a  system  of  conduct  as  this  would 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


311 


infallibly  doom  any  individual  to  punishment, 
if  it  did  not,  fortunately  for  him,  display  pre- 
cisely that  contempt  of  men's  feelings,  and  that 
passion  for  insulting  multitudes,  which  is  so 
congenial  to  our  present  government  at  home, 
and  which  passes  now  so  currently  for  wisdom 
and  courage.  By  these  means,  the  liberties 
of  great  nations  are  frequently  destroyed — and 
destroyed  with  impunity  to  the  perpetrators  of 
the  crime.  In  distant  colonies,  however,  go- 
vernors who  attempt  the  same  system  of 
tyranny  are  in  no  little  danger  from  the  indig- 


nation of  their  subjects ;  for  though  men  will 
often  yield  up  their  happiness  to  kings  who 
have  been  always  kings,  they  are  not  inclined 
to  show  the  same  deference  to  men  who  have 
been  merchants'  clerks  yesterday,  and  are 
kings  to-day.  From  a  danger  of  this  kind,  the 
governor  of  Madras  appears  to  us  to  have  very 
narrowly  escaped.  We  sincerely  hope  that 
he  is  grateful  for  his  good  luck ;  and  that  he 
will  now  awake  from  his  gorgeous  dreams  of 
mercantile  monarchy,  to  good  nature,  modera- 
tion, and  common  sense. 


BISHOP  OF  LINCOLN'S*  CHAUGE.t 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1813.] 


R  is  a  melancholy  thing  to  see  a  man,  clothed  in 
soft  raiment,  lodged  in  a  public  palace,  endoivcd  with 
a  rich  portion  of  the  product  of  other  men's  industry, 
using  all  the  influence  of  his  splendid  situation,  how- 
ever conscientiously,  to  deepen  the  ignorance,  and 
inflame  the  fu7-y,  of  his  fellow-creatures.  These  are 
the  miserable  results  of  that  policy  which  has  been  so 
frequently  pursued  for  these  fifty  years  past,  of 
placing  men  of  mean,  or  middling  abilities,  in  high 
ecclesiastical  stations.  In  ordinary  times,  it  is  of 
less  importance  who  fills  them ;  but  when  the  bitter 
period  arrives,  in  which  the  people  must  give  up  some 
of  their  darling  absurdities; — ivhen  the  senseless 
clamour,  which  has  been  carefully  handed  down  from 
father  fool  to  son  fool,  can  be  no  longer  indulged ; — 
when  it  is  of  incalculable  importance  to  turn  the 
people  to  a  better  way  of  thinking ;  the  greatest  im- 
pediments to  all  amelioration  are  too  often  found 
among  those  to  whose  councils,  at  such  periods,  the 
country  ought  to  look  for  ivisdom  and  peace.  We 
will  suppress,  however,  the  feelings  of  indig- 
nation which  such  productions,  from  such 
men,  naturally  occasion.  We  will  give  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  credit  for  being  perfectly 
sincere; — we  will  suppose,  that  every  argu- 
ment he  uses  has  not  been  used  and  refuted 
ten  thousand  times  before;  and  we  will  sit 
down  as  patiently  to  defend  the  religious  liber- 
ties of  mankind,  as  the  reverend  prelate  has 
done  to  abridge  them. 

We  must  begin  with  denying  the  main  posi- 
tion upon  which  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  has 
built  his  reasoning — The  Catholic  religion  is  not 
tolerated  in  England.  No  man  can  be  fairly 
said  to  be  permitted  to  enjoy  his  own  worship 
who  is  punished  for  exercising  that  worship. 
His  lordship  seems  to  have  no  other  idea  of 
punishment,  than  lodging  a  man  in  the  Poultry 
compter,  or  flogging  him  at  the  cart's  tail,  or 
fining  him  a  sum  of  money  ; — just  as  if  inca- 
pacitating a  man  from  enjoying  the  dignities 
and  emoluments  to  which  men  of  similar  con- 


*  ^  Charge  delivered  to  the  Cler/ry  of  the  Diocese  of  Lin- 
coln, at  the  Triennial  Visitation  of  that  Diocese  iji  May, 
June,  and  Jul,/,  1812.  By  George  toMLlNE,  U.I).,  F.U.S., 
Lord  Bishop  of  Lincoln.     London.     Cadell  and  Co.     4to. 

+  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  mischief  whicli  this 
mean  and  cunning  prelate  did  at  this  period. 


dition,  and  other  faith,  may  fairly  aspire,  was 
not  frequently  the  most  severe  and  galling  of 
all  punishments.  This  limited  idea  of  the 
nature  of  punishments  is  the  more  extraordi- 
nary, as  incapacitation  is  actually  one  of  the 
most  common  punishments  in  some  branches 
of  our  law.  The  sentence  of  a  court-martial 
frequently  purports,  that  a  man  is  rendered  for 
ever  incapable  of  serving  his  majesty,  &c.  &c.; 
and  a  person  not  in  holy  orders,  who  performs 
the  functions  of  a  clergyman,  is  rendered  for 
ever  incapable  of  holding  any  preferment  in  the 
church.  There  are,  indeed,  many  species  of 
offence  for  which  no  punishment  more  appo- 
site and  judicious  could  be  devised.  It  would 
be  rather  extraordinary,  however,  if  the  court, 
in  passing  such  a  sentence,  were  to  assure  the 
culprit,  ",that  such  incapac.taiion  was  not  by 
them  considered  as  a  punishment;  that  it  was 
only  exercising  a  right  inherent  in  all  govern- 
ments, of  determining  who  should  be  eligible 
for  office  and  who  ineligible."  His  lordship 
thinks  the  toleration  complete,  because  he  sees 
a  permission  in  the  statutes  for  the  exercise  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  worship.  He  sees  the  per- 
mission— but  he  does  not  choose  to  see  the 
consequences  to  which  they  are  expcsed  who 
avail  themselves  of  this  permission.  It  is  the 
liberality  of  a  father  who  says  to  a  son,  "  Do  as 
you  please,  my  dear  boy;  follow  your  own  in- 
clination. Judge  for  yourself;  you  are  free  as 
air.  But  remember,  if  you  marry  that  lady,  I 
will  cut  you  off  with  a  shilling."  We  have 
scarcely  ever  read  a  more  solemn  and  frivolous 
statement  than  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  anti- 
thetical distinction  between  persecution  and 
the  denial  of  political  power. 

"  It  is  sometimes  said,  that  Papists,  being 
excluded  from  power,  are  consequently  perse- 
cuted; as  if  exclusion  from  power  and  reli- 
gious persecution  were  convertible  terms.  But 
surely  this  is  to  confound  things  totally  distinct 
in  their  nature.  Persecution  inflicts  positive 
punishment  upon  persons  who  hold  certain 
religious  tenets,  and  endeavours  to  accomplish 
the  renunciation  and  extinction  of  those  tenets 
by  forcible  means :  exclusion  from  power  is 
entirely  negative  in  its  operation — it  only  de- 


312 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Clares  that  those  who  hold  certain  opinions  shall 
not  fill  certain  situations ;  but  it  acknowledges 
men  to  be  perfectly  free  to  hold  those  opinions. 
Persecution  compels  men  to  adopt  a  prescribed 
faith,  or  to  suffer  the  loss  of  liberty,  property, 
or  even  life  :  exclusion  from  power  prescribes 
no  faith ;  it  allows  men  to  think  and  believe  as 
they  please,  without  molestation  or  interfer- 
ence. Persecution  requires  men  to  worship 
God  in  one  and  in  no  other  way :  exclusion 
from  power  neither  commands  nor  forbids  any 
mode  of  divine  worship — it  leaves  the  busi- 
ness of  religion,  where  it  ought  to  be  left,  to 
every  man's  judgment  and  conscience.  Per- 
secution proceeds  from  a  bigoted  and  sangui- 
nary spirit  of  intolerance ;  exclusion  from 
power  is  founded  in  the  natural  and  rational 
principle  of  self-protection  and  self-preserva- 
tion, equally  applicable  to  nations  and  to  indi- 
viduals. History  informs  us  of  the  mischiev- 
ous and  fatal  effects  of  the  one,  and  proves  the 
expediency  and  necessity  of  the  other." — (pp. 
16,  17.) 

We  will  venture  to  say,  there  is  no  one  sen- 
tence in  this  extract  which  does  not  contain 
either  a  contradiction,  or  a  misstatement.  For 
how  can  that  law  acknowledge  men  to  be  per- 
fectly free  to  hold  an  opinion,  which  excludes 
from  desirable  situations  all  who  do  hold  that 
opinion?  How  can  that  law  be  said  neither 
to  molest,  nor  interfere,  which  meets  a  man  in 
every  branch  of  industry  and  occupation,  to 
institute  an  inquisition  into  his  religious  opi- 
nions 1  And  how  is  the  business  of  religion 
left  to  every  man's  judgment  and  conscience, 
where  so  powerful  a  bonus  is  given  to  one  set 
of  religious  opinions,  and  such  a  mark  of  in- 
famy and  degradation  fixed  upon  all  other 
modes  of  belief]  But  this  is  comparatively  a 
very  idle  part  of  the  question.  Whether  the 
present  condition  of  the  Catholics  is  or  is  not 
to  be  denominated  a  perfect  state  of  toleration, 
is  more  a  controversy  of  words  than  things. 
That  they  are  subject  to  some  restraints,  the 
bishop  will  admit :  the  important  question  is, 
whether  or  not  these  restraints  are  necessary  1 
For  his  lordship  will,  of  course,  allow,  that 
every  restraint  upon  human  liberty  is  an  evil 
in  itself;  and  can  only  be  justified  by  the  su- 
perior good  which  it  can  be  shown  to  produce. 
My  lord's  fears  upon  the  subject  of  Catholic 
emancipation  are  conveyed  in  the  following 
paragraph : — 

"  It  is  a  principle  of  our  constitution,  that  the 
king  should  have  advisers  in  the  discharge  of 
every  part  of  his  royal  functions — and  is  it  to 
be  imagined  that  Papists  would  advise  mea- 
sures in  support  of  the  cause  of  Protestantism  1 
A  similar  observation  may  be  applied  to  the 
two  Houses  of  Parliament:  would  popish  peers 
or  popish  members  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
enact  laws  for  the  security  of  the  Protestant 
government]  Would  they  not  rather  repeal 
the  whole  Protestant  code,  and  make  Popery 
again  the  established  religion  of  the  country]" 
~(p.  14.) 

And  these  are  the  apprehensions  which  the 
clergy  of  the  diocese  have  prayed  my  lord  to 
make  public. 


Kind  Providence  never  sends  an  evil  without 
a  remedy : — and  arithmetic  is  the  natural  cure 
for  the  passion  of  fear.  If  a  coward  can  be 
made  to  count  his  enemies,  his  terrors  may  be 
reasoned  with,  and  he  may  think  of  ways  and 
means  of  counteraction.  Now,  might  it  not 
have  been  expedient  that  the  reverend  prelate, 
before  he  had  alarmed  his  country  clergy  with 
the  idea  of  so  large  a  measure  as  the  repeal 
of  Protestantism,  should  have  counted  up  the 
probable  number  of  Catholics  who  would  be 
seated  in  both  houses  of  Parliament]  Does 
he  believe  that  there  would  be  ten  Catholic 
peers,  and  thirty  Catholic  commoners  ]  But, 
admit  double  that  number  (and  more,  Dr. 
Duigenan  himself  would  not  ask), — will  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  seriously  assert,  that  he 
thinks  the  Whole  Protestant  code  in  danger  of 
repeal  from  such  an  admixture  of  Catholic 
legislators  as  this  ]  Does  he  forget,  amid  the 
innumerable  answers  which  may  be  made  to 
such  sort  of  apprehensions,  what  a  picture  he 
is  drawing  of  the  weakness  and  versatility  of 
Protestant  principles  ] — that  an  handful  of 
Catholics,  in  the  bosom  of  a  Protestant  legis- 
lature, is  to  overpower  the  ancient  jealousies, 
the  fixed  opinions,  the  inveterate  habits  of 
twelve  millions  of  people  ] — that  the  king  is  to 
apostatize,  the  clergy  to  be  silent,  and  the  Par- 
liament be  taken  by  surprise  ] — that  the  nation 
is  to  go  to  bed  over  night,  and  to  see  the  Pope 
walking  arm  in  arm  with  Lord  Castlereagh  the 
next  morning] — One  would  really  suppose, 
from  the  bishop's  fears,  that  the  civil  defences 
of  mankind  were,  like  their  military  bulwarks 
transferred,  by  superior  skill  and  courage,  in 
a  few  hours,  from  the  vanquished  to  the  victoi 
— that  the  destruction  of  a  church  was  like  the 
blowing  up  of  a  mine, — deans,  prebendaries, 
churchwardens  and  overseers,  all  up  in  the  air 
in  an  instant.  Does  his  lordship  really  ima- 
gine, when  the  mere  dread  of  the  Catholics 
becoming  legislators  has  induced  him  to 
charge  his  clergy,  and  his  agonized  clergy,  to 
extort  from  their  prelate  the  publication  of 
the  charge,  that  the  full  and  mature  danger 
will  produce  less  alarm  than  the  distant  suspi- 
cion of  it  has  done  in  the  present  instance  ] — 
that  the  Protestant  writers,  whose  pens  are 
now  up  to  the  feather  in  ink,  will,  at  any  future 
period,  yield  up  their  church,  without  passion, 
pamphlet,  or  pugnacity]  We  do  not  blame 
the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  for  being  afraid;  but 
we  blame  him  for  not  rendering  his  fears  in- 
telligible and  tangible — for  not  circumscribing 
and  particularizing  them  by  some  individual 
case — for  not  showing  us  how  it  is  possible 
that  the  Catholics  (granting  their  intentions  to 
be  as  bad  as  possible)  should  ever  be  able  to 
ruin  the  Church  of  England.  His  lordship 
appears  to  be  in  a  fog ;  and,  as  daylight  breaks 
in  upon  him,  he  will  be  rather  disposed  to  dis- 
own his  panic.  The  noise  he  hears  is  not 
roaring, — but  braying;  the  teeth  and  the  mane 
are  all  imaginary ;  there  is  nothing  but  ears. 
It  is  not  a  lion  that  stops  the  way,  but  an  ass. 

One  method  his  lordship  takes,  in  handling 
this  question,  is  by  pointing  out  dangers  that 
are  barely  possible,  and  then  treating  of  them  as 
if  they  deserved  the  active  and  present  atten- 
tion of  serious  men.    But  if  no  measure  is  to 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


313 


be  carried  into  execution,  and  if  no  provision 
is  safe  in  which  the  minute  inspection  of  an 
ingenious  man  cannot  find  the  possibility  of 
danger,  then  all  human  action  is  impeded,  and 
no  human  institution  is  safe  or  commendable. 
The  king  has  the  power  of  pardoning, — and  so 
every  species  of  gulit  may  remain  unpunished: 
he  has  a  negative  upon  legislative  acts,  and  so 
no  law  may  pass.  None  but  Presbyterians 
may  be  returned  to  the  House  of  Commons, — 
and  so  the  Church  of  England  may  be  voted 
down.  The  Scottish  and  Irish  members  may 
join  together  in  both  houses,  and  dissolve  both 
unions.  If  probability  is  put  out  of  sight, — 
and  if,  in  the  enumeration  of  dangers,  it  is 
sufficient  to  state  any  which,  by  remote  con- 
tingency, may  happen,  then  is  it  time  that  we 
should  begin  to  provide  against  all  the  host  of 
perils  which  we  have  just  enumerated,  and 
which  are  many  of  them  as  likely  to  happen, 
as  those  which  the  reverend  prelate  has  stated 
in  his  charge.  His  lordship  forgets  that  the 
Catholics  are  not  asking  for  election  but  for 
eligibility — not  to  be  admitted  into  the  cabinet, 
but  not  to  be  excluded  from  it.  A  century  may 
elapse  before  any  Catholic  actually  becomes  a 
member  of  the  cabinet;  and  no  event  can  be 
more  utterly  destitute  of  probability,  than  that 
they  should  gain  an  ascendency  there,  and 
direct  that  ascendency  against  the  Protestant 
interest.  If  the  bishop  really  wishes  to  know 
upon  what  our  security  is  founded;  it  is  vpon 
the  prodigious  and  decided  superiority  of  the  Pro- 
testant interest  in  the  British  nation,  and  in  the 
United  Parliament.  No  Protestant  king  would 
select  such  a  cabinet,  or  countenance  such 
measures ;  no  man  would  be  mad  enough  to 
attempt  them ;  the  English  Parliament  and  the 
English  people  would  not  endure  it  for  a  mo- 
ment. No  man,  indeed,  but  under  the  sanctity 
of  the  mitre,  would  have  ventured  such  an  ex- 
ti'avagant  opinion. — Wo  to  him,  if  he  had  been 
only  a  dean.  But,  in  spite  of  his  venerable 
office,  we  inust  express  our  decided  belief,  that 
his  lordship  (by  no  means  averse  to  a  good 
bargain)  would  not  pay  down  five  pounds,  to 
receive  fifty  millions  for  his  posteritj^,  when- 
ever the  majority  of  the  cabinet  should  be 
(Catholic  emancipation  carried)  members  of 
the  Catholic  religion.  And  yet,  upon  such 
terrors  as  these,  which,  when  put  singly  to 
him,  his  better  senses  would  laugh  at,  he  has 
thought  fit  to  excite  his  clergy  to  petition,  and 
done  all  in  his  power  to  increase  the  mass  of 
hatred  against  the  Catholics. 

It  is  true  enough,  as  his  lordship  remarks, 
that  events  do  not  depend  upon  laws  alone,  but 
upon  the  wishes  and  intentions  of  those  who 
administer  these  laws.  But  then  his  lordship 
totally  puts  out  of  sight  two  considerations — 
the  improbability  of  Catholics  ever  reaching 
the  highest  offices  of  the  state — and  those  fixed 
Protestant  opinions  of  the  country,  which 
would  render  any  attack  upon  the  established 
church  so  hopeless,  and  therefore,  so  impro- 
bable. Admit  a  supposition  (to  us  perfectly 
ludicrous,  but  still  necessary  to  the  bishop's 
argument),  that  the  cabinet  council  consisted 
entirely  of  Catholics,  we  should  even  then  have 
uo  more  fear  of  their  making  the  English 
40 


people  Catholics,  than  we  should  have  of  a  cabi- 
net of  butchers  making  the  Hindoos  eat  beef. 
The  bishop  has  not  stated  the  true  and  great 
security  for  any  course  of  human  actions.  It 
is  not  the  word  of  the  law,  nor  the  spirit  of 
the  government,  but  the  general  way  of  think- 
ing among  the  people,  especially  when  that 
way  of  thinking  is  ancient,  exercised  upon 
high  interests,  and  connected  with  striking 
passages  in  history.  The  Protestant  church 
does  not  rest  upon  the  little  narrow  founda- 
tions where  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  supposes  it 
to  be  placed :  if  it  did,  it  would  not  be  worth 
saving.  It  rests  upon  the  general  opinion  en- 
tertained by  a  free  and  reflecting  people,  that 
the  doctrines  of  the  church  are  true,  her  pre- 
tensions moderate,  and  her  exhortations  useful. 
It  is  accepted  by  a  people  who  have,  from  good 
taste,  an  abhorrence  of  sacerdotal  mummery; 
and  from  good  sense,  a  dread  of  sacerdotal 
ambition.  Those  feelings,  so  generally  diffused, 
and  so  clearly  pronounced  on  all  occasions, 
are  our  real  bulwarks  against  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion, and  the  real  cause  which  makes  it  so 
safe  for  the  best  friends  of  the  church  to  di- 
minish (by  abolishing  the  test  laws)  so  very- 
fertile  a  source  of  hatred  to  the  state. 

In  the  15th  page  of  his  lordship's  charge, 
there  is  an  argument  of  a  very  curious  nature. 

"  Let  us  suppose,"  (says  the  Bishop  of  Lin- 
coln), "that  there  had  been  no  test  laws,  no 
disabling  statutes,  in  the  year  1745,  when  an 
attempt  was  made  to  overthrow  the  Protestant 
government,  and  to  place  a  popish  sovereign 
upon  the  throne  of  these  kingdoms;  and  let 
us  suppose,  that  the  leading  men  in  the  houses 
of  Parliament,  that  the  ministers  of  state,  and 
the  commanders  of  our  armies,  had  then  been 
Papists.  Will  any  one  contend,  that  that  for- 
midable rebellion,  supported  as  it  was  by  a 
foreign  enemy,  would  have  been  resisted 
with  the  same  zeal,  and  suppressed  with  the 
same  facility,  as  when  all  the  measures  were 
planned  and  executed  by  sincere  Protestants  1" 
(p.  15.) 

And  so  his  lordship  means  to  infer,  that  it 
would  be  foolish  to  abolish  the  laws  against 
the  Catholics  noto,  because  it  would  have  been 
foolish  to  have  abolished  them  at  some  other 
period  ; — that  a  measure  must  be  bad,  because 
there  was  formerly  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances, when  it  would  have  been  bad.  His 
lordship  might,  with  almost  equal  propriety, 
debate  what  ought  to  be  done  if  Julius  Caesar 
were  about  to  make  a  descent  upon  our  coasts ; 
or  lament  the  impropriety  of  emancipating 
the  Catholics,  because  the  Spanish  Armada 
was  putting  to  sea.  The  fact  is  that  Julius 
Coesar  is  dead — the  Spanish  Armada  was  de- 
feated in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth — for 
half  a  century  there  has  been  no  disputed  suc- 
cession— the  situation  of  the  world  is  changed 
— and,  because  it  is  changed,  we  can  do  now 
what  we  could  not  do  then.  And  nothing  can 
be  more  lamentable  than  to  see  this  respecta- 
ble prelate  wasting  his  resources  in  putting 
imaginary  and  inapplicable  cases,  and  reason- 
ing upon  their  solution,  as  if  they  had  any 
thing  to  do  with  present  affairs. 
?D 


814 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


These  remarks  entirely  put  an  end  to  the 
common  mode  of  arguing  a  Gulielmo.  What 
lid  King  William  do  1 — what  would  King 
William  say]  &c.  King  William  was  in  a 
fery  different  situation  from  that  in  which  we 
are  placed.  The  whole  world  was  in  a  very 
different  situation.  The  great  and  glorious 
authors  of  the  Revolution  (as  they  are  com- 
monly denominated)  acquired  their  greatness 
and  their  glory,  notb)^  a  superstitious  reverence 
for  inapplicable  precedents,  but  by  taking  hold 
of  present  circumstances  to  lay  a  deep  founda- 
tion for  liberty;  and  then  using  old  names  for 
new  things,  they  left  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
and  other  good  men,  to  suppose  that  they  had 
been  thinking  all  the  time  about  ancestors. 

Another  species  of  false  reasoning,  which 
pervades  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  charge,  is 
tliis  :  He  states  what  the  interests  of  men  are, 
and  then  takes  it  for  granted  that  they  will 
eagerly  and  actively  pursue  them ;  laying 
totally  out  of  the  question  the  probability  or  im- 
probability of  their  effecting  their  object,  and  the 
iniluence  which  this  balance  of  chances  must 
produce  upon  their  actions.  For  instance,  it  is 
the  interest  of  the  Catholics  that  our  church 
should  be  subservient  to  theirs.  Therefore, 
says  his  lordship,  the  Catholics  will  enter  into 
a  conspiracy  against  the  English  church.  But, 
is  it  not  also  the  decided  interest  of  his  lord- 
ship's butler  that  he  should  be  bishop,  and  the 
bishop  his  butler  ]  That  the  crozier  and  the 
corkscrew  should  change  hands, — and  the 
■washer  of  the  bottles  which  they  had  emptied 
become  the  diocesan  of  learned  divines  1  What 
has  prevented  this  change,  so  beneficial  to  the 
upper  domestic,  but  the  extreme  improbability 
of  success,  if  the  attempt  were  made  ;  an  im- 
probability so  great  that  we  will  venture  to 
say,  the  very  notion  of  it  has  scarcely  once 
entered  into  the  understanding  of  the  good 
man.  Why,  then,  is  the  reverend  prelate,  who 
lives  on  so  safely  and  contentedly  with  John, 
so  dreadfully  alarmed  at  the  Catholics  1  And 
why  does  he  so  completely  forget,  in  their  in- 
stance alone,  that  men  do  not  merely  strive  to 
obtain  a  thing  because  it  is  good,  but  always 
mingle  with  the  excellence  of  the  object  a  con- 
sideration of  the  chance  of  gaining  it  1 

The  Bishop  of  Lincoln  (p.  19)  states  it  as 
an  argument  against  concession  to  the  Catho- 
lics, that  we  have  enjoyed  "  internal  peace  and 
entire  freedom  from  all  religious  animosities 
and  feuds  since  the  Revolution."  The  fact, 
however,  is  not  more  certain  than  conclusive 
against  his  view  of  the  question.  For,  since 
that  period,  the  worship  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land has  been  abolished  in  Scotland — the  cor- 
poration and  test  acts  repealed  in  Ireland — 
and  the  whole  of  this  king's  reign  has  been 
one  series  of  concessions  to  the  Catholics. 
Relaxation,  then  (and  we  wish  this  had  been 
remembered  at  the  charge),  of  penal  laws,  on 
subjects  of  religious  opinion,  is  perfectly  com- 
patible with  internal  peace  and  exemption  from 
religious  animosity.  But  the  bishop  is  always 
fond  of  lurking  in  generals,  and  cautiously 
avoids  coming  to  any  specific  instance  of  the 
dangers  which  he  fears. 

"It  is  declared  in  one  of  the  39  Articles, 
that  the  king  is  head  of  our  church,  without 


being  subject  to  any  foreign  power;  and  it  is 
expressly  said  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  has  no 
jurisdiction  within  these  realms.  On  the  con- 
trary. Papists  assert,  that  the  pope  is  supreme 
head  of  the  whole  Christian  church,  and  that 
allegiance  is  due  to  him  from  every  individual 
member,  in  all  spiritual  matters.  This  direct 
opposition  to  one  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  the  ecclesiastical  part  of  our  constitu- 
tion, is  alone  sufficient  to  justify  the  exclusion 
of  Papists  from  all  situations  of  authority. 
They  acknowledge,  indeed,  that  obedience  in 
civil  matters  is  due  to  the  king.  But  cases 
must  arise,  in  which  civil  and  religious  duties 
will  clash  ;  and  he  knows  but  little  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Popish  religion  over  the  mind  of 
its  votaries,  who  doubts  which  of  these  duties 
would  be  sacrificed  to  the  other.  Moreover, 
the  most  subtle  casuistry  cannot  alwaj^s  dis- 
criminate between  temporal  and  spiritual 
things ;  and  in  truth,  the  concerns  of  this  life 
not  unfrequently  partake  of  both  characters." — 
(pp.  21,  22.) 

We  deny  entirely  that  any  case  can  occur, 
where  the  fcxposition  of  a  doctrine  purely  spe- 
culative, or  the  arrangement  of  a  mere  point 
of  church  discipline,  can  interfere  with  civil 
duties.  The  Roman  Catholics  are  Irish  and 
English  citizens  at  this  moment ;  but  no  such 
case  has  occurred.  There  is  no  instance  in 
which  obedience  to  the  civil  magistrate  has 
been  prevented,  by  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
spiritual  supremacy  of  the  pope.  The  Catho- 
lics have  given  (in  an  oath  which  we  suspect 
the  bishop  never  to  have  read)  the  most  solemn 
pledge,  that  their  submission  to  their  spiritual 
ruler  should  never  interfere  with  their  civil 
obedience.  The  hypothesis  of  the  Bishop  of 
Lincoln  is,  that  it  must  very  often  do  so.  The 
fact  is,  that  it  has  never  done  so. 

His  lordship  is  extremely  angry  with  the 
Catholics  for  refusing  to  the  crown  a  veto  upon 
the  appointment  of  their  bishops.  He  forgets, 
that  in  those  countries  of  Europe  where  the 
crown  interferes  with  the  appointment  of  bish- 
ops, the  reigning  monarch  is  a  Catholic, — 
which  makes  all  the  difference.  We  sincerely 
wish  that  the  Catholics  would  concede  this 
point;  but  we  cannot  be  astonished  at  their 
reluctance  to  admit  the  interference  of  a  Pro- 
testant prince  with  their  bishops.  What  would 
his  lordship  say  to  the  interference  of  any 
Catholic  power  with  the  appointment  of  the 
English  sees  1 

Next  comes  the  stale  and  thousand  times  re- 
futed charge  against  the  Catholics,  that  they 
think  the  pope  has  the  power  of  dethroning 
heretical  kings  ;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
Catholic  to  use  every  possible  means  to  root 
out  and  destroy  heretics,  &c.  To  all  of  which 
may  be  returned  this  one  conclusive  answer, 
that  the  Catholics  are  ready  to  deny  these  doc- 
trines upon  oath.  And  as  the  whole  contro- 
versy is,  whether  the  Catholic  shall,  by  means 
of  oaths,  be  excluded  from  certain  offices  in 
the  state  ; — those  who  contend  that  the  con- 
tinuation of  these  excluding  oaths  is  essential 
to  the  public  safety,  must  admit,  that  oaths  are 
binding  upon  Catholics,  and  a  security  to  the 
state  that  what  they  swear  to  is  true. 

It  is  right  to  keep  these  things  in  view — and 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


315 


to  omit  no  opportunity  of  exposing  and  coun- 
teracting that  spirit  of  intolerant  zeal  or  intol- 
erable time-serving,  which  has  so  long  dis- 
graced and  endangered  this  country.  But  the 
truth  is,  that  we  look  upon  this  cause  as  already 
gained ; — and  while  we  warmly  congratulate 
the  nation  on  the  mighty  step  it  has  recently 
made  towards  increased  power  and  entire 
security,  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  saying  a 
word  upon  the  humiliating  and  disgusting,  but 
at  the  same  time  most  edifying  spectacle, 
•which  has  lately  been  exhibited  by  the  anti- 
Catholic  addressers.  That  so  great  a  number 
of  persons  should  have  been  found  with  such 
a  proclivity  to  servitude  (for  honest  bigotry 
had  but  little  to  do  with  the  matter),  as  to  rush 
forward  with  clamours  in  favour  of  intolerance, 
upon  a  mere  surmise  that  this  would  be  ac- 
counted as  acceptable  service  by  the  present 
possessors  of  patronage  and  power,  alTords  a 
more  humiliating  and  discouraging  picture 
of  the  present  spirit  of  the  country,  than 
any  thing  else  that  has  occurred  in  our  re- 
membrance.    The  edifying  part  of  the  spec- 


tacle is  the  contempt  with  which  their  officious 
devotions  have  been  received  by  those  whose 
favour  they  were  intended  to  purchase, — and 
the  universal  scorn  and  derision  with  which 
they  were  regarded  by  independent  men  of  all 
parties  and  persuasions.  The  catastrophe,  we 
think,  teaches  two  lessons ; — one  to  the  time- 
servers  themselves,  not  to  obtrude  their  servi- 
lity on  the  government,  till  they  have  reason- 
able ground  to  think  it  is  wanted; — and  the 
other  to  the  nation  at  large,  not  to  imagine  that 
a  base  and  interested  clamour  in  favour  of 
what  is  supposed  to  be  agreeable  to  govern- 
ment, however  loudly  and  extensively  sounded, 
affords  any  indication  at  all,  either  of  the  ge- 
neral sense  of  the  country,  or  even  of  what  is 
actually  contemplated  by  those  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  its  affairs.  The  real  sense  of  the 
country  has  been  proved,  on  this  occasion,  to 
be  directly  against  those  who  presumptuously 
held  themselves  out  as  its  organs; — and  even 
the  ministers  have  made  a  respectable  figure, 
compared  with  those  who  assumed  the  charac- 
ter of  their  champions. 


MADAME  D'EPINAY; 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1818.] 


There  used  to  be  in  Paris,  under  the  ancient 
regime,  a  few  women  of  brilliant  talents,  who 
violated  all  the  common  duties  of  life,  and 
gave  very  pleasant  little  suppers.  Among 
these  supped  and  sinned  Madame  d'Epinay — 
the  friend  and  companion  of  Rousseau,  Dide- 
rot, Grimm,  Hoibach,  and  many  other  literary 
persons  of  distinction  of  that  period.  Her 
principal  lover  was  Grimm;  with  whom  was 
deposited,  written  in  feigned  names,  the  history 
of  her  life.  Grimm  died — his  secretary  sold 
the  histor3' — 'he  feigned  names  have  been  ex- 
changed for  the  real  ones — and  her  works  now 
appear  abridged  in  three  volumes  octavo. 

Madame  d'Epinay,  though  far  from  an  im- 
maculate character,  has  something  to  say  in 
palliation  of  her  irregularities.  Her  husband 
behaved  abominably;  and  alienated,  by  a  series 
of  the  most  brutal  injuries,  an  attachment 
which  seems  to  have  been  very  ardent  and 
sincere,  and  which,  with  better  treatment, 
would  probably  have  been  lasting.  For,  in  all 
her  aberrations.  Mad.  d'Epinay  seems  to  have 
had  a  tendency  to  be  constant.  Though  ex- 
tremely young  when  separated  from  her  hus- 
band, she  indulged  herself  with  but  two  lovers 
for  the  rest  of  her  life ; — to  the  first  of  whom  she 
seems  to  have  been  perfectly  faithful,  till  he 
lefther  at  the  end  often  or  twelve  years  ; — and 
to  Grimm,  by  whom  he  was  succeeded,  she 
appears  to  have  given  no  rival  till  the  day  of 
her  death.  The  account  of  the  life  she  led, 
both  with  her  husband  and  her  lovers,  brings 


*  Mimnires  et    Correspondence  de  Madame  d'Epinay. 
3  vols.  8vo.     Paris,  1818. 


upon  the  scene  a  great  variety  of  French  cha- 
racters, and  lays  open  very  completely  the 
interior  of  French  life  and  manners.  But 
there  are  some  letters  and  passages  which 
ought  not  to  have  been  published ;  which  a 
sense  of  common  decency  and  morality  ought 
to  have  suppressed ;  and  which,  we  feel  as- 
sured, would  never  have  seen  the  light  in  this 
country. 

A  French  woman  seems  almost  always  to 
have  wanted  the  flavour  of  prohibition,  as  a  ne- 
cessary condiment  to  human  life.  The  provided 
husband  was  rejected,  and  the  forbidden  hus- 
band introduced  in  ambiguous  light,  through 
posterns  and  secret  partitions.  It  was  not  the 
union  to  one  man  that  was  objected  to — for 
they  dedicated  themselves  with  a  constancy 
which  the  most  household  and  parturient  wo- 
man in  England  could  not  exceed ; — but  the 
thing  wanted  was  the  wrong  man,  the  gentle- 
man without  the  ring — the  master  unsworn  to 
at  the  altar — the  person  unconsecrated  by 
priests — 

"  Oh !  let  me  taste  thee  unexcised  by  kings." 

The  following  strikes  us  as  a  very  lively 
picture  of  the  ruin  and  extravagance  of  a  fash- 
ionable house  in  a  great  metropolis. 

"M.  d'Epinay  a  complete  son  domestique. 
II  a  trois  laquais,  et  moi  deux ;  je  n'en  ai  pas 
voulu  davantage.  II  a  un  valet  de  chambre ; 
et  il  vouloit  aussi  que  je  prisse  une  seconde 
femme,  mais  comme  je  n'en  ai  que  faire,  j'ai 
tenu  bon.  Enfin  les  officiers,  les  femmes,  les 
valets  se  montent  au  nombre  de  seize.  Quoique 
la  vie  que  je  mene  soit  asoez  uniforme,  j'espere 


316 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


n'etre  pas  obligee  d'en  changer.  Celle  de  M. 
d'Epinay  est  differente.  Lorsqu'il  est  leve,  son 
valet  de  charabre  se  met  en  devoir  de  I'accom- 
moder.  Deux  laquais  sont  debout  a  attendre 
ordres.  Le  premier  secretaire  vient  avec 
I'intention  de  lui  rendre  compte  des  lettres 
qu'il  a  regues  de  son  departement,  et  qu'il  est 
charge  d'ouvrir;  il  doit  lire  les  reponses  et  les 
faire  signer;  mais  il  est  interrompu  deux  cents 
fois  dans  cette  occupation  par  toutes  sorles 
d'especes  imaginables.  C'est  un  maquignon 
qui  a  des  chevaux  uniques  avendre,  mais  qui 
sont  retenus  par  un  seigneur;  ainsi  il  est  venu 
pour  ne  pas  manquer  a  sa  parole;  car  on  lui 
en  donneroit  le  double,  qu'on  ne  pourroit  faire 
affaire.  II  en  fait  une  description  seduisante, 
on  demande  le  prix.  Le  seigneur  un  tel  en 
offre  soixante  louis. — Je  vous  en  donne  cent. — 
Cela  est  inutile,  a  moins  qu'il  ne  se  dedise. 
Cependant  I'on  conclut  a  cent  louis  sans  les 
avoir  vus,  car  le  lendemain  le  seigneur  ne 
manque  pas  de  se  dedire  :  voila  ce  que  j'ai  vu 
et  entendu  la  semaine  derniere. 

"Ensuite  c'est  un  polisson  qui  vient  brailler 
un  air,  et  a  qui  on  accorde  sa  protection  pour 
le  faire  entrer  a  I'Opera,  apres  lui  avoir  donne 
quelques  lecons  de  bon  gout,  et  lui  avoir  appris 
ce  que  c'est  que  la  proprete  du  chant  fran§ois; 
c'est  une  demoiselle  qu'on  fait  attendre  pour 
savoir  si  je  suis  encore  la.  Je  me  leve  et  je 
m'en  vais;  les  deux  laquais  ouvrent  les  deux 
battans  pour  me  laisser  sortir,  moi  qui  passe- 
rois  alors  par  le  trou  d'une  aiguille;  et  les 
deux  estafiers  crient  dans  I'anti-chambre :  Ma- 
dame, messieurs,  voila  madame.  Tout  le 
monde  se  range  en  haie,  et  ces  messieurs  sont 
des  marchands  d'etoffes,  des  marchands  d'in- 
strumens,  des  bijoutiers,  des  colporteurs,  des 
laquais,  des  decroteurs,  des  creanciers ;  enfin 
tout  ce  que  vous  pouvez  imaginer  de  plus  ridi- 
cule et  de  plus  affligeant.  Midi  ou  une  heure 
Sonne  avant  que  cette  toilette  soit  achevee,  et 
le  secretaire,  qui,  sans  doute,  sait  par  experi- 
ence I'impossibilite  de  rendre  un  compte  de- 
taille  des  affaires,  a  un  petit  bordereau  qu'il 
remet  entre  les  mains  de  son  maitre  pour  I'in- 
struire  de  ce  qu'il  doit  dire  il  I'assemblee.  Une 
autre  fois  il  sort  a  pied  ou  en  fiacre,  rentre  a 
deux  heures,  fait  comme  un  bruleur  de  maison, 
dine  tete  a  tete  avec  moi,  ou  admet  en  tiers 
son  premier  secretaire  qui  lui  parle  de  la 
necessite  de  fixer  chaque  article  de  depense, 
de  donner  des  delegations  pour  tel  ou  tel  objet. 
La  seule  reponse  est:  Nous  verrons  cela. 
Ensuite  il  court  le  monde  et  les  spectacles;  et 
il  soupe  en  ville  quand  il  n'a  personne  a  souper 
chez  lui.  Je  vois  que  mon  temps  de  repos 
est  fini."— L  pp.  308—310. 

A  very  prominent  person  among  the  early 
friends  of  Madame  d'Epinay  is  Mademoiselle 
d'Ette,  a  woman  of  great  P^rench  respectabi- 
lity, and  circulating  in  the  best  society;  and, 
as  we  are  painting  French  manners,  we  shall 
make  no  apology  to  the  serious  part  of  our 
English  readers,  for  inserting  this  sketch  of 
her  history  and  character  by  her  own  hand. 

'  Je  connois,  me  dit-elle  ensuite,  votre  fran- 
cJiise  et  votre  discretion  :  dites-moi  naturelle- 
ment  quelle  opinion  on  a  de  moi  dans  le  monde. 
La  meilleure,  lui  dis-je,  et  telle  que  vous  ne 


pourriez  la  conserver  "si  vous  pratiquiez  la 
morale  que  vous  venez  de  me  precher.  Voila 
ou  je  vous  attendois,  me  dit-elle.  Depuis  dix 
ans  que  j'ai  perdu  ma  mere,  je  fus  seduite  par 
le  chevalier  de  Valory  qui  m'avoit  vu,  pour 
ainsi  dire,  elever;  mon  extreme  jeunesse  et  la 
confiance  que  j'avois  en  lui  ne  me  permirent 
pas  d'abord  de  me  defier  de  ses  veus.  Je  fus 
longtemps  a  m'en  apercevoir,  et  lorsque  je 
m'en  apergus,  j'avois  pris  tant  de  gout  pour 
lui,  que  je  n'eus  pas  la  force  de  lui  resister. 
II  me  vint  des  scrupules ;  il  les  leva,  en  me 
promettant  de  m'epouser.  II  y  travailla  ea 
effet;  mais  voyant  I'opposition  que  sa  famille 
y  apportoit,  a  cause  de  la  disproportion  d'age 
et  de  mon  peu  de  fortune;  et  me  trouvant, 
d'ailleurs,  heureuse  comme  j'etois,  je  fus  la 
premiere  a  etouffer  mes  scrupules,  d'autant 
plus  qu'il  est  assez  pauvre.  II  commenfoit 
a  faire  des  reflexions,  je  lui  proposal  de  con- 
tinuer  a  vivre  comme  nous  etions;  il  I'accepta. 
Je  quittai  ma  province,  et  je  le  suivis  a  Paris ; 
vous  voyez  comme  j'y  vis.  Quatre  fois  la  se- 
maine il  passe  sa  journee  chez  moi;  le  reste 
du  temps  nous  nous  contentons  reciproque- 
ment  d'apprendre  de  nos  nouvelles,  a  moins 
que  le  hasard  ne  nous  fasse  rencontrer.  Nous 
vivons  heureux,  contens ;  peut-etre  ne  le  se- 
rious nous  pas  tant  si  nous  etions  maries." — 
L  pp.  Ill,  112. 

This  seems  a  very  spirited,  unincumbered 
way  of  passing  through  life ;  and  it  is  some 
comfort,  therefore,  to  a  matrimonial  English 
reader,  to  find  Mademoiselle  d'Ette  kicking  the 
chevalier  out  of  doors  towards  the  end  of  the 
second  volume.  As  it  is  a  scene  very  edifying 
to  rakes,  and  those  who  decry  the  happiness 
of  the  married  state,  we  shall  give  it  in  the 
words  of  Madame  d'Epinay. 

"Une  nuit,  dont  elle  avoit  passe  la  plus 
grande  partie  dans  I'inquietude,  elle  entre  chez 
le  chevalier:  il  dormoit;  elle  le  reveille,  s'as- 
sied  sur  son  lit,  et  entame  une  explication 
avec  toute  la  violence  et  la  fureur  qui  I'ani- 
raoient.  Le  chevalier,  apres  avoir  employe 
vainement,  pour  le  calmer,  tons  les  moyens 
que  sa  bonte  naturelle  lui  suggera,  lui  signifia 
enfin  tres-precisement  qu'il  alloit  se  separer 
d'elle  pour  toujours,  et  fuir  un  enfer  auquel  il 
ne  pouvoit  plus  tenir.  Cette  confidence,  qui 
n'etoit  pas  faite  pour  I'appaiser,  redoubla  sa 
rage.  Puis-qu'il  est  ainsi,  dit-elle,  sortez  tout 
a  I'heure  de  chez  moi;  vous  deviez  partir  dans 
quatre  jours,  c'est  vous  rendre  service  devous 
faire  partir  dans  I'instant.  Tout  ce  qui  est  ici 
m'appartient ;  le  bail  est  en  mon  nom :  il  ne 
me  convient  plus  de  vous  souftVir  chez  moi: 
levez-vous,  monsieur,  et  songez  a  ne  rien  em- 
porter  sans  ma  permission." — II.  pp.  193,  194. 

Our  English  method  of  asking  leave  to  sepa- 
rate from  Sir  William  Scott  and  Sir  John  Nicol 
is  surely  better  than  this. 

Any  one  who  provides  good  dinners  for 
clever  people,  and  remembers  what  they  say, 
cannot  fail  to  write  entertaining  Memoires. 
Among  the  early  friends  of  Madame  d'Epinay  * 
was  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau, — she  lived  with 
him  in  considerable  intimacy ;  and  no  small 
part  of  her  book  is  taken  up  with  accounts  of 
his  eccentricity,  insanity,  and  vice. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


317 


"Nous  avons  debute  par  V Engagement  teme- 
raire,  comedie  nouvelle,  de  M.  Rousseau,  ami 
de  Francueil  qui  nous  I'a  presente.  L'auteur 
a  joue  un  role  dans  sa  piece.  Quoique  ce  ne 
soit  qu'une  comedie  de  societe,  elle  a  eu  un 
grand  succes.  Je  doute  cependant  qu'elle  put 
reussir  au  theatre;  mais  c'est  I'ouvrage  d'un 
homme  de  beaucoup  d'esprit,  et  peut-etre  d'un 
homme  singulier.  Je  ne  sais  pas  trop  cepen- 
dant si  c'est  ce  que  j'ai  vu  de  l'auteur  ou  de 
la  piece  qui  me  fait  juger  ainsi.  II  est  com- 
plimenteur  sans  etre  poli,  ou  au  moins  sans 
en  avoir  I'air.  II  paroit  ignorer  les  usages  du 
monde ;  mais  il  est  aise  de  voir  qu'il  a  infini- 
menl  d'esprit.  II  a  le  teint  brun  :  et  des  yeux 
pleins  de  feu  animent  sa  physionomie.  Lors- 
qu'il  a  parle  et  qu'on  le  regarde,  il  paroit  joli ; 
mais  lorsqu'on  se  le  rappelle,  c'est  toujours  en 
laid.  On  dit  qu'il  est  d'une  mauvaise  sante, 
et  qu'il  a  des  soufTrances  qu'il  cache  avec  soin, 
par  je  ne  sais  quel  principe  de  vanite ;  c'est 
apparemment  ce  qui  lui  donne,  de  temps  en 
temps,  I'air  farouche.  M.  de  Bellegarde,  avec 
qui  il  a  cause  long-temps,  ce  matin,  en  est  en- 
chante,  et  I'a  engage  a  nous  venir  voir  sou- 
vent.  J'en  suis  bien  aise ;  je  me  proraets 
de  profiter  beaucoup  de  sa  conversation." — 
I.  pp.  175,  176. 

Their  friendship  so  formed,  proceeded  to  a 
great  degree  of  intimacy.  Madame  d'Epinay 
admired  his  genius,  and  provided  him  with 
hats  and  coats  ;  and,  at  last,  was  so  far  de- 
luded by  his  declamations  about  the  country, 
as  to  fit  him  up  a  little  hermit  cottage,  where 
there  were  a  great  many  birds,  and  a  great 
many  plants  and  flowers — and  where  Rous- 
seau was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  su- 
premely miserable.  His  friends  from  Paris 
did  not  come  to  see  him.  The  postman,  the 
butcher,  and  the  baker,  hate  romantic  scenery; 
duchesses  and  marchionesses  were  no  longer 
found  to  scramble  for  him.  Among  the  real 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  the  reputation  of 
reading  and  thinking  is  fatal  to  character;  and 
Jean  Jacques  cursed  his  own  successful  elo- 
quence which  had  sent  him  from  the  suppers 
and  flattery  of  Paris  to  smell  to  daflx)dils, 
watch  sparrows,  or  project  idle  saliva  into 
the  passing  stream.  Veiy  few  men  who  have 
gratified,  and  are  gratifying  their  vanity  in  a 
great  metropolis,  are  qualified  to  quit  it.  Few 
have  the  plain  sense  to  perceive  that  they 
must  soon  inevitably  be  forgotten, — or  the  for- 
titude to  bear  it  when  they  are.  They  repre- 
sent to  themselves  imaginary  scenes  of  de- 
ploring friends  and  dispirited  companies, — 
but  the  ocean  might  as  well  regret  the  drops 
exhaled  by  the  sunbeams.  Life  goes  on  ;  and 
whether  the  absent  have  retired  into  a  cottage 
or  a  grave,  is  much  the  same  thing. — In  Lon- 
don, as  in  law,  de  non  apparentibus,  et  non  ezist- 
entibus  cadem  est  ratio. 

This  is  the  account  Madame  d'Epinay  gives 
of  Rousseau  soon  after  he  had  retired  into  the 
hermitage. 

"  J'ai  ete  il  y  a  deux  jours  a  la  Chevrette, 
pour  terminer  quelques  affaires  avant  de  m'y 
etabliravec  mes  enfans.  J'avois  fait  prevenir 
Rousseau  de  mon  voyage:  il  est  venu  me  voir. 
Je  crois  qu'il  a  besoin  de  ma  presence,  et  que 


la  solitude  a  deja  agite  sa  bile.  II  se  plaint  de 
tout  le  monde.  Diderot  doit  toujours  aller,  et 
ne  va  jamais  le  voir ;  M.  Grimm  le  neglige ; 
le  Baron  d'Holbach  I'oublie ;  GaufTecourt  et 
moi  seulement  avons  encore  des  egards  pour 
lui,  dit-il;  j'ai  voulu  les  justifier ;  cela  n'a  pas 
reussi.  J'espere  qu'il  sera  beaucoup  plus  a  la 
Chevrette  qu'a  I'Hermitage.  Je  suis  persuadee 
qu'il  n'y  a  que  fa9on  de  prendre  cet  homme 
pour  le  rendre  heureux ;  c'est  de  feindre  de  ne 
pas  prendre  garde  a  lui,  et  s'en  occuper  sans 
cesse;  c'est  pour  cela  que  je  n'insistai  point 
pour  le  retenir,  lorsqu'il  m'eut  dit  qu'il  vouloil 
s'en  retourner  a  I'Hermitage,  quoiqu'il  fut  tard et 
malgre  le  mauvais  temps." — II.  pp.  253,  254. 

Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  seems,  as  the  reward 
of  genius  and  fine  writing,  to  have  claimed  an 
exemption  from  all  moral  duties.  He  borrowed 
and  begged,  and  never  paid; — put  his  children 
in  a  poor-house — betrayed  his  friends — insulted 
his  benefactors — and  was  guilty  of  every  spe- 
cies of  meanness  and  mischief.  His  vanity 
was  so  great,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
keep  pace  with  it  by  any  activity  of  attention; 
and  his  suspicion  of  all  mankind  amounted 
nearly,  if  not  altogether,  to  insanity.  The  fol- 
lowing anecdote,  however,  is  totally  clear  of 
any  s)rmptom  of  derangement,  and  carries  only 
the  most  rooted  and  disgusting  selfishness. 

"Rousseau  vous  a  done  dit  qu'il  n'avoit  pas 
porte  son  ouvrage  a  Paris  1  II  en  a  menti,  car 
il  n'a  fait  son  voyage  que  pour  cela.  J'ai  re9U 
hier  une  lettre  de  Diderot,  qui  peint  votre  her- 
mite  comme  si  je  le  voyois.  II  a  fait  ces  deux 
lieues  a  pied,  est  venu  s'etablir  chez  Diderot 
sans  I'avoir  prevenu,  le  tout  pour  faire  avec 
lui  la  revision  de  son  ouvrage.  Au  point  ou 
ils  en  etoient  ensemble,  vous  conviendrez  que 
cela  est  assez  Strange.  Je  vois,  par  certains 
mots  echappes  a  mon  ami  dans  sa  lettre,  qu'il  y 
a  quelque  sujet  de  discussion  entre  eux ;  mais 
comme  il  ne  s'explique  point,  je  n'y  comprends 
rien.  Rousseau  I'a  tenu  impitoyablement  a 
I'ouvrage  depuis  le  Samedi  dix  heures  du  matin 
jusqu'au  Lundi  onze  heures  du  soir,  sans  lui 
donner  a  peine  le  temps  de  boire  ni  manger. 
La  revision  finie,  Diderot  cause  avec  lui  d'un 
plan  qu'il  a  dans  la  tete,  et  prie  Rousseau  de 
I'aider  a  arranger  un  incident  qui  n'est  pas  en- 
core trouve  a  sa  fantaisie.  Cela  est  trop  diSi- 
cile,  repond  froidement  Thermite,  il  est  tard, 
je  ne  suis  point  accoutume  a  veiller.  Bon 
soir,  je  pars  demain  a  six  heures  du  matin,  il 
est  temps  de  dormir.  II  se  leve,  va  se  coucher, 
et  laisse  Diderot  petrifie  de  son  precede.  Voila 
cet  homme  que  vous  croyez  si  pen^tre  de  vos 
lemons.  Ajoutez  a  cette  reflexion  un  propos 
singulier  de  la  femme  de  Diderot,  dont  je  vous 
prie  de  faire  votre  profit.  Cette  femme  n'est 
qu'une  bonne  femme,  mais  elle  a  la  tact  juste. 
Voyant  son  mari  desole  le  jour  du  depart  de 
Rousseau,  elle  lui  en  demande  la  raison  ;  il  la 
lui  dit:  C'est  le  manque  de  delicatesse  de  cet 
homme,  ajoute-t-il,  qui  m'afflige;  il  me  fait 
travailler  comme  un  manoeuvre,  je  ne  m'en 
serois,  je  crois,  pas  aper§u,  s'il  ne  m'avoit  re 
fuse  aussi  sechement  de  s'occuper  pourmoi  un 
quart-d'heure  .  .  .  Vous  etes  etonne  de  cela,  lui 
repond  sa  femme,  vous  ne  le  connoissez  done 
pas?  II  est  devors  d'envie ;  il  enrage  quanl 
2d2 


318 


WORKS    OF    THE    REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


il  paroit  quelque  chose  de  beau  qui  n'est  pas 
de  lui.  On  lui  verra  faire  un  JQur  quelques 
grands  forfaits  plutot  que  de  se  laisser  ignorer. 
TeneZ,  je  ne  jurerois  pas  qu'il  ne  se  rangeat 
du  parti  des  Jesuites,  et  qu'il  n'enterprit  leur 
apologie." — II.  pp.  60,  61. 

The  horror  which  Diderot  ultimately  con- 
ceived for  him,  is  strongly  expressed  in  the 
following  letter  to  Grimm, — M'ritten  after  an 
interview  which  compelled  him,  with  many 
pangs,  to  renounce  all  intercourse  with  a  man 
who  had,  for  years,  been  the  object  of  his  ten- 
derest  and  most  pa  rtial  feelings. 

"  Get  homme  est  un  forcene.  Je  I'ai  vu,  je 
lui  ai  reproch^,  avec  toute  la  force  que  donne 
I'honuetete  et  une  sorte  d'interet  qui  reste  au 
fond  du  ccEur  d'un  ami  qui  lui  est  devoue  de- 
puis  long-temps,  I'enormite  de  sa  conduite  ;  les 
pleurs  verses  aux  pieds  de  Madame  d'Epinay, 
dans  le  moment  meme  ou  il  la  chargeoit  pres 
de  moi  des  accusations  les  plus  graves;  cette 
odieuse  apologie  qu'il  vous  a  envoyee,  et  ou  il 
n'y  pas  une  seule  des  raisons  qu'il  avoit  a  dire  ; 
cette  lettre  projectee  pour  Saint-Lambert,  qui 
devoit  le  tranquilliser  sur  des  sentimens  qu'il 
se  reprochoit,  et  ou,  loin  d'avouer  une  passion 
nee  dans  son  coeur  son  malgre  lui,  il  s'ex- 
cuse  d'avoir  alarm^  Madame  d'Houdetot  sur  la 
sienne.  Que  sais-je  encore  1  Je  ne  suis  point 
content  de  ses  responses ;  je  n'ai  pas  eu  le 
courage  de  le  lui  temoigner  j'ai  mieux  aime 
lui  laisser  la  miserable  consolation  de  croire 
qu'il  m'a  trompe.  Qu'il  vive !  II  a  mis  dans 
sa  defense  un  emportement  froid  qui  m'a 
afflige.    J'ai  peur  qu'il  ne  soit  endurci. 

"  Adieu,  mon  ami ;  soyons  et  continuous 
d'etre  honnetes  gens :  I'etat  de  ceux  qui  ont 
cess6  al'etre  me  fait  peur.     Adieu,  mon  ami; 

je  vous  embrasse  bien  tendrement Je  ne 

jette  dans  vos  bras  comme  un  homme  effraye ; 
je  tache  en  vain  de  faire  de  la  poesie,  mais  cet 
homme  me  revient  tout  a  travers  mon  travail ; 
xl  me  trouble,  et  je  suis  comme  si  j'avois  a  cote 
de  moi  un  damne ;  il  est  damne,  cela  est  sur. 

Adieu,  mon  ami Grimm,  viola  I'efTet  que 

je  ferois  sur  vous,  si  je  devenois  jamais  un 
mechant:  en  verite,j'aimerois  mieux  etre  mort. 
II  n'y  a  peut-etre  pas  le  sens  commun  dans 
tout  ce  que  je  vous  ecris,  mais  je  vous  avoue 
que  je  n'a'  jamais  eprouve  un  trouble  d'ame 
si  terrible  que  cela  que  j'ai. 

"  Oh !  mon  ami,  quel  spectacle  que  celui 
d'un  homme  mechant  et  bourrele !  Brulez, 
dechirez  ce  papier,  qu'il  ne  retombe  plus  sous 
vos  yeux;  que  je  ne  revoie  plus  cet  homme 
U,  il  me  feroit  croire  aux  diables  et  a  I'enfer. 
Si  je  suis  jamais  force  de  retourner'  chez  lui, 
je  suis  sur  que  je  fremirai  tout  le  long  du  che- 
min:  j'avois  la  fievre  en  revenant.  Je  suis 
fache  de  ne  lui  avoir  pas  laisse  voir  I'horreur 
qu'il  m'inspiroit,  et  je  ne  me  reconcilie  avec 
moi  qu'en  pensant,  que  vous,  avec  toute  votre 
fermete,  vous  ne  I'auriez  pas  pu  a  ma  place ; 
je  ne  sais  pas  s'il  ne  m'auroit  pas  tue.  On 
entendoit  ses  cris  jusqu'au  bout  du  jardin;  et 
je  le  voyois !  Adieu,  mon  ami,  j'irai  demain 
vous  voir;  j'irai  chercher  un  homme  de  bien, 
aupres  duquel  je  m'asseye,  qui  me  rassure,  et 
qui  chasse  de  mon  ame  je  ne  sais  quoi  d'in- 
fernal  qui  la  tourmente  et  qui  s'y  est  attache. 
Les  poetes  ont  bien  fait  de  raettre  un  inter- 


valle  immense  entre  le  ciel  et  les  enfers.  En 
verite,  la  main  me  tremble." — III.  pp.  148, 149. 

Madame  d'Epinay  lived,  as  we  before  ob- 
served, with  many  persons  of  great  celebrity. 
We  could  not  help  smiling,  among  many 
others,  at  this  anecdote  of  our  countryman, 
David  Hume.  At  the  beginning  of  his  splen- 
did career  of  fame  and  fashion  at  Paris,  the 
historian  was  persuaded  to  appear  in  the  cha- 
racter of  a  sultan ;  and  was  placed  on  a  sofa 
between  two  of  the  most  beautiful  women  of 
Paris,  who  acted  for  that  evening  the  part  of 
inexorables,  whose  favour  he  was  supposed  to 
be  soliciting.  The  absurdity  of  this  scene  can 
easily  be  conceived. 

"  Le  celebre  David  Hume,  grand  et  gros  his- 
toriographe  d'Angleterre,  connuet  estime  par 
ses  ecrits,  n'a  pas  autant  de  talens  pour  ce 
genre  d'amusemens  auquel  toutes  nos  jolies 
femmes  I'avoient  decide  propre.  II  fit  son  debut 
chez  Madame  de  T  *  *  * ;  on  lui  avoit  destine 
le  role  d'un  sultan  assis  entre  deux  esclaves, 
employant  toute  son  eloquence  pour  s'en  faire 
aimer;  les  trouvant  inexorables,  il  devoit 
chercher  le  sujet  de  lenrs  peines  et  de  leur  r6- 
sistance :  on  le  place  sur  un  sopha  entre  les 
deux  plus  jolies  femmes  de  Paris,  il  les  regarde 
attentivement,  il  se  frappe  le  ventre  et  les  ge- 
noux  a  plusieurs  reprises,  et  ne  trouve  jamais 
autre  chose  a  leur  dire  que .  Eh  bien  !  mes  de- 
moiselles ....  Eh  bien  !  vous  voild  done  ....  Eh 
bien!  vous  voild  ....  vous  voild  id?  ....  Cette 
phrase  dura  un  quart-d'heure,sans  qu'il  put  en 
sortir.  Une  d'elles  se  leva d'impatience  :  Ah! 
dit-elle,  je  m'en  etois  bien  dout^e,  cet  homme 
n'est  bon  qu'a  manger  du  veau !  Dupuis  ce 
temps  il  est  relegue  au  role  de  spectateur,  et 
n'en  est  pas  moins  fete  et  cajole.  C'est  en  ve- 
rite une  chose  plaisante  que  le  role  qu'il  joue 
ici ;  malheureusement  pour  lui,  ou  plutot  pour 
la  dignitephilosophique,  car,  pour  lui,  il  paroit 
s'accommoder  fort  de  ce  train  de  vie  ;  il  n'y 
avoit  aucune  manie  dominante  dans  ce  pays 
lorsqu'il  y  est  arrive  ;  on  I'a  regarde  comme 
une  trouvaille  dans  cette  circonstance,  et  I'ef- 
fervescence  de  nos  jeunes  tetes  s'est  tournee 
de  son  cote.  Toutes  les  jolies  femmes  s'en  sont 
emparees ;  il  est  de  tous  les  soupers  fins,  et  il 
n'est  point  de  bonne  fete  sans  lui:  en  un  mot, 
il  est  pour  nos  agreables  ce  que  les  Genevois 
sont  pour  moi."— III.  pp.  284,  285. 

There  is  always  some  man,  of  whom  the 
human  viscera  stand  in  greater  dread  than  of 
any  other  person,  who  is  supposed,  for  the  time 
being,  to  be  the  only  person  who  can  dart  his 
pill  into  their  inmost  recesses ;  and  bind  them 
over,  in  medical  recognisance,  to  assimilate 
and  digest.  In  the  Trojan  war,  Podalirius  and 
Machaon  were  what  Dr.  Baillie  and  Sir  Henry 
Halford  now  are — they  had  the  fashionable 
practice  of  the  Greek  camp ;  and,  in  all  pro- 
bability, received  many  a  guinea  from  Aga- 
memnon dear  to  Jove,  and  Nestor  the  tamer 
of  horses.  In  the  time  of  Madame  d'Epinay, 
Dr.  Tronchin,  of  Geneva,  was  in  vogue,  and 
no  lady  of  fashion  could  recover  without 
writing  to  him,  or  seeing  him  in  person.  To 
the  Esculapius  of  this  very  small  and  irritable 
republic,  Madame  d'Epinay  repaired;  and, 
after  a  struggle  between  life  and  death,  and 
Dr.  Tronchin,  recovered  her  health.     During 


i 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


319 


her  residence  at  Geneva,  she  became  acquaint- 
ed with  Vohaire,  of  whom  she  has  left  the 
following  admirable  and  original  account — the 
truth,  talent,  and  simplicity  of  which,  are  not 
a  little  enhanced  by  the  tone  of  adulation  or 
abuse  which  has  been  so  generally  employed 
in  speaking  of  this  celebrated  person. 

"  Eh  bien  !  mon  ami,  je  n'aimerois  pas  a 
vivre  de  suite  avec  lui;  11  n'a  nul  principe  ar- 
rete,  il  compte  trop  sur  sa  memoire,  et  il  en 
abuse  souvent;  je  trouve  qu'elle  fait  tort  quel- 
quefois  a  sa  conversation ;  il  redit  plus  qu'il 
ne  dit,  et  ne  laisse  jamais  rien  a  faire  aux 
autres.  II  ne  salt  point  causer,  et  il  humilie 
I'amour-propre ;  il  dit  le  pour  et  le  centre,  tant 
qu'on  veut,  toujours  avec  de  nouvelles  graces 
a  la  verite,  et  neanmoins  il  a  toujours  I'air  de 
se  moquer  de  tout,  jusqu'a  lui-meme.  II  n'a 
nulle  philosophic  dans  la  tete ;  il  est  tout  he- 
risse  de  petits  pr^juges  d'enfans  ;  on  les  lui 
passeroit  peut-etre  en  faveur  de  ses  graces,  du 
brilliant  de  son  esprit  et  de  son  originalite,  s'il 
ne  s'afhchoit  pas  pour  les  secouer  tous.  II  a 
des  inconsequences  plaisantes,  et  il  est  au 
milieu  de  tout  cela  tres-amusant  a  voir.  Mais 
je  n'aime  point  les  gens  qui  ne  font  que 
m'amuser.  Pour  madame  sa  niece,  elle  est 
tout-a-fait  comique. 

"  II  paroit  ici  depuis  quelques  jours  un  livre 
qui  a  vivement  echauffe  les  tetes,  et  qui  cause 
des  discussions  fort  interessantes  entre  differ- 
entes  personnes  de  ce  pays,  parce  que  Ton 
pretend  que  la  constitution  de  leur  gouverne- 
ment  y  est  interessee  :  Voltaire  s'y  trouve 
mele  pour  des  propos  assez  vifs  qu'il  a  tenu  a 
ce  sujet  contre  les  pretres.  La  grosse  niece 
trouve  fort  mauvais  que  tous  les  magistrals 
n'ayent  pas  pris  fait  et  cause  pour  son  oncle. 
Elle  jette  tour  a  tour  ses  grosses  mains  et  ses 
petits  bras  par  dessus  sa  tete,  maudissant  avec 
des  cris  inhumains  les  lois,  les  republiques,  et 
surtout  ces  polissons  de  republicains  qui  vont 
a  pied,  qui  sont  obliges  de  souffrir  les  criail- 
leries  de  leurs  pretres,  et  qui  se  croient  libres. 
Cela  est  tout-a-fait  bon  a  entendre  et  a  voir." 
III.  pp.  196,  197. 

Madame  D'Epinay  was  certainly  a  woman 
of  very  considerable  talent.  Rousseau  accuses 
her  of  writing  bad  plays  and  romances.  This 
may  be ;  but  her  epistolary  style  is  excellent 
— her  remarks  on  passing  events  lively,  acute, 
and  solid — and  her  delineation  of  character 
admirable.  As  a  proof  of  this,  we  shall  give 
her  portrait  of  the  Marquis  de  Croisraare,  one 
of  the  friends  of  Diderot  and  the  Baron  d'Hol- 
bach. 

"Tp  \v\  rrn^t  bi'pn  soixante  ans :  il  ne  les 


paroit  pourtant  pas.  II  est  d'une  taille  mediocre, 
sa  figure  a  du  etre  tres-agr^able :  elle  se  dis- 
tingue encore  par  un  air  de  noblesse  et  d'aia- 
ance,  qui  repand  de  la  grace  sur  tout  sa 
personne.  Sa  physionomie  a  de  la  finesse^ 
Ses  gestes,  ses  attitudes  ne  sont  jamais 
recherches ;  mais  ils  sont  si  bien  d'accord 
avec  la  tournure  de  son  esprit,  qu'ils  semblent 
ajouter  a  son  originalite.  II  parle  des  choses 
les  plus  serieuses  et  les  plus  importantes  d'un 
ton  si  gai,  qu'on  est  souvent  tente  de  ne  rien 
croire  de  ce  qu'il  dit.  On  n'a  presque  jamais 
rien  a  citer  de  ce  qu'on  lui  entend  dire ;  mais 
lorsqu'il  parle,  on  ne  veut  rien  perdre  de  ce 
qu'il  dit ;  s'il  se  tait,  on  desire  qu'il  parle 
encore.  Sa  prodigieuse  vivacite,  et  une  sin- 
guliere  aptitude  a  toutes  sortes  de  talens  et  de 
connoissances,  I'ont  porte  a  tout  voir  et  a  tout 
connoitre  ;  au  moyen  de  quoi  vous  comprenez 
qu'il  est  fort  instruit.  II  a  bien  lu,  bien  vu,  et 
n'a  retenu  que  ce  qui  valoit  la  peine  de  I'etre. 
Son  esprit  annonce  d'abord-  plus  d'agrement 
que  de  solidite,  mais  je  crois  que  quiconque 
le  jugeroit  frivole  lui  feroit  tort.  Je  le  soup- 
f  onne  de  renfermer  dans  son  cabinet  les  epines 
des  roses  qu'il  distribue  dans  la  societe :  assez 
constamment  gai  dans  le  monde,  seul  je  le 
crois  melancolique.  On  dit  qu'il  a  I'ame  aussi 
tendre  qu'honnete  ;  qu'il  sent  vivement  et  qu'il 
se  livre  avec  impetuosite  a  ce  qui  trouve  le 
chemin  de  son  coeur.  Tout  le  monde  ne  lui 
plait  pas  ;  il  faut  pour  cela  de  I'originalite,  ou 
des  vertus  distinguees,  ou  de  certains  vices 
qu'il  appelle  passions  ;  neanmoins  dans  le 
courant  de  la  vie,  il  s'accommode  de  tout. 
Beaucoup  de  curiosite  et  de  la  facilite  dans  le 
caractere  (ce  qui  va  jusq-u'a  la  foiblesse) 
I'entrainent  souvent  a  negliger  ses  meilleurs 
amis  et  a  les  perdre  de  vue,  pour  se  livrer  a 
des  gouts  factices  et  passagers  :  il  en  rit  avec 
eux ;  mais  on  voit  si  clairement  qu'il  en  rougit 
avec  lui-meme,  qu'on  ne  pent  lui  savoir 
mauvais  gre  de  ses  disparates." — III.  pp.  324 
—326. 

The  portrait  of  Grimm,  the  French  Boswell, 
vol.  iii.  p.  97,  is  equally  good,  if  not  superior; 
but  we  have  already  extracted  enough  to  show 
the  nature  of  the  work,  and  the  talents  of  the 
author.  It  is  a  lively,  entertaining  book, — 
relating  in  an  agreeable  manner  the  opinions 
and  habits  of  many  remarkable  men — mingled 
with  some  very  scandalous  and  improper  pas- 
sages, which  degrade  the  whole  work.  But  if 
all  the  decencies  and  delicacies  of  life  were  in 
one  scale,  and  five  francs  in  the  other,  what 
French  bookseller  would  feel  a  single  moment 
of  doubt  in  making  his  selection  1 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


POOE-LAWS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1820.] 


Our  readers,  we  fear,  will  require  some 
apology  for  being  asked  to  look  at  anything 
upon  the  poor-laws.  No  subject,  we  admit, 
can  be  more  disagreeable,  or  more  trite.  But, 
unfortunately,  it  is  the  most  important  of  all 
the  important  subjects  which  the  distressed 
state  of  the  country  is  now  crowding  upon  our 
notice. 

A  pamphlet  on  the  poor-laws  generally  con- 
tains some  little  piece  of  favourite  nonsense, 
by  which  we  are  gravely  told  this  enormous 
evil  may  be  perfectly  cured.  The  first  gentle- 
man recommends  little  gardens ;  the  second 
cows;  the  third  a  village  shop;  the  fourth  a 
spade  ;  the  fifth  Dr.  Bell,  and  so  forth.  Every 
man  rushes  to  the  press  with  his  small  morsel 
of  imbecility ;  and  is  not  easy  till  he  sees  his 
impertinence  stitched  in  blue  covers.  In  this 
list  of  absurdities,  we  must  not  forget  the  pro- 
ject of  supporting  the  poor  from  national  funds, 
or,  in  other  words,  of  immediately  doubling  the 
expenditure,  and  introducing  every  possible 
abuse  into  the  administration  of  it. 

Then  there  are  worthy  men,  who  call  upon 
gentlemen  of  fortune  and  education  to  become 
overseers — meaning,  we  suppose,  that  the  pre- 
sent overseers  are  to  perform  the  higher  duties 
of  men  of  fortune.  Then  merit  is  set  up  as 
the  test  of  relief;  and  their  worships  are  to 
enter  into  a  long  examination  of  the  life  and 
character  of  each  applicant,  assisted,  as  they 
doubtlefs  would  be,  by  candid  overseers,  and 
neighbours  divested  of  every  feeling  of  malice 
and  partiality.  The  children  are  next  to  be 
taken  from  their  parents,  and  lodged  in  im- 
mense pedagogueries  of  several  acres  each, 
where  they  are  to  be  carefully  secluded  from 
those  fathers  and  mothers  they  are  commanded 
to  obey  and  honour,  and  are  to  be  brought  up 
in  virtue  by  the  churchwardens. — And  this  is 
gravely  intended  as  a  corrective  of  the  poor- 
laws  ;  as  if  (to  pass  over  the  many  other  ob- 
jections which  might  be  made  to  it,)  it  would 
not  set  mankind  populating  faster  than  carpen- 
ters and  bricklayers  could  cover  in  their  child- 
ren, or  separate  twigs  to  be  bound  into  rods  for 
their  flagellation.  An  extension  of  the  poor- 
laws  to  personal  property  is  also  talked  of. 
We  should  be  very  glad  to  see  any  species  of 
property  exempted  from  these  laws,  but  have 
no  wish  that  any  which  is  now  exempted  should 
be  subjected  to  their  influence.  The  case 
would  infallibly  be  like  that  of  the  income-tax, 
— the  more  easily  the  tax  was  raised,  the  more 


*  1.  Safe  Method  for  renderinrr  Income  arising  from  Per- 
sonal Property  available  to  the  Poor-Laws.  Longman 
&  Co.     1819. 

2.  Summary  Review  of  the  Report  and  Evidence  relative 
to  the  Punr-Lnws.     By  .S.  W.  Nicol.     York. 

3.  Essay  on  the  Practicability  of  modifying  the  Poor- Laws. 
Slierwood.     1819. 

4.  ConsideratioTi.t  on  the  Poor-Laws.  By  John  Davison, 
A.  M.     Oxford. 


profligate  would  be  the  expenditure.  It  is  pro- 
posed also  that  alehouses  should  be  diminished, 
and  that  the  children  of  the  poor  should  be 
catechized  publicly  in  the  church, — both  very 
respectable  and  proper  suggestions  but  of  them- 
selves hardly  strong  enough  for  the  evil.  We 
have  every  wish  that  the  poor  should  accus- 
tom themselves  to  habits  of  sobriety;  but  we 
cannot  help  reflecting,  sometimes,  that  an  ale- 
house is  the  only  place  where  a  poor  tired 
creature,  haunted  with  every  species  of  wretch- 
edness, can  purchase  three  or  four  times  a 
year  three  pennyworth  of  ale — a  liquor  upon 
which  wine-drinking  moralists  are  always  ex- 
tremely severe.  We  must  not  forget,  among 
other  nostrums,  the  eulogy  of  small  farms — in 
other  words,  of  small  capital,  and  profound  ig- 
norance in  the  arts  of  agriculture; — and  the 
evil  is  also  thought  to  be  curable  by  periodical 
contributions  from  men  who  have  nothing,  and 
can  earn  nothing  without  charity.  To  one  of 
these  plans,  and  perhaps  the  most  plausible, 
Mr.  Nicol  has  stated,  in  the  following  passage, 
objections  that  are  applicable  to  almost  all  the 
rest. 

"The  district  school  would  no  doubt  be  well 
superintended  and  well  regulated;  magistrates 
and  country  gentlemen  would  be  its  visitors. 
The  more  excellent  the  establishment,  the 
greater  the  mischief;  because  the  greater  the 
expense.  We  may  talk  what  we  will  of  econ- 
omy, but  where  the  care  of  the  poor  is  taken 
exclusively  into  the  hands  of  the  rich,  compa- 
rative extravagance  is  the  necessary  conse- 
quence: to  say  that  the  gentleman,  or  even  the 
overseer,  would  never  permit  the  poor  to  live 
at  the  district  school,  as  they  live  at  home,  is 
saying  far  too  little.  English  humanity  will 
never  see  the  poor  in  any  thing  like  want,  when 
that  want  is  palpably  and  visibly  brought  be- 
fore it :  first,  it  will  give  necessaries,  next  com- 
forts ;  until  its  fostering  care  rather  pampers, 
than  merely  relieves.  The  humanity  itself  is 
highly  laudable;  but  if  practised  on  an  exten- 
sive  scale,  its  consequences  must  entail  an  al- 
most unlimited  expenditure. 

"  Mr.  Locke  computes  that  the  labour  of  a 
child  from  3  to  14,  being  set  against  its  nourish- 
ment and  teaching,  the  result  would  be  exone- 
ration of  the  parish  from  expense.  Nothing 
could  prove  more  decisively  the  incompetency 
of  the  board  of  trade  to  advise  on  this  question. 
Of  the  productive  labour  of  the  workhouse,  I 
shall  have  to  speak  hereafter;  I  will  only  ob- 
serve in  this  place,  that  after  the  greatest  care 
and  attention  bestowed  on  the  subject,  after  ex- 
pensive looms  purchased,  &c.,  the  50  boys  of 
the  blue  coat  school  earned  in  the  year  1816, 
59?.  10s.  3(1.;  the  40  girls  earned,  in  the  same 
time,  40?.  7s.  9(7.  The  ages  of  these  children 
are  from  8  to  16.  They  earn  about  one  pound 
in  the  year,  and  cost  about  twenty. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


321 


"  The  greater  the  call  for  labour  in  public 
institutions,  be  they  prisons,  workhouses,  or 
schools,  the  more  difficult  to  be  procured  that 
labour  must  be.  There  will  thence  be  both 
much  less  of  it  for  the  comparative  numbers, 
and  it  will  afford  a  much  less  price  ;  to  get  any- 
labour  at  all,  one  school  must  underbid  an- 
other. 

"  It  has  just  been  observed,  that  '  the  child 
of  a  poor  cottager,  half  clothed,  half  fed,  with 
the  enjoyment  of  home  and  liberty,  is  not  only 
happier  but  better  than  the  little  automaton  of 
a  parish  workhouse:'  and  this  I  believe  is  ac- 
curately true.  I  scarcely  know  a  more  cheer- 
ing sight,  though  certainly  many  more  elegant 
ones,  than  the  youthful  gambols  of  a  village 
green.  They  call  to  mind  the  description  given 
by  Paley  of  the  shoals  of  the  fry  of  fish :  '  They 
are  so  happy  that  they  know  not  what  to  do 
with  themselves  ;  their  attitude,  their  vivacity, 
their  leaps  out  of  the  water,  their  frolics  in  it, 
all  conduce  to  show  their  excess  of  spirits,  and 
are  simply  the  effects  of  that  excess.' 

"Though  politeness  may  be  banished  from 
the  cottage,  and  though  the  anxious  mother  may 
sometimes  chide  a  little  too  sharply,  yet  here 
both  maternal  endearments  and  social  affection 
exist  in  perhaps  their  greatest  vigour:  the  at- 
tachments of  lower  life,  where  independent  of 
attachment  there  is  so  little  to  enjoy,  far  out- 
strip the  divided  if  not  exhausted  sensibility 
of  the  rich  and  great ;  and  in  depriving  the 
poor  of  these  attachments,  we  may  be  said  to 
rob  them  of  their  little  all. 

"  But  it  is  not  to  happiness  only  I  here  refer ; 
it  is  to  morals.  I  listen  with  great  reserve  to 
that  system  of  moral  instruction,  which  has 
not  social  affection  for  its  basis,  or  the  feelings 
of  the  heart  for  its  ally.  It  is  not  to  be  con- 
cealed, that  every  thing  may  be  taught,  yet  no- 
thing learned,  that  systems  planned  with  care, 
and  executed  with  attention,  may  evaporate 
into  unmeaning  forms,  where  the  imagination 
is  not  roused,  or  the  sensibility  impressed. 

"Let  us  suppose  the  children  of  the  'district 
school,'  nurtured  with  that  superabundant  care 
which  such  institutions,  when  supposed  to  be 
well  conducted,  are  wont  to  exhibit ;  they,  rise 
with  the  dawn ;  after  attending  to  the  calls  of 
cleanliness,  prayers  follow ;  then  a  lesson ; 
then  breakfast ;  then  work,  till  noon  liberates 
them,  for  perhaps  an  hour,  from  the  walls  of 
their  prison  to  the  walls  of  their  prison  court. 
Dinner  follows;  and  then,  in  course,  work,  les- 
sons, supper,  prayers ;  at  length,  after  a  day 
dreary  and  dull,  the  counterpart  of  every  day 
which  has  preceded,  and  of  all  that  are  to  fol- 
low, the  children  are  dismissed  to  bed. — This 
.system  may  construct  a  machine,  but  it  will 
not  form  a  man.  Of  what  does  it  consist?  of 
prayers  parroted  without  one  sentiment  in  ac- 
cord with  the  words  uttered  :  of  moral  lectures 
which  the  understanding  does  not  comprehend, 
or  the  heart  feel ;  of  endless  bodily  constraint, 
intolerable  to  3'outhful  vivacity,  and  injurious 
to  the  perfection  of  the  human  frame. — The 
cottage  day  may  not  present  so  imposing  a 
scene  ;  no  decent  uniform  ;  no  well  trimmed 
locks;  no  glossy  skin ;  no  united  response  of 
hundreds  of  conjoined  voices;  no  lengthened 
procession,  misnamed  exercise ;  but  if  it  has 
41 


less  to  strike  the  eye,  it  has  far  more  to  engage 
the  heart.  A  trifle  in  the  way  of  cleanliness 
must  suffice  ;  the  prayer  is  not  forgot ;  it  is  per- 
haps imperfectly  repeated,  and  confusedly  un- 
derstood; but  it  is  not  muttered  as  a  vain 
sound;  it  is  an  earthly  parent  that  tells  of  a 
heavenly  one ;  duty,  love,  obedience,  are  not 
words  without  meaning,  when  repeated  by  a 
mother  to  her  child :  to  God,  the  great  unknown 
Being  that  made  all  things,  all  thanks,  all  praise, 
all  adoration  is  due.  The  young  religionist 
may  be  in  some  measure  bewildered  by  all 
this;  his  notions  may  be  obscure,  but  his  feel- 
ings will  be  roused,  and  the  foundation  at  least 
of  true  piety  will  be  laid. 

"Of  moral  instruction,  the  child  may  be 
taught  less  at  home  than  at  school,  but  he  will 
be  taught  better;  that  is,  whatever  he  is  taught 
he  will  feel :  he  will  not  have  abstract  proposi- 
tions of  duty  coldly  presented  to  his  mind  ;  but 
precept  and  practice  will  be  conjoined;  what 
he  is  told  it  is  right  to  do  will  be  instantly  done. 
Sometimes  the  operative  principle  on  the  child's" 
mind  will  be  love,  sometimes  fear,  sometimes 
habitual  sense  of  obedience  ;  it  is  always  some- 
thing that  will  impress,  always  something  that 
will  be  remembered." 

There  are  two  points  which  we  consider  as 
now  admitted  by  all  men  of  sense, — Ist,  That 
the  poor-laws  must  be  abolished ;  2dly,  That 
they  must  be  very  gradually  abolished.*  We 
hardly  think  it  worth  while  to  throw  away  pen 
and  ink  upon  any  one  who  is  still  inclined  to 
dispute  either  of  these  propositions. 

With  respect  to  the  gradual  abolition,  it  must 
be  observed,  that  the  present  redundant  popu- 
lation of  the  country  has  been  entirely  produced 
by  the  poor-laws:  and  nothing  could  be  so 
grossly  unjust  as  to  encourage  people  to  such 
a  vicious  multiplication,  and  then,  when  you 
happen  to  discover  your  folly,  immediately  to 
starve  them  into  annihjlation.  You  have  been 
calling  upon  your  population  for  two  hundred 
years  to  beget  more  children — furnished  them 
with  clothes,  food,  and  houses — taught  ihem  to 
lay  up  nothing  for  matrimony,  nothing  for 
children,  nothing  for  age— but  to  depend  upon 
justices  of  the  peace  for  every  human  want. 
The  folly  is  now  detected;  but  the  people,  who 
are  the  fruit  of  it,  remain.  It  was  madness  to 
call  them  in  this  manner  into  existence ;  but 
it  would  be  the  height  of  cold-blooded  cruelty 
to  get  rid  of  them  by  any  other  than  the  most 
gentle  and  gradual  means ;  and  not  only  would 
it  be  cruel,  but  extremely  dangerous,  to  make 
the  attempt.  Insurrections  of  the  most  san- 
guinary and  ferocious  nature  would  be  the 
immediate  consequence  of  any  very  sudden 
change  in  the  system  of  the  poor-laws;  not 
partial,  like  those  which  proceeded  from  an 
impeded  or  decaying  state  of  manufactures^ 
but  as  universal  as  the  poor-laws  themselves^ 


*  I  am  not  quite  so  wrong  in  this  as  I  seem  to  be,  nor 
after  all  our  experience  ami  satisfied  that  there  has  not 
been  a  good  deal  of  rashness  and  precipitation  in  the 
conduct  of  this  admirable  measure.  You  have  not  been 
able  to  carry  the  law  into  manufacturing  countries. 
Parliament  will  compel  you  to  soften  some  of  the  more 
severe  clauses.  It  has  been  the  nucleus  of  general  in- 
surrection and  chartism.  The  Duke  of  Wellington 
wisely  recommended  that  the  experiment  should  be 
first  tried  in  a  few  counties  round  the  metropolis. 


322 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMTH. 


and  as  ferocious  as  insurrections  always  are 
which  are  led  on  by  hunger  and  despair. 

These  observations  may  serve  as  an  answer 
to  those  angry  and  impatient  gentlemen,  who 
are  always  crying  out,  What  has  the  committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  done? — What  have 
they  to  show  for  their  labours  ? — Are  the  rates 
lessened  1 — Are  the  evils  removed  1  The  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  would  have 
shown  themselves  to  be  a  set  of  the  most  con- 
temptible charlatans,  if  they  had  proceeded 
with  any  such  indecent  and  perilous  haste,  or 
paid  the  slightest  regard  to  the  ignorant  folly 
which  required  it  at  their  hands.  They  have 
very  properly  begun,  by  collecting  all  possible 
information  upon  the  subject ;  by  consulting 
speculative  and  practical  men  ;  by  leaving  time 
for  the  press  to  contribute  whatever  it  could  of 
thought  or  knowledge  to  the  subject;  and  by 
introducing  measures,  the  effects  of  which  will 
be,  and  are  intended  to  be,  gradual.  The  lords 
seemed  at  first  to  have  been  surprised  that  the 
poor-laws  were  not  abolished  before  the  end  of 
the  first  session  of  Parliament ;  and  accordingly 
set  up  a  little  rival  committee  of  their  own, 
which  did  little  or  nothing,  and  will  not,  we 
believe,  be  renewed.  We  are  so  much  less 
sanguine  than  those  noble  legislators,  that  we 
shall  think  the  improvement  immense,  and  a 
subject  of  very  general  congratulation,  if  the 
poor-rates  are  perceptibly  diminished,  and  if 
the  system  of  pauperism  is  clearly  going  down 
in  twenty  or  thirty  years  hence. 

We  think,  upon  the  whole,  that  government 
has  beeu  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  the  gen- 
tleman who  is  placed  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
mittee for  the  revision  of  the  poor-laws;  or 
rather,  we  should  say,  (for  he  is  a  gentleman 
of  very  independent  fortune),  who  has  consented 
that  he  should  be  placed  there.  Mr.  Siurges 
Bourne  is  undoubtedly  a  man  of  business,  and 
of  very  good  sense  :  he  has  made  some  mis- 
takes ;  but,  upon  the  whole,  sees  the  subject  as 
a  philosopher  and  a  statesman  ought  to  do. 
Above  all,  we  are  pleased  with  his  good  nature 
and  good  sense  in  adhering  to  his  undertaking, 
after  the  Parliament  has  flung  out  two  or  three 
of  his  favourite  bills.  Many  men  would  have 
surrendered  so  unthankful  and  laborious  an 
undertaking  in  disgust;  but  Mr.  Bourne  knows 
better  what  appertains  to  his  honour  and  cha- 
racter, and,  above  all,  what  he  owes  to  his 
country.  It  is  a  great  subject;  and  such  as  will 
secure  to  him  the  gratitude  and  favour  of  pos- 
terity, if  he  brings  it  to  a  successful  issue. 

We  have  stated  our  opinion  that  all  remedies, 
without  gradual  abolition,  are  of  little  impor- 
tance. With  a  foundation  laid  for  such  gradual 
abolition,  every  auxiliary  improvement  of  the 
poor-laws  (while  they  do  remain)  is  worthy  the 
attention  of  Parliament:  and,  in  suggesting  a 
few  alterations  as  fit  to  be  immediately  adopted, 
we  wish  it  to  be  understood,  that  we  have  in 
view  the  gradual  destruction  of  the  system,  as 
well  as  its  amendment  while  it  continues  to 
operate. 

It  seems  to  us,  then,  that  one  of  the  first  and 
greatest  improvements  of  this  unhappy  system 
would  be  a  complete  revision  of  the  law  of  set- 
tlement.  Since  Mr.  East's  act  for  preventing 
the  removal  of  the  poor  till  they  are  actually 


chargeable,  any  man  may  live  where  he  pleases, 
until  he  becomes  a  beggar,  and  asks  alms  of 
the  place  where  he  resides.  To  gain  a  settle- 
ment, then,  is  nothing  more  than  to  gain  a  right 
of  begging:  it  is  not,  as  it  used  to  be  before  Mr. 
East's  act,  a  power  of  residing  where,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  resident,  his  industry  and  exer- 
tion will  be  best  rewarded;  but  a  power  of  tax- 
ing the  industry  and  exertions  of  other  persons 
in  the  place  where  his  settlement  falls.  This 
privilege  produces  all  the  evil  complained  of  in 
the  poor-laws ;  and  instead,  therefore,  of  being 
conferred  with  the  liberality  and  profusion 
which  it  is  at  present, it  should  be  made  of  very 
difficult  attainment,  and  liable  to  the  fewest 
possible  changes.  The  constant  policy  of  our 
courts  of  justice  has  been,  to  make  settlements 
easily  obtained.  Since  the  period  we  have  be- 
fore alluded  to,  this  has  certainly  been  a  very 
mistaken  policy.  It  would  be  a  far  wiser 
course  to  abolish  all  other  means  of  settlement 
than  those  of  birth,  parentage,  and  marriage — 
not  for  the  limited  reason  stated  in  the  com- 
mittee, that  it  would  diminish  the  law  expenses, 
(though  that,  too,  is  of  importance,)  but  because 
it  would  invest  fewer  residents  with  the  fatal 
privilege  of  turning  beggars,  exempt  a  greater 
number  of  labourers  from  the  moral  corruption 
of  the  poor-laws,  and  stimulate  them  to  exertioa 
and  economy,  by  the  fearof  removal  if  they  are 
extravagant  and  idle.  Of  ten  men  who  leave 
the  place  of  their  birth,  four,  probably,  get  a 
settlement  by  yearly  hiring,  and  four  others  by 
renting  a  small  tenement;  while  two  or  three 
may  return  to  the  place  of  their  nativity,  and 
settle  there.  Now,  under  the  present  system, 
here  are  eight  men  settled  where  they  have  a 
right  to  beg  without  being  removed.  The  pro- 
bability is,  that  they  will  all  beg ;  and  that  their 
virtue  will  give  way  to  the  incessant  temptation 
of  the  poor-laws :  but  if  these  men  had  felt  from 
the  very  beginning,  that  removal  from  the  place 
where  they  wished  most  to  live  would  be  the 
sure  consequence  of  their  idleness  and  extrava- 
gance, the  probability  is,  that  they  would  have 
escaped  the  contagion  of  pauperism,  and  been 
much  more  useful  members  of  society  than 
they  now  are.  The  best  labourers  in  a  village 
are  commonly  those  who  are  living  where  they 
are  legally  settled,  and  have  therefore  no  right  to 
ask  charity — for  the  plain  reason,  that  they  have 
nothing  to  depend  upon  but  their  own  exertions: 
in  short,  for  them  the  poor-laws  hardly  exist; 
and  they  are  such  as  the  great  mass  of  English 
peasantry  would  be,  if  we  had  escaped  the  curse 
of  these  laws  altogether. 

It  is  incorrect  to  say,  that  no  labourer  would 
settle  out  of  the  place  of  his  birth,  if  the  means 
of  acquiring  a  settlement  were  so  limited.  Many 
men  begin  the  world  with  strong  hope"  and 
much  confidence  in  their  own  fortune,  and 
without  any  intention  of  subsisting  by  charity  ; 
but  they  see  others  subsisting  in  greater  ease, 
without  their  toil — and  their  spirit  gradually 
sinks  to  the  meanness  of  mendicity. 

An  affecting  picture  is  sometimes  drawn  of  a 
man  falling  into  want  in  the  decline  of  life,  and 
compelled  to  remove  from  the  place  where  he 
has  spent  the  greatest  part  of  his  days.  These 
things  are  certainly  painful  enough  to  him  who 
has  the  misfortune  to  witness  them.     But  they 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


323 


must  be  taken  upon  a  large  scale;  and  the 
whole  good  and  evil  which  they  produce  dili- 
gently weighed  and  considered.  The  question 
then  will  be,  whether  any  thing  can  be  more 
really  humane,  than  to  restrain  a  system  which 
relaxes  the  sinews  of  industry,  and  places  the 
dependence  of  laborious  men  upon  any  thing 
but  themselves.  We  must  not  think  only  of 
the  wretched  sufferer  who  is  removed,  and,  at 
the  sight  of  his  misfortunes,  call  out  for  fresh 
facilities  to  beg.  We  must  remember  the  in- 
dustry, the  vigour,  and  the  care  which  the  dread 
of  removal  has  excited,  and  the  number  of  per- 
sons who  owe  their  happiness  and  their  wealth 
to  that  salutary  feeling.  The  very  person,  who, 
in  the  decline  of  life,  is  removed  from  the  spot 
where  he  has  spent  so  great  a  part  of  his  time, 
would,  perhaps,  have  been  a  pauper  half  a  cen- 
tury before,  if  he  had  been  afflicted  with  the 
right  of  asking  alms  in  the  place  where  he 
lived. 

It  has  been  objected,  that  this  plan  of  abolish- 
ing all  settlements  but  those  of  birth,  would 
send  a  man,  the  labour  of  whose  youth  had 
benefited  some  other  parish,  to  pass  the  useless 
part  of  his  life  in  a  place  for  which  he  existed 
only  as  a  burden.  Supposing  that  this  were 
the  case,  it  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  answer, 
that  any  given  parish  would  probably  send 
away  as  many  useless  old  men  as  it  received ; 
and,  after  all,  little  inequalities  must  be  borne 
for  the  general  good.  But,  in  truth,  it  is  rather 
ridiculous  to  talk  of  a  parish  not  having  bene- 
fited by  the  labour  of  the  man  who  is  returned 
upon  their  hands  in  his  old  age.  If  such  parish 
resembles  most  of  those  in  England,  the  absence 
of  a  man  for  thirty  or  forty  years  has  been  a 
great  good  instead  of  an  evil ;  they  have  had 
many  more  labourers  than  they  could  employ  ; 
and  the  very  man  whom  the}'  are  complaining 
of  supporting  for  his  few  last  years,  would,  in 
all  probability,  have  been  a  beggar  forty  years 
before,  if  he  had  remained  among  them  ;  or,  by 
pushing  him  out  of  work,  would  have  made 
some  other  man  a  beggar.  Are  the  benefits  de- 
rived from  prosperous  manufactures  limited  to 
the  parishes  which  contain  them  ?  The  indus- 
try of  Halifax,  Huddersfield,  or  Leeds,  is  felt 
across  the  kingdom  as  far  as  the  Eastern  Sea. 
The  prices  of  meat  and  corn  at  the  markets  of 
York  and  Malton  are  instantly  affected  by  any 
increase  of  demand  and  rise  of  wages  in  the 
manufacturing  districts  to  the  west.  They 
have  benefited  these  distant  places,  and  found 
labour  for  their  superfluous  hands  by  the  pros- 
perity of  their  manufactures.  Where,  then, 
would  be  the  injustice,  if  the  manufacturers,  in 
the  time  of  stagnation  and  povertj%  were  re- 
turned to  their  birth  settlements'?  But  as  the 
law  now  stands,  ■population  twnors,  of  the  most 
dangerous  nature,  may  spring  up  in  a  parish  : 
— a  manufacturer,  concealing  his  intention,  may 
settle  there,  take  200  or  300  apprentices,  fail, 
and  half  ruin  the  parish  which  has  been  the 
scene  of  his  operations.  For  these  reasons, 
we  strongl}'^  recommend  to  Mr.  Bourne  to  nar- 
row as  much  as  possible,  in  all  his  future  bills, 
the  means  of  acquiring  settlements,*  and  to  re- 
duce them  ultimately  to  parentage,  birth  and 


*  Tbi3  has  been  done. 


marriage — convinced  that,  in  so  doing,  he  will, 
in  furtherance  of  the  great  object  of  abolishmg 
the  poor-laws,  be  only  limiting  the  right  of  beg- 
ging, and  preventing  the  resident  and  almsman 
from  being  (as  they  now  commonly  are)  one 
and  the  same  person.  But,  before  we  dismiss 
this  part  of  the  subject,  we  must  say  a  few 
words  upon  the  methods  by  which  settlements 
are  now  gained. 

In  the  settlement  by  hiring  it  is  held,  that  a 
man  has  a  claim  upon  the  parish  for  support 
where  he  has  laboured  for  a  year;  and  yet 
another,  who  has  laboured  there  for  twenty 
years  by  short  hirings,  gains  no  settlement  at 
all.  When  a  man  was  not  allowed  to  live 
where  he  was  not  settled,  it  was  wise  to  lay 
hold  of  any  plan  for  extending  settlements.  But 
the  whole  question  is  now  completely  changed; 
and  the  only  point  which  remains  is,  to  find  out 
what  mode  of  conferring  settlements  produces 
the  least  possible  mischief.  We  are  convinced 
it  is  by  throwing  every  possible  difhculty  in  the 
way  of  acquiring  them.  If  a  settlement  here- 
after  should  not  be  obtained  in  that  parish  in 
which  labourers  have  worked  for  many  years, 
it  will  be  because  it  contributes  materially  to 
their  happiness  that  they  should  not  gain  a 
settlement  there ;  and  this  is  a  full  answer  to 
the  apparent  injustice. 

Then,  upon  what  plea  of  common  sense 
should  a  man  gain  a  power  of  taxing  a  parish 
to  keep  him,  because  he  has  rented  a  tenement 
of  ten  pounds  a  year  there  1  or,  because  he  has 
served  the  office  of  clerk,  or  sexton,  or  hog- 
ringer,  or  bought  an  estate  of  thirty  pounds 
value?  However  good  these  various  pleas 
might  be  for  conferring  settlements,  if  it  was 
desirable  to  increase  the  facility  of  obtaining 
them,  they  are  totally  inefficacious  if  it  can  be 
shown  that  the  means  of  gaining  new  settle- 
ments should  be  confined  to  the  limits  of  the 
strictest  necessity. 

These  observations  (if  they  have  the  honour 
of  attracting  his  attention)  will  show  Mr.  Bourne 
our  opinion  of  his  bill  for  giving  the  privilege 
of  settlement  only  to  a  certain  length  of  resi- 
dence. In  the  first  place,  such  a  bill  would  be 
the  cause  of  endless  vexation  to  the  poor,  from 
the  certainty  of  their  being  turned  out  of  their 
cottages,  before  they  pushed  their  legal  taproot 
into  the  parish  ;  and,  secondly,  it  would  rapidly 
extend  all  the  evils  of  the  poor  laws,  by  identi- 
fying, much  more  than  they  are  at  present 
identified,  the  resident  and  the  settled  man — the 
very  opposite  of  the  policy  which  ought  to  be 
pursued. 

Let  us  suppose,  then,  that  we  have  got  rid  of 
all  the  means  of  gaining  a  settlement,  or  right 
to  become  a  beggar,  except  by  birth,  parentage, 
and  marriage ;  for  the  wife,  of  course,  must  fall 
into  the  settlement  of  the  husband;  and  the 
children,  till  emancipated,  must  be  removed,  if 
their  parents  are  removed.  This  point  gained, 
the  task  of  regulating  the  law  expenses  of  the 
poor-laws  would  be  nearly  accomplished:  for 
the  most  fertile  causes  of  dispute  would  be 
removed.  Every  first  settlement  is  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  litigation  and  expense  to 
the  miserable  rustics.  Upon  the  simple  fact, 
for  example,  of  a  farmer  hiring  a  ploughman 
for  a  year,  arise  the  following  afflicting  ques- 


324 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


lions  : — Was  it  an  expressed  contract'?  Was  it 
an  implied  contract?  Was  it  an  implied  hiring 
of  the  ploughman,  rebutted  by  circumstances? 
Was  the  ploughman's  contract  for  a  year's 
prospective  service  ?  Was  it  a  customary  hir- 
ing of  the  ploughman?  Was  it  a  retrospective 
hiring  of  the  ploughman?  Was  it  a  condi- 
tional hiring  ?  Was  it  a  general  hiring  ?  Was 
it  a  special,  or  a  special  yearly  hiring,  or  a 
special  hiring  with  wages  reserved  weekly  ? — 
Did  the  farmer  make  it  a  special  conditional 
hiring  with  warning,  or  an  exceptive  hiring? 
Was  the  service  of  the  ploughman  actual  or 
contructive  ?  Was  there  any  dispensation  ex- 
pressed or  implied  ? — or  was  there  a  dissolution 
implied  ? — by  new  agreement  ? — or  mutual  con- 
sent?— or  by  justices  ? — or  by  any  other  of  the 
ten  thousand  means  which  the  ingenuity  of 
lawyers  has  created?  Can  any  one  be  sur- 
prised, after  this,  to  learn,  that  the  amount  of 
appeals  for  removals,  in  the  four  quarter  ses- 
sions ending  Mid-summer,  1817,  were  four 
thousand  seven  hundred  y*  Can  any  man  doubt 
that  it  is  necessary  to  reduce  the  hydra  to  as 
/'ew  heads  as  possible  ?  or  can  any  other  objec- 
tion be  stated  to  such  reduction,  than  the 
number  of  attorneys  and  provincial  counsel, 
whom  it  will  bring  into  the  poor-house  ?  Mr. 
Nicol  says,  that  the  greater  number  of  modes 
of  settlement  do  not  increase  litigation.  He 
may  just  as  well  say,  that  the  number  of  the 
streets  in  the  Seven  Dials  does  not  increase  the 
difficulty  of  finding  the  way.  The  modes  of 
settlement  we  leave,  are  by  far  the  simplest, 
and  the  evidence  is  assisted  by  registers. 

Under  the  head  of  law  expenses,  we  are 
convinced  a  great  deal  may  be  done,  by  making 
some  slight  alteration  in  the  law  of  removals. 
At  present,  removals  are  made  without  any 
warning  to  the  parties  to  whom  the  pauper  is 
removed;  and  the  first  intimation  which  the 
defendant  parish  receives  of  the  projected  in- 
crease of  their  population  is,  by  the  arrival  of 
the  father,  mother,  and  eight  or  nine  children  at 
5the  overseer's  door — where  they  are  tumbled 
-out,  with  the  justice's  order  about  their  necks, 
and  left  as  a  spectacle  to  the  assembled  and 
inddgnant  parishioners.  No  sooner  have  the 
poor  wretches  become  a  little  familiarized  to 
their  new  parish,  than  the  order  is  appealed 
against,  and  ihey  are  recarted  with  the  same 
precipitate  indecency — Quo  fata  trahunt,  retra- 
huntquc 

No  removal  should  ever  take  place  without 
.due  notice  to  the  parish  to  which  the  pauper  is 
1o  be  rer^oved,  nor  till  the  time  in  which  it  may 
be  appeakd  against  is  passed  by.  Notice  to  be 
according  to  the  distance — either  by  letter,  or 
personally;  and  the  decision  should  be  made 
by  the  justices  at  their  petty  sessions,  with  as 
much  care  and  attention  as  if  there  were  no 
appeal  from  their  decision.  An  absurd  notion 
prevails  amoing  magistrates,  that  they  need  not 
take  much  trouble  in  the  investigation  of  re- 
TOovals,  because  their  errors  may  be  corrected 
by  a  superior  court;  whereas,  it  is  an  object  of 
great  importance,  by  a  fair  and  diligent  inves- 
tigation in  the  nearest  and  cheapest  court,  to 
convince   the   country  people  which  party  is 

♦  Commons'  Report,  1817. 


right  and  which  is  wrong:  and  in  this  manner 
to  prevent  them  from  becoming  the  prey  of  law 
vermin.  We  are  convinced  that  this  subject 
of  the  removal  of  poor  is  well  worthy  a  short 
and  separate  bill.  Mr.  Bourne  thinks  it  would 
be  very  difficult  to  draw  up  such  a  bill.  We 
are  quite  satisfied  we  could  draw  up  one  in  ten 
minutes  that  would  completely  answer  the  end 
proposed,  and  cure  the  evil  complained  of. 

We  proceed  to  a  number  of  small  details, 
which  are  well  worth  the  attention  of  the  legis- 
lature. Overseers'  accounts  should  be  given 
in  quarterly,  and  passed  by  the  justices,  as  they 
now  are,  annually.  The  office  of  overseer 
should  be  triennial.  The  accounts  which  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  poor,  such  as  the  con- 
stable's account,  should  be  kept  and  passed 
separately  from  them ;  and  the  vestry  should 
have  the  power  of  ordering  a  certain  portion 
of  the  superfluous  poor  upon  the  roads.  But 
we  beseech  all  speculators  in  poor-laws  to  re- 
member, that  the  machinery  they  must  work 
with  is  of  a  very  coarse  description.  An  over- 
seer must  always  be  a  limited,  uneducated 
person,  but'little  interested  in  what  he  is  about, 
and  with  much  business  of  his  own  on  his 
hands.  The  extensive  interference  of  gentle- 
men  with  those  matters  is  quite  visionary  and 
impossible.  If  gentlemen  were  tide-waiters,  the 
custom-house  would  be  better  served ;  if  gen- 
tlemen would  become  petty  constables,  the 
police  would  be  improved;  if  bridges  were 
made  of  gold,  instead  of  iron,  they  would  not 
rust.  But  there  are  not  enough  of  these  arti- 
cles for  such  purposes. 

A  great  part  of  the  evils  of  the  poor-laws, 
has  been  occasioned  by  the  large  powers  in- 
trusted to  individual  justices.  Every  body  is 
full  of  humanity  and  good-nature  when  he  can 
relieve  misfortune  by  putting  his  hand — in  his 
neighbour's  pocket.  Who  can  bear  to  see  a 
fellow-creature  suffering  pain  and  poverty,  when 
he  can  order  other  fellow-creatures  to  relieve 
him  ?  Is  it  in  human  nature,  that  A  should  see 
B  in  tears  and  misery,  and  not  order  C  to  assist 
him  ?  Such  a  power  must,  of  course,  be  liable 
to  every  degree  of  abuse  ;  and  the  sooner  the 
power  of  ordering  relief  can  be  taken  out  of 
the  hands  of  magistrates,  the  sooner  shall  we 
begin  to  experience  some  mitigation  of  the 
evils  of  the  poor-laws.  The  special-vestry  bill 
is  good  for  this  purpose,  as  far  as  it  goes  ;  but 
it  goes  a  very  little  way  ;  and  we  much  doubt 
if  it  will  operate  as  any  sort  of  abridgment  to 
the  power  of  magistrates  granting  relief.  A 
single  magistrate  must  not  act  under  this  bill 
but  in  cases  of  special  emergency.  But  every 
case  of  distress  is  a  case  of  special  emergen- 
cy: and  the  double  magistrates,  holding  their 
petty  sessions  at  some  little  alehouse,  and  over- 
whelmed with  all  the  monthly  business  of  the 
hundred,  cannot  possibly  give  to  the  pleadings 
of  the  overseer  and  pauper  half  the  attention 
they  would  be  able  to  afford  them  at  their  own 
houses. 

The  common  people  have  been  so  much 
accustomed  to  resort  to  magistrates  for  relief, 
that  it  is  certainly  a  delicate  business  to  wean 
them  from  this  bad  habit;  but  it  is  essential  lo 
the  great  objects  which  the  poor-committee 
have  in  view,  that  the  power  of  magistrates  of 


WOKKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


325 


ordering  relief  should  be  gradually  taken  away. 
When  this  is  once  done,  half  the  difficulties  of 
the  abolition  are  accomplished.  We  will  sug- 
gest a  few  hints  as  to  the  means  by  which  this 
desirable  end  may  be  promoted. 

A  poor  man  now  comes  to  a  magistrate  any 
day  in  the  week,  and  any  hour  in  any  day,  to 
complain  of  the  overseers,  or  of  the  select 
committee.  Suppose  he  were  to  be  made  to 
wait  a  little,  and  to  feel  for  a  short  time  the  bit- 
terness of  that  poverty  which,  by  idleness,  ex- 
travagance, and  hasty  marriage,  he  has  proba- 
bly brought  upon  himself.  To  effect  this  object, 
we  would  prohibit  all  orders  for  relief,  by  jus- 
tices, between  the  1st  and  10th  of  the  month  ; 
and  leave  the  poor  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
overseers,  or  of  the  select  vestry,  for  that 
period.  Here  is  a  beginning — a  gradual  aboli- 
tion of  one  of  the  first  features  of  the  poor- 
laws.  And  it  is  without  risk  of  tumult ;  for 
no  one  will  rua  the  risk  of  breaking  the  laws 
for  an  evil  to  which  he  anticipates  so  speedy  a 
termination.  This  Decameron  of  overseers' 
despotism,  and  paupers'  suffering,  is  the  very 
thing  wanted.  It  will  teach  the  parishes  to 
administer  their  own  charity  responsibly,  and 
to  depend  Upon  their  own  judgment.  It  will 
teach  the  poor  the  miseries  of  pauperism  and 
dependence;  and  will  be  a  warning  to  unmar- 
ried young  men  not  hastily  and  rashly  to  place 
themselves,  their  wives  and  children,  in  the 
same  miserable  situation  ;  and  it  will  effect  all 
these  objects  gradually,  and  without  danger. 
It  would  of  course  be  the  same  thing  on  prin- 
ciple, if  relief  were  confined  to  three  days  be- 
tween the  1st  and  the  10th  of  each  month; 
three  between  the  lOlh  and  the  20th ;  three 
between  the  20th  and  the  end  of  the  month ; — 
or  in  any  other  manner  that  would  gradually* 
crumble  away  the  power,  and  check  the  gratui- 
tous munificence  of  justices, — give  authority 
over  their  own  affairs  to  the  heads  of  the  parish, 
and  teach  the  poor,  by  little  and  little,  that  they 
must  suffer  if  they  are  imprudent.  It  is  under- 
stood in  all  these  observations,  that  the  over- 
seers are  bound  to  support  their  poor  without 
any  order  of  justices ;  and  that  death  arising 
from  absolute  want  should  expose  those  officers 
to  very  severe  punishments,  if  it  could  be  traced 
to  their  inhumanity  and  neglect.  The  time  must 
come  when  we  must  do  without  this;  but  we 
are  not  got  so  far  yet — and  are  at  present  only 
getting  rid  of  justices,  not  of  overseers. 

Mr.  Davison  seems  to  think  that  the  plea  of 
old  age  stands  upon  a  different  looting,  with 
respect  to  the  poor-laws,  from  all  oiher  pleas. 
But  why  should  this  plea  be  more  favoured 
llian  that  of  sickness  1  why  more  than  losses 
in  trade,  incurred  by  no  imprudence  1  In 
reality,  this  plea  is  less  entitled  to  indulgence. 
Every  man  knows  he  is  exposed  to  the  help- 
lessness of  age;  but  sickness  and  sudden  ruin 
are  very  often  escaped — comparatively  seldom 
happen.  Why  is  a  man  exclusively  to  be  pro- 
tected against  that  evil  which  he  must  have 
foreseen  longer  than  any  other,  and  has  had 
the  longest  time  to  guard  against  1  Mr.  Davi- 
son's objections  to  a  limited  expenditure  are 


*  All  gradation  ani  cantion  have  bpen  liaiiishnd  sine. 
the  reform  liill — rapid  high-pressure  wisdom  is  the  only 
agent  in  public  aft'dirs. 


much  more  satisfactory.  These  we  shall  lay 
before  our  readers ;  and  we  recommend  them 
to  the  attention  of  the  committee. 

"  I  shall  advert  next  to  the  plan  of  a  limitation 
upon  the  amount  of  rates  to  be  assessed  in  fu- 
ture. This  limitation,  as  it  is  a  pledge  of  some 
protection  to  the  property  now  subjected  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  poor  against  the  indefinite 
encroachment  which  otherwise  threatens  it,  is, 
in  that  light,  certainly  a  benefit ;  and  supposing 
it  were  rigorously  adhered  to,  the  veiy  know- 
ledge, among  the  parish  expectants,  that  there 
was  some  limit  to  their  range  of  expectation, 
some  barrier  which  they  could  not  pass,  might 
incline  them  to  turn  their  thoughts  homeward 
again  to  the  care  of  themselves.  But  it  is  an 
expedient,  at  the  best,  far  from  being  satisfac- 
torj%  In  the  first  place,  there  is  much  reason 
to  fear  that  such  a  limitation  would  not  eventu- 
ally be  maintained,  after  the  example  of  a  simi- 
lar one  having  failed  before,  and  considering 
that  the  urgency  of  the  applicants  as  long  as 
they  retain  the  principle  of  dependence  upon 
the  parish  unqualified  in  any  one  of  its  main 
articles,  would  probably  overbear  a  mere  bar- 
rier of  figures  in  the  parish  account.  Then 
there  would  be  much  real  difficulty  in  the  pro- 
ceedings, to  be  goveraed  by  such  a  limiting 
rule.  For  the  use  of  the  limitation  would  be 
chiefly,  or  solely,  in  cases  where  there  is  some 
struggle  between  the  ordinary  supplies  of  the 
parish  rates,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  poor,  or 
a  kind  of  run  and  pressure  upon  the  parish  by 
a  mass  of  indigence:  and  in  circumstances  of 
this  kind,  it  would  be  hard  to  know  how  to  dis- 
tribute the  supplies  under  a  fair  proportion  to 
the  applicants,  known  or  expected;  hard  to 
know  how  much  might  be  granted  for  the  pre- 
sent, and  how  much  should  be  kept  in  reserve 
for  the  remainder  of  the  year's  service.  The 
real  intricacy  in  such  a  distribution  of  account 
would  show  itself  in  disproportions  and  ine- 
qualities of  allowance,  impossible  to  be  avoid- 
ed; and  the  applicants  would  have  one  pretext 
more  for  discontent. 

"The  liiTiitation  itself  in  many  places  would 
be  only  in  words  and  figures.  It  would  be  set, 
I  presume,  by  an  average  of  certain  preceding 
years.  But  the  average  taken  upon  the  preced- 
ing years  might  be  a  sum  exceeding  in  its  real 
value  the  highest  amount  of  the  assessments  of 
any  of  the  averaged  years,  under  the  great 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  value  of 
money  itself.  A  given  rate,  or  assessment 
nominally  the  same,  or  lower,  might  in  this  way 
be  a  greater  real  money  value  than  it  was  some 
time  before.  In  many  of  the  most  distressed 
districts,  where  the  parochial  rates  have  nearly 
equalled  the  rents,  a  nominal  average  would, 
therefore,  be  no  effectual  benefit ;  and  yet  it  is 
in  those  districts  that  the  alleviation  of  the  bur- 
then is  the  most  wanted. 

■  "It  is  manifest  also  that  a  peremptory  re- 
striction of  the  whole  amount  of  money  appli- 
cable to  the  parochial  service,  though  abun- 
dantly justified  in  many  districts  by  their  par- 
ticular condition  being  so  impoverished  as  to 
make  the  measure,  for  them,  almost  a  measure 
of  necessity,  if  nothing  can  be  substituted  for 
it;  and  where  the  same  extreme  necessity  does 
not  exist,  still  justified  by  the  prudence  of  pre- 
2E 


326 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


venting  in  some  way  the  interminable  increase 
of  the  parochial  burthens;  still,  that  such  a  re- 
striction is  an  ill-adjusted  measure  in  itself,  and 
would,  in  many  instances,  operate  very  inequi- 
tably. It  would  fall  unfairly  in  some  parishes, 
where  the  relative  state  of  the  poor  and  the 
parish  might  render  an  increase  of  the  relief  as 
just  and  reasonable  as  it  is  possible  for  any 
thing  to  be  under  the  poor-laws  at  all.  It  would 
deny  to  many  possible  fair  claimants  the  whole, 
or  a  part,  of  that  degree  of  relief  commonly 
granted  elsewhere  to  persons  in  their  condition, 
on  this  or  that  account  of  claim.  Leaving  the 
reason  of  the  present  demands  wholly  unim- 
peached,  and  unexplained ;  directing  no  distinct 
warning  or  remonstrance  to  the  parties,  in  the 
line  of  their  affairs,  by  putting  a  check  to  their 
expectations  upon  positive  matters  implicated 
in  their  conduct;  which  would  be  speaking  to 
them  in  a  definite  sense,  and  a  sense  applicable 
to  all:  this  plan  of  limitation  would  nurture  the 
whole  mass  of  the  claim  ill  its  origin,  and  deny 
the  allowance  of  it  to  thousands,  on  account  of 
reasons  properly  affecting  a  distant  quarter,  of 
which  they  know  nothing.  The  want  of  a  clear 
method,  and  of  a  good  principle  at  the  bottom 
of  it,  in  this  direct  compulsory  restriction,  ren- 
ders it,  I  think,  wholly  unacceptable,  unless  it 
be  the  only  possible  plan  that  can  be  devised 
for  accomplishing  the  same  end.  If  a  parish 
had  to  keep  its  account  with  a  single  dependant, 
the  plan  would  be  much  more  useful  in  that 
case.  For  the  ascertained  fact  of  the  total 
amount  of  his  expectations  might  set  his  mind 
to  rest,  and  put  him  on  a  decided  course  of  pro- 
viding for  himself.  But,  in  the  limitation  pro- 
posed to  be  made,  the  ascertained  fact  is  of  a 
general  amount  only,  not  of  each  man's  share 
in  it.  Consequently,  eacli  man  has  his  indefi- 
nite expectations  left  to  him,  and  every  separate 
specific  §,round  of  expectation  remaining  as 
before." 

Mr.  Davison  talks  of  the  propriety  of  refusing 
to  find  labour  for  able  labourers  after  the  lapse 
often  years,  as  if  it  was  some  ordinary  bill  he 
was  proposing,  unaccompanied  by  the  slightest 
risk.  It  is  very  easy  to  make  such  laws,  and 
to  propose  them ;  but  it  would  be  of  immense 
difficulty  to  carry  them  into  execution.  Done 
it  must  be,  every  body  knows  that ;  but  the  real 
merit  will  consist  in  discovering  the  gradual 
and  gentle  means  by  which  the  difficulties  of 
getting  parish  labour  may  be  increased,  and 
the  life  of  a  parish  pauper  he  rendered  a  life  of 
salutary  and  deterring  hardship.  A  law  that 
rendered  such  request  for  labour  perfectly  law- 
ful for  ten  years  longer,  and  then  suddenly 
abolished  it,  would  merely  bespeak  a  certain, 
general,  and  violent  insurrection  for  the  year 
1830.  The  legislator,  thank  God,  is  in  his 
nature  a  more  cunning  and  gradual  animal. 

Before  we  drop  Mr.  Davison,  who  writes  like 
a  very  sensible  man,  we  M^sh  to  say  a  few 
words  about  his  style.  If  he  would  think  less 
about  it,  he  would  write  much  better.  It  is 
always  as  plethoric  and  full-dressed  as  if  he 
were  writing  a  treatise  de  finibns  bonorum  ct  ma- 
lorum.  He  is  sometimes  obscure;  and  is  occa- 
sionally apt  to  dress  up  common-sized  thoughts 
in  big  clothes,  and  to  dwell  a  little  too  long  in 
proving  what  every  man  of  sense  knows  and 


admits.  We  hope  we  shall  not  offend  Mr.  Da. 
vison  by  these  remarks ;  and  we  have  really  no 
intention  of  doing  so.  His  views  upon  the 
poor-laws  are,  generally  speaking,  very  correct 
and  philosophical;  he  writes  like  a  gentleman, 
a  scholar,  and  a  man  capable  of  eloquence; 
and  we  hope  he  will  be  a  bishop.  If  his  mitred 
productions  are  as  enlightened  and  liberal  as 
this,  we  are  sure  he  will  confer  as  much  honour 
on  the  bench  as  he  receives  from  it.  There  is 
a  good  deal,  however,  in  Mr.  Davison's  book 
about  the  "  virtuous  marriages  of  the  poor." 
To  have  really  the  charge  of  a  family  as  a  hus- 
band and  father,  we  are  told — to  have  the  privi- 
lege  of  laying  out  his  life  in  their  service,  is  the 
poor  man's  boast, — "  his  home  is  the  school  of 
his  sentiments,"  &c.  &c.  This  is  viewing 
human  life  through  a  Claude  Lorraine  glass, 
and  decorating  it  with  colours  which  do  not 
belong  to  it.  A  ploughman  marries  a  plough- 
woman  because  she  is  plump ;  generally  uses 
her  ill;  thinks  his  children  an  incumbrance; 
very  often  flogs  them;  and,  for  sentiment,  has 
nothing  more  nearly  approaching  to  it,  than  the 
ideas  of  broiled  bacon  and  mashed  potatoes. 
This  is  the  state  of  the  lower  orders  of  mankind 
— deplorable,  but  true — and  yet  rendered  much 
worse  by  the  poor-laws. 

The  system  of  roundsmen  is  much  com- 
plained  of;  as  well  as  that  by  which  the  labour 
of  paupers  is  paid,  partly  by  the  rate,  partly  by 
the  master — and  a  long  string  of  Sussex  jus- 
tices send  up  a  petition  on  the  subject.  But 
the  evil  we  are  suffering  under  is  an  excess  of 
population.  There  are  ten  men  applying  for 
work,  when  five  only  are  wanted;  of  course, 
such  a  redundance  of  labouring  persons  must 
depress  the  rate  of  their  labour  far  beyond 
what  is  sufficient  for  the  support  of  their  I'ami- 
lies.  And  how  is  that  deficiency  to  be  made  up 
but  from  the  parish  rates,  unless  it  is  meant 
suddenly  and  immediately  to  abolish  the  whole 
system  of  the  poor-laws  ]  To  state  that  the 
rate  of  labour  is  lower  than  a  man  can  live  by, 
is  merely  to  state  that  we  have  had,  and  Itave, 
poor-laws — of  which  this  practice  is  at  length 
the  inevitable  consequence  ;  and  nothing  could 
be  more  absurd  than  to  attempt  to  prevent,  by 
acts  of  Parliament,  the  natural  depreciation  of 
an  article  which  exists  in  much  greater  abun- 
dance than  it  is  wanted.  Nor  can  any  thing 
be  more  unjust  than  the  complaint,  that  rounds- 
men are  paid  bj  Jheir  employers  at  an  inferior 
rate,  and  that  the  difference  is  made  up  by  the 
parish  funds.  A  roundsman  is  commonly  an 
inferior  description  of  labourer  who  cannot 
get  regularly  hired  ; — he  comes  upon  his  parish 
for  labour  commonly  at  those  periods  when 
there  is  the  least  to  do ; — he  is  not  a  servant  of 
the  farmer's  choice,  and  probably  does  not  suit 
him ; — he  goes  off  to  any  other  labour  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning,  when  he  finds  it  more  profit- 
able ; — and  the  farmer  is  forced  to  keep  nearly 
the  same  number  of  labourers  as  if  there  were 
no  roundsmen  at  all.  Is  it  just,  then,  that  a 
labourer,  combining  every  species  of  imper- 
fection, should  receive  the  same  wages  as  a 
chosen,  regular,  stationary  person,  who  is 
always  ready  at  hand,  and  whom  the  farmer 
has  selected  for  his  dexterity  and  character  1 
Those  persons  who  do  not,  and  cannot  em 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


327 


ploy  labourers,  have  no  kind  of  right  to  com- 
plain of  the  third  or  fourth  part  of  the  wages 
being  paid  by  the  rates ;  for  if  the  farmers  did 
not  agree  among  themselves  to  take  such  occa- 
sional labourers,  the  whole  of  their  support 
must  be  paid  by  the  rates,  instead  of  one-third. 
The  order  is,  that  the  pauper  shall  be  paid  such 
a  sum  as  will  support  himself  and  family;  and  if 
this  agreement  to  take  roundsmen  was  not  enter- 
ed into  by  the  farmers,  they  must  be  paid,  by  the 
rates,  the  whole  of  the  amount  of  the  order,  for 
doing  nothing.  If  a  circulating  labourer,  there- 
fore, with  three  children,  to  whom  the  justices 
would  order  12s.  per  week,  receives  8s.  from 
his  employer,  and  4s.  from  the  rates,  the  parish 
is  not  burdened  by  this  system  to  the  amount 
of  4s.,  but  relieved  to  the  amount  of  8s.  A 
parish  manufacture,  conducted  by  overseers,  is 
infinitely  more  burdensome  to  the  rates  than 
any  system  of  roundsmen.  There  are  undoubt- 
edly a  few  instances  to  the  contrary.  Zeal  and 
talents  will  cure  the  original  defects  of  any 
system ;  but  to  suppose  that  average  men  can 
do  what  extraordinary  men  have  done,  is  the 
cause  of  many  silly  projects  and  extravagant 
blunders.  Mr.  Owen  may  give  his  whole  heart 
and  soul  to  the  improvement  of  one  of  his 
parochial  parallelograms;  but  who  is  to  suc- 
ceed to  Mr.  Owen's  enthusiasm  1  Before  we 
have  quite  done  with  the  subject  of  roundsmen, 
we  cannot  help  noticing  a  strange  assertion  of 
Mr.  Nicol,  that  the  low  rate  of  wages  paid  by 
the  master  is  an  injustice  to  the  pauper — that 
he  is  cheated,  forsooth,  out  of  8s.  or  10s.  per 
week  by  this  arrangement.  Nothing,  however, 
can  possibly  be  more  absurd  than  such  an  alle- 
gation. The  whole  country  is  open  to  him. 
Can  he  gain  more  anywhere  else  1  If  not,  this 
is  the  market  price  of  his  labour;  and  what 
right  has  he  to  complain  1  or  how  can  he  say 
he  is  defrauded  T  A  combination  among  far- 
mers to  lower  the  price  of  labour  would  be 
impossible,  if  labour  did  not  exist  in  much 
greater  quantities  than  was  wanted.  All  such 
things,  whether  labour,  or  worsted  stocking,  or 
broadcloth,  are,  of  course,  always  regulated  by 
the  proportion  between  the  supply  and  demand. 
Mr.  Nicol  cites  an  instance  of  a  parish  in  Suf- 
folk, where  the  labourer  receives  sixpence  from 
the  farmers,  and  the  rest  is  made  up  by  the 
rates;  and  for  this  he  reprobates  the  conduct 
of  the  farmers.  But  why  are  they  not  to  take 
labour  as  cheap  as  they  can  get  iti  Why  are 
they  not  to  avail  themselves  of  the  market 
price  of  this,  as  of  any  other  commodity  1  The 
rates  are  a  separate  consideration ;  let  them 
supply  what  is  wanting;  but  the  farmer  is  right 
to  get  his  iron,  his  wood,  and  his  labour,  as 
cheap  as  he  can.  It  would,  we  admit,  come 
nearly  to  the  same  thing,  if  100/.  were  paid  in 


wages  rather  than  25/.  in  wages,  and  75/.  by 
rate ;  but  then,  if  the  farmers  were  to  agree  to 
give  wages  above  the  market  price,  and  suffi- 
cient for  the  support  of  the  labourers  without 
any  rate,  such  an  agreement  could  never  be 
adhered  to.  The  base  and  the  crafty  would 
make  their  labourers  take  less,  and  fling  hea- 
vier rates  upon  those  who  adhered  to  the  con- 
tract; whereas,  the  agreement,  founded  upon 
giving  as  little  as  can  be  given,  is  pretty  sure 
of  being  adhered  to;  and  he  who  breaks  it, 
lessens  the  rate  to  his  neighbour,  and  does  not 
increase  it.  The  problem  to  be  solved  is  this  : 
If  you  have  ten  or  twenty  labourers  who  say 
they  can  get  no  work,  and  you  cannot  dispute 
this,  and  the  poor-laws  remain,  what  better 
scheme  can  be  devised,  than  that  the  farmers 
of  the  parish  should  employ  them  in  their 
turns  1 — and  what  more  absurd  than  to  sup- 
pose that  farmers  so  employing  them  should 
give  one  farthing  more  than  the  market  price 
for  their  labour  1 

It  is  contended,  that  the  statute  of  Elizabeth, 
rightly  interpreted,  only  compels  the  overseer 
to  assist  the  sick  and  old,  and  not  to  find  labour 
for  strong  and  healthy  men.  This  is  true 
enough;  and  it  would  have  been  eminently 
useful  to  have  attended  to  it  a  century  past: 
but  to  find  employment  for  all  who  apply,  is 
now,  by  long  use,  become  a  practical  part  af 
the  poor-laws,  and  will  require  the  same  care 
and  dexterity  for  its  abolition  as  any  other  part 
of  that  pernicious  system.  It  would  not  be 
altogether  prudent  suddenly  to  tell  a  million  of 
stout  men,  with  spades  and  hoes  in  their  hands, 
that  the  43d  of  Elizabeth  had  been  miscon- 
strued, and  that  no  more  employment  would  be 
found  for  them.  It  requires  twenty  or  thirty 
years  to  state  such  truths  to  such  numbers. 

We  think,  then,  that  the  diminution  of  the 
claims  of  settlement,  and  of  the  authority  of 
justices,  coupled  with  the  other  subordinate 
improvements  we  have  stated,  will  be  the  best 
steps  for  beginning  the  abolition  of  the  poor- 
laws.  When  these  have  been  taken,  the  de- 
scription of  persons  entitled  to  relief  may  be 
narrowed  by  degrees.  But  let  no  man  hope  te 
get  rid  of  these  laws,  even  in  the  gentlest  and 
wisest  method,  without  a  great  deal  of  misery, 
and  some  risk  of  tumult.  If  Mr.  Bourne  thinks 
only  of  avoiding  risk,  he  will  do  nothing.  Some 
risk  must  be  incurred :  but  the  secret  is  gra- 
dation ;  and  the  true  reason  for  abolishing  these 
laws  is,  not  that  they  make  the  rich  poor,  but 
that  they  make  the  poor  poorer.* 


*Tlie  boldness  of  modern  legislation  has  thrown  all 
my  caution  into  the  background.  Was  it  wise  to  en- 
counter such  a  risk?  Is  the  dancer  overl  Can  tUe 
vital  parts  of  the  bill  be  maintained  ■? 


338 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


PUBLIC   CHAEACTEHS  OF  1801,  1802/ 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1802.] 


The  design  of  this  book  appeared  to  us  so 
extremely  reprehensible,  and  so  capable,  even 
in  the  hands  of  a  blockhead,  of  giving  pain  to 
families  and  individuals,  that  we  considered  it 
as  a  fair  object  of  literary  police,  and  had  pre- 
pared for  it  a  very  severe  chastisement.  Upon 
the  perusal  of  the  book,  however,  we  were  en- 
tirely disarmed.  It  appears  to  be  written  by 
some  very  innocent  scribbler,  who  feels  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  dining,  and  who 
preserves,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  work, 
that  degree  of  good  humour,  which  the  terror 
of  indictment  by  our  lord  the  king  is  so  well 
calculated  to  inspire.  It  is  of  some  import- 
ance, too,  that  grown-up  country  gentlemen 
should  be  habituated  to  read  printed  books ; 
and  such  may  read  a  story  book  about  their 
living  friends,  who  would  read  nothing  else. 


♦  Public  Characters  of  1801—1802.  ■  Richard  Phillips, 
6t.  Paul's.    1  vol.  8vo. 


We  suppose  the  booksellers  have  authors 
at  two  difierent  prices.  Those  who  do  write 
grammatically,  and  those  who  do  not ;  and  that 
they  have  not  thought  lit  to  put  any  of  their 
best  hands  upon  this  work.  Whether  or  not 
there  may  be  any  improvement  on  this  point 
in  the  next  volume,  we  request  the  biographer 
will  at  least  give  us  some  means  of  ascertain- 
ing when  he  is  comical,  and  when  serious. 
In  the  life  of  Dr.  Rennell,  we  find  this  pas- 
sage : — 

"  Dr.  Rennell  might  well  look  forward  to  the 
highest  dignities  in  the  establishment;  but,  if 
our  information  be  right,  and  we  have  no  rea- 
son to  question  it,  this  is  what  he  by  no  means 
either  expects  or  courts.  There  is  a  primitive 
simplicity  in  this  excellent  man,  which  much 
resembles  that  of  the  first  prelates  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  who  were  with  great  difficulty  pre- 
vailed upon  to  undertake  the  episcopal  office." 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


329 


ANASTASIUS.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1821.] 


Ajtastasius  is  a  sort  of  oriental  Gil  Bias, 
who  is  tossed  about  from  one  state  of  life  to 
another, — sometimes  a  beggar  in  the  streets 
of  Constantinople,  and,  at  others,  an  officer  of 
the  highest  distinction  under  an  Egyptian  Bey, 
— with  that  mixture  of  good  and  evil,  of  loose 
principles  and  popular  qualities,  which,  against 
our  moral  feelings  and  better  judgment,  ren- 
der a  novel  pleasing,  and  an  hero  popular. 
Anastasius  is  a  greater  villain  than  Gil  Bias, 
merely  because  he  acts  in  a  worse  country, 
and  under  a  worse  government.  Turkey  is  a 
country  in  the  last  stage  of  Castlereagh-cry  and 
Vansitlartisin ;  it  is  in  that  condition  to  which 
we  are  steadily  approaching — a  political _/?n!s/i; 
— the  sure  result  of  just  and  necessary  wars, 
interminable  burthens  upon  afiectionate  peo- 
ple, green  bags,  strangled  sultanas,  and  mur- 
dered mobs.  There  are,  in  the  world,  all 
shades  and  gradations  of  tyranny.  The  Turk- 
ish, or  last,  puts  the  pistol  and  stiletto  in  ac- 
tion. Anastasius,  therefore,  among  his  other 
pranks,  makes  nothing  of  two  or  three  mur- 
ders ;  but  they  are  committed  in  character, 
and  are  suitable  enough  to  the  temper  and 
disposition  of  a  lawless  Turkish  soldier;  and 
this  is  the  justification  of  the  book,  which  is 
called  wicked  but  for  no  other  reason  than  be- 
cause it  accurately  paints  the  manners  of  a 
people  become  wicked  from  the  long  and  un- 
corrected abuses  of  their  government. 

One  cardinal  fault  which  pervades  this 
work  is,  that  it  is  too  long; — in  spite  of  the 
numerous  fine  passages  with  which  it  abounds, 
there  is  too  much  of  it ; — and  it  is  a  relief,  not 
a  disappointment,  to  get  to  the  end.  Mr.  Hope, 
too,  should  avoid  humour,  in  which  he  certain- 
ly does  not  excel.  His  attempts  of  that  nature 
are  among  the  most  serious  parts  of  the  book. 
With  all  these  objections,  (and  we  only  men- 
tion them  in  case  Mr.  Hope  writes  again,) 
there  are  few  books  in  the  English  language 
which  contain  passages  of  greater  power,  feel- 
ing, and  eloquence  than  this  novel, — which  de- 
lineate frailty  and  vice  with  more  energy  and 
acuteness,  or  describe  historical  scenes  with 
such  bold  imagery,  and  such  glowing  language. 
Mr.  Hope  will  excuse  us, — but  we  could  not 
help  exclaiming,  in  reading  it.  Is  this  Mr. 
Thomas  Hope  1 — Is  this  the  man  of  chairs 
and  tables — the  gentleman  of  sphinxes — the 
CEdipus  of  coal-boxes — he  who  meditated  on 
mufiineers  and  planned  pokers  1 — Where  has 
he  hidden  all  this  eloquence  and  poetry  up  to 
this  hourl — How  is  it  that  he  has,  all  of  a 
sudden,  burst  out  into  descriptions  which 
would  not  disgrace  the  pen  of  Tacitus — and 
displayed  a  depth  of  feeling  and  a  vigour  of 
imagination    which    Lord    Byron    could   not 


*  Anastasius  ;  or.  Memoirs  of  a  Oreek,  written  in  the 
Klh  Century.     London.     Murray.     3vols.  8vo. 
42 


excel  1  We  do  not  shrink  from  one  syllable 
of  this  eulogium.  The  work  now  before  us 
places  him  at  once  in  the  highest  list  of  elo- 
quent writers,  and  of  superior  men. 

Anastasius,  the  hero  of  the  tale,  is  a  native 
of  Chios,  the  son  of  the  drogueman  to  the 
French  consul.  The  drogueman,  instead  of 
bringing  him  up  to  make  Latin  verses,  suffer- 
ed him  to  run  wild  about  the  streets  of  Chios, 
where  he  lives  for  some  time  a  lubberly  boy, 
and  then  a  profligate  youth.  His  first  exploit 
is  to  debauch  the  daughter  of  his  acquaintance, 
from  whom  (leaving  her  in  a  state  of  preg- 
nancy) he  runs  away,  and  enters  as  a  cabin 
boy  in  a  Venetian  brig.  The  brig  is  taken  by 
Maynote  pirates :  the  pirates  by  a  Turkish 
frigate,  by  which  he  is  landed  at  Nauplia,  and 
marched  away  to  Argos,  where  the  captain, 
Hassan  Pacha,  was  encamped  with  his  array. 

"  I  had  never  seen  an  encampment :  and  the 
novel  and  striking  sight  absorbed  all  my  fa- 
culties in  astonishment  and  awe.  There 
seemed  to  me  to  be  forces  sufficient  to  subdue 
the  whole  world :  and  I  knew  not  which  most 
to  admire,  the  endless  clusters  of  tents,  the 
enormous  piles  of  armour,  and  the  rows  of 
threatening  cannon,  which  I  met  at  every  step, 
or  the  troops  of  well  mounted  spahees,  who, 
like  dazzling  meteors,  darted  by  us  on  every 
side,  amid  clouds  of  stifling  dust.  The  very 
dirt  with  which  the  nearer  horsemen  bespat- 
tered our  humble  troop,  was,  as  I  thought,  im- 
posing; and  every  thing  upon  which  I  cast 
my  eyes  gave  me  a  feeling  of  nothingness, 
which  made  me  shrink  within  myselflike  a  snail 
in  its  cell.  I  envied  not  only  those  who  were 
destined  to  share  in  all  the  glory  and  success 
of  the  expedition,  but  even  the  meanest  fol- 
lower of  the  camp,  as  a  being  of  a  superior 
order  to  myself;  and,  when  suddenly  there 
arose  a  loud  flourish  of  trumpets,  which,  end- 
ing a  concert  of  cymbals  and  other  warlike 
instruments,  re-echoed  in  long  peals  from  all 
the  surrounding  mountains,  the  clank  shook 
every  nerve  in  ray  body,  thrilled  me  to  the  very 
soul,  and  infused  in  all  my  veins  a  species  of 
martial  ardour  so  resistless,  that  it  made  me 
struggle  with  my  fetters,  and  try  to  tear  them 
asunder.  Proud  as  I  was  by  nature,  I  would 
have  knelt  to  whoever  had  offered  to  liberate 
my  limbs,  and  to  arm  my  hands  with  a  sword 
or  a  battleaxe."— (L  36,  37.) 

From  his  captive  state  he  passes  into  the 
service  of  Mavroyeni,  Hassan's  drogueman, 
with  whom  he  ingratiates  himself,  and  becomes 
a  person  of  consequence.  In  the  service  of 
this  person,  he  receives  from  old  Demo,  a 
brother  domestic,  the  following  admirable 
lecture  on  masters  : — 

"  '  Listen,  young  man,'  said  he,  'whether  you 
like  it  or  not.  For  my  own  part,  I  have  always 
2  E  2 


M30 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


lad  too  mvich  indolence,  not  to  make  it  my 
>tudy  throughout  life  rather  to  secure  ease 
nan  to  labour  for  distinction.  It  has,  there- 
ore,  been  my  rule  to  avoid  cherishing  in  my 
,>atron  any  outrageous  admiration  of  my  capa- 
■A\y,  which  would  have  increased  my  depend- 
vnce  while  it  lasted,  and  expose  me  to  perse- 
cution on  wearing  out: — but  you,  I  see,  are  of 
a  diiierent  mettle  :  I  therefore  may  point  out 
to  you  the  surest  way  to  that  more  perilous 
height,  short  of  which  your  ambition,  I  doubt, 
will  not  rest  satisfied.  When  you  have  com- 
passed it,  you  may  remember  old  Demo,  if 
you  please. 

" '  Know  first  that  all  masters,  even  the  least 
lovable,  like  to  be  loved.  All  wish  to  be  served 
from  affection  rather  than  duty.  It  flatters 
their  pride,  and  it  gratifies  their  selfishness. 
They  expect  from  this  personal  motive  a  greater 
devotion  to  their  interest,  and  a  more  unlimited 
obedience  to  their  commands.  A  master  looks 
upon  mere  fidelity  in  his  servant  as  his  due — 
as  a  thing  scarce  worth  his  thanks:  but  at- 
tachment he  considers  as  a  compliment  to  his 
merit,  and  if  at  all  generous,  he  will  rev\'ard  it 
with  liberality.  Mavroyeni  is  more  open  than 
any  body  to  this  species  of  flattery.  Spare  it 
not,  therefore.  If  he  speak  to  you  kindly,  let 
your  face  brighten  up.  If  he  talk  to  you  of  his 
own  affairs,  though  it  should  only  be  to  dispel 
the  tedium  of  conveying  all  day  long  other 
men's  thoughts,  listen  with  the  greatest  eager- 
ness. A  single  yawn,  and  3^ou  are  rmdone ! 
Yet  let  not  curiosity  appear  your  motive,  but 
the  delight  only  of  being  honoured  with  his 
confidence.  The  more  3'ou  appear  grateful 
for  the  least  kindness,  the  oftener  you  will  re- 
ceive important  favours.  Our  ostentatious 
drogueman  will  feel  a  pleasure  in  raising  your 
astonishment.  His  vanity  knows  no  bounds. 
Give  it  scope,  therefore.  When  he  comes 
home  choking  with  its  suppressed  ebullitions, 
be  their  ready  and  patient  receptacle  : — do 
more ;  discreetly  help  him  on  in  venting  his 
conceit;  provide  him  with  a  cue;  hint  what 
you  heard  certain  people,  not  knowing  you  to 
be  so  near,  say  of  his  capacity,  his  merit,  and 
his  influence.  He  wishes  to  persuade  the 
world  that  he  completely  rules  the  pasha.  Tell 
him  not  flatly  he  does,  but  assume  it  as  a  thing 
of  general  notoriety.  Be  neither  too  candid 
in  your  remarks,  nor  too  fulsome  in  your  flat- 
tery. Too  palpable  deviations  from  fact  might 
appear  a  satire  on  your  master's  understand- 
ing. Should  some  disappointment  evidently 
ruflle  his  temper,  appear  not  to  conceive  the 
possibility  of  his  vanity  having  received  a 
mortification.  Preserve  the  exact  medium 
between  too  cold  a  respect,  and  too  presump- 
tuous a  forwardness.  However  much  Ma- 
vroyeni may  caress  you  in  private,  never 
seem  quite  at  ease  with  him  in  public.  A 
master  still  likes  to  remain  master,  or,  at  least, 
to  appear  so  to  others.  Should  you  get  into 
Rome  scrape,  wait  not  to  confess  your  impru- 
dence, until  concealment  becomes  impossible  ; 
nor  try  to  excuse  the  offence.  Rather  than 
that  you  should,  by  so  doing,  appear  to  make 
light  of  your  guilt,  exaggerate  your  self-up- 
braidings,  and  throw  yourself  entirely  upon 
the  drogueman's   mercy.     On  all  occasions 


take  care  how  you  appear  cleverer  than  your 
lord,  even  in  the  splitting  of  a  pen  ;  or,  if  you 
cannot  avoid  excelling  him  in  some  trifle,  give 
his  own  tuition  all  the  credit  of  your  profi- 
ciency. Many  things  he  will  dislike,  only 
because  they  come  not  from  himself.  Vindi- 
cate not  your  innocence  when  unjustly  re- 
buked: rather  submit  for  the  moment;  and 
trust  that,  though  Mavroyeni  never  will  ex- 
pressly acknowledge  his  error,  he  will  in  due 
time  pay  you  for  your  forbearance.'  " — (I.  43 
—45.) 

In  the  course  of  his  service  with  Mavroyeni, 
he  bears  arms  against  the  Arnoots,  under  the 
Captain  Hassan  Pacha;  and  a  very  animated 
description  is  given  of  his  first  combat. 

"I  undressed  the  dead  man  completely. — 
When,  however,  the  business  M'hich  engaged 
all  my  attention  was  entirely  achieved,  and 
that  human  body,  of  which,  in  the  eagerness 
for  its  spoil,  I  had  only  thus  far  noticed  the 
separate  limbs  one  by  one,  as  I  stripped  them, 
all  at  once  struck  my  sight  in  its  full  dimen- 
sions, as  it  lay  naked  before  me  ; — when  I  con- 
templated that  fine  athletic  frame,  but  a  moment 
before  full  of  life  and  vigour  unto  its  fingers' 
ends,  now  rendered  an  insensible  corpse  by  the 
random  shot  of  a  raw  youth  whom  in  close 
combat  its  little  finger  might  have  crushed,  I 
could  not  help  feeling,  mixed  with  my  exulta- 
tion, a  sort  of  shame,  as  if  for  a  cowardly  ad- 
vantage obtained  over  a  superior  being;  and, 
in  order  to  make  a  kind  of  atonement  to  the 
shade  of  an  Epirote — of  a  kinsman — I  ex- 
claimed with  outstretched  hands, 'Cursed  be 
the  paltry  dust  which  turns  the  warrior's  arm 
into  a  mere  engine,  and,  striking  from  afar  an 
invisible  blow,  carries  death  no  one  knows 
whence  to  no  one  knows  whom ;  levels  the 
strong  with  the  weak,  the  brave  with  the  das- 
tardly ;  and,  enabling  the  feeblest  hand  to  wield 
its  fatal  lightning,  makes  the  conqueror  slaj' 
without  anger,  and  the  conqueror  die  without 
glory.' "— (I.  54,  55.) 

The  campaign  ended,  he  proceeds  to  Constan- 
tinople with  the  drogueman,  where  his  many 
intrigues  and  debaucheries  end  with  the  drogue- 
man's  turning  him  out  of  doors.  He  lives  for 
some  time  at  Constantinople  in  great  misery; 
and  is  driven,  among  other  expedients,  to  the 
trade  of  quack-doctor. 

"One  evening,  as  we  were  returning  from 
the  Blacquernes,  an  old  woman  threw  herself 
in  our  way,  and,  taking  hold  of  my  master's 
garments,  dragged  him  almost  by  main  force 
after  her  into  a  mean-looking  habitation  just 
by,  where  lay  on  a  couch,  apparently  at  the 
last  gasp,  a  man  of  foreign  features.  'I  have 
brought  a  physician,'  said  the  female  to  the 
patient, 'who,  perhaps,  may  relieve  you.'  'Why 
will  you' — answered  he  faintlj'- — 'still  persist 
to  feed  idle  hopes  !  I  have  lived  an  outcast: 
suffer  me  at  least  to  die  in  peace;  nor  disturb 
my  last  moments  by  vain  illusions.  My  soul 
pants  to  rejoin  the  Supreme  Spirit ;  arrest  not 
its  flight;  it  would  only  be  delaying  my  eternal 
bliss!' 

"  As  the  stranger  spoke  these  words — which 
struck  even  Yacoob  sufficiently  to  make  him 
suspend  his  professional  grimace  —  the  last 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


331 


beams  of  the  selling  sun  darted  across  the 
casement  of  the  window  upon  his  pale  yet 
swarthy  features.  Thus  visited,  he  seemed  for 
a  moment  to  revive.  'I  have  always,'  said  he, 
'  considered  my  fate  as  connected  with  the  j 
gi-eat  luminary  that  rules  the  creation.     I  have  | 


cold  ere  it  is  tainted,  lacks  the  energy  neces- 
sary to  repel  the  infection  when  at  hand,  it  will 
pass  him  by  who  dares  its  utmost  fury,  and 
advances  undaunted  to  meet  its  raised  dart." — 
(I.  121.) 
In  this  miserable  receptacle  of  guilty  and 


always  paid  it  due  worship,  and  firmly  believed    unhappy  beings,  Anastasius  forms  and  cements 


I  could  not  breathe  my  last  while  its  rays  shone 
upon  me.  Carry  me,  therefore,  out,  that  I  may 
take  my  last  farewell  of  the  heavenly  ruler  of 
my  earthly  destinies !' 

"We  all  rushed  forward  to  obey  the  man- 
dale  ;  but  the  stairs  being  too  narrow,  the 
woman  only  opened  the  window,  and  placed 
the  dying  man  before  it,  so  as  to  enjoy  the  full 
view  of  the  glorious  orb,  just  in  the  act  of 
dropping  beneath  the  horizon.  He  remained 
a  few  moments  in  silent  adoration;  and  me- 
chanically we  all  joined  him  in  fixing  our  eyes 
on  the  object  of  his  worship.  It  set  in  all  its 
splendour;  and  when  its  golden  disk  had  en- 
tirely disappeared,  we  looked  round  at  the 
Parsee.  He,  too,  had  sunk  into  everlasting 
rest."— (I.  103,  104.) 

From  the  dispensation  of  chalk  and  water, 
he  is  then  ushered  into  a  Turkish  jail,  the  de- 
scription of  which,  and  ^of  the  plague  with 
which  it  is  visited,  are  very  finely  written  ;  and 
■we  strongly  recommend  them  to  the  attention 
of  our  readers. 

"Every  day  a  capital,  fertile  in  crimes,  pours 
new  offenders  into  this  dread  receptacle  ;  and 
its  high  walls  and  deep  recesses  resound  every 
instant  with  imprecations  and  curses,  uttered 
in  all  the  various  idioms  of  the  Ottoman 
empire.  Deep  moans  and  dismal  yells  leave 
not  its  frightful  echoes  a  moment's  repose. 
From  morning  till  night,  and  from  night  till 
morning,  the  ear  is  stunned  with  the  clang  of 
chains,  which  the  galley-slaves  wear  while 
confined  in  their  cells,  and  which  they  still 
drag  about  when  toiling  at  their  tasks.  Linked 
together  two  and  two  for  life,  should  they  sink 
under  their  sufferings,  they  still  continue  un- 
severed  after  death  ;  and  the  man  doomed  to 
live  on,  drags  after  him  the  corpse  of  his  dead 
companion.  In  no  direction  can  the  eye  es- 
cape the  spectacle  of  atrocious  punishments 
and  of  indescribable  agonies.  Here,  perhaps, 
you  see  a  wretch  whose  stiffened  limbs  refuse 
their  office,  stop  suddenly  short  in  the  midst  of 
his  labour,  and  as  if  already  impassible,  defy 
the  stripes  that  lay  open  his  flesh,  and  wait  in 
total  immobility  the  last  merciful  blow  that  is 
to  end  his  misery;  while  there,  you  view  his 
companion  foaming  with  rage  and  madness, 
turn  against  his  own  person  his  desperate 
hands,  tear  his  clotted  hair,  rend  his  bleeding 
bosom,  and  strike  his  skull,  until  it  burst, 
against  the  wall  of  hisdungeon." — (I.  110,  111.) 

A  few  survived. 

"  I  was  among  these  scanty  relics.  I  who, 
indifferent  to  life,  had  never  stooped  to  avoid 
the  shafts  of  death,  even  when  they  flew 
thickest  around  me,  had  more  than  once  laid 
my  finger  on  the  livid  wound  they  inflicted, 
had  probed  it  as  it  festered  ;  I  yet  remained  un- 
hurt: for  sometimes  the  plague  is  a  magnani- 
mous enemy,  and,  while  it  seldom  spares  the 
pusillanimous  victim    whose   blood,  running 


the  strongest  friendship  with  a  young  Greek, 
of  the  name  of  Anagnosti.  On  leaving  the 
prison,  he  vows  to  make  every  exertion  for  the 
liberation  of  his  friend — vows  that  are  for- 
gotten as  soon  as  he  is  clear  from  the  prisoa 
walls.  After  being  nearly  perished  with 
hunger,  and  after  being  saved  by  the  charity 
of  an  hospital,  he  gets  into  an  intrigue  with  a 
rich  Jewess — is  detected — pursued — and,  to 
save  his  life,  turns  Mussulman.  This  exploit 
performed,  he  suddenly  meets  his  friend  Anag- 
nosti— treats  him  with  disdain — and,  in  a  quar- 
rel which  ensues  between  them,  stabs  him  to 
the  heart. 

"  'Life,'  says  the  dying  Anagnosti,  '  has  long 
been  bitterness  :  death  is  a  welcome  guest :  I 
rejoin  those  that  love  me,  and  in  a  better  place. 
Already,  methinks,  watching  my  flight,  ihty 
stretch  out  their  arms  from  heaven  to  their 
dying  Anagnosti.  Thou, — if  there  be  in  thy 
breast  one  spark  of  pity  left  for  him  thou  once 
namedst  thy  brother  ;  for  him  to  whom  a  holy 
tie,  a  sacred  vow  ....  Ah !  suffer  not  the  starv- 
ing hounds  in  the  street See  a  little  hal- 
lowed earth  thrown  over  my  wretched  corpse.' 
These  words  were  his  last." — (I.  209.) 

The  description  of  the  murderer's  remorse 
is  among  the  finest  passages  in  the  work. 

"From  an  obscure  aisle  in  the  church  I 
beheld  the  solemn  service  ;  saw  on  the  field 
of  death  the  pale  stiff  corpse  lowered  into  its 
narrow  cell,  and  hoping  to  exhavist  sorrow's 
bitter  cup,  at  night,  when  all  mankind  hushed 
its  griefs,  went  back  to  my  friend's  final  rest- 
ing-place, lay  down  upon  his  silent  grave,  and 
watered  with  my  tears  the  fresh-raised  hollow 
mound. 

"In  vain!  Nor  my  tears  nor  my  sorrows 
could  avail.  No  offerings  nor  penance  coald 
purchase  me  repose.  Wherever  I  went,  the 
beginning  of  our  friendship  and  its  issue  still 
alike  rose  in  view;  the  fatal  spot  of  blood  still 
danced  before  my  steps,  and  the  reeking  dagger 
hovered  before  my  aching  eyes.  In  the  silent 
darkness  of  the  night  I  saw  the  pale  phantom 
of  my  friend  stalk  round  my  watchful  couch, 
covered  with  gore  and  dust:  and  even  during 
the  unavailing  riots  of  the  day,  I  still  beheld 
the  spectre  rise  over  the  festive  board,  glare  on 
me  with  piteous  look,  and  hand  me  whatever  I 
attempted  to  reach.  But  whatever  it  presented 
seemed  blasted  by  its  touch.  To  my  wine  it 
gave  the  taste  of  blood,  and  to  my  bread  the 
rank  flavour  of  death  !"— (L  212,  213.) 

We  question  whether  there  is  in  the  English 
language  a  finer  description  than  this.  We 
request  our  readers  to  look  at  the  very  beauti- 
ful and  affecting  picture  of  remorse,  pp.  214, 
215,  vol.  i. 

Equally  good,  but  in  another  way,  is  the  de- 
scription of  the  opium  coffee-house. 

"In  this  tchartchee  might  be  seen  any  day  a 
numerous  collection  of  those  whom  private 


332 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


sorrows  have  driven  to  a  public  exhibition  of 
insanity.  There  each  reeling  idiot  might  take 
his  neighbour  by  the  hand,  and  say,  'Brother, 
and  what  ailed  thee,  to  seek  so  dire  a  curel' 
There  did  I,  with  the  rest  of  its  familiars,  now 
take  my  habitual  station  in  my  solitary  niche, 
like  an  insensible,  motionless  idol,  sitting  with 
sightless  eyeballs  staring  on  vacuity, 

"One  day,  as  I  lay  in  less  entire  absence 
than  usual  under  the  purple  vines  of  the  porch, 
admiring  the  gold-tipped  domes  of  the  majestic 
Sulimanye,  the  appearance  of  an  old  man  with 
a  snow-white  beard,  reclining  on  the  couch 
beside  me,  caught  my  attention.  Half  plunged 
in  stupor,  he  every  now  and  then  burst  out 
into  a  wild  laugh,  occasioned  by  the  grotesque 
phantasms  which  the  ample  dose  of  madjoon 
he  had  just  swallowed  was  sending  up  to  his 
brain.  I  sat  contemplating  him  with  mixed 
curiosity  and  dismay,  when,  as  if  for  a  moment 
roused  from  his  torpor,  he  took  me  by  the 
hand,  and  fixing  on  my  countenance  his  dim, 
vacant  eyes,  said,  in  an  impressive  tone, 
'Young  man,  thy  days  are  yet  few;  take  the 
advice  of  one  who,  alas  !  has  counted  many. 
Lose  no  time  ;  hie  thee  hence,  nor  cast  behind 
one  lingering  look  :  but  if  thou  hast  not  the 
strength,  why  tarry  even  here  ]  Thy  journey 
is  but  half  achieved.  At  once  go  on  to  that 
large  mansion  before  thee.  It  is  thy  ultimate 
destination  :  and  by  thus  beginning  where  thou 
must  end  at  last,  thou  mayest  at  least  save  both 
thy  time  and  thy  money.'" — (I.  215,  216.) 

Lingering  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople, 
Anastasius  hears  that  his  mother  is  dead,  and 
proceeds  to  claim  that  heritage  which,  by  the 
Turkish  law  in  favour  of  proselytes,  had  de- 
volved upon  him. 

"How  often,"  he  exclaims  (after  seeing  his 
father  in  the  extremity  of  old  age) — "  how  often 
does  it  happen  in  life,  that  the  most  blissful 
moments  of  our  return  to  a  long-left  home  are 
those  only  that  just  precede  the  instant  of  our 
arrival ;  those  during  which  the  imagination 
still  is  allowed  to  paint  in  its  own  unblended 
colours  the  promised  sweets  of  our  reception  ! 
How  often,  after  this  glowing  picture  of  the 
phantasy,  does  the  reality  which  follows  appear 
cold  and  dreary !  How  often  do  even  those 
who  grieved  to  see  us  depart,  grieve  more  to 
see  us  return !  and  how  often  do  we  ourselves 
encounter  nothing  but  sorrow,  on  again  behold- 
ing the  once  happy,  joyous  promoters  of  our 
own  hilarity,  now  mournful,  disappointed,  and 
themselves  needing  what  consolation  we  may 
bring !"—(!.  239,  240.) 

During  his  visit  to  Chios,  he  traces  and  de- 
scribes the  dying  misery  of  Helena,  whom  he 
had  deserted,  and  then  debauches  her  friend 
Agnes.  From  thence  he  sails  to  Rhodes,  the 
remnants  of  which  produce  a  great  deal  of 
eloquence  and  admirable  description. —  (pp. 
275,  276,  vol.  i.)  From  Rhodes  he  sails  to 
Egypt;  and  chap.  16  contains  a  short  and 
very  well  written  history  of  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  Mameluke  government.  The 
flight  of  Mourad,  and  the  pursuit  of  this  chief 
in  the  streets  of  Cairo  (p.  325,  vol.  i.),  would 
be  considered  as  very  fine  passages  in  the  best 
histories  of  antiquity.     Our  limits  prevent  us 


from  quoting  them.  Anastasius  then  becomes 
a  Mameluke ;  marries  his  master's  daughter, 
and  is  made  a  kiashef.  In  the  numerous 
skirmishes  into  which  he  falls  in  his  new 
military  life,  it  falls  to  his  lot  to  shoot,  from 
an  ambush,  Assad,  his  inveterate  enemy. 

"Assad,  though  weltering  in  his  blood,  was 
still  alive :  but  already  the  angel  of  death 
flapped  his  dark  wings  over  the  traitor's  brow. 
Hearing  footsteps  advance,  he  made  an  effort 
to  raise  his  head,  probably  in  hopes  of  ap- 
proaching succour:  but  beholding,  but  recog- 
nising only  me,  he  felt  that  no  hopes  remained, 
and  gave  a  groan  of  despair.  Life  was  flow- 
ing out  so  fast,  that  I  had  only  to  stand  still — 
my  arms  folded  in  each  other, — and  with  a 
steadfast  eye  to  watch  its  departure.  One  in- 
stant I  saw  my  vanquished  foe,  agitated  by  a 
convulsive  tremor,  open  his  eyes  and  dart  at 
me  a  glance  of  impotent  rage ;  but  soon  he 
averted  them  again,  then  gnashed  his  teeth, 
clenched  his  fist,  and  expired." — (II.  92.) 

We  quote  this,  and  such  passages  as  these, 
to  show  the  great  power  of  description  Avhich 
Mr.  Hope  possesses.  The  vindictive  man 
standing  with  his  arms  folded,  and  watching 
the  blood  flowing  from  the  wound  of  his 
enemy,  is  very  new  and  very  striking. 

After  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  collects  his 
property,  quits  Egypt,  and  visits  Mekkah,  and 
acquires  the  title  and  prerogatives  of  an 
Hadjee.  After  this  he  returns  to  the  Turkish 
capital,  renews  his  acquaintance  with  Spiri- 
dion,  the  friend  of  his  youth,  who  in  vain 
labours  to  reclaim  him,  and  whom  he  at  last 
drives  away,  disgusted  with  the  vices  and 
passions  of  Anastasius.  We  then  find  our 
oriental  profligate  fighting  as  a  Turkish  cap- 
tain in  Egypt,  against  his  old  friends  the 
Mamelukes  ;  and  afterwards  employed  in 
Wallachia,  under  his  old  friend  Mavroyeni, 
against  the  Russians  and  Austrians.  In  this 
part  of  the  work,  we  strongly  recommend  to 
our  readers  to  look  at  the  Mussulmans  in  a 
pastry-cook's  shop  during  the  Rhamadam,  vol. 
ii.  p.  164 ;  the  village  of  beggars,  vol.  ii.  p.  266; 
the  death  of  the  Hungarian  officer,  vol.  ii.  p. 
327;  and,  in  the  last  days  of  Mavroyeni,  vol. 
ii.  p.  356  ; — not  forgetting  the  walk  over  a  field 
of  battle,  vol.  ii.  p.  252.  The  character  of 
Mavroyeni  is  extremely  well  kept  up  through 
the  whole  of  the  book ;  and  his  decline  and 
death  are  drawn  in  a  very  spirited  and  masterly 
manner.  The  Spiridion  part  of  the  novel  we 
are  not  so  much  struck  with  ;  we  entirely  ap- 
prove of  Spiridion,  and  ought  to  take  more 
interest  in  him ;  but  we  cannot  disguise  the 
melancholy  truth  that  he  is  occasionally  a  little 
long  and  tiresome.  The  next  characters  as- 
sumed by  Anastasius  are,  a  Smyrna  debauchee, 
a  robber  of  the  desert,  and  a  Wahabee.  After 
serving  some  time  w"ith  these  sectaries,  he  re- 
turns to  Smyrna, — finds  his  child  missing 
whom  he  had  left  there, — traces  the  little  boy 
to  Egypt, — recovers  him, — then  loses  him  by 
sickness, — and  wearied  of  life,  retires  to  end 
his  days  in  a  cottage  in  Carinthia.  For  strik- 
ing passages  in  this  part  of  the  novel,  we  refer 
our  readers  to  the  description  of  the  burial- 
places  near  Constantinople,  vol.  iii.  11 — J.3; 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


333 


the  account  of  Djezzar  Pacha's  retirement  to 
his  harem  during  the  revolt, — equal  to  any 
thing  in  Tacitus;  and,  above  all,  to  the  land- 
ing of  Anastasius  with  his  sick  child,  and  the 
death  of  the  infant.  It  is  Impossible  not  to 
see  that  this  last  picture  is  faithfully  drawn 
from  a  sad  and  cruel  reality.  The  account  of 
the  Wahabees  is  very  interesting,  vol.  iii.  128; 
and  nothing  is  more  so  than  the  story  of  Eu- 
phrosyne.  Anastasius  had  gained  the  affec- 
tions of  Euphrosyne,  and  ruined  her  reputa- 
tion ;  he  then  wishes  to  cast  her  off,  and  to 
remove  her  from  his  house. 

"'Ah  no!'  now  cried  Euphrosyne,  convul- 
sively clasping  my  knees,  '  be  not  so  barba- 
rous !  Shut  not  your  own  door  against  her 
against  whom  you  have  barred  every  once 
friendly  door.  Do  not  deny  her  whom  you 
have  dishonoured  the  only  asylum  she  has 
left.  If  I  cannot  be  your  wife,  let  me  be  your 
slave,  your  drudge.  No  service,  however 
mean,  shall  I  recoil  from  when  you  command. 
At  least  before  you  I  shall  not  have  to  blush. 
In  your  eyes  I  shall  not  be  what  I  must  seem 
in  those  of  others ;  I  shall  not  from  you  in- 
cur the  contempt  which  I  must  expect  from 
my  former  companions;  and  my  diligence 
to  execute  the  lowest  offices  you  may  require, 
will  earn  for  me,  not  onl}^  as  a  bare  alms  at 
your  hands,  that  support  which,  however 
scanty,  I  can  elsewhere  only  receive  as  an 
unmerited  indulgence.  Since  I  did  a  few  days 
please  your  eye,  I  may  still  please  it  a  few 
days  longer : — perhaps  a  few  days  longer, 
therefore,  I  may  still  wish  to  live ;  and  when 
that  last  blessing,  your  love,  is  gone  by, — 
when  my  cheek,  faded  with  grief,  has  lost  the 
last  attraction  that  could  arrest  your  favour, 
then  speak,  then  tell  me  so,  that,  burthening 
vou  no  longer,  I  may  retire — and  die  !' " — (III. 
64,  65.) 

Her  silent  despair,  and  patient  misery,  when 
she  finds  that  she  has  not  only  ruined  herself 
with  the  world,  but  lost  his  affections  also, 
have  the  beauty  of  the  deepest  tragedy. 

"  Nothing  but  the  most  unremitting  tender- 
ness on  my  part  could  in  some  degree  have 
revived  her  drooping  spirits. — But  when,  after 
my  excursion,  and  the  act  of  justice  on  Sophia, 
m  which  it  ended,  I  reappeared  before  the 
still  trembling  Euphrosyne,  she  saw  too  soon 
that  that  cordial  of  the  heart  must  not  be  ex- 
pected. One  look  she  cast  upon  my  counte- 
nance, as  I  sat  down  in  silence,  sufficed  to 
inform  her  of  my  total  change  of  sentiments ; — 
and  the  responsive  look  by  which  it  was  met, 
tore  for  ever  from  her  breast  the  last  seeds  of 
hope  and  confidence.  Like  the  wounded  snail, 
she  shrunk  within  herself,  and  thenceforth, 
cloaked  in  unceasing  sadness,  never  more  ex- 


panded to  the  sunshine  of  joy.  With  her 
buoyancy  of  spirits  she  seemed  even  to  lose 
all  her  quickness  of  intellect,  nay,  all  her 
readiness  of  speech:  so  that,  not  only  fearing 
to  embark  with  her  in  serious  conversation, 
but  even  finding  no  response  in  her  mind  to 
lighter  topics,  I  at  last  began  to  nauseate  her 
seeming  torpor  and  dulness,  and  to  roam 
abroad  even  more  frequently  than  before  a 
partner  of  my  fate  remained  at  home,  to  count 
the  tedious  hours  of  my  absence ;  while  she, 
poor,  miserable  creature,  dreading  the  sneers 
of  an  unfeeling  world,  passed  her  time  under 
my  roof  in  dismal  and  heart-breaking  solitude. 
— Had  the  most  patient  endurance  of  the  most 
intemperate  sallies  been  able  to  soothe  my 
disappointment  and  to  soften  my  hardiness, 
Euphrosyne'^  angelic  sweetness  must  at  last 
have  conquered:  but,  in  my  jaundiced  eye, 
her  resignation  only  tended  to  strengthen  the 
conviction  of  her  shame ;  and  I  saw  in  her 
forbearance  nothing  but  the  consequence  of 
her  debasement,  and  the  consciousness  of  her 
guilt.  '  Did  her  heart,'  thought  I,  '  bear  wit- 
ness to  a  purity  on  which  my  audacity  dared 
first  to  cast  a  blemish,  she  could  not  remain 
thus  tame,  thus  spiritless,  under  such  an  ag- 
gravation of  my  Avrongs  ;  and  either  she  would 
be  the  first  to  quit  my  merciless  roof,  or,  at 
least,  she  would  not  so  fearfully  avoid  giving 
me  even  the  most  unfounded  pretence  for 
denying  her  its  shelter. — She  must  merit  her 
sufferings,  to  bear  them  so  meekly !' — Hence, 
even  when  moved  to  real  pity  by  gentleness 
so  enduring,  I  seldom  relented  in  my  apparent 
sternness." — (III.  72 — 74.) 

With  this,  we  end  our  extracts  from  Anasta- 
sius. We  consider  it  as  a  work  in  which  great 
and  extraordinary  talent  is  evinced.  It  abounds 
in  eloquent  and  sublime  passages, — in  sense, — 
in  knowledge  of  history, — and  in  knowledge 
of  human  character; — but  not  in  wit.  It  is 
too  long ;  and  if  this  novel  perishes,  and  is 
forgotten,  it  will  be  solely  on  that  account. 
If  it  is  the  picture  of  vice,  so  is  Clarissa  Har- 
lowe,  and  so  is  Tom  Jones.  There  are  no 
sensual  and  glowing  descriptions  in  Anasta- 
sius,— nothing  \y^hich  corrupts  the  morals  by 
inflaming  the  imagination  of  youth ;  and  we 
are  quite  certain  that  every  reader  ends  this 
novel  with  a  greater  disgust  at  vice,  and  a 
more  thorough  conviction  of  the  necessity  of 
subjugating  passion,  than  he  feels  from  read- 
ing either  of  the  celebrated  works  we  have 
just  mentioned.  The  sum  of  our  eulogium  is, 
that  Mr.  Hope,  without  being  very  successful 
in  his  story,  or  remarkably  skilful  in  the 
delineation  of  character,  has  written  a  novel, 
which  all  clever  people  of  a  certain  age 
should  read,  because  it  is  full  of  marvellously 
fine  things. 


334 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


SCARLETT'S   POOE   BILL; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1821.] 


Wk  are  friendly  to  the  main  principle  of  Mr. 
Scarlett's  bill ;  but  are  rather  surprised  at  the 
unworkmanlike  manner  in  which  he  has  set 
about  it. 

To  fix  a  maximum  for  the  poor-rates,  we 
should  conceive  to  be  an  operation  of  suffi- 
cient difficulty  and  novelty  for  any  one  bill. 
There  was  no  need  to  provoke  more  prejudice, 
to  rouse  more  hostility,  and  create  more  alarm, 
than  such  a  bill  would  naturally  do.  But  Mr. 
Scarlett  is  a  very  strong  man ;  and  before  he 
works  his  battering-ram,  he  chooses  to  have 
the  wall  made  of  a  thickness  worthy  of  his 
blow — capable  of  evincing,  by  the  enormity  of 
its  ruins,  the  superfluity  of  his  vigour,  and  the 
certainty  of  his  aim.  Accordingly,  he  has  in- 
troduced into  his  bill  a  number  of  provisions, 
which  have  no  necessary,  and,  indeed,  no  near 
connection  with  his  great  and  main  object ; 
but  which  are  sure  to  draw  upon  his  back  all 
the  Sir  Johns  and  Sir  Thomases  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  It  may  be  right,  or  it  may  be 
wrong,  that  the  chargeable  poor  should  be  re- 
moved; but  why  introduce  such  a  controverted 
point  into  a  bill  framed  for  a  much  more  im- 
portant object,  and  of  itself  calculated  to  pro- 
duce so  much  difference  of  opinion !  Mr. 
Scarlett  appears  to  us  to  have  been  not  only 
indiscreet  in  the  introduction  of  such  hetero- 
geneous matter,  but  very  much  mistaken  in 
the  enactments  which  that  matter  contains. 

"And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  from  and 
after  the  passing  of  this  act,  it  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  an}''  justice  of  peace  or  other  per- 
son to  remove,  or  cause  to  be  removed,  any 
poor  person  or  persons  from  any  parish, 
township  or  place,  to  any  other,  by  reason  of 
such  person  or  persons  being  chargeable  to 
such  parish,  township  or  place,  or  being  unable 
to  maintain  him  or  themselves,  or  under  colour 
of  such  person  or  persons  being  settled  in  any 
other  parish,  township  or  place,  any  law  or 
statute  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding:  Pro- 
vided always,  that  nothing  in  this  act  shall  in 
any  wise  be  deemed  to  alter  any  law  now  in 
force  for  the  punishment  of  vagrants,  or  for 
removing  poor  persons  to  Scotland,  Ireland,  or 
the  Isles  of  Guernsey,  Jersey,  and  Man. — And 
be  it  further  enacted,  that  in  all  cases  where 
any  poor  person,  at  the  time  of  the  passing  of 
this  act,  shall  be  resident  in  any  parish,  town- 
ship or  place,  where  he  is  not  legally  settled, 

*  1.  Letter  to  James  Scarlett,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  on  his  Bill 
relating  to  the  Poor-Laws.  By  a  Surrey  Magistrate. 
London,  1821. 

2.  j9rt  ./iihlress  to  the  Imperial  Parliament,  upon  the 
Practical  Means  of  sradvaUij  .Abolishing  the  Poor-Laws, 
and  f.ducatiiiff  the  Poor  Systematically.  Illustrated  by  an 
Account  of  the  Colonies  of  Fredericks- Oord  in  Holland, 
ivd  of  the  Common  JMovntain  in  the  South  of  Ireland. 
With  General  Oh.<crvations.  Third  Edition.  By  Wil- 
liam HEP.BEnT  Saundei!.'!,  Esq.     London,  1821. 

3.  On  Pauperism  and  the  Poor-Laws.  With  a  Supple- 
ment.   London,  1821. 


and  shall  be  receiving  relief  from  the  over- 
seers, guardians,  or  directors  of  the  poor  of 
the  place  of  his  legal  settlement,  the  said  over- 
seers, guardians,  or  directors,  are  hereby 
required  to  continue  such  relief,  in  the  same 
manner,  and  by  the  same  means,  as  the  same 
is  now  administered,  until  one  of  his  majesty's 
justices  of  the  peace,  in  or  near  the  place  of 
residence  of  such  poor  person,  shall,  upon  ap- 
plication to  him,  either  by  such  poor  person, 
or  any  other  person  on  his  behalf,  for  the  con- 
tinuance thereof,  or  by  the  said  overseers, 
guardians,  or  directors  of  the  poor,  paying 
such  relief,  for  the  discharge  thereof,  certify 
that  the  same  is  no  longer  necessary." — Bill, 
pp.  3,  4.) 

Now,  here  is  a  gentleman,  so  thoroughly 
and  so  justly  sensible  of  the  evils  of  the  poor- 
laws,  that  he  introduces  into  the  House  of 
Commons  a  very  plain,  and  very  bold  measure 
to  restrain  them ;  and  yet,  in  the  very  same 
bill,  he  abrogates  the  few  impediments  that 
remain  to  universal  mendicity.  The  present 
law  says,  "  Before  you  can  turn  beggar  in  the 
place  of  your  residence,  you  must  have  been 
born  there,  or  you  must  have  rented  a  farm 
there,  or  served  an  office ;"  but  Mr.  Sca.rlett 
says,  "  You  maj''  beg  anywhere  where  you 
happen  to  be.  I  will  have  no  obstacles  to 
your  turning  beggar  ;  I  will  give  every  facility 
and  every  allurement  to  the  destruction  of 
your  independence."  We  are  quite  confident 
that  the  direct  tendency  of  Mr.  Scarlett's  en- 
actments is  to  produce  these  effects.  Labourers 
living  in  one  place,  and  settled  in  another,  are 
uniformly  the  best  and  most  independent  cha- 
racters in  the  place.  Alarmed  at  the  idea  of 
being  removed  from  the  situation  of  their 
choice,  and  knowing  they  have  nothing  to  de- 
pend upon  but  themselves,  they  are  alone 
exempted  from  the  degrading  influence  of  the 
poor-laws,  and  frequently  arrive  at  independ- 
ence by  their  exclusion  from  that  baneful  pri- 
vilege which  is  offered  to  them  by  the  incon- 
sistent benevolence  of  this  bill.  If  some  are 
removed,  after  long  residence  in  parishes 
where  they  are  not  settled,  these  examples 
only  insure  the  beneficial  effects  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking.  Others  see  them,  dread 
the  same  fate,  quit  the  mug,  and  grasp  the 
flail.  Our  policy,  as  we  have  explained  in  a 
previous  article,  is  directly  the  reverse  of  that 
of  Mr.  Scarlett.  Considering  that  a  poor  man, 
since  Mr.  East's  bill,  if  he  asks  no  charity,  has 
a  right  to  live  where  he  pleases,  and  that  a 
settlement  is  now  nothing  more  than  a  beggar's 
ticket,  we  would  gradually  abolish  all  means 
of  gaining  a  settlement,  but  those  of  birth, 
parentage,  or  marriage  ;  and  this  method 
would  destroy  litigation  as  effectually  as  the 
method  proposed  by  Mr.  Scarlett.* 


*  This  has  since  been  done. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH.' 


335 


Mr.  Scarlett's  plan,  too,  we  are  firmly  per- 
suaded, would  completely  defeat  his  own 
intentions;  and  would  inflict  a  greater  injury 
upon  the  poor  than  this  very  bill,  intended  to 
prevent  their  capricious  removal.  If  his  bill 
had  passed,  he  could  not  have  passed.  His 
post-chaise  on  the  northern  circuit  would  have 
been  impeded  by  the  crowds  of  houseless  vil- 
lagers, driven  from  their  cottages  by  landlords 
rendered  merciless  by  the  bill.  In  the  mud — 
all  in  the  mud  (for  such  cases  made  and  pro- 
vided) would  they  have  rolled  this  most  excel- 
lent counsellor.  Instigated  by  the  devil  and 
their  own  malicious  purposes,  his  wig  they 
would  have  polluted,  and  tossed  to  a  thousand 
winds  the  parchment  bickerings  of  Doe  and 
Roe.  Mr.  Scarlett's  bill  is  so  powerful  a  mo- 
tive to  proprietors  for  the  depopulation  of  a 
village — for  preventing  the  poor  from  living 
where  they  wish  to  live, — that  nothing  but  the 
conviction  that  such  a  bill  would  never  be 
suffered  to  pass,  has  prevented  those  effects 
from  already  taking  place.  Landlords  would, 
in  the  contemplation  of  such  a  bill,  pull  down 
all  the  cottages  of  persons  not  belonging  to  the 
parish,  and  eject  the  tenants ;  itie  most  vigor- 
ous measures  would  be  taken  to  prevent  any 
one  from  remaining  or  coming  who  was  not 
absolutely  necessary  to  the  lord  of  the  soil. 
At  present,  cottages  are  let  to  anybody:  be- 
cause, if  they  are  burthensome  to  the  parish, 
the  tenants  can  be  removed.  But  the  impos- 
sibility of  doing  this  would  cause  the  imme- 
diate demolition  of  cottages  ;  prevent  the 
erection  of  fresh  ones  where  they  are  really 
wanted;  and  chain  a  poor  man  for  ever  to  the 
place  of  his  birth,  without  the  possibility  of 
moving.  If  everybody  who  passed  over  Mr. 
Scarlett's  threshold  were  to  gain  a  settlement 
for  life  in  his  house,  he  would  take  good  care 
never  to  be  at  home.  We  all  boldly  let  our 
friends  in,  because  we  know  we  can  easily  get 
them  out.  So  it  is  with  the  residence  of  the 
poor.  Their  present  power  of  living  where 
they  please,  and  going  where  they  please, 
entirely  depends  upon  the  possibility  of  their 
removal  when  they  become  chargeable.  If 
any  mistaken  friend  were  to  take  from  them 
this  protection,  the  whole  power  and  jealousy 
of  property  would  be  turned  against  their 
locomotive  liberty  ;  they  would  become  ad- 
scripli  gleha,  no  more  capable  of  going  out 
of  the  parish  than  a  tree  is  of  proceeding,  with 
its  roots  and  branches,  to  a  neighbouring  wood. 

The  remedy  here  proposed  for  these  evils 
is  really  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  we  ever 
remember  to  have  been  introduced  into  any 
act  of  Parliament. 

"  And  whereas  it  may  happen,  that  in  seve- 
ral parishes  or  townships  now  burdened  with 
the  maintenance  of  the  poor  settled  and  re- 
siding therein,  the  owners  of  lands  or  inha- 
bitants may,  in  order  to  remove  the  residence  of  the 
labouring  poor  from  such  parishes  or  places, 
destroy  the  cottages  and  habitations  therein, 
new  occupied  by  the  labourers  and  their 
families:  And  whereas,  also,  it  may  happen, 
that  certain  towns  and  villages,  maintaining 
their  own  poor,  may,  by  the  residence  therein 
of  labourers  employed  and  working  in  other 
parishes  or   townships   lying  near   the   said 


towns  and  villages,  be  charged  with  the  burden 
of  maintaining  those  Avho  do  not  work,  and 
before  the  passing  of  this  act  were  not  settled 
therein  :  For  remedy  thereof,  be  it  enacted,  by 
the  authority  aforesaid,  that,  in  either  of  the 
above  cases,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  justices, 
at  any  quarter-sessions  of  the  peace  held  for 
the  county  in  which  such  places  shall  be,  upon 
the  complaint  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of 
any  parish,  town  or  place,  that  by  reason  of 
either  of  the  causes  aforesaid,  the  rates  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor  of  such  parish,  town,  or 
place,  have  been  materially  increased,  whilst 
those  of  any  other  parish  or  place  have  been 
diminished,  to  hear  and  fully  to  inquire  into 
the  matter  of  such  complaint;  and  in  case 
they  shall  be  satisfied  of  the  truth  thereof,  then 
to  make  an  order  upon  the  overseers  of  the 
poor  of  the  parish  or  township,  whose  rates 
have  been  diminished  by  the  causes  aforesaid, 
to  pay  to  the  complainants  such  sum  or  sums, 
from  time  to  time,  as  the  said  justices  shall 
adjudge  reasonable,  not  exceeding,  in  any 
case,  together  with  the  existing  rates,  the 
amount  limited  by  this  act,  as  a  contribution 
towards  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  the  parish, 
town,  or  place,  whose  rates  have  been  in- 
creased by  the  causes  aforesaid ;  which  order 
shall  continue  in  force  until  the  same  shall 
be  discharged  by  some  future  order  of  ses- 
sions, upon  the  application  of  the  overseers 
paying  the  same,  and  proof  that  the  occasion 
for  it  no  longer  exists  :  Provided,  always,  that 
no  such  order  shall  be  made,  without  proof  of 
notice  in  writing  of  such  intended  application, 
and  of  the  grounds  thereof,  having  been  served 
upon  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of  the  parish  or' 
place,  upon  whom  such  order  is  prayed,  four- 
teen days  at  the  least  before  the  first  day  of 
the  quarter-sessions,  nor  unless  the  justices 
making  such  order  shall  be  satisfied  that  no 
money  has  been  improperly  or  unnecessarily 
expended  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor  praying 
for  such  order;  and  that  a  separate  and  distinct 
account  has  been  kept  by  them  of  the  addi- 
tional burden  which  has  been  thrown  upon 
their  rates  by  the  causes  alleged." — {Bill,  pp. 
4,  5.) 

Now  this  clause,  we  cannot  help  saying,  ap- 
pears to  us  to  be  a  receipt  for  universal  and 
interminable  litigation  all  over  England— a 
perfect  law-hurricane — a  conversion  of  all 
flesh  into  plaintiff's  and  defendants.  The  parish 
A.  has  pulled  down  houses,  and  burthened  the 
parish  B.;  B.  has  demolished  to  the  misery  of 
C;  which  has  again  misbehaved  itself  in  the 
same  manner  to  the  oppression  of  other  letters 
of  the  alphabet.  All  run  into  parchment,  and 
pant  for  revenge  and  exoneration.  Though 
the  fact  may  be  certain  enough,  the  causes 
which  gave  rise  to  it  may  be  very  uncertain  ; 
and  assuredly  will  not  be  admitted  to  have, 
been  those  against  which  the  statute  has  de- 
nounced these  penalties.  It  will  be  alleged, 
therefore,  that  the  houses  were  not  pulled 
down  to  get  rid  of  the  poor,  but  because  they 
were  not  worth  repair — because  they  obstruct- 
ed the  squire's  view— because  rent  was  not 
paid.  All  these  motives  must  go  before  the 
sessions,  the  last  resource  of  legislators— the 
unhappy  quarter-sessions   pushed   to  the   ex- 


336 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tremity  of  their  wit  by  the  plump  contradictions 
of  parish  perjury. 

Another  of  the  many  sources  of  litigation,  in 
this  clause,  is  as  follows  : — A  certain  number 
of  workmen  live  in  a  parish  M.,  not  being 
settled  in  it,  and  not  working  in  it  before  the 
passing  of  this  act.  After  the  passing  of  this 
act,  they  become  chargeable  to  M.,  whose  poor- 
rates  are  increased.  M.  is  to  find  out  the 
parishes  relieved  from  the  burthen  of  these 
men,  and  to  prosecute  at  the  quarter-sessions 
for  relief.  But  suppose  the  burthened  parish 
to  be  in  Yorkshire,  and  the  relieved  parish  in 
Cornwall,  are  the  quarter-sessions  in  Yorkshire 
to  make  an  order  of  annual  payment  upon  a 
parish  in  Cornwall  1  and  Cornwall,  in  turn, 
upon  Yorkshire?  How  is  the  money  to  be 
transmitted  1  What  is  the  easy  and  cheap 
remedy,  if  neglected  to  be  paid?  And  if  all 
this  could  be  effected,  what  is  it,  after  all,  but 
the  present  system  of  removal  rendered  ten 
times  more  intricate,  confused  and  expensive! 
Perhaps  Mr.  Scarlett  means,  that  the  parishes 
where  these  men  worked,  and  which  may  hap- 
pen to  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  justices, 
are  to  be  taxed  in  aid  of  the  parish  M.,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  benefit  they  have  received  from 
the  labour  of  men  whose  distresses  they  do  not 
relieve.  We  must  have,  then,  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  how  much  a  certain  carpenter  work- 
ed in  one  parish,  how  much  in  another;  and 
enter  into  a  species  of  evidence  absolutely 
interminable.  We  hope  Mr.  Scarlett  will  not 
be  angry  with  us  :  we  entertain  for  his  abilities 
and  character  the  highest  possible  respect ; 
but  great  lawyers  have  not  leisure  for  these 
trifling  details.  It  is  very  fortunate  that  a 
clause  so  erroneous  in  its  view  should  be  so 
inaccurate  in  its  construction.  If  it  were  easy 
to  comprehend  it,  and  possible  to  execute  it,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  repeal  it. 

The  shortest  way,  however,  of  mending  all 
this,  will  be  entirely  to  omit  this  part  of  the 
bill.  We  earnestly,  but  with  very  little  hopes 
of  success,  exhort  Mr.  Scarlett  not  to  endanger 
the  really  important  part  of  his  project,  by  the 
introduction  of  a  measure  which  has  little  to  do 
with  it,  and  which  any  quarter-session  country 
squire  can  do  as  well  or  better  than  himself. 
The  real  question  introduced  by  his  bill  is, 
whether  or  not  a  limit  shall  be  put  to  the  poor- 
laws  ;  and  not  only  this,  but  whether  their 
amount  shall  be  gradually  diminished.  To 
this  better  and  higher  part  of  the  law,  we  shall 
now  address  ourselves. 

In  this,  however,  as  well  as  in  the  former 
part  of  his  bill,  Mr.  Scarlett  becomes  frighten- 
ed at  his  own  enactments,  and  repeals  himself. 
Parishes  are  first  to  relieve  every  person  ac- 
tually resident  within  them.  This  is  no  sooner 
enacted  than  a  provision  is  introduced  to 
relieve  them  from  this  expense,  tenfold  more 
burthensome  and  expensive  than  the  present 
system  of  removal.  In  the  same  manner,  a 
maximum  is  very  wisely  and  bravely  enacted; 
and  in  the  following  clause  is  immediately 
repealed. 

"Provided,  also,  and  be  it  further  enacted, 
that  if,  by  reason  of  any  unusual  scarcity  of 
provisions,   epidemic    disease,  or    any  other 


cause  of  a  temporary  or  local  nature,  it  shall 
be  deemed  expedient  by  the  overseers  of  the 
poor,  or  other  persons  having,  by  virtue  of  any 
local  act  of  Parliament,  the  authority  of  over- 
seers of  the  poor  of  any  parish,  township,  or 
place,  to  make  any  addition  to  the  sum  assessed 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  beyond  the  amount 
limited  by  this  act,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the 
said  overseers,  or  such  other  persons,  to  give 
public  notice  in  the  several  churches,  and 
other  places  of  worship,  within  the  same  pa- 
rish, township,  or  place,  and  if  there  be  no 
church  or  chapel  within  such  place,  then  in 
the  parish  church  or  chapel  next  adjoining  the 
same,  of  the  place  and  time  of  a  general  meet- 
ing to  be  held  by  the  inhabitants  paying  to  the 
relief  of  the  poor  within  such  parish,  townr 
ship,  or  place,  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
the  occasion  and  the  amount  of  the  proposed 
addition  ;  and,  if  it  shall  appear  to  the  majority 
of  the  persons  assembled  at  such  meeting,  that 
such  addition  shall  be  necessary,  then  it  shall 
be  lawful  to  the  overseers,  or  other  persons 
having  power  to  make  assessments,  to  increase 
the  assessment  by  the  additional  sum  proposed 
and  allowed,  at  such  meeting,  and  for  the  jus- 
tices, by  whom  such  rate  is  to  be  allowed,  upon 
due  proof  upon  oath  to  be  made  before  them, 
of  the  resolution  of  such  meeting,  and  that  the 
same  was  held  after  sufficient  public  notice  to 
allow  such  rate  with  the  proposed  addition, 
specifying  the  exact  amount  thereof,  with  the 
reasons  for  allowing  the  same,  upon  the  face 
of  the  r&le."— (Bill,  p.  3.) 

It  would  really  seem,  from  these  and  other 
qualifying  provisions,  as  if  Mr.  Scarlett  had 
never  reflected  upon  the  consequences  of  his 
leadingenactments  till  he  had  penned  them;  and 
that  he  then  set  about  finding  how  he  could 
prevent  himself  from  doing  what  he  meant  to  do. 
To  what  purpose  enact  a  maximum,  if  that 
maximum  may  at  any  time  be  repealed  by  the 
majority  of  the  parishioners  1  How  will  the 
compassion  and  charity  which  the  poor-laws 
have  set  to  sleep  be  awakened,  when  such  a 
remedy  is  at  hand  as  the  repeal  of  the  maxi- 
mum by  a  vote  of  the  parish?  Will  ardent 
and  amiable  men  form  themselves  into  volun- 
tary associations  to  meet  any  sudden  exigency 
of  famine  and  epidemic  disease,  when  this 
sleepy  and  sluggish  method  of  overcoming  the 
evil  can  be  had  recourse  to?  As  soon  as  it 
becomes  really  impossible  to  increase  the  poor 
fund  by  law — when  there  is  but  little,  and  there 
can  be  no  more,  that  little  will  be  administered 
with  the  utmost  caution ;  claims  will  be  mi- 
nutely inspected  ;  idle  manhood  will  not  receive 
the  scraps  and  crumbs  which  belong  to  failing 
old  age;  distress  will  make  the  poor  provident 
and  cautious  ;  and  all  the  good  expected  from 
the  abolition  of  the  poor-laws  will  begin  to 
appear.  But  these  expectations  will  be  entirely 
frustrated,  and  every  advantage  of  Mr.  Scar- 
lett's bill  destroyed,  by  this  fatal  facility  of 
eluding  and  repealing  it. 

The  danger  of  insurrection  is  a  circumstance 
worthy  of  the  most  serious  consideration,  in 
discussing  the  propriety  of  a  maximum.  Mr. 
Scarlett's  bill  is  an  infallible  receipt  for  tumult 
and  agitation,  whenever  corn  is  a  little  dearer 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


337 


than  common.'  "Repeal  the  maximum,"  will 
be  the  clamour  in  every  village ;  and  woe  be 
to  those  members  of  the  village  vestry  who 
should  oppose  the  measure.  Whether  it  was 
really  a  year  of  scarcity,  and  whether  it  was  a 
proper  season  for  expanding  the  bounty  of  the 
law,  would  be  a  question  constantly  and  fierce- 
ly agitated  between  the  farmers  and  the  poor. 
If  the  maximum  is  to  be  quietly  submitted  to, 
its  repeal  must  be  rendered  impossible  but  to 
the  legislature.  "Burn  your  ships,  Mr.  Scar- 
lett. You  are  doing  a  wise  and  necessarj' 
thing ;  don't  be  afraid  of  yourself.  Respect 
your  own  nest.  Don't  let  clause  A  repeal 
clause  B.  Be  stout.  Take  care  that  the  rat 
lawyers  on  the  treasury  bench  do  not  take  the 
oysters  out  of  your  bill,  and  leave  you  the 
shell.  Do  not  yield  one  particle  of  the  wisdom 
and  philosophy  of  your  measure  to  the  country 
gentlemen  of  the  earth." 

We  object  to  a  maximum  which  is  not  ren- 
dered a  decreasing  maximum.  If  definite 
sums  were  fixed  for  each  village,  which  they 
could  not  exceed,  that  sum  would,  in  a  very 
few  years,  become  a  minimum,  and  an  esta- 
blished claim.  If  80s.  were  the  sum  allotted 
for  a  particular  hamlet,  the  poor  would  very 
soon  come  to  imagine  that  they  were  entitled 
to  that  precise  sum,  and  the  farmers  that  they 
were  compelled  to  give  it.  Any  maximum 
established  should  be  a  decreasing,  but  a  very 
slowly  decreasing  maximum, — perhaps  it 
should  not  decrease  at  a  greater  rale  than  10s. 
per  cent,  per  annum. 

It  may  be  doubtful  also,  whether  the  first 
bill  should  aim  at  repealing  more  than  20  per 
cent,  of  the  present  amount  of  the  poor-rates. 
This  would  be  effected  in  forty  years.  Long 
before  that  time,  the  good  or  bad  effects  of  the 
measure  would  be  fairly  estimated;  if  it  is 
wise  that  it  should  proceed,  let  posterity  do  the 
rest.  It  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  destroy, 
in  one  moment,  upon  paper,  a  payment  which 
cannot,  without  violating  every  principle  of 
justice,  and  every  consideration  of  safety  and 
humanity,  be  extinguished  in  less  than  two 
centuries. 

It  is  important  for  Mr.  Scarlett  to  consider 
whether  he  will  make  the  operation  of  his  bill 
immediate,  or  interpose  two  or  three  years 
between  its  enactment  and  first  operation. 

We  entirely  object  to  the  following  clause ; 
the  whole  of  which  ought  to  be  expunged : — 

"And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  it  shall  not 
be  lawful  for  any  churchwarden,  overseer,  or 
guardian  of  the  poor,  or  any  other  person 
having  authority  to  administer  relief  to  the  poor, 
to  allow  or  give,  or  for  any  justice  of  the  peace 
to  order,  any  relief  to  any  person  whatsoever, 
who  shall  be  married  after  the  passing  of  this 
act,  for  himself,  herself,  or  any  part  of  his  or 
her  family,  unless  such  poor  person  shall  be 
actually,  at  the  time  of  asking  such  relief,  by 
reason  of  age,  sickness,  or  bodily  infirmity, 
unable  to  obtain  a  livelihood,  and  to  support 
his  or  her  family  by  work:  Provided,  always, 
that  nothing  in  this  clause  contained  shall  be 
construed  so  as  to  authorize  the  granting 
relief,  or  making  any  order  for  relief,  in  cases 
where  the  same  was  not  lawful  before  the 
passing  of  this  act." 

43 


Nothing  in  the  whole  bill  will  occasion  so 
much  abuse  and  misrepresentation  as  this 
clause.  It  is  upon  this  that  the  radicals  will 
first  fasten.  It  will,  of  course,  be  explained 
into  a  prohibition  of  marriage  to  the  poor ;  and 
will,  in  fact,  create  a  marked  distinction  be- 
tween two  classes  of  paupers,  and  become  a 
rallying  point  for  insurrection.  In  fact,  it  is 
wholly  unnecessary.  As  the  funds  for  the  re- 
lief of  pauperism  decrease,  under  the  opera- 
tion of  a  diminishing  maximum,  the  first  to 
whom  relief  is  refused  will  be  the  young  and 
the  strong;  in  other  words,  the  most  absurd 
and  extravagant  consequences  of  the  present 
poor-laws  will  be  the  first  cured. 

Such,  then,  is  our  conception  of  the  bill 
which  ought  to  be  brought  into  Parliament — a 
maximum  regulated  by  the  greatest  amount  of 
poor-rates  ever  paid,  and  annually  diminishing 
at  the  rate  of  lO*.  per  cent,  till  they  are  reduced 
20  per  cent,  of  their  present  value  ;  with  such 
a  preamble  to  the  bill  as  will  make  it  fair  and 
consistent  for  any  future  Parliament  to  con- 
tinue the  reduction.  If  Mr.  Scarlett  will  bring 
in  a  short  and  simple  bill  to  this  effect,  and  not 
mingle  with  it  any  other  parochial  improve- 
ments, and  will  persevere  in  such  a  bill  for 
two  or  three  years,  we  believe  he  will  carry 
it;  and  we  are  certain  he  will  confer,  by  such 
a  measure,  a  lasting  benefit  upon  his  country — • 
and  upon  none  more  than  upon  its  labouring 
poor. 

We  presume  there  are  very  few  persons  who 
will  imagine  such  a  measure  to  be  deficient  in 
vigour.  That  the  poor-laws  should  be  stopped 
in  their  fatal  encroachment  upon  property,  and 
unhappy  multiplication  of  the  human  species, 
— and  not  only  this,  but  that  the  evil  should 
be  put  in  a  state  of  diminution,  would  be  an 
improvement  of  our  condition  almost  beyond 
hope.  The  tendency  of  fears  and  objections 
will  all  lie  the  other  way;  and  a  bill  of  this 
nature  will  not  be  accused  of  inertness,  but  of 
rashness,  cruelty,  and  innovation.  We  can- 
not now  enter  into  the  question  of  the  poor- 
laws,  of  all  others  that  which  has  undergone 
the  mo'st  frequent  and  earnest  discussion.  Our 
whole  reasoning  is  founded  upon  the  assump- 
tion, that  no  system  of  laws  was  ever  so  com- 
pletely calculated  to  destroy  industry,  foresight, 
and  economy  in  the  poor;  to  extinguish  com- 
passion in  the  rich ;  and,  by  destroying  the 
balance  between  the  demand  for,  and  supply 
of,  labour,  to  spread  a  degraded  population 
over  a  ruined  land.  Not  to  attempt  the  cure 
of  this  evil,  would  be  criminal  indolence  ;  not 
to  cure  it  gradually  and  compassionately, 
would  be  very  wicked.  To  Mr.  Scarlett 
belongs  the  real  merit  of  introducing  the  bill. 
He  will  forgive  us  the  freedom,  perhaps  the 
severity,  of  some  of  our  remarks.  We  are 
sometimes  not  quite  so  smooth  as  we  ought  t(* 
be ;  but  we  hold  Mr.  Scarlett  in  very  high 
honour  and  estimation.  He  is  the  greatest 
advocate,  perhaps,  of  his  time;  and  without 
the  slightest  symptom  of  tail  or  whiskers — 
decorations,  it  is  reported,  now  as  character- 
istic of  the  English  bar  as  wigs  and  gowns  in 
days  of  old — he  has  never  carried  his  soul  to 
the  treasury,  and  said.  What  will  you  give  me 
for  this  1 — he  has  never  sold  the  warm  feelings 

2r 


338 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


and  honourable  motives  of  his  youth  and  man- 
hood for  an  annual  sum  of  money  and  an 
office — he  has  never  talicn  a  price  for  public 
liberty  and  public  happiness — he  has  never 
touched  the  political  Aceldama,  and  signed 
the  devil's  bond  for  cursing  to-morrow  what 


he  has  blessed  to-day.  Living  in  the  midst  of 
men  who  have  disgraced  it,  he  has  cast  honour 
upon  his  honourable  profession;  and  has 
sought  dignity,  not  from  the  ermine  and  the 
mace,  but  from  a  straight  path  and  a  spotless 
life. 


MEMOmS  or  CAPTAIN  EOCK.* 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1824.] 


This  agreeable  and  witty  book  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  been  written  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Moore,  a  gentleman  of  small  stature,  but  full 
of  genius,  and  a  steady  friend  of  all  that  is 
honourable  and  just.  He  has  here  borrowed 
the  name  of  a  celebrated  Irish  leader,  to  typify 
that  spirit  of  violence  and  insurrection  Avhich 
is  necessarily  generated  by  systematic  oppres- 
sion, and  rudely  avenges  its  crimes  ;  and  the 
picture  he  has  drawn  of  its  prevalence  in  that 
unhappy  country  is  at  once  piteous  and  fright- 
ful. Its  effect  in  exciting  our  horror  and  in- 
dignation is  in  the  long  run  increased,  we 
think, — though  at  first  it  may  seem  counter- 
acted, by  the  tone  of  levity,  and  even  jocularity, 
tinder  which  he  has  chosen  to  veil  the  deep 
sarcasm  and  substantial  terrors  of  his  story. 
We  smile  at  first,  and  are  amused — and  won- 
der, as  we  proceed,  that  the  humorous  narra- 
tive should  produce  conviction  and  pity — 
shame,  abhoiTence,  and  despair! 

England  seems  to  have  treated  Ireland  much 
in  the  same  way  as  Mrs.  Brownrigg  treated 
her  apprentice — for  which  Mrs.  Brownrigg  is 
hanged  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Newgate 
Calendar.  Upon  the  whole,  we  think  the  ap- 
prentice is  better  off  than  the  Irishman :  as 
Mrs.  Brownrigg  merely  starves  and  beats  her, 
without  any  attempt  to  prohibit  her  from  going 
to  any  shop,  or  praying  at  any  church,  appren- 
tice might  select;  and  once  or  twice,  if  we 
remember  rightly,  Brownrigg  appears  to  have 
felt  some  compassion.  Not  so  Old  England, 
who  indulges  rather  in  a  steady  baseness,  uni- 
form brutality,  and  unrelenting  oppression. 

Let  us  select  from  this  entertaining  little 
book  a  short  history  of  dear  Ireland,  such  as 
even  some  profligate  idle  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  voting  as  his  master  bids  him, 
may  perchance  throw  his  eye  upon,  and  reflect 
for  a  moment  upon  the  iniquity  to  which  he 
'ends  his  support. 

For  some  centuries  after  the  reign  of  Henry 
iT.  the  Irish  were  killed  like  game,  by  persons 
qualified  or  unqualified.  Whether  dogs  were 
used  does  not  appear  quite  certain,  though  it 
is  probable  they  were,  spaniels  as  well  as 
pointers;  and  that,  after  a  regular  point  by 
Basto,  well  backed  by  Ponto  and  Ceesar,  Mr. 
O'Donnel  or  Mr.  O'Leary  bolted  from  the 
vhicket,  and  were  bagged  by  the  English  sports- 


•  Memoirs  of  Captain  Rock,  the  celebrated  Irish.  Chief- 
tdin;  with  some  Account  of  his  Ancestors.  Written  by 
himself.    Fourth  Edition.    12ino.    London,  1824. 


man.  With  Henry  II.  came  in  tithes,  to  which, 
in  all  probability,  about  one  million  of  lives 
may  have  been  sacrificed  in  Ireland.  In  the 
reign  of  Edward  I.,  the  Irish  who  were  settled 
near  the  English  requested  that  the  benefit  of 
the  English  laws  might  be  extended  to  them; 
but  the  remonstrance  of  the  barons  with  the 
hesitating  king  was  in  substance  this: — "You 
have  made  us  a  present  of  these  wild  gentle- 
men, and  we  particularly  request  that  no  mea- 
sures may  be  adopted  to  check  us  in  that  fall 
range  of  tyranny  and  oppression  in  which  we 
consider  the  value  of  such  a  gift  to  consist. 
You  might  as  well  give  us  sheep,  and  prevent 
us  from  shearing  the  wool,  or  roasting  the 
meat."  This  reasoning  prevailed,  and  the 
Irish  were  kept  to  their  barbarism,  and  the 
barons  preserved  their  live-stock. 

"  Read  '  Orange  faction'  (says  Captain  Rock) 
here,  and  you  have  the  wisdom  of  our  rulers, 
at  the  end  of  near  six  centuries,  in  statu  quo. — 
The  grand  periodic  year  of  the  stoics,  at  the 
close  of  which  every  thing  was  to  begin  again, 
and  the  same  events  to  be  all  reacted  in  th« 
same  order,  is,  on  a  miniature  scale,  repre- 
sented in  the  history  of  the  English  govern- 
ment in  Ireland — every  succeeding  century 
being  but  a  renewed  revolution  of  the  same 
follies,  the  same  crimes,  and  the  same  turbu- 
lence that  disgraced  the  former.  But  '  Vive 
I'ennemi !'  say  I :  whoever  may  suffer  by  such 
measures,  Captain  Rock,  at  least,  will  prosper. 

"  And  such  was  the  result  at  the  period  of 
which  I  am  speaking.  The  rejection  of  a  pe- 
tition, so  humble  and  so  reasonable,  was  fol- 
lowed, as  a  matter  of  course,  by  one  of  those 
daring  rebellions  into  which  the  revenge  of  an 
insulted  people  naturally  breaks  forth.  The 
M'Cartj's,  the  O'Briens,  and  all  the  other  Macs 
and  O's,  who  have  been  kept  on  the  alert  by 
similar  causes  ever  since,  flew  to  arms  under 
the  command  of  a  chieftain  of  my  family ;  and. 
as  the  proffered  handle  of  the  sword  had  been 
rejected,  made  their  inexorable  masters  at  least 
feel  its  erfge."— (pp.  23—25.) 

Fifty  years  afterwards  the  same  request 
was  renewed  and  refused.  Up  again  rose  Mac 
and  0, — a  just  and  necessary  war  ensued;  and 
after  the  usual  murders,  the  usual  chains  were 
replaced  upon  the  Irishrj^  All  Irishmen  were 
excluded  from  every  species  of  office.  It  was 
high  treason  to  marry  with  the  Irish  blood,  and 
highly  penal  to  receive  the  Irish  into  religious 
houses.    War  was  waged  also  against  their 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


339 


Thomas  Moores,  Samuel  Rogerses,  and  Walter 
Scotts,  who  went  about  the  country  harping 
and  singing  against  English  oppression.  No 
such  turbulent  guests  were  to  be  received. 
The  plan  of  making  them  poets-laureate,  or 
converting  them  to  loyalty  by  pensions  of  100/. 
per  annum,  had  not  then  been  thought  of. 
They  debarred  the  Irish  even  from  the  plea- 
sure of  running  away,  and  fixed  them  to  the 
soil  like  negroes. 

"I  have  thus  selected,"  says  the  historian 
of  Rock,  "  cursorily  and  at  random  a  few  fea- 
tures of  the  reigns  preceding  the  Reformation, 
in  order  to  show  what  good  use  was  made  of 
those  three  or  four  hundred  years  in  attaching 
the  Irish  people  to  their  English  governors ; 
and  by  what  a  gentle  course  of  alternatives 
they  were  prepared  for  the  inoculation  of  a 
new  religion,  which  was  now  about  to  be  at- 
tempted upon  them  by  the  same  skilful  and 
friendly  hands. 

"  Henry  the  Seventh  appears  to  have  been 
ihe  first  monarch  to  whom  it  occurred,  that 
matters  were  not  managed  exactly  as  they 
ought  in  this  part  of  his  dominions ;  and  we 
find  him — with  a  simplicity  which  is  still  fresh 
and  youthful  among  our  rulers — expressing 
his  surprise  that  '  his  subjects  of  this  land 
should  be  so  prone  to  faction  and  rebellion, 
and  that  so  little  advantage  had  been  hitherto 
derived  from  the  acquisitions  of  his  predeces- 
sors, notwithstanding  the  fruitfulness  and  na- 
tural advantages  of  Ireland.' — Surprising,  in- 
deed, tliat  a  policy,  such  as  we  have  been 
describing,  should  not  have  converted  the 
whole  country  into  a  perfect  Atalantis  of  hap- 
piness— should  not  have  made  it  like  the  ima- 
ginary island  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  where 
'  tola  insula  velut  una  familia  est !' — most  stub- 
born, truly,  and  ungrateful  must  that  people 
be,  upon  whom,  up  to  the  very  hour  in  which 
I  write,  such  a  long  and  unvarying  course  of 
penal  laws,  confiscations,  and  insurrection  acts 
has  been  tried,  without  making  them  in  the 
least  degree  in  love  with  their  rulers. 

"  Heloise  tells  her  tutor  Abelard,  that  the 
correction  which  he  inflicted  upon  her  only 
served  to  increase  the  ardour  of  her  affection 
for  him;  but  bayonets  and  hemp  are  no  such 
'  amoris  stimuli.^ — One  more  characteristic 
anecdote  of  those  times,  and  I  have  done.  At 
the  battle  of  Knocktow,  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VII.,  when  that  remarkable  man,  the  Earl  of 
Kildare,  assisted  by  the  great  O'Neal  and 
other  Irish  chiefs,  gained  a  victory  over  Clan- 
ricard  of  Connaught,  most  important  to  the 
English  government.  Lord  Gormanstown,  after 
the  battle,  in  the  first  insolence  of  success, 
said,  turning  to  the  Earl  of  Kildare,  'We  have 
now  slaughtered  our  enemies,  but  to  complete 
the  good  deed,  we  must  proceed  yet  further, 
and — cut  the  throats  of  those  Irish  of  our  own 
party  !'*  Who  can  wonder  that  the  Rock  family 
were  active  in  those  times  V — (pp.  33 — 35.) 

Henry  VIII.  persisted  in  all  these  outrages, 
and  aggravated  tliera  by  insulting  the  prejudices 
of  the  people.  England  is  almost  the  only 
country  in  the  world  (even  at  present),  where 

*  Lfiland  gives  this  anecdote  on  the  authority  of  an 
Englishman. 


there  is  not  some  favourite  religious  spot, 
where  absurd  lies,  little  bits  of  cloth,  feathers, 
rusty  nails,  splinters,  and  other  invaluable 
relics,  are  treasured  up,  and  in  defence  of 
which  the  whole  population  are  willing  to  turn 
out  and  perish  as  one  man.  Such  was  the 
shrine  of  St.  Kieran,  the  whole  treasures  of 
which  the  satellites  of  that  corpulent  tj^ant 
turned  out  into  the  street,  pillaged  the  sacred 
church  of  Clonmacnoise,  scattered  the  holy 
nonsense  of  the  priests  to  the  winds,  and 
burnt  the  real  and  venerable  crosier  of  St. 
Patrick,  fresh  from  the  silversmith's  shop,  and 
formed  of  the  most  costly  materials.  Modern 
princes  change  the  uniform  of  regiments  ;  Hen- 
ry changed  the  religion  of  kingdoms,  and  was 
determined  that  the  belief  of  the  Irish  should 
undergo  a  radical  and  Protestant  conversion. 
With  what  success  this  attempt  was  made,  the 
present  state  of  Ireland  is  sufficient  evi- 
dence. 

"  Be  not  dismayed,"  said  Elizabeth,  on  hear* 
ing  that  O'Neal  meditated  some  designs  against 
her  government ;  "  tell  my  friends,  if  he  arise, 
it  will  turn  to  their  advantage — there  ivill  be 
estates  for  those  who  luant."  Soon  after  this  pro- 
phetic speech,  Munster  was  destroyed  by  fa- 
mine and  the  sword,  and  near  600,000  acres 
forfeited  to  the  crown,  and  distributed  among 
Englishmen.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  (the  vir- 
tuous and  good)  butchered  the  garrison  of 
Limerick  in  cold  blood,  after  Lord  Deputy 
Gray  had  selected  700  to  be  hanged.  There 
were,  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  three  in- 
vasions of  Ireland  by  the  Spaniards,  produced 
principally  by  the  absurd  measures  of  this 
princess  for  the  reformation  of  its  religion. 
The  Catholic  clergy,  in  consequence  of  these 
measures,  abandoned  their  cures,  the  churches 
fell  to  ruin,  aud  the  people  were  left  without 
any  means  of  instruction.  Add  to  these  cir- 
cumstances the  murder  of  M'Mahon,  the  im- 
prisonment of  M'Toole*  and  O'Dogherty,  and 
the  kidnapping  of  O'Donnel — all  truly  Anglo- 
Hibernian  proceedings.  The  execution  of  the 
laws  was  rendered  detestable  and  intolerable 
by  the  queen's  officers  of  justice.  The  spirit 
raised  by  these  transactions,  besides  innume- 
rable smaller  insurrections,  gave  rise  to  the 
great  wars  of  Desmond  and  Hugh  O'Neal; 
which,  after  they  had  worn  out  the  ablest 
generals,  discomfited  the  choicest  troops,  ex- 
hausted the  treasure,  and  embarrassed  the 
operations  of  Elizabeth,  were  terminated  by 
the  destruction  of  these  two  ancient  families, 
and  by  the  confiscation  of  more  than  half  the 
territorial  surface  of  the  island.  The  two  last 
years  of  O'Neal's  wars  cost  Elizabeth  140,000/. 
per  annum,  though  the  whole  revenue  of 
England  at  that  period  fell  considerably  short 
of  500,000/.  Essex,  after  the  destruction  of 
Norris,  led  into  Ireland  an  army  of  above 
20,000  men,  which  was  totally  ballled  and  de- 


*  There  are  not  a  few  of  the  best  and  most  humane 
Englishmen  of  tlie  present  day,  who,  when  under  the 
influence  of  fear  or  anfier,  would  think  it  no  great  crima 
to  put  to  death  people  whose  names  begin  with  O  or  Mac 
The  violent  death  of  Smith,  Green,  or  Thomson,  would 
throw  the  neighbourhood  into  convulsions,  and  the  regu- 
lar forms  would  be  adhered  to — but  little  would  ho  really 
thought  of  the  death  of  any  body  called  O'Dogheriy  or 
O'Toole. 


340 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


stroyed  by  Tyrone,  within  two  years  of  their 
landing.  Such  was  the  importance  of  Irish 
rebellions  two  centuries  before  the  time  in 
which  we  live.  Sir  G.  Carew  attempted  to 
assassinate  the  Lugan  earl — Mountjoy  com- 
pelled the  Irish  rebels  to  massacre  each  other. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  months,  3000  men  were 
starved  to  death  in  Tyrone.  Sir  Arthur  Chi- 
chester, Sir  Richard  Manson,  and  other  com- 
manders, saw  three  children  feeding  on  the 
flesh  of  their  dead  mother.  Such  were  the 
golden  days  of  good  queen  Bess  ! 

By  the  rebellions  of  Dogherty  in  the  reign 
of  James  I.,  six  northern  counties  were  con- 
fiscated, amounting  to  500,000  acres.  In  the 
same  manner,  64,000  acres  were  confiscated 
in  Athlone.  The  whole  of  his  confiscations 
amount  to  nearly  a  million  of  acres ;  and  if 
Leland  means  plantation  acres,  they  consti- 
tute a  twelfth  of  the  whole  kingdom  according 
to  Newenham,  and  a  tenth  according  to  Sir 
W.  Petty.  The  most  shocking  and  scanda- 
lous action  in  the  reign  of  James,  was  his  at- 
tack upon  the  whole  property  of  the  province 
of  Connaught,  which  he  would  have  effected, 
if  he  had  not  been  bought  off  by  a  sum  greater 
than  he  hoped  to  gain  by  his  iniquity,  besides 
the  luxury  of  confiscation.  The  Irish,  during 
the  reign  of  James  I.,  suffered  under  the  double 
evils  of  a  licentious  soldiery,  and  a  religious 
persecution. 

Charles  the  First  took  a  bribe  of  120,000/. 
from  his  Irish  subjects,  to  grant  them  what  in 
those  days  were  called  graces,  but  in  these 
days  would  be  denominated  the  elements  of 
justice.  The  money  was  paid,  but  the  graces 
were  never  granted.  One  of  these  graces  is 
curious  enough:  "That  the  clergy  were  not  to 
be  permitted  to  keep  henceforward  any  private 
prisons  of  their  own,  but  delinquents  were  to 
be  committed  to  the  public  jails."  The  idea 
of  a  rector,  with  his  own  private  jail  full  of 
dissenters,  is  the  most  ludicrous  piece  of  ty- 
ranny we  ever  heard  of.  The  troops  in  the 
beginning  of  Charles's  reign  were  supported 
by  the  weekly  fines  levied  upon  the  Catholics 
for  non-attendance  upon  established  worship. 
The  Archbishop  of  Dublin  went  himself,  at 
the  head  of  a  file  of  musketeers,  to  disperse  a 
Catholic  congregation  in  Dublin, — which  ob- 
ject he  effected,  after  a  considerable  skirmish 
with  the  priests.  "  The  favourite  object" 
(says  Dr.  Leland,  a  Protestant  clergyman,  and 
dignitary  of  the  Irish  church)  "  of  the  Irish 
government  and  the  English  Parliament,  was 
the  ulter  extermination  of  all  the  Catholic  inha- 
bitants of  Ireland."  The  great  rebellion  took 
place  in  this  reign,  and  Ireland  was  one  scene 
of  blood  and  cruelty  and  confiscation. 

Cromwell  began  his  career  in  Ireland  by 
massacreing  for  five  days  the  garrison  of  Dro- 
gheda,  to  whom  quarter  had  been  promised. 
Two  millions  and  a  half  of  acres  were  confis- 
cated. Whole  towns  were  put  up  in  lots,  and 
sold.  The  Catholics  were  banished  from 
three-fourths  of  the  kingdom,  and  confined  to 
CJonnaught.  After  a  certain  day,  every  Catho- 
lic found  out  of  Connaught  was  to  be  punished 
with  death.  Fleetwood  complains  peevishly 
"  that  the  people  do  not  transport  readily" — but 
adds,  "  it  is  doubtless  a  work  in  which  the  Lord  will 


appear."    Ten  thousand  Irish  were  sent  as  re- 
cruits to  the  Spanish  army. 

"  Such  was  Cromivell's  way  of  settling  the 
affairs  of  Ireland — and  if  a  nation  is  to  be 
ruined,  this  method  is,  perhaps,  as  good  as  any. 
It  is,  at  least,  more  humane  than  the  slow  lin- 
gering process  of  exclusion,  disappointment, 
and  degradation,  by  which  their  hearts  are  worn 
out  under  more  specious  forms  of  tyranny; 
and  that  talent  of  despatch  which  Moliere  at- 
tributes to  one  of  his  physicians,  is  no  ordi- 
nary merit  in  a  practitioner  like  Cromwell: — 
'  C'est  un  homme  expeditif,  qui  aime  a  depe- 
cher  ses  malades  ;  et  quand  on  a  a.  mourir,  cela 
se  fait  avec  lui  le  plus  vite  du  monde.'  A 
certain  military  duke",  who  complains  that  Ire- 
land is  but  half  conquered,  would,  no  doubt, 
upon  an  emergency,  try  his  hand  in  the  same 
line  of  practice,  and,  like  that  '  stern  hero,' 
Mirmillo,  in  the  Dispensary, 

'  While  others  meanly  take  whole  months  to  slay, 
Despatch  the  grateful  patient  in  a  day  :' 

"Among  other  amiable  enactments  against 
the  Catholics  at  this  period,  the  price  of  five 
pounds  was  set  on  the  head  of  a  Romish  priest 
— being  exactly  the  same  sum  offered  by  the 
same  legislators  for  the  head  of  a  wolf.  The 
Athenians,  we  are  told,  encouraged  the  destruc- 
tion of  wolves  by  a  similar-  reward  (five 
drachmas) ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  these 
heathens  bought  up  the  heads  of  priests  at  the 
same  rate — such  zeal  in  the  cause  of  religion 
being  reserved  for  times  of  Christianity  and 
Protestantism." — (pp.  97 — 99.) 

Nothing  can  show  more  strongly  the  light 
in  which  the  Irish  were  held  by  Cromwell,  than 
the  correspondence  with  Henry  Cromwell, 
respecting  the  peopling  of  Jamaica  from  Ire- 
land. Secretary  Thurloe  sends  to  Henry,  the 
lord-deputy  in  Ireland,  to  inform  him,  that  "  a 
stock  of  Irish  girls,  and  Irish  young  men,  are 
wanting  for  the  peopling  of  Jamaica."  The 
answer  of  Henry  Cromwell  is  as  follows: — 
"  Concerning  the  supply  of  young  men,  al- 
though we  must  use  force  in  taking  them  up, 
yet  it  being  so  much  for  their  own  good,  and  likely 
to  be  of  so  great  advantage  to  the  public,  it  is 
not  the  least  doubted  but  that  you  may  have 
such  a  number  of  them  as  you  may  think  fit 
to  make  use  of  on  this  account. 

"  I  shall  not  need  repeat  any  thing  respect- 
ing the  girls,  not  doubting  to  answer  your  ex- 
pectations to  the  full  in  that ;  and  I  think  it 
might  be  of  like  advantage  to  your  affairs 
there,  and  ours  here,  if  you  should  think  fit  to 
send  1500  or  2000  boys  to  the  place  above  men- 
tioned. We  can  well  spare  them:  and  who 
knows  that  it  may  be  the  means  of  making 
them  Englishmen,  I  mean  rather  Christians. 
As  for  the  girls,  I  suppose  you  will  make  pro- 
visions of  clothes,  and  other  accommodations 
for  them."  Upon  this,  Thurloe  informs  Henry 
Cromwell,  that  the  council  have  voted  4000 
girls,  and  as  many  boys,  to  go  to  Jamaica. 

Every  Catholic  priest  found  in  Ireland  was 
hanged,  and  five  pounds  paid  to  the  informer. 

"About  the  3^ear  1652  and  1653,"  says 
Colonel  Lawrence  in  his  Interests  of  Ireland, 
"  the  plague  and  famine  had  so  swept  away 
whole  counties,  that  a  man  might  travel  twenty 


WORKS    OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


341 


or  thirty  miles  and  not  see  a  living  creature, 
either  man,  or  beast,  or  bird, — they  being  all 
dead,  or  had  quitted  those  desolate  places. 
Our  soldiers  would  tell  stories  of  the  places 
where  they  saw  smoke — it  was  so  rare  to  see 
either  smoke  by  day,  or  fire  or  candle  by  night." 
In  this  manner  did  the  Irish  live  and  die  under 
Cromwell,  suffering  by  the  sword,  famine,  pesti- 
lence, and  persecution,  beholding  the  confisca- 
tion of  a  kingdom  and  the  banishment  of  a 
race.  "  So  that  there  perished  (says  S.  W. 
Petry)  in  the  year  1641,  650,000  human  beings, 
whose  blood  somebody  must  atone  for  to  God 
and  the  king !  I" 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  by  the  Act  of  Set- 
tlement, four  millions  and  a  half  of  acres  were 
for  ever  taken  from  the  Irish.  "This  country," 
says  the  Earl  of  Essex,  lord-lieutenant  in  1675, 
"has  been  perpetually  rent  and  torn,  since  his 
majesty's  restoration.  I  can  compare  it  to 
nothing  better  than  the  flinging  the  reward  on 
the  death  of  a  deer  among  the  packs  of  hounds 
— where  every  one  pulls  and  tears  where  he 
can  for  himself."  All  wool  grown  in  Ireland 
was,  by  act  of  Parliament,  compelled  to  be  sold 
to  England;  and  Irish  cattle  were  excluded 
from  England.  The  English,  however,  were 
pleased  to  accept  30,000  head  of  cattle,  sent  as 
a  gift  from  Ireland  to  the  sufferers  in  the  great 
fire  ! — and  the  first  day  of  the  sessions,  after 
this  act  of  munificence,  the  Parliament  passed 
fresh  acts  of  exclusion  against  the  productions 
of  that  country. 

"Among  the  many  anomalous  situations  in 
which  the  Irish  have  been  placed,  by  those 
'  marriage  vows,  false  as  dicers'  oaths,'  which 
bind  their  country  to  England,  the  dilemma  in 
which  they  found  themselves  at  the  Revolution 
was  not  the  least  perplexing  or  cruel.*  If  they 
were  loyal  to  the  king  de  jure,  they  were  hanged 
by  the  king,  de  fado ;  and  if  they  escaped  with 
life  from  the  king  de  facto,  it  was  but  to  be 
plundered  and  proscribed  by  the  king  de  jure 
afterwards. 

"  Ilac  gener  atque  socer  coeant  niercede  suoium." — 

Virgil. 

"In  a  manner  so  summary,  prompt,  and  high-mettled, 
'Twixt  father  and  son-in-law  matters  were  settled." 

"  In  fact,  most  of  the  outlawries  in  Ireland 
were  for  treason  committed  the  very  day  on 
which  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Orange  ac- 
cepted the  crown  in  the  banquetiiig-house ; 
though  the  news  of  this  event  could  not  possi- 
bly have  reached  the  other  side  of  the  Chan- 
nel on  the  same  day,  and  the  lord-lieutenant 
of  King  James,  with  an  army  to  enforce  obedi- 
ence, was  at  that  time  in  actual  possession  of 
the  government, — so  little  was  common  sense 
consulted,  or  the  mere  decency  of  forms  ob- 
served by  that  rapacious  spirit,  which  nothing 
less  than  the  confiscation  of  the  whole  island 
could  satisfy ;  and  which  having,  in  the  reign 


*  "  Among  the  persons  most  puzzled  and  perplexed  by 
the  two  opposite  royal  claims  on  their  allegiance,  were 
the  clergymen  of  the  established  church  ;  who,  having 
first  prayed  for  King  James  as  their  lawful  sovereign,  as 
soon  as  William  was  proclaimed,  took  to  praying  for  him; 
but  again,  on  the  success  of  the  Jacobite  forces  in  the 
north,  very  prudently  prayed  for  King  James  once  more, 
till  the  arrival  of  Schombers.  when,  as  far  as  his  quar- 
ters reached,  they  returned  to  praying  for  King  William 
again." 


of  James  I.  and  at  the  restoration,  despoiled 
the  natives  of  no  less  than  ten  millions  six 
hundred  and  thirty-six  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  acres,  now  added  to  its  plunder 
one  million  sixty  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-two  acres  more,  being  the  amount,  alto- 
gether, (according  to  Lord  Clare's  calculation), 
of  the  whole  superficial  contents  of  the  island. 

"  Thus  not  only  had  all  Ireland  suffered  con- 
fiscation in  the  course  of  this  century,  but  no 
inconsiderable  portion  of  it  had  been  twice 
and  even  thrice  confiscated.  Well  might  Lord 
Clare  say,  'that  the  situation  of  the  Irish  na- 
tion, at  the  revolution,  stands  unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  the  inhabited  world.'" — fpp..  Ill 
—113.) 

By  the  articles  of  Limerick,  the  Irish  were 
promised  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion ; 
but  from  that  period  till  the  year  1788,  every 
year  produced  some  fresh  penalty  against  that 
religion — some  liberty  was  abridged,  some 
rigiit  impaired,  or  some  suffering  increased. 
By  acts  in  King  William's  reign,  they  were 
prevented  from  being  solicitors.  No  Catholic 
was  allowed  to  marry  a  Protestant ;  and  any 
Catholic  who  sent  a  son  to  Catholic  countries 
for  education  was  to  forfeit  all  his  lands.  In 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  any  son  of  a  Catho- 
lic who  chose  to  turn  Protestant  got  possession 
of  his  father's  estate.  No  Papist  was  allowed 
to  purchase  freehold  property,  or  to  take  a 
lease  for  more  than  thirty  years.  If  a  Protest- 
ant dies  intestate,  the  estate  is  to  go  to  the 
next  Protestant  heir,  though  all  to  the  tenth 
generation  should  be  Catholic.  In  the  same 
manner,  if  a  Catholic  dies  intestate,  his  estate 
is  to  go  to  the  next  Protestant.  No  Papist  is 
to  dwell  in  Limerick  or  Galway.  No  Papist 
is  to  take  an  annuity  for  life.  The  widow  of 
a  Papist  turning  Protestant  to  have  a  portion 
of  the  chattels  of  deceased,  in  spite  of  any  will. 
Every  Papist  teaching  schools  to  be  presented 
as  a  regular  Popish  convict.  Prices  of  catch- 
ing Catholic  priests  from  50s.  to  10/.,  accord- 
ing to  rank.  Papists  are  to  answer  all  ques- 
tions respecting  other  Papists,  or  to  be  com- 
mitted to  jail  for  twelve  months.  No  trust  to 
be  undertaken  for  Papists.  No  Papist  to  be 
on  grand  juries.  Some  notion  may  be  formed 
of  the  spirit  of  those  times,  from  an  order  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  "  that  the  sergeant-at- 
arms  should  take  into  custody  all  Papists  that 
should  presume  to  come  into  the  gallery!" 
(Commons'  Journal,  vol.  lii.  fol.  976.)  During 
this  reign,  the  English  Parliament  legislated 
as  absolutely  for  Ireland  as  they  do  now  for 
Rutlandshire — an  evil  not  to  be  complained 
of,  if  they  had  done  it  as  justly.  In  the  reign 
of  George  I.  the  horses  of  Papists  were  seized 
for  the  militia,  and  rode  by  Protestants;  towards 
which  the  Catholics  paid  double,  and  were 
compelled  to  find  Protestant  substitute!^,.  They 
were  prohibited  from  voting  at  vestries,  or 
being  high  or  petty  constables.  An  act  of  the 
English  Parliament  in  this  reign  opens  as 
follows  : — "  Whereas  attempts  have  been  lately 
made  to  shake  off  the  subjection  of  Ireland  to 
the  imperial  crown  of  these  realms,  be  it  en 
acted,"  &c.  &c.  In  the  reign  of  George  II. 
four-sixths  of  the  population  were  cut  off  fron» 
the  rights  of  voting  at  elections,  by  the  neces 
2  f2 


8(2 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


sity  under  which  they  were  placed  of  taking 
the  oath  of  supremacy.  Barristers  and  soli- 
citors marrying  Catholics  are  exposed  to  all 
the  penaJties  of  Catholics.  Persons  robbed  by 
privateers  during  a  war  with  a  Catholic  state, 
are  to  be  indemnified  by  a  levy  on  the  Catholic 
inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood.  All  mar- 
riages between  Catholics  and  Protestants  are 
annulled.  All  Popish  priests  celebrating  them 
are  to  be  hanged.  "  This  system"  (says  Ar- 
thur Young)  "  has  no  other  tendency  than  that 
of  driving  out  of  the  kingdom  all  the  personal 
•vrealth  of  the  Catholics,  and  extinguishing 
their  industry  within  it !  and  the  face  of  the 
country,  every  object  which  presents  itself  to 
travellers,  tell  him  how  effectually  this  has 
been  done." — Young's  Tour  in  Ireland,  vol.  ii. 
p.  48. 

Such  is  the  history  of  Ireland — for  we  are 
now  at  our  own  times  ;  and  the  only  remain- 
ing question  is,  whether  the  system  of  improve- 
ment and  conciliation  begun  in  the  reign  of 
George  III.  shall  be  pursued,  and  the  remain- 
ing incapacities  of  the  Catholics  removed,  or 
all  these  concessions  be  made  insignificant  by 
an'  adherence  to  that  spirit  of  proscription 
which  they  professed  to  abolish  1  Looking  to 
the  sense  and  reason  of  the  thing,  and  to  the 
ordinary  working  of  humanity  and  justice, 
when  assisted,  as  they  are  here,  by  self-interest 
and  worldly  policy,  it  might  seem  absurd  to 
doubt  of  the  result.  But  looking  to  the  facts 
and  the  persons  by  which  we  are  now  sur- 
rounded, we  are  constrained  to  say  that  we 
greatly  fear  that  these  incapacities  never  will 
be  removed,  till  they  are  removed  by  fear. 
What  else,  indeed,  can  we  expect  when  we  see 
them  opposed  by  such  enlightened  men  as  Mr. 
Pei.'l — faintly  assisted  by  men  of  such  admira- 
Dle  genius  as  Mr.  Canning — when  royal  dukes 
consider  it  as  a  compliment  to  the  memory  of 
their  fathers  to  continue  this  miserable  system 
of  bigotry  and  exclusion, — when  men  act  igno- 
miniously  and  contemptibly  on  this  question, 
who  do  so  on  no  other  question, — when  al- 
most the  only  persons  zealously  opposed  to 
this  general  baseness  and  fatuity  are  a  few 
whigs  and  reviewers,  or  here  and  there  a  vir- 
tuous poet,  like  Mr.  Moore  1  We  repeat  again, 
that  the  measure  never  will  be  effected  but  by 
fear.  In  the  midst  of  one  of  our  just  and 
necessary  wars,  the  Irish  Catholics  will  com- 
pel this  country  to  grant  them  a  great  deal 
more  than  they  at  present  require,  or  even 
contemplate.  We  regret  most  severely  the 
protraction  of  the  disease,  and  the  danger  of 
the  remedy; — but  in  this  way  it  is  that  human 
affairs  are  carried  on ! 

We  are  sorry  we  have  nothing  for  which  to 
praise  the  administration  on  the  subject  of  the 
Catholic  question — but,  it  is  but  justice  to  say, 
that  they  have  been  very  zealous  and  active  in 
detecting  fiscal  abuses  in  Ireland,  in  improving 
mercantile  regulations,  and  in  detecting  Irish 
jobs.  The  commission  on  which  Mr.  Wallace 
presided  has  been  of  the  greatest  possible 
utility,  and  does  infinite  credit  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  name  of  Mr.  Wallace,  in  any  com- 
mission, has  now  become  a  pledge  to  the  pub- 
lic that  there  is  a  real  intention  to  investigate 


and  correct  abuse.  He  stands  in  the  singular 
predicament  of  being  equally  trusted  by  the 
rulers  and  the  ruled.  It  is  a  new  era  in  go- 
vernment, when  such  men  are  called  into 
action  ;  and,  if  there  were  not  proclaimed  and 
fatal  limits  to  that  ministerial  liberality — which, 
so  far  as  it  goes,  we  welcome  without  a  grudge, 
and  praise  without  a  sneer — we  might  yet 
hope  that,  for  the  sake  of  mere  consistency, 
they  might  be  led  to  falsify  our  forebodings. 
But  alas  !  there  are  motives  more  immediate, 
and  therefore  irresistible;  and  the  time  is  not 
yet  come,  when  it  will  be  believed  easier  to 
govern  Ireland  by  the  love  of  the  many  than  by 
the  power  of  the  few — when  the  paltry  and 
dangerous  machinery  of  bigoted  faction  and 
prostituted  patronage  may  be  dispensed  with, 
and  the  vessel  of  the  state  be  propelled  by  the 
natural  current  of  popular  interests  and  the 
breath  of  popular  applause.  In  the  mean 
time,  we  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  gracing 
our  conclusion  with  the  following  beautiful 
passage,  in  which  the  author  alludes  to  the 
hopes  that  were  raised  at  another  great  era  of 
partial  concession  and  liberality — that  of  the 
revolution  of  1782, — when,  also,  benefits  were 
conferred  which  proved  abortive  because  they 
were  incomplete — and  balm  poured  into  the 
wound,  where  the  envenomed  shaft  was  yet  left 
to  rankle. 

"  And  here,"  says  the  gallant  Captain  Rock, — 
"as  the  free  confession  of  weaknesses  consti- 
tutes the  chief  charm  and  use  of  biography — I 
will  candidly  own  that  the  dawn  of  prosperity 
and  concord,  which  I  now  saw  breaking  over 
the  fortunes  of  my  country,  so  dazzled  and  de- 
ceived my  youthful  eyes,  and  so  unsettled  every 
hereditary  notion  of  what  I  owed  to  my  name 
and  family,  that — shall  I  confess  itl — I  even 
hailed  with  pleasure  the  prospects  of  peace 
and  freedom  that  seemed  opening  around  me  ; 
nay,  was  ready,  in  the  boyish  enthusiasm  of 
the  moment,  to  sacrifice  all  my  own  personal 
interest  in  all  future  riots  and  rebellions,  to  the 
one  bright,  seducing  object  of  my  country's 
liberty  and  repose. 

"When  I  contemplated  such  a  man  as  the 
venerable  Charlemont,  whose  nobility  was  to 
the  people  like  a  fort  over  a  valley — elevated 
above  them  solely  for  their  defence ;  who  in- 
troduced the  polish  of  the  courtier  into  the 
camp  of  the  freeman,  and  served  his  country 
with  all  that  pure,  Platonic  devotion,  which  a 
true  knight  in  the  times  of  chivalry  proffered 
to  his  mistress  ; — when  I  listened  to  the  elo- 
quence of  Grattan,  the  very  music  of  freedom — 
her  first,  fresh  matin  song,  after  a  long  night 
of  slavery,  degradation,  and  sorrow ; — when  I 
saw  the  bright  offerings  whicn  he  brought  to 
the  shrine  of  his  country, — wisdom,  genius, 
courage,  and  patience,  invigorated  and  embel- 
lished by  all  those  social  and  domestic  virtues, 
without  which  the  loftiest  talents  stand  isolated 
in  the  moral  waste  around  them,  like  the  pillars 
of  Palmyra  towering  in  a  wilderness! — when 
I  reflected  on  all  this,  it  not  only  disheartened 
me  for  the  mission  of  discord  which  I  had  un- 
dertaken, but  made  me  secretly  hope  that  it 
might  be  rendered  unnecessary;  and  that  a 
country,  which  could  produce  such  men  and 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


343 


achieve  such  a  revolution,  might  yet — in  spite 
of  the  joint  efforts  of  the  government  and  my 
family — -take  her  rank  in  the  scale  of  nations, 
and  be  happy! 

"  My  father,  however,  who  saw  the  momen- 
tary dazzle  by  which  I  was  affected,  soon  drew 
me  out  of  this  false  light  of  hope  in  which  I 
lay  basking,  and  set  the  truth  before  me  in  a 
way  but  too  convincing  and  ominous.  '  Be 
not  deceived,  boy,' he  would  say, 'by  the  fal- 
lacious appearances  before  you.  Eminently 
great  and  good  as  is  the  man  to  whom  Ireland 


owes  this  short  era  of  glory,  our  work,  believe 
me,  will  last  longer  than  his.  We  have  a 
power  on  our  side  that  'will  not  willingly  let 
us  die ;'  and,  long  after  Grattan  shall  have 
disappeared  from  earth, — like  that  arrow  shot 
into  the  clouds  by  Alcestes,  effecting  nothing, 
but  leaving  a  long  train  of  light  behind  him, — 
the  family  of  the  Rocks  will  continue  to  flourish 
in  all  their  native  glory,  upheld  by  the  ever- 
watchful  care  of  the  legislature,  and  foster- 
ed by  that  'nursing-mother  of  Liberty,'  the 
Church.'  " 


GEANBY.* 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1826.] 


There  is  nothing  more  amusing  in  the  spec- 
tacles of  the  present  day, than  to  see  the  Sir 
Johns  and  Sir  Thomases  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons struck  aghast  by  the  useful  science  and 
wise  novelties  of  Mr.  Huskisson  and  the  .chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer.  Treason,  Disaffection, 
Atheism,  Republicanism,  and  Socinianism — 
the  great  guns  in  the  Noodle's  park  of  artillery 
— they  cannot  bring  to  bear  upon  these  gentle- 
men. Even  to  charge  with  a  regiment  of  an- 
cestors is  not  quite  so  efficacious  as  it  used  to 
be;  and  all  that  remains,  therefore,  is  to  rail 
against  Peter  M-Culloch  and  political  econo- 
my! In  the  mean  time,  day  after  day,  down 
goes  one  piece  of  nonsense  or  another.  The 
most  approved  trash,  and  the  most  trusty  cla- 
mours, are  found  to  be  utterly  powerless.  Two- 
penny taunts  and  trumpery  truisms  have  lost 
their  destructive  omnipotence ;  and  the  ex- 
hausted commonplace-man,  and  the  afflicted 
fool,  moan  over  the  ashes  of  imbecility,  and 
strew  flowers  on  the  urn  of  ignorance!  Gene- 
ral Elliot  found  the  London  tailors  in  a  state 
of  mutin}^,  and  he  raised  from  them  a  regiment 
of  light  cavalry,  which  distinguished  itself  in 
a  very  striking  manner  at  the  battle  of  Minden. 
In  humble  imitation  of  this  example,  we  shall 
avail  ourselves  of  the  present  political  disaf- 
fection and  unsatisfactory  idleness  of  many 
men  of  rank  and  consequence,  to  request  their 
attention  to  the  Novel  of  Granby — written,  as 
we  have  heard,  by  a  young  gentleman  of  the 
name  of  Lister,"|-  and  from  which  we  have  de- 
rived a  considerable  deal  of  pleasure  and  en- 
tertainment. 

The  main  question  as  to  a  novel  is — did  it 
amuse  ]  were  you  surprised  at  dinner  coming 
so  soon  ]  did  you  mistake  eleven  for  ten,  and 
twelve  for  eleven?  were  you  too  late  to  dress  1 
and  did  you  sit  up  beyond  ihe  usual  hour  1  If 
a  novel  produces  these  effects,  it  is  good  ;  if  it 
does  not — story,  language  love,  scandal  itself, 
cannot  save  it.  It  is  only  meant  to  please;  and 
it  must  do  that,  or  it    does    nothing.    Now 

*  Oranhy.  A  J^ToBcl  in  Three  Volumes.  London,  Col- 
burn,  lS-26. 

+  This  is  the  gentleman  who  now  keeps  the  keys  of 
Life  and  Death,  the  Janitor  of  the  world. 


Granby  seems  to  us  to  answer  this  test  ex- 
tremely well;  it  produces  unpunctuality, makes 
the  reader  too  late  for  dinner,  impatient  of  con- 
tradiction, and  inattentive, — even  if  a  bishop 
is  making  an  observation,  or  a  gentleman 
lately  from  the  Pyramids,  or  the  Upper  Cata- 
racts, is  let  loose  upon  the  drawing-room.  The 
objection,  indeed,  to  these  compositions,  when, 
they  are  well  done,  is,  that  it  is  impossible  to  do 
any  thing,  or  perform  any  human  duty,  while 
we  are  engaged  in  them.  Who  can  read  Mr. 
Hallam's  Middle  Ages,  or  extract  the  root  of 
an  impossible  quantity,  or  draw  up  a  bond, 
when  he  is  in  the  middle  of  Mr.  Trebeck  and 
Lady  Charlotte  Duncan  1  How  can  the  boy's 
lesson  be  heard,  about  the  Jove-nourished 
Achilles,  or  his  six  miserable  verses  upon  Dido 
be  corrected,  when  Henry  Granby  and  Mr. 
Courtenay  are  both  making  love  to  Miss  Jer- 
myn  ]  Common  life  palls  in  the  middle  of 
these  artificial  scenes.  All  is  emotion  whea 
the  book  is  open — all  dull,  flat,  and  feeble  whea 
it  is  shut. 

Granby,  a  young  man  of  no  profession,  living 
with  an  old  uncle  in  the  country,  falls  in  love 
with  Miss  Jermyn,  and  Miss  Jermyn  with  him; 
but  Sir  Thomas  and  Lady  Jermyn,  as  the 
young  gentleman  is  not  rich,  having  discover- 
ed, by  long  living  in  the  world  and  patient 
observation  of  its  ways,  that  young  people  are 
commonly  Malthus-proof  and  have  children, 
and  that  young  and  old  must  eat,  very  naturally 
do  what  they  can  to  discourage  the  union.  The 
young  people,  however,  both  go  to  town — meet 
at  balls — flutter,  blush,  look  and  cannot  speak 
— speak  and  cannot  look, — suspect,  misinter- 
pret, are  sad  and  mad,  peevish  and  jealous, 
fond  and  foolish ;  but  the  passion,  after  all, 
seems  less  near  to  its  accomplishment  at  the 
end  of  the  season  than  the  beginning.  The 
uncle  of  Granby,  however,  dies,  and  leaves  to 
his  nephew  a  statement  accompanied  with  the 
requisite  proofs — that  Mr.  Tyrrel,the  supposed 
son  of  Lord  Malton,  is  illegitimate,  and  that 
he,  Granby,  is  the  heir  to  Lord  Malton's  for- 
tune. The  second  volume  is  now  far  advanced, 
and  it  is  time  for  Lord  Malton  to  die.  Accord- 
ingly Mr.  Lister  very  judiciously  despatches 


344 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


him ;  Granby  inherits  the  estate — his  virtues 
(for  what  shows  off  virtue  like  land?)  are 
discovered  by  the  Jermyns — and  they  marry  in 
the  last  act. 

Upon  this  slender  story,  the  author  has  suc- 
ceeded in  making  a  very  agreeable  and  inte- 
resting novel ;  and  he  has  succeeded,  we  think, 
chiefly,  by  the  very  easy  and  natural  picture 
of  manners,  as  Ihey  really  exist  among  the 
upper  classes  ;  by  the  description  of  new  cha- 
racters judiciously  drawn  and  faithfully  pre- 
served; and  by  the  introduction  of  many  strik- 
ing and  well-managed  incidents;  and  we  are 
particularly  struck  throughout  the  whole  with 
the  discretion  and  good  sense  of  the  author. 
He  is  never  nimious ;  there  is  nothing  in  ex- 
cess ;  there  is  a  good  deal  of  fancy  and  a  great 
deal  of  spirit  at  work,  but  a  directing  and 
superintending  judgment  rarely  quits  him. 

We  would  instance,  as  a  proof  of  his  tact 
and  talent,  the  visit  at  Lord  Daventry's,  and 
the  description  of  characters  of  which  the  party 
is  composed.  There  are  absolutely  no  events  ; 
nobody  runs  away,  goes  mad,  or  dies.  There 
is  little  of  love,  or  of  hatred  ;  no  great  passion 
comes  into  play ;  but  nothing  can  be  farther 
removed  from  dulness  and  insipidity.  Who 
has  ever  lived  in  the  world  without  often 
meeting  the  Miss  Cliftons  ? 

"The  Miss  Cliftons  were  good-humoured 
girls  ;  not  handsome,  but  of  pleasing  manners, 
and  sufficiently  clever  to  keep  up  the  ball  of 
conversation  very  agreeably  for  an  occasional 
half  hour.  They  were  always  au  courant  du 
jour,  and  knew  and  saw  the  first  of  every  thing 
— were  in  the  earliest  confidence  of  many  a 
bride  elect,  and  could  frequently  tell  that  a 
marriage  was  '  off'  long  after  it  had  been  an- 
nounced as  'on  the  tapis'  in  the  morning 
papers — always  knew  something  of  the  new 
opera,  or  the  new  Scotch  novel,  before  any 
body  else  did — were  the  first  who  made  fizgigs, 
or  acted  charades — contrived  to  have  private 
views  of  most  exhibitions,  and  were  supposed 
lo  have  led  the  fashionable  throng  to  the 
Caledonian  Chapel,  Cross  Street,  Hatton  Gar- 
den. Their  employments  were  like  those  of 
most  other  girls;  they  sang,  played,  drew, 
rode,  read  occasionally,  spoiled  much  muslin, 
manufactured  purses,  handscreens,  and  reti- 
cules for  a  repository,  and  transcribed  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  music  out  of  large  fair 
print  into  diminutive  manuscript. 

"Miss  Clifton  was  clever  and  accomplished; 
rather  cold,  but  very  conversable;  collected 
seals,  franks,  and  anecdotes  of  the  day;  and 
was  a  greater  retailer  of  the  latter.  Anne  was 
odd  and  entertaining;  was  a  formidable  quiz- 
zer,  and  no  mean  caricaturist;  liked  fun  in 
most  shapes ;  and  next  to  making  people 
laugh,  had  rather  they  stared  at  what  she  said. 
Maria  was  the  echo  of  the  other  two:  vouched 
for  all  Miss  Clifton's  anecdotes,  and  led  the 
laugh  at  Anne's  repartees.  They  were  plain, 
and  they  knew  it;  and  cared  less  about  it  than 
young  ladies  usually  do.  Their  plainness, 
however,  would  have  been  less  striking,  but 
for  that  hard,  pale,  par-boiled  town  look, — that 
stamp  of  fashion,  with  which  late  hours  and 
hot  rooms  generally  endow  the  female  face." 
—(pp.  103—105.) 


Having  introduced  our  reader  to  the  Miss 
Cliftons,  we  must  make  him  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Trebeck,  one  of  those  universally  appear- 
ing gentlemen  and  tremendous  table  tyrants, 
by  whom  London  society  is  so  frequently  go- 
verned:— 


"  Mr.  Trebeck  had  great  powers  of  enter- 
tainment, and  a  keen  and  lively  turn  for 
satire ;  and  could  talk  down  his  superiors, 
whether  in  rank  or  talent,  with  very  imposing 
confidence.  He  saw  the  advantages  of  being 
formidable,  and  observed  Math  derision  how 
those  whose  malignity  he  pampered  with 
ridicule  of  others,  vainly  thought  to  purchase 
by  subserviency  exemption  for  themselves. 
He  had  sounded  the  gullibility  of  the  world ; 
knew  the  precise  current  value  of  pretension; 
and  soon  found  himself  the  acknowledged 
umpire,  the  last  appeal,  of  many  contented 
followers. 

"He  seldom  committed  himself  by  praise  or 
recommendation,  but  rather  left  his  example 
and  adoption  to  work  its  way.  As  for  censure 
he  had  both  ample  and  witty  store ;  but  here 
too  he  often  husbanded  his  remarks,  and  where 
it  was  needless  or  dangerous  to  define  a  fault, 
could  check  admiration  by  an  incredulous 
smile,  and  depress  pretensions  of  a  season's 
standing  by  the  raising  of  an  eyebrow.  He 
had  a  quick  perception  of  the  foibles  of  others, 
and  a  keen  relish  for  bantering  and  exposing 
them.  No  keeper  of  a  menagerie  could  better 
show  off  a  monkey  than  he  could  an  '  original.' 
He  could  ingeniously  cause  the  ixnconscious 
subject  to  place  his  own  absurdities  in  the 
best  point  of  view,  and  would  cloak  his  deri- 
sion under  the  blandest  cajolery.  Imitators  he 
loved  much ;  but  to  baflle  them — more.  He 
loved  to  turn  upon  the  luckless  adopters  of 
his  last  folly,  and  see  them  precipitately  back 
out  of  the  scrape  into  which  himself  had  led 
them. 

"  In  the  art  of  cutting  he  shone  unrivalled : 
he  knew  the  '  when,'  the  '  where,'  and  the 
'  how.'  Without  aflecting  useless  short-sight- 
edness, he  could  assume  that  calm  but  wan- 
dering gaze  which  veers,  as  if  unconsciously, 
round  the  proscribed  individual ;  neither  fix- 
ing, nor  to  be  fixed;  not  looking  on  vacancy, 
nor  on  anyone  object;  neither  occupied  nor 
abstracted;  a  look  which  perhaps  excuses  you 
to  the  person  cut,  and,  at  any  rate,  prevents 
him  from  accosting  you.  Originality  was  his 
idol.  He  wished  to  astonish,  even  if  he  did 
not  amuse ;  and  had  rather  say  a  silly  thing 
than  a  commonplace  one.  He  was  led  by  this 
sometimes  even  to  approach  the  verge  of 
rudeness  and  vulgarity;  but  he  had  consider- 
able tact,  and  a  happy  hardihood,  which  gene- 
rally carried  him  through  the  difficulties  into 
which  his  fearless  love  of  originality  brought 
him.  Indeed,  he  well  knew  that  what  would, 
in  the  present  condition  of  his  reputation,  be 
scouted  in  any  body  else,  would  pass  current 
with  the  world  in  him.  Such  was  the  far- 
famed  and  redoubtable  Mr.  Trebeck." — (pp. 
109—112.) 

This  sketch  we  think  exceedingly  clever. 
But  we  are  not  sure  that  its  merit  is  fully  sus- 
tained by  the  actual  presentment  of  its  subject. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


345 


He  makes  his  debut  at  dinner  very  character- 
istically, by  gliding  in  quietly  after  it  is  half 
Over;  but  in  the  dialogue  which  follows  with 
Miss  Jermyn,  he  seems  to  us  a  little  too  reso- 
lutely witty,  and  somewhat  affectedly  odd — 
though  the  whole  scene  is  executed  with  spirit 
and  talent. 

"  The  duke  had  been  discoursing  on  cookery, 
when  Mr.  Trebeck  turned  to  her,  and  asked  in 
a  low  tone  if  she  had  ever  met  the  duke  before 
— 'I  assure  you,'  said  he,  'that  upon  that  sub- 
ject he  is  well  worth  attending  to.  He  is  sup- 
posed to  possess  more  true  science  than  any 
amateur  of  his  day.  By  the  bye,  what  is  the 
dish  before  you  1  It  looks  well,  and  I  see  you 
are  eating  some  of  it.  Let  me  recommend  it 
to  him  upon  your  authority;  I  dare  not  upon 
my  own.' — '  Then  pray  do  not  use  mine.' — 
'Yes,  I  will,  with  your  permission;  I'll  tell 
him  you  thought,  by  what  dropped  from  him 
in  conversation,  that  it  would  exactly  suit  the 
genius  of  his  taste.  Shall  1 1  Yes. — Duke,' 
(raising  his  voice  a  little,  and  speaking  across 
the  table,) — '  Oh,  no  !  how  can  you  V — '  Why 
noti — Duke,'  (with  a  glance  at  Caroline,) 
'  will  you  allow  me  to  take  wine  with  you  V — 
'  I  thought,'  said  she,  relieved  from  her  trepida- 
tion, and  laughing  slightl}^,  'you  would  never 
say  any  thing  so  very  strange.' — '  You  have  too 
good  an  opinion  of  me ;  I  blush  for  my  un- 
worthiness.  But  confess,  that  in  fact  you  were 
rather  alarmed  at  the  idea  of  being  held  up  to 
such  a  critic  as  the  recommender  of  a  bad 
dish.' — 'Oh,  no,  I  was  not  thinking  of  that; 
but  I  hardly  know  the  duke :  and  it  would 
have  seemed  so  odd ;  and  perhaps  he  might 
have  thought  that  I  had  really  told  you  to  say 
something  of  that  kind.' — '  Of  course  he  would; 
but  3'ou  must  not  suppose  that  he  would  have 
been  at  all  surprised  at  it.  I'm  afraid  you  are 
not  aware  of  the  full  extent  of  your  privileges, 
and  are  not  conscious  how  many  things  young 
ladies  can,  and  may,  and  will  do.' — 'Indeed  I 
am  not — perhaps  you  will  instruct  me.' — 'Ah, 
I  never  do  that  for  any  body.  I  like  to  see 
young  ladies  instruct  themselves.  It  is  better 
for  them,  and  much  more  amusing  to  me. 
But,  however,  for  once  I  will  venture  to  tell 
you,  that  a  very  competent  knowledge  of  the 
duties  of  women  may,  with  proper  attention, 
be  picked  up  in  a  ball  room.' — '  Then  I  hope,' 
said  she,  laughing,  'you  will  attribute  my  defi- 
ciency to  my  little  experience  of  ball.  I  have 
only  been  at  two.' — '  Only  two !  and  one  of 
them  I  suppose  a  race  ball.  Then  you  have 
not  yet  experienced  any  of  the  pleasures  of  a 
London  season!  Never  had  the  dear  delight 
of  seeing  and  being  seen,  in  a  well  of  tall 
people  at  a  rout,  or  passed  a  pleasant  hour  at 
a  ball  upon  a  staircase?  I  envy  you.  You 
have  much  to  enjoy.' — 'You  do  not  mean  that 
I  really  have?' — 'Yes — really.  But  let  me 
give  you  a  caution  or  two.  Never  dance  with 
any  m.an  M'ithout  first  knowing  his  character 
and  condition,  on  the  word  of  two  credible 
chaperons.  At  balls,  too,  consider  what  you 
come  for — to  dance  of  course,  and  not  to  con- 
verse ;  therefore,  never  talk  yourself,  nor 
encourage  it  in  others.' — 'I'm  afraid  I  can  only 
"■uswer  for  myself.' — '  Why,  if  foolish,  welj- 
meaning  people  will  choose  to  be  entertaining, 
44 


I  question  if  you  have  the  power  of  froMniing 
them  down  in  a  very  forbidden  manner:  hut  I 
would  give  them  no  countenance  neverthe- 
less.'— '  Your  advice  seems  a  little  ironical.' — 
'  Oh,  you  may  either  follow  it  or  reverse  it — 
that  is  its  chief  beauty.  It  is  equally  good 
taken  either  way.' — After  a  slight  pause,  he 
continued — '  I  hope  you  do  not  sing,  or  play, 
or  draw,  or  do  any  thing  that  every  body  else 
does.' — 'I  am  obliged  to  confess  that  I  do  a 
little — very  little — in  each.' — 'I  understand 
your  "  veiy  little  :"  I'm  afraid  you  are  accom- 
plished.'— 'You  need  have  no  fear  of  that. 
But  why  are  you  an  enemy  to  all  accomplish- 
ments?'— 'All accomplishments?  Nay,  surely, 
you  do  not  think  me  an  enemy  to  all  ?  What 
can  you  possibly  take  me  for?' — 'I  do  not 
know,'  said  she,  laughing  slightly. — 'Yes,  I  see 
you  do  not  know  exactly  what  to  make  of  me 
— and  you  are  not  without  your  apprehensions. 
I  can  perceive  that,  though  you  try  to  conceal 
them. — But  never  mind.  I  am  a  safe  person 
to  sit  near — sometimes.  I  am  to-day.  This  is 
one  of  my  lucid  intervals.  I'm  much  better, 
thanks  to  my  keeper.  There  he  is,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  table — the  tall  man  m  black,' 
(pointing  out  Mr.  Bennet,)  '  a  highly  respect- 
able kind  of  person.  I  came  with  him  here 
for  change  of  air.  How  do  you  think  I  look 
at  present?' — Caroline  could  not  answer  him 
for  laughing.—'  Nay,'  said  he,  '  it  is  cruel  to 
laugh  on  such  a  subject.  It  is  very  hard  that 
you  should  do  that,  and  misrepresent  my 
meaning  too.' — 'Well  then,'  said  Caroline, 
resuming  a  respectable  portion  of  gravity; 
'that  I  may  not  be  guilty  of  that  again,  what 
accomplishments  do  you  allowtobe  tolerable?' 
— '  Let  me  see,'  said  he,  with  a  look  of  consi- 
deration ;  '  you  may  play  a  waltz  with  one 
hand,  and  dance  as  little  as  you  think  conve- 
nient. You  may  draw  caricatures  of  your 
intimate  friends.  You  may  not  sing  a  note  of 
Rossini;  nor  sketch  gateposts  and  donkeys 
after  nature.  You  may  sit  to  a  harp,  but  you 
need  not  play  it.  You  must  not  paint  minia- 
tures nor  copy  Swiss  costumes.  But  you  may 
mannfacture  any  thing — froni  a  cap  down  to 
a  pair  of  shoes — always  remembering  that  the 
less  useful  your  work  the  better.  Can  you 
remember  all  this  ?' — '  I  do  not  know,'  said 
she,  'it  comprehends  so  much;  and  I  am 
rather  puzzled  between  the  "mays"  and  "must 
nots."  However,  it  seems,  according  to  your 
code,  that  very  little  is  to  be  required  of  me ; 
for  you  have  not  mentioned  any  thing  that  I 
positively  must  do' — 'Ah,  Avell,  I  can  reduce 
all  to  a  very  small  compass.  You  must  be  an 
archeress  in  the  summer,  and  a  skater  in  the 
winter,  and  play  well  at  billiards  all  the  year; 
and  if  you  do  these  extremely  well,  my  admira- 
tion will  have  no  bounds.' — '  I  believe  I  must 
forfeit  all  claim  to  your  admiration  then,  for 
unfortunately  I  am  not  so  gifted.' — 'Then  you 
must  place  it  to  the  account  of  your  other 
gifts.' — '  Certainly — when  it  comes.' — '  Oh  it  is 
sure  to  come,  as  j^ou  well  know:  but,  never- 
theless, I  like  that  incredulous  look  extremely.' 
— He  then  turned  away,  thinking  probably 
that  he  had  paid  her  the  compliment  of  sufFi 
cient  attention,  and  began  a  conversation  with 
the  duchess,  w^hich  was  carried  on  in  such  a 


346 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


■well-regulated  xxnder  tone,  as  to  be  perfectly 
inaudible  to  any  but  themselves." — (pp.  92 — 
99.) 

The  bustling  importance  of  Sir  Thomas 
Jermyn,  the  fat  duke  and  his  right  hand  man, 
the  blunt  toad-eater,  Mr.  Charlecote,  a  loud 
noisy  sportsman,  and  Lady  Jermyn's  worldly 
prudence,  are  all  displayed  and  managed  with 
'  considerable  skill  and  great  power  of  amusing. 
One  little  sin  against  good  taste,  our  author 
sometimes  commits — an  error  from  which  Sir 
Walter  Scott  is  not  exempt.  We  mean  the 
humour  of  giving  characteristic  names  to  per- 
sons and  places;  for  instance,  Sir  Thomas 
Jermyn  is  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  town 
of  Rottenborough.  This  very  easy  and  appel- 
lative jocularity  seems  to  us,  we  confess,  to 
savour  a  little  of  vulgarity ;  and  is  therefore 
quite  as  unworthy  of  Mr.  Lister,  as  Dr.  Dryas- 
dust is  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  The  plainest 
names  which  can  be  found  (Smith,  Thomson, 
Johnson,  and  Simson,  always  excepted)  are 
the  best  for  novels.  Lord  Chesterton  we  have 
often  met  with ;  and  suffered  a  good  deal  from 
his  lordship:  a  heav)^  pompous,  meddling 
peer,  occupying  a  great  share  of  the  conversa- 
tion— saying  things  in  ten  words  which  re- 
quired only  two,  and  evidently  convinced  that 
he  is  making  a  great  impression ;  a  large  man, 
with  a  large  head,  and  very  landed  manner; 
knowing  enough  to  torment  his  fellow-crea- 
tures, not  to  instruct  them — the  ridicule  of 
young  ladies,  and  the  natural  butt  and  target 
of  Mat.  It  is  easy  to  talk  of  carnivorous  ani- 
mals and  beasts  of  prey ;  but  does  such  a  man, 
who  lays  waste  a  whole  party  of  civilized 
beings  by  prosing,  reflect  upon  the  joy  he 
spoils,  and  the  misery  he  creates,  in  the  course 
of  his  lifel  and  that  any  one  who  listens  to 
him  through  politeness,  would  prefer  tooth- 
ache or  earache  to  his  conversation  ?  Does 
he  consider  the  extreme  uneasiness  which 
ensues,  when  the  company  have  discovered  a 
man  to  be  an  extremely  absurd  person,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to 
convey,  by  words  or  manner,  the  most  distant 
suspicion  of  the  discovery!  And  then,  who 
punishes  this  bore  1  What  sessions  and  what 
assizes  for  him  ]  What  bill  is  found  against 
himi  Who  indicts  him?  When  the  judges 
have  gone  their  vernal  and  autumnal  rounds 
— the  sheep-stealer  disappears — the  swindler 
gets  ready  for  the  Bay — the  solid  parts  of  the 
murderer  are  preserved  in  anatomical  collec- 
tions. But,  after  twenty  yeai's  of  crime,  the 
bore  is  discovered  in  the  same  house,  in  the 
.same  attitude,  eating  the  same  soup, — unpu- 
nished, untried,  undissectcd — no  scaffold,  no 
skeleton — no  mob  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  to 
gape  over  his  last  dying  speech  and  confes- 
sion. 

The  scene  of  quizzing  the  country  neigh- 
bours is  well  imagined,  and  not  ill  executed; 
though  there  are  many  more  fortunate  pas- 
sages in  the  book.  The  elderly  widows  of  the 
metropolis  beg,  through  us,  to  return  their 
thanks  to  Mr.  Lister  for  the  following  agree- 
able portrait  of  Mrs.  Dormer. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  pleasing 
example  than  Mrs.  Dormer,  of  that  mucli 
libelled  class  of  elderly  ladies  of  the  world, 


who  are  presumed  to  be  happy  only  at  the 
card  table ;  to  grow  in  bitterness  as  they 
advanced  in  years,  and  to  haunt,  like  restless 
ghosts,  those  busy  circles  which  they  no 
longer  either  enliven  or  adorn.  Such  there 
may  be ;  but  of  these  she  was  not  one.  She 
was  the  frequenter  of  society,  but  not  its  slave. 
She  had  great  natural  benevolence  of  disposi- 
tion ;  a  friendly  vivacity  of  manners,  which 
endeared  her  to  the  young,  and  a  steady  good 
sense,  which  commanded  the  respect  of  her 
contemporaries ;  .and  many,  who  did  not  agree 
with  her  on  particular  points,  were  willing  to 
allow  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  reason  in 
Mrs.  Dormer's  prejudices.  She  was,  perhaps,  a 
little  blind  to  the  faults  of  her  friends  ;  a  defect 
of  which  the  world  could  not  cure  her;  but 
she  was  very  kind  to  their  virtues.  She  was 
fond  of  young  people,  and  had  an  unimpaired 
gaiety  about  her,  which  seemed  to  expand  in 
the  contact  with  them ;  and  she  was  anxious 
to  promote,  for  their  sake,  even  those  amuse- 
ments for  which  she  had  lost  all  taste  herself. 
She  was — but  after  all,  she  will  be  best  de- 
scribed by  negatives.  She  was  not  a  match- 
maker, or  mischief-maker;  nor  did  she  plume 
herself  upon  her  charity,  in  implicitly  believ- 
ing only  just  half  of  what  the  world  says. 
She  was  no  retailer  of  scandalous  'ow  citis.' 
She  did  not  combat  wrinkles  with  rouge  ;  nor 
did  she  labour  to  render  years  less  respected 
by  a  miserable  affectation  of  girlish  fashions. 
She  did  not  stickle  for  the  inviolable  exclusive- 
ness  of  certain  sects ;  nor  was  she  afraid  of 
being  known  to  visit  a  friend  in  an  unfasliion- 
able  quarter  of  the  town.  She  was  no  wor- 
shipper of  mere  rank.  She  did  not  patronize 
oddities ;  nor  sanction  those  who  delight  in 
braving  the  rules  of  common  decency.  She 
did  not  evince  her  sense  of  propriety,  by 
shaking  hands  with  the  recent  defendant  in  a 
crim.  con.  cause ;  nor  exhale  her  devotion  in 
Sunday  routs."— (pp.  243,  244.) 

Mrs.  Clotworthy,  we  are  afraid,  will  not  be 
quite  so  M^ell  pleased  with  the  description  of 
her  rout.  Mrs.  Clotworthy  is  one  of  those 
ladies  who  have  ices,  fiddlers,  and  fine  rooms, 
but  no  fine  friends.  But  fine  friends  may 
always  be  had,  where  there  are  ices,  fiddlers, 
and  fine  rooms:  and  so,  with  ten  or  a  dozen 
stars  and  an  Oonalaska  chief;  and,  followed 
by  all  vicious  and  salient  London,  Mrs.  Clot- 
worthy takes  the  field. 

"The  poor  woman  seemed  half  dead  with 
fatigue  already;  and  we  cannot  venture  to  say 
whether  the  prospect  of  five  hours  more  of 
this  high-wrought  enjoyment  tended  much  to 
brace  her  to  the  task.  It  was  a  brilliant  sight, 
and  an  interesting  one,  if  it  could  have  been 
viewed  from  some  fair  vantage  ground,  with 
ample  space,  in  coolness  and  in  quiet.  Rank, 
beauty,  and  splendour,  were  richly  blended. 
The  gay  attire  ;  the  glittering  jewels  ;  the  more 
resplendent  features  they  adorned,  and  too 
frequently  the  rouged  cheek  of  the  sexage- 
narian ;  the  vigilant  chaperon ;  the  fair  but 
languid  form  which  she  conducted ;  Avell  curled 
heads,  well  propped  Avith  starch ;  well  whis- 
kered guardsmen;  and  here  and  there  fat, good- 
humoured,  elderly  gentlemen,  with  stars  upoa 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


847 


their  coats ; — all  these  united  in  one  close 
medley — a  curious  piece  of  living  mosaic. 
Most  of  them  came  to  see  and  be  seen;  some 
of  the  most  youthful  professedly  to  dance ; 
yet  how  could  they  ]  at  any  rate  they  tried. — 
They  stood,  if  they  could,  with  their  vis-a-vis 
facing  them, — and  sidled  across — and  back 
again,iand  made  one  step — or  two  if  there  was 
room,  to  the  right  or  left,  and  joined  hands, 
and  set — perhaps,  and  turned  their  partners, 
or  dispensed  with  it  if  necessary — and  so  on 
to  the  end  of  '  La  Finale ;'  and  then  comes  a 
waltz  for  the  few  who  choose  it — and  then 
another  squeezy  quadrille — and  so  on — and  on, 
till  the  weary  many  '  leave  ample  room  and 
verge  enough'  for  the  persevering  few  to  figui'e 
in  with  greater  freedom. 

"But  then  they  talk;  oh!  ay!  true,  we  must 
not  forget  the  charms  of  conversation.  And 
what  passes  between  nine-tenths  of  them ! 
Remarks  on  the  heat  of  the  room  ;  the  state 
of  the  crowd ;  the  impossibility  of  dancing, 
and  the  propriety  nevertheless  of  attempting 
it;  that  on  last  Wednesday  was  a  bad  Almack's, 
and  on  Thursday  a  worse  Opera ;  that  the  new 
ballet  is  supposed  to  be  good;  mutual  inquiries 
how  they  like  Pasta,  or  Catalan!,  or  whoever 
the  syren  of  the  day  may  be ;  whether  they 
have  been  at  Lady  A.'s,  and  whether  they  are 
going  to  Mrs.  B.'s ;  whether  they  think  Miss 
Such-a-one  handsome  !  and  what  is  the  name 
of  the  gentleman  talking  to  her;  whether  Ros- 
sini's music  makes  the  best  quadrilles,  and 
whether  Collinet's  band  are  the  best  to  play 
them.  There  are  many  who  pay  in  better 
coin ;  but  the  small  change  is  much  of  this 
description."— (L  249—251.) 

We  consider  the  following  description  of 
London,  as  it  appears  to  a  person  walking 
home  after  a  rout,  at  four  or  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  to  be  as  poetical  as  any  thing 
written  on  the  forests  of  Guiana,  or  the  falls 
af  Niagara : — 

"  Granby  followed  them  with  his  eyes ;  and 
now,  too  full  of  happiness  to  be  accessible  to 
any  feelings  of  jealousy  or  repining,  after  a 
short  reverie  of  the  purest  satisfaction,  he  left 
the  ball,  and  sallied  out  into  the  fresh  cool  air 
of  a  summer  morning — suddenly  passing  from 
the  red  glare  of  lamp-light,  to  the  clear  sober 
brightness  of  returning  day.  He  walked  cheer- 
fully onward,  refreshed  and  exhilarated  by  the 
air  of  morning,  and  interested  with  the  scene 
around  him.  It  was  broad  day-light,  and  he 
viewed  the  town  under  an  aspect  in  which  it 
is  alike  presented  to  the  late  retiring  votary 
of  pleasure,  and  to  the  early  rising  sons  of 
business.  He  stopped  on  the  pavement  of 
Oxford  street,  to  contemplate  the  effect.  The 
whole  extent  of  that  long  vista,  unclouded  by 
the  mid-day  smoke,  was  distinctly  visible  to 
his  eye  at  once.  The  houses  shrunk  to  half 
their  span,  while  the  few  visible  spires  of  the 
adjacent  churches  seemed  to  rise  less  distant 
than  before,  gaily  tipped  with  early  sunshine, 
and  much  diminished  in  apparent  size,  but 
heightened  in  distinctness  and  in  beauty.  Had 
it  not  been  for  the  cool  gray  tint  which  slightly 
mingled  with  every  object,  the  brightness  was 
almost  that  of  noon.     But  the  life,  the  bustle 


the  busy  din,  the  flowing  tide  of  human  exist- 
ence, were  all  wanting  to  complete  the  simili- 
tude. All  was  hushed  and  silent;  and  this 
hiighty  receptacle  of  human  beings,  which  a 
few  short  hours  would  wake  into  active  energy 
and  motion,  seemed  like  a  city  of  the  dead. 

"  There  was  little  to  break  this  solemn  illu- 
sion. Around  were  the  monuments  of  human 
exertion,  but  the  hands  which  formed  them 
were  no  longer  there.  Few,  if  any,  were  the 
symptoms  of  life.  No  sounds  were  heard  but 
the  heavy  creaking  of  a  solitary  wagon ;  the 
twittering  of  an  occasional  sparrow ;  the  mo- 
notonous tone  of  the  drowsy  watchman ;  and 
the  distant  rattle  of  the  retiring  carriage,  fading 
on  the  ear  till  it  melted  into  silence  :  and  the 
eye  that  searched  for  living  objects  fell  on 
nothing  but  the  grim  great-coated  guardian  of 
the  night,  muffled  up  into  an  appearance  of 
doubtful  character  between  bear  and  man,  and 
scarcely  distinguishable,  by  the  colour  of  his 
dress,  from  the  brown  flags  along  which  he 
sauntered."— (pp.  297—299.) 

One  of  the  most  prominent  characters  of 
the  book,  and  the  best  drawn,  is  that  of  Tyrrel, 
son  of  Lord  Malton,  a  noble  blackleg,  a  titled 
gamester,  and  a  profound  plotting  villain — a 
man,  in  comparison  of  whom,  nine-tenths  of 
the  persons  hung  in  Newgate  are  pure  and  per- 
fect. The  profound  dissimulation  and  wicked 
artifices  of  this  diabolical  person  are  painted 
with  great  energy  and  power  of  description. 
The  party  at  whist  made  to  take  in  Granby  is 
very  good,  and  that  part  of  the  story  where 
Granby  compels  Tyrrel  to  refund  what  he  has 
won  of  Courtenay  is  of  first-rate  dramatic  ex- 
cellence ;  and  if  any  one  wishes  for  a  short 
and  convincing  proof  of  the  powers  of  the 
writer  of  this  novel — to  that  scene  we  refer 
him.  It  shall  be  the  taster  of  the  cheese,  and 
we  are  convinced  it  will  sell  the  whole  article. 
We  are  so  much  struck  with  it,  that  we  advise 
the  author  to  consider  seriously  whether  he 
could  not  write  a  good  play.  It  is  many  years 
since  a  good  play  has  been  written.  It  is  about 
time,  judging  from  the  common  economy  of 
nature,  that  a  good  dramatic  writer  should  ap- 
pear. We  promise  Mr.  Lister  sincerely,  that 
the  Edinburgh  Review  shall  rapidly  iindeceive 
him  if  he  mistakes  his  talents;  and  that  his 
delusion  shall  not  last  beyond  the  first  tragedy 
or  comedy. 

The  picture  at  the  exhibition  is  extremely 
well  managed,  and  all  the  various  love-tricks 
of  attempting  to  appear  indifferent,  are,  as 
well  as  we  can  remember,  from  the  life. 
But  it  is  thirty  or  forty  years  since  we  have 
been  in  love. 

The  horror  of  an  affectionate  and  dexterous 
mamma  is  a  handsome  young  man  without 
money :  and  the  following  lecture  deserves  to 
be  committed  to  memory  by  all  managing 
mothers,  and  repeated  at  proper  intervals  to 
the  female  progeny. 

" '  True,  my  love,  but  understand  me.  I  don't 
wish  you  positively  to  avoid  him.  I  would  not 
go  away,  for  instance,  if  I  saw  him  coming,  or 
even  turn  my  head  that  I  might  not  see  him  as 
he  passed.  That  would  be  too  broad  and 
marked.     People  might  notice   it.     It  woulu 


348 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


look  particular.  We  should  never  do  any  thing 
that  looks  particular.  No,  I  would  answer  him 
civilly  and  composedly  whenever  he  spoke  to 
me,  and  then  pass  on,  just  as  you  might  in  the 
case  of  any  body  else.  But  I  leave  all  this  to 
your  own  tact  and  discretion,  of  which  nobody 
has  more  for  her  age.  I  am  sure  you  can 
enter  into  all  these  niceties,  and  that  my  obser- 
vations will  not  be  lost  upon  you.  And  now, 
my  love,  let  me  mention  another  thing.  You 
must  get  over  that  little  embarrassment  which 
I  see  you  show  whenever  you  meet  him.  It 
was  very  natural  and  excusable  the  first  time, 
considering  our  long  acquaintance  with  him  and 
the  General:  but  we  must  make  our  conduct 
conform  to  circumstances  ;  so  try  to  get  the  bet- 
ter of  this  little  flutter :  it  does  not  look  well,  and 
might  be  observed.  There  is  no  quality  more 
valuable  in  a  young  person  than  self-posses- 
sion. So  you  must  keep  down  these  blushes,' 
said  she,  patting  her  on  the  cheek,  '  or  I  believe 
I  must  rouge  you : — though  it  would  be  a 
thousaniiJ  pities,  with  the  pretty  natural  colour 
you  have.  But  3'ou  must  remember  what  I 
have  been  saying.  Be  more  composed  in  your 
behaviour.  Try  to  adopt  the  manner  M^hich  I 
do.  It  may  be  difficult;  but  you  see  I  con- 
trive it,  and  I  have  known  Mr.  Granby  a  great 
deal  longer  than  you  have,  Caroline.'" — (pp. 
21,  22.) 

These  principles  are  of  the  highest  practical 
importance  in  an  age  when  the  art  of  marrying 
daughters  is  carried  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
excellence,  when  love  must  be  made  to  the 
young  men  of  fortune,  not  only  by  the  young 
lady,  who  must  appear  to  be  dying  for  him,  but 
by  the  father,  mother,  aunts,  cousins,  tutor, 
gamekeeper,  and  stable-boy — assisted  by  the 
parson  of  the  parish,  and  the  churchwardens. 
If  any  of  these  fail.  Dives  pouts,  and  the  match 
is  off. 

The  merit  of  this  writer  is,  that  he  catches 
delicate  portraits,  which  a  less  skilful  artist 
would  pass  over,  from  not  thinking  the  fea- 
tures sufficiently  marked.  We  are  struck, 
however,  with  the  resemblance,  and  are  pleased 
with  the  conquest  of  difliculties — we  remem- 
ber to  have  seen  such  faces,  and  are  sensible 
that  they  form  an  agreeable  variety  to  the  ex- 
pression of  more  marked  and  decided  cha- 
racter. Nobody,  for  instance,  can  deny  that  he 
is  acquainted  with  Miss  Darrell. 

"Miss  Darrell  was  not  strictly  a  beauty.  She 
had  not,  as  was  frequently  observed  by  her 
female  friends,  and  unwillingly  admitted  by 
her  male  admirers,  a  single  truly  good  feature 
in  her  face.  But  who  could  quarrel  with  the 
touf  ensemble?  who  but  must  be  dazzled  with 
the  graceful  animation  with  which  those  fea- 
tures were  lighted  up "?     Let  critics  hesitate  to 


pronounce  her  beautiful ;  at  any  rate  they 
must  allow  her  to  be  fascinating.  Place  a 
perfect  stranger  in  a  crowded  assembly,  and 
she  would  first  attract  his  eye ;  correcter  beau- 
ties would  pass  unnoticed,  and  his  first  atten- 
tion would  be  riveted  by  her.  She  was  all 
brilliancy  and  effect ;  but  it  were  hard  to  say 
she  studied  it;  so  little  did  her  spontaneous, 
airy  graces  convey  the  impression  of  premedi- 
tated practice.  She  was  a  sparkling  tissue  of 
little  affectations,  which,  however,  appeared  so 
interwoven  with  herself,  that  their  seeming 
artlessness  disarmed  one's  censure.  Strip 
them  away,  and  you  destroyed  at  once  the 
brilliant  being  that  so  much  attracted  you ;  and 
it  thus  became  difficult  to  condemn  what  you 
felt  unable,  and,  indeed,  unwilling,  to  remove. 
With  positive  aflfectation,  malevolence  itself 
could  rarely  charge  her ;  and  prudish  censure 
seldom  exceeded  the  guarded  limits  of  a  dry 
remark,  that  Miss  Darrell  had  *  a  good  deal 
of  manner.' 

"Eclat  she  sought  and  gained.  Indeed,  she 
was  both  formed  to  gain  it,  and  disposed  to 
desire  it.  But  she  required  an  extensive  sphere. 
A  ball-room  was  her  true  arena;  for  she  waltz- 
ed 'a  ravir,'  and  could  talk  enchantingly  about 
nothing.  She  was  devoted  to  fashion,  and  all 
its  fickleness,  and  went  to  the  extreme  when- 
ever she  could  do  so  consistently  with  grace. 
But  she  aspired  to  be  a  leader  as  well  as  a  fol- 
lower ;  seldom,  if  ever,  adopted  a  mode  that 
M^as  unbecoming  to  herself,  and  dressed  to  suit 
the  genius  of  her  face." — (pp.  28,  29.) 

Tremendous  is  the  power  of  a  novelist !  If 
four  or  five  men  are  in  a  room,  and  show  a 
disposition  to  break  the  peace,  no  human  ma- 
gistrate (not  even  Mr.  Justice  Bayley)  could 
do  more  than  bind  them  over  to  keep  the  peace, 
and  commit  them  if  they  refused.  But  the 
writer  of  the  novel  stands  with  a  pen  in  his 
hand,  and  can  run  any  of  them  through  the 
body, — can  knock  down  any  one  individual, 
and  keep  the  others  upon  their  legs ;  or,  like 
the  last  scene  in  the  first  tragedy  written  by  a 
young  man  of  genius,  can  put  them  all  to 
death.  Now,  an  author  possessing  such  ex* 
traordinary  privileges,  should  not  have  allowed 
Mr.  Tyrrel  to  strike  Granby.  This  is  ill-ma- 
naged ;  particularly  as  Granby  does  not  return 
the  blow,  or  turn  him  out  of  the  house.  Nobody 
should  suffer  his  hero  to  have  a  black  eye,  or 
to  be  pulled  by  the  nose.  The  Iliad  would 
never  have  come  down  to  these  times  if  Aga- 
memnon had  given  Achilles  a  box  on  the 
ear.  We  should  have  trembled  for  the  ^neid, 
if  any  Tyrian  nobleman  had  kicked  the  pious 
.lEneas  in  the  4th  book,  ^neas  may  have  de- 
served it ;  but  he  could  not  have  founded  the 
Roman  empire  after  so  distressing  ah  accident. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


34d 


ISLAND  OF  CEYLON; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


It  is  now  little  more  than  half  a  century 
since  the  English  first  began  to  establish  them- 
selves in  any  force  upon  the  peninsula  of 
India;  and  we  at  present  possess  in  that  coun- 
try a  more  extensive  territory,  and  a  more  nu- 
merous population,  than  any  European  power 
can  boast  of  at  home.  In  no  instance  has  the 
genius  of  the  English,  and  their  courage,  shone 
forth  more  conspicuously  than  in  their  contest 
with  the  French  for  the  empire  of  India.  The 
numbers  on  both  sides  were  always  inconsider- 
able ;  but  the  two  nations  were  fairly  matched 
against  each  other,  in  the  cabinet  and  in  the 
field ;  the  struggle  was  long  and  obstinate;  and, 
at  the  conclusion,  the  French  remained  mas- 
ters of  a  dismantled  town,  and  the  English  of 
the  grandest  and  most  extensive  colony  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  To  attribute  this 
success  to  the  superior  genius  of  Clive,  is  not 
to  diminish  the  reputation  it  confers  on  his 
country,  which  reputation  must  of  course  be 
elevated  by  the  number  of  great  men  to  which 
it  gives  birth.  But  the  French  were  by  no 
means  deficient  in  casualties  of  genius  at  that 
period,  unless  Bussy  is  to  be  considered  as  a 
man  of  common  stature  of  mind,  or  Dupleix  to 
be  classed  with  the  vulgar  herdof  politicians. 
Neither  was  Clive  (though  he  clearly  stands 
forward  as  the  most  prominent  figure  in  the 
group)  without  the  aid  of  some  military  men 
of  very  considerable  talents.  Clive  extended 
our  Indian  empire ;  but  General  Lawrence 
preserved  it  to  be  extended;  and  the  former 
caught,  perhaps,  from  the  latter,  that  military 
spirit  by  which  he  soon  became  a  greater 
soldier  than  him,  without  whom  he  never 
would  have  been  a  soldier  at  all. 

Gratifying  as  these  reflections  upon  our 
prowess  in  India  are  to  national  pride,  they 
bring  with  them  the  painful  reflection,  that  so 
considerable  a  portion  of  our  strength  and 
wealth  is  vested  upon  such  precarious  founda- 
tions, and  at  such  an  immense  distance  from 
the  parent  country.  The  glittering  fragments 
of  the  Portuguese  empire,  scattered  up  and 
down  the  East,  should  teach  us  the  instability 
of  such  dominion.  We  are  (it  is  true)  better 
capable  of  preserving  what  we  have  obtained, 
than  any  other  nation  which  has  ever  colonized 
in  Southern  Asia:  but  the  object  of  ambition 
is  so  tempting,  and  the  perils  to  which  it  is 
exposed  so  numerous,  that  no  calculating  mind 
can  found  any  durable  conclusions  upon  this 
branch  of  our  commerce,  and  this  source  of 
our  strength. 

In  the  acquisition  of  Ceylon,  we  have  ob- 
tained the  greatest  of  all  our  wants — a  good 


*  An  Jiccount  of  the  Island  of  Ceylon.  By  Robert 
Pfrcival,  Esq.,  of  his  Majesty's  Nineteenth  Regiment 
of  Foot.    London,  C.  and  R.  Baldwin. 


harbour.  For  it  is  a  very  singular  fact,  thac, 
in  the  whole  peninsula  of  India,  Bombay  is 
alone  capable  of  affording  a  safe  retreat  to 
ships  during  the  period  of  the  monsoons. 

The  geographical  figure  of  our  possessions 
in  Ceylon  is  whimsical  enough:  we  possess 
the  whole  of  the  sea-coast,  and  enclose  in  a  pe- 
riphery the  unfortunate  King  of  Candia,  whose 
rugged  and  mountainous  dominions  may  be 
compared  to  a  coarse  mass  of  iron,  set  in  a 
circle  of  silver.  The  Popilian  ring,  in  which 
this  votary  of  Buddha  has  been  so  long  held 
by  the  Portuguese  and  Dutch,  has  infused  the 
most  vigilant  jealou.sy  into  the  government, 
and  rendered  it  as  difficult  to  enter  the  king- 
dom of  Candia,  as  if  it  were  Paradise  or  China ; 
and  yet,  once  there,  always  there ;  for  the  dif- 
ficulty of  departing  is  just  as  great  as  the  diffi- 
culty of  arriving;  and  his  Candian  excellency, 
who  has  used  every  device  in  his  power  to 
keep  them  out,  is  seized  with  such  an  affection, 
for  those  who  baffle  his  defensive  artifices, 
that  he  can  on  no  account  suffer  them  to  de- 
part. He  has  been  known  to  detain  a  string 
of  four  or  five  Dutch  embassies,  till  various 
members  of  the  legation  died  of  old  age  at  his 
court,  while  they  were  expecting  an  answer  to 
their  questions,  and  a  return  to  their  presents  :* 
and  his  majesty  once  exasperated  a  little 
French  ambassador  to  such  a  degree,  by  the 
various  pretences  under  which  he  kept  him  at 
his  court,  that  this  lively  member  of  the  corps 
diplomatique,  one  day,  in  a  furious  passion, 
attacked  six  or  seven  of  his  majesty's  largest 
elephants  sword  in  hand,  and  would,  in  all 
probability,  have  reduced  them  to  mince-meat, 
if  the  poor  beasts  had  not  been  saved  from  the 
unequal  combat. 

The  best  and  most  ample  account  of  Ceylon 
is  contained  in  the  narrative  of  Robert  Knox, 
who,  in  the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  was 
taken  prisoner  there  (while  refitting  his  ship) 
at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  remained  nineteen 
years  on  the  island,  in  slavery  to  the  King  of 
Candia.  During  this  period,  he  learnt  the 
language,  and  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  people.  The  account  he  has  given  of 
them  is  extremely  entertaining,  and  written  in 
a  very  simple  and  unaflTected  style ;  so  much 
so,  indeed,  that  he  presents  his  reader  with  a 
very  grave  account  of  the  noise  the  devil 
makes  in  the  woods  of  Candia,  and  of  the  fre- 
quent opportunities  he  has  had  of  hearing  him. 

Mr.  Percival  does  not  pretend  to  deal  with 
the  devil;  but  appears  to  have  used  the  fair 
and  natural  resources  of  observation  and  good 
sense,  to  put  together  an  interesting  description 
of  Ceylon.  There  is  nothing  in  the  book  very 
animated,  or  very  profound,  but  it  is  without 


*  Knox's  Ceylon. 
2G 


350 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


pretensions  ;  and  if  it  does  not  excite  attention 
by  any  unusual  powers  of  description,  it  never 
disgusts  by  credulity,  wearies  by  prolixity,  or 
offends  by  affectation.  It  is  such  an  accoi»jl 
as  a  plain  military  man  of  diligence  and  com- 
mon sense  might  be  expected  to  compose;  and 
narratives  like  these  we  must  not  despise.  To 
military  men  we  have  been,  and  must  be,  in- 
debted for  our  first  acquaintance  with  the  inte- 
rior of  many  countries.  Conquest  has  explored 
more  than  ever  curiosity  has  done ;  and  the 
path  for  science  has  been  commonly  opened 
by  the  sword. 

We  shall  proceed  to  give  a  very  summary 
abstract  of  the  principal  contents  of  Mr.  Per- 
cival's  book. 

The  immense  accessions  of  territory  which 
the  English  have  acquired  in  the  East  Indies 
since  the  American  war,  rendered  it  absolutely 
necessary,  that  some  effort  should  be  made  to 
obtain  possession  of  a  station  where  ships  might 
yemain  in  safety  during  the  violent  storms  in- 
cidental to  that  climate.  As  the  whole  of  that 
large  tract  which  we  possess  alon-g  the  Coro- 
mandel  coast  presents  nothing  but  open  roads, 
all  vessels  are  obliged,  on  the  approach  of 
the  monsoons,  to  stand  out  in  the  open  seas  ;  and 
there  are  many  parts  of  the  coast  that  can  be 
approached  only  during  a  few  months  of  the 
year.  As  the  harbour  of  Trincomalee,  which 
is  equally  secure  at  all  seasons,  afforded  the 
means  of  obviating  these  disadvantages,  it  is 
evident  that,  on  the  first  rupture  with  the  Dutch, 
our  countrymen  would  attempt  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  it.  A  body  of  troops  was,  in  conse- 
quence, detached  in  the  year  1795,  for  the 
conquest  of  Ceylon,  which  (in  consequence 
of  the  indiscipline  which  political  dissension 
had  introduced  among  the  Dutch  troops)  was 
effected  almost  without  opposition. 

Ceylon  is  now  inhabited  by  the  English  ; 
the  remains  of  the  Dutch,  and  Portuguese,  the 
Cinglese  or  natives,  subject  to  the  dominion 
of  the  Europeans  ;  the  Candians,  subject  to  the 
king  of  their  own  name ;  and  the  Vaddahs,  or 
wild  men,  subject  to  no  power.  A  Ceylonese 
Dutchman  is  a  course,  grotesque  species  of 
animal,  whose  native  apathy  and  phlegm  is 
animated  only  by  the  insolence  of  a  colonial 
tyrant:  his  principal  amusement  appears  to 
consist  in  smoking;  but  his  pipe,  according  to 
Mr.  Percival's  account,  is  so  seldom  out  of  his 
mouth,  that  his  smoking  appears  to  be  almost 
as  much  a  necessary  function  of  animal  life  as 
his  breathing.  His  day  is  eked  out  with  gin, 
^  ceremonious  visits,  and  prodigious  quantities  of 
gross  food,dripping  with  oil  and  butter;  his  mind, 
just  able  to  reach  from  one  meal  to  another,  is 
incapableof  farther  exertion  ;  and,  after  the  pant- 
ing and  deglutition  of  a  long  protracted  dinner, 
reposes  on  the  sweet  expectation  that,  in  a  few 
hours,  the  carnivorous  toil  will  be  renewed. 
He  lives  only  to  digest,  and,  while  the  organs 
of  gluttony  perform  their  office,  he  has  not  a 
wish  beyond ;  and  is  the  happy  man  which 
Horace  describes; — 

in  seipso  totus,  teres,  atque  rotundus. 


The  descendants  of  the  Portuguese  differ 
materially  from  the  Moors,  Malabars,  and  other 
Mahometans.    Their  great  object  is  to  show 


the  world  they  are  Europeans  and  Christians. 
Unfortunately,  their  ideas  of  Christianity  are  so 
imperfect,  that  the  only  mode  they  can  hit  upon 
of  displaying  their  faith,  is  by  wearing  hats  and 
breeches,  and  by  these  habiliments  they  con- 
sider themselves  as  showing  a  proper  degree 
of  contempt,  on  various  parts  of  the  body,  to- 
wards Mahomet  and  Buddha.  They  are  lazy, 
treacherous,  effeminate,  and  passionate  to  ex- 
cess ;  and  are,  in  fact,  a  locomotive  and  ani- 
mated farrago  of  the  bad  qualities  of  all 
tongues,  people,  and  nations,  on  the  face  of 
the  earth. 

The  Malays,  whom  we  forgot  before  to  enu- 
merate, form  a  very  considerable  portion  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Ceylon.  Their  original  em- 
pire lies  in  the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  from 
whence  they  have  extended  themselves  over 
Java,  Sumatra,  the  Moluccas,  and  a  vast  num- 
ber of  other  islands  in  the  peninsula  of  India. 
It  has  been  many  years  customary  for  the 
Dutch  to  bring  them  to  Ceylon,  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  on  various  branches  of  trade  and 
manufacture,  and  in  order  also  to  employ  them 
as  soldiers  and  servants.  The  Malays  are  the 
most  vindictive  and  ferocious  of  living  beings. 
They  set  little  or  no  value  on  their  own  exist- 
ence, in  the  prosecution  of  their  odious  pas- 
sions; and  having  thus  broken  the  great  tie 
which  renders  man  a  being  capable  of  being 
governed,  and  fit  for  society,  they  are  a  constant 
source  of  terror  to  all  those  who  have  any 
kind  of  connection  or  relation  with  them.  A 
Malay  servant,  from  the  apprehension  excited 
by  his  vindictive  disposition,  often  becomes 
the  master  of  his  master.  It  is  as  dangerous 
to  dismiss  him  as  to  punish  him;  and  the 
rightful  despot,  in  order  to  avoid  assassination, 
is  almost  compelled  to  exchange  characters 
with  his  slave.  It  is  singular,  however,  that 
the  Malay,  incapable  of  submission  on  any 
other  occasion,  and  ever  ready  to  avenge  in- 
sult with  death,  submits  to  the  severest  military 
discipline  with  the  utmost  resignation  and 
meekness.  The  truth  is,  obedience  to  his  offi- 
cers forms  part  of  his  religious  creed;  and 
the  same  man  who  would  repay  the  most  in- 
significant insult  with  death,  will  submit  to  be 
lacerated  at  the  halbert  with  the  patience  of  a 
martyr.  This  is  truly  a  tremendous  people ! 
When  assassins  and  blood-hounds  will  fall  into 
rank  and  file,  and  the  most  furious  savages 
submit  (with  no  diminution  of  their  ferocity) 
to  the  science  and  discipline  of  war,  they  only 
want  a  Malay  Bonaparte  to  lead  them  to  the 
conquest  of  the  world.  Our  curiosity  has  al- 
ways been  very  highly  excited  by  the  accounts 
of  this  singular  people;  and  we  cannot  help 
thinking,  that,  one  day  or  another,  when  they 
are  more  full  of  opium  than  usual,  they  will 
run  a  muck  from  Cape  Comorin  to  the  Caspian. 

Mr.  Percival  does  not  consider  the  Ceylonese 
as  descended  from  the  continentals  of  the 
peninsula,  but  rather  from  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Maldive  Islands,  whom  they  very  much 
resemble  in  complexion,  features,  language, 
and  manners. 

"The  Ceylonese  (says  Mr.  Percival)  are 
courteous  and  polite  in  their  demeanour,  even 
to  a  degree  far  exceeding  their  civilization.  In 
several  qualities  they  are  greatly  superior  to 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


351 


all  other  Indians  who  have  fallen  within  the 
sphere  of  my  observation.  I  have  already  ex- 
empted them  from  the  censure  of  stealing  and 
lying,  which  seem  to  be  almost  inherent  in  the 
nature  of  an  Indian.  They  are  mild,  and  by 
no  means  captious  or  passionate  in  their  in- 
tercourse with  each  other ;  though,  when  once 
their  anger  is  roused,  it  is  proportionably  fu- 
rious and  lasting.  Their  hatred  is  indeed 
mortal,  and  they  will  frequently  destroy  them- 
selves to  obtain  the  destruction  of  the  detested 
object.  One  instance  will  serve  to  show  the 
extent  to  which  this  passion  is  carried.  If  a 
Ceylonese  cannot  obtain  money  due  to  him  by 
another,  he  goes  to  his  debtor,  and  threatens 
to  kill  himself  if  he  is  not  instantly  paid.  This 
threat,  which  is  sometimes  put  in  execution, 
reduces  the  debtor,  if  it  be  in  his  power,  to 
immediate  compliance  with  the  demand:  as, 
by  their  law,  if  any  man  causes  the  loss  of 
another  man's  life,  his  own  is  the  forfeit.  '  An 
eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,'  is  a  pro- 
verbial expression  continually  in  their  mouths. 
This  is,  on  other  occasions,  a  ver}''  common 
mode  of  revenge  among  them ;  and  a  Cey- 
lonese has  often  been  known  to  contrive  to  kill 
himself  in  the  company  of  his  enemy,  that  the 
latter  might  sutler  for  it. 

"This  dreadful  spirit  of  revenge,  so  incon- 
sistent with  the  usually  mild  and  humane  sen- 
timents of  the  Ceylonese,  and  much  more  con- 
genial to  the  bloody  temper  of  a  Malay,  still 
continues  to  be  fostered  by  the  sacred  cus- 
toms of  the  Candians.  Among  the  Cinglese, 
however,  it  has  been  greatly  mitigated  by 
their  intercourse  with  Europeans.  The  despe- 
rate mode  of  obtaining  revenge  which  I  have 
just  described,  has  been  given  up,  from  having 
been  disappointed  of  its  object ;  as,  in  all  those 
parts  under  our  dominion,  the  European  modes 
of  investigating  and  punishing  crimes  are  en- 
forced. A  case  of  this  nature  occurred  at 
Caltura  in  1799.  A  Cinglese  peasant  hap- 
pening to  have  a  suit  or  controversy  with  an- 
other, watched  an  opportunity  of  going  to  bathe 
in  company  with  him,  and  drowned  himself, 
with  the  view  of  having  his  adversary  put  to 
death.  The  latter  was  upon  this  taken  up,  and 
sent  to  Columbo  to  take  his  trial  for  making 
away  with  the  deceased,  upon  the  principle  of 
having  been  the  last  seen  in  his  companj^ 
There  was,  however,  nothing  more  than  pre- 
sumptive proof  against  the  culprit,  and  he  was 
of  course  acquitted.  This  decision,  however, 
did  not  by  any  means  tally  with  the  sentiments 
of  the  Cinglese,  who  are  as  much  inclined  to 
continue  their  ancient  barbarous  practice,  as 
their  brethren  the  Candians,  although  they  are 
deprived  of  the  power." — (pp.  70 — 72.) 

The  warlike  habits  of  the  Candians  make 
them  look  with  contempt  on  the  Cinglese, 
who  are  almost  entirely  unacquainted  with  the 
tnanagement  of  arms.  They  have  the  habit 
and  character  of  mountaineers — warlike,  hardy, 
enterprising,  and  obstinate.  They  have,  at 
various  times,  proved  themselves  very  formi- 
dable enemies  to  the  Dutch ;  and  in  that  kind 
of  desultory  warfare,  which  is  the  only  one 
their  rugged  country  will  admit  of,  have  cut 
off  large  parties  of  the  troops  of  both  these 
nations.    The  King  of  Candia,  as  we  have  be- 


fore mentioned,  possesses  only  the  middle  of 
the  island,  which  nature,  and  his  Candian  ma- 
jesty, have  rendered  as  inaccessible  as  possi- 
ble. It  is  traversable  only  by  narrow  wood- 
paths,  known  to  nobody  but  the  natives, 
strictly  watched  in  peace  and  war,  and  where 
the  best  troops  in  the  world  might  be  shot  in 
any  quantities  by  the  Candian  marksmen, 
without  the  smallest  possibility  of  resisting 
their  enemies  ;  because  there  would  not  be  the 
smallest  possibility  of  finding  them.  The  King 
of  Candia  is  of  course  despotic ;  and  the  his- 
tory of  his  life  and  reign  presents  the  same 
monotonous  ostentation,  and  baby-like  caprice, 
which  characterize  oriental  governments.  In 
public  audiences  he  appears  like  a  great  fool, 
squatting  on  his  hams  ;  far  surpassing  ginger- 
bread in  splendour ;  and,  after  asking  some 
such  idiotical  question,  as  Avhether  Europe  is 
in  Asia  or  Africa,  retires  with  a  flourish  of 
trumpets  very  much  out  of  tune.  For  his  pri- 
vate amusements,  he  rides  on  the  nose  of  an 
elephant,  plays  with  his  jewels,  sprinkles  his 
courtiers  with  rose-water,  and  feeds  his  gold 
and  silver  fish.  If  his  tea  is  not  sweet  enough, 
he  impales  his  footman  ;  and  smites  off  the 
heads  of  half  a  dozen  of  his  noblemen,  if  he 
has  a  pain  in  his  own. 

— JL(7-!r?g  yj^  (says  Aristotle)  TsxsaSsv  0i\rt(7-Tov  tw 

^u^i^Tov  7rst.]nci>V'     Polit. 

The  only  exportable  articles  of  any  import- 
ance which  Ceylon  produces,  are  pearls,  cinna- 
mon, and  elephants.  Mr.  Percival  has  pre- 
sented us  with  an  extremely  interesting  account 
of  the  pearl  fishery,  held  in  Condatchy  Bite, 
near  the  island  of  Manaar,  in  the  straits  which 
separate  Ceylon  from  the  main  land. 

"  There  is  perhaps  no  spectacle  which  the 
island  of  Ceylon  affords  more  striking  to  an 
European,  than  the  bay  of  Condatchy,  during 
the  season  of  the  pearl  fishery.  This  desert 
and  barren  spot  is  at  that  time  converted  into 
a  scene,  which  exceeds,  in  novelty  and  variety, 
almost  any  thing  I  ever  witnessed.  Several 
thousands  of  people  of  different  colours,  coun- 
tries, castes,  and  occupations,  continually  pass- 
ing and  repassing  in  a  busy  crowd ;  the  vast 
number  of  small  tents  and  huts  erected  on  the 
shore,  with  the  bazaar  or  market-place  before 
each  ;  the  multitude  of  boats  returning  in  the 
afternoon  from  the  pearl  banks,  some  of  them 
laden  with  riches  ;  the  anxious  expecting  coun- 
tenances of  the  boat-owners,  while  the  boats 
are  approaching  the  shore,  and  the  eagerness 
and  avidity  with  which  they  run  to  them  when 
arrived,  in  hopes  of  a  rich  cargo ;  the  vast 
numbers  of  jewellers,  brokers,  merchants  of 
all  colours  and  all  descriptions,  both  natives 
and  foreigners,  who  are  occupied  in  some  way 
or  other  with  the  pearls,  some  separating  and 
assorting  them,  others  weighing  and  ascer- 
taining their  number  and  value,  while  others 
are  hawking  them  about,  or  drilling  and  boring 
them  for  future  use  ; — all  these  circumstances 
tend  to  impress  the  mind  with  the  value  and 
importance  of  that  object,  which  can  of  itself 
create  this  scene. 

"  The  bay  of  Condatchy  is  the  most  central 
rendezvous   for  the   boats   employed  in   the 


352 


WORKS    OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


fishery.  The  banks  where  it  is  carried  on  ex- 
tend several  miles  along  the  coast  from  Manaar 
southward  off  Arippo,  Condatchy,  and  Pompa- 
ripo.  The  principal  bank  is  opposite  to  Con- 
datchy, and  lies  out  at  sea  about  twenty  miles. 
The  first  step,  previous  to  the  commencement 
of  the  fishery,  is  to  have  the  different  oyster 
banks  surveyed,  the  state  of  the  oysters  ascer- 
tained, and  a  report  made  on  the  subject  to 
government.  If  it  has  been  found  that  the 
quantity  is  sufficient,  and  that  they  are  arrived 
at  a  proper  degree  of  maturity,  the  particular 
banks  to  be  fished  that  year  are  put  up  for  sale 
lo  the  highest  bidder,  and  are  usually  pur- 
chased by  a  black  merchant.  This,  however, 
is  not  always  the  course  pursued  :  government 
sometimes  judges  it  more  advantageous  to  fish 
the  banks  on  its  own  account,  and  to  dispose 
of  the  pearls  afterwards  to  the  merchants. 
When  this  plan  is  adopted,  boats  are  hired  for 
the  season  on  account  of  government,  from 
different  quarters  ;  the  price  varies  considera- 
bly according  to  circumstances,  but  is  usually 
from  five  to  eight  hundred  pagodas  for  each 
boat.  There  are,  however,  no  slated  prices, 
and  the  best  bargain  possible  is  made  for  each 
boat  separately.  The  Dutch  generally  followed 
this  last  system;  the  banks  were  fished  on 
government  account,  and  the  pearls  disposed 
of  in  diflerent  parts  of  India  or  sent  to  Europe. 
When  this  plan  was  pursued,  the  governor  and 
council  of  Ceylon  claimed  a  certain  per  cent- 
age  on  the  value  of  the  pearls ;  or,  if  the 
fishing  of  the  banks  was  disposed  of  by  public 
sale,  they  bargained  for  a  stipulated  sum  to 
themselves  over  and  above  what  was  paid  on 
account  of  government.  The  pretence  on 
which  they  founded  their  claims  for  this  per- 
quisite, was  their  trouble  in  surveying  and 
valuing  the  banks." — (pp.  59 — 61.) 

The  banks  are  divided  into  six  or  seven  por- 
tions, in  order  to  give  the  oysters  time  to  grow, 
which  are  supposed  to  attain  their  maturity  in 
about  seven  years.  The  period  allowed  to  the 
merchant  to  complete  his  fishery  is  about  six 
weeks,  during  which  period  all  the  boats  go 
out  and  return  together,  and  are  subject  to 
very  rigorous  laws.  The  dexterity  of  the  di- 
vers is  very  striking ;  they  are  as  adroit  in  the 
use  of  their  feet  as  their  hands ;  and  can  pick 
up  the  smallest  object  under  water  with  their 
toes.  Their  descent  is  aided  by  a  great  stone, 
which  they  slip  from  their  feet  when  they  ar- 
rive at  the  bottom,  where  they  can  remain 
about  two  minutes.  There  are  instances,  how- 
ever, of  divers,  who  have  so  much  of  the 
aquatic  in  their  nature,  as  to  remain  under 
water  for  five  or  six  minutes.  Their  great 
enemy  is  the  ground-shark ;  for  the  rule  of 
eat  and  be  eaten,  which  Dr.  Darwin  called  the 
great  law  of  nature,  obtains  in  as  much  force 
fathoms  deep  beneath  the  waves  as  above 
them :  this  animal  is  as  fond  of  the  legs  of 
Hindoos,  as  Hindoos  are  of  the  pearls  of  oys- 
ters ;  and  as  one  appetite  appears  to  him  much 
more  natural,  and  less  capricious  than  the 
other,  he  never  fails  to  indulge  it.  Where  for- 
tune has  so  much  to  do  with  peril  and  profit, 
of  course  there  is  no  deficiency  of  conjurers, 
who,  by  divers  enigmatical  grimaces,  endea- 
vour to  ostracise  this  submarine  invader.    If 


they  are  successful  they  are  well  paid  in  pearls ; 
and  when  a  shark  indulges  himself  with  the 
leg  of  a  Hindoo,  there  is  a  witch  who  lives  at 
Colang,  on  the  Malabar  coast,  who  always 
bears  the  blame. 

A  common  mode  of  theft  practised  by  the 
common  people  engaged  in  the  pearl  fishery, 
is  by  swallowing  the  pearls.  Whenever  any 
one  is  suspected  of  having  swallowed  these  pre- 
cious pills  of  Cleopatra,  the  police  apotheca- 
ries are  instantly  sent  for ;  a  brisk  cathartic  is 
immediately  despatched  after  the  truant  pearl, 
with  the  strictest  orders  to  apprehend  it,  in 
whatever  corner  of  the  viscera  it  may  be  found 
lurking.  Oyster  lotteries  are  carried  on  here  to 
a  great  extent.  They  consist  in  purchasing  a 
quantity  of  the  oysters  unopened,  and  running 
the  chance  of  either  finding  or  not  finding 
pearls  in  them.  The  European  gentlemen 
and  officers  who  attend  the  pearl  fishery, 
through  duty  or  curiosity,  are  particularly 
fond  of  these  lotteries,  and  frequently  make 
purchases  of  this  sort.  The  whole  of  this  ac- 
count is  very  well  written,  and  has  afforded  us 
a  great  degree  of  amusement.  By  what  curious 
links,  and  fantastical  relations,  are  mankind 
connected  together !  At  the  distance  of  half 
the  globe,  a  Hindoo  gains  his  support  by 
groping  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  for  the  mor- 
bid concretion  of  shell-fish,  to  decorate  the 
throat  of  a  London  alderman's  wife.  It  is  said 
that  the  great  Linnaeus  had  discovered  the 
secret  of  infecting  oysters  with  this  perligenous 
disease  :  what  is  become  of  the  secret  we  do 
not  know,  as  the  only  interest  we  take  in 
oysters  is  of  a  much  more  vulgar,  though,  per- 
haps, a^ore  humane  nature. 

The  principal  woods  of  cinnamon  lie  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Columbo.  They  reach  to 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  fort,  and  fill  the 
whole  surrounding  prospect.  The  grand  gar- 
den near  the  town  is  so  extensive,  as  to  occu- 
py a  tract  of  country  from  10  to  15  miles  in 
length. 

"Nature  has  here  concentrated  both  the 
beauty  and  the  riches  of  the  island.  Nothing 
can  be  more  delightful  to  the  eye  than  the 
prospect  which  stretches  around  Columbo. 
The  low  cinnamon  trees  which  cover  the  plain, 
allow  the  view  to  reach  the  groves  of  ever- 
greens, interspersed  with  tall  clumps,  and 
bounded  everywhere  with  extensive  ranges  of 
cocoa-nut  and  other  large  trees.  The  whole 
is  diversified  with  small  lakes  and  green 
marshes,  skirted  all  round  with  rice  and  pas- 
ture fields.  In  one  part,  the  intertwining  cin- 
namon trees  appear  completely  to  clothe  the 
face  of  the  plain ;  in  another,  the  openings 
made  by  the  intersecting  footpaths  just  serve 
to  show  that  the  thick  underwood  has  beea 
penetrated.  One  large  road,  which  goes  out 
at  the  west  gate  of  the  fort,  and  returns  by  the 
gate  on  the  south,  makes  a  winding  circuit  of 
seven  miles  among  the  woods.  It  is  here  that 
the  officers  and  gentlemen  belonging  to  the 
garrison  of  Columbo  take  their  morning  ride, 
and  enjoy  one  of  the  finest  scenes  in  nature."— 
(pp.  336,  337.) 

As  this  spice  constitutes  the  wealth  of  Cey- 
lon, great  pains  are  taken  to  ascertain  its 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


35^ 


qualities,  and  propagate  its  choicest  kinds. 
The  prime  sort  is  obtained  from  the  Laurus 
Cinnamonum.  The  leaf  resembles  the  laurel 
in  shape,  but  is  not  of  so  deep  a  green.  When 
chewed  it  has  the  smell  and  taste  of  cloves. 
There  are  several  different  species  of  cinna- 
mon trees  on  the  island;  but  four  sorts  only 
are  cultivated  and  barked.  The  picture  which 
we  have  just  quoted  from  Mr.  Percival,  of  a 
morning  ride  in  a  cinnamon  wood,  is  so  en- 
chanting, that  we  are  extremely  sorry  the 
addition  of  aromatic  odours  cannot  with  ve- 
racity be  made  to  it.  The  cinnamon  has,  un- 
fortunately, no  smell  at  all  but  to  the  nostrils  of 
the  poet.  Mr.  Percival  gives  us  a  very  inte- 
resting account  of  the  process  of  making  up 
cinnamon  for  the  market,  in  which  we  are 
sorry  our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  follow 
him.  The  different  qualities  of  the  cinnamon 
bundles  can  only  be  estimated  by  the  taste ; 
an  ofhce  which  devolves  upon  the  medical 
men  of  the  settlement,  who  are  employed  for 
several  days  together  in  chewing  cinnamon,  the  acrid 
juice  of  which  excoriates  the  mouth,  and  puts 
them  to  the  most  dreadful  tortures. 

The  island  of  Ceylon  is  completely  divided 
into  two  parts  by  a  very  high  range  of  moun- 
tains, on  the  two  sides  of  which  the  climate 
and  the  seasons  are  entirely  different.  These 
mountains  also  terminate  completely  the  effect 
of  the  monsoons,  which  set  in  periodically 
from  opposite  sides  of  them.  On  the  west 
side,  the  rains  prevail  in  the  months  of  May, 
June,  and  July,  the  season  when  they  are  felt 
on  the  Malabar  coast.  This  monsoon  is  usual- 
ly extremely  violent  during  its  continuance. 
The  northern  parts  of  the  island  are  very  little 
affected.  In  the  months  of  October  and  No- 
vember, when  the  opposite  monsoon  sets  in 
on  the  Coromandel  coast,  the  north  of  the 
island  is  attacked ;  and  scarcely  any  impres- 
sion reaches  the  southern  parts.  The  heat 
during  the  day  is  nearly  the  same  throughout 
the  year :  the  rainy  season  renders  the  nights 
much  cooler.  The  climate,  upon  the  v/hole, 
is  much  more  temperate  than  on  the  continent 
of  India.  The  temperate  and  healthy  climate 
of  Ceylon  is,  however,  confined  to  the  sea- 
coast.  In  the  interior  of  the  country,  the  ob- 
structions which  the  thick  woods  oppose  to 
the  free  circulation  of  air,  render  the  heat  al- 
most insupportable,  and  generate  a  low  and 
malignant  fever,  known  to  Europeans  by  the 
name  of  the  Jungle  fever.  The  chief  harbours 
of  Ceylon  are  Trincomalee,  Point  de  Galle, 
and,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  Columbo. 
The  former  of  these,  from  its  nature  and  situa- 
tion, is  that  which  stamps  Ceylon  one  of  our 
most  valuable  acquisitions  in  the  East  Indies. 
As  soon  as  the  monsoons  commence,  every 
vessel  caught  by  them  in  any  other  part  of  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  is  obliged  to  put  to  sea  imme- 
diately, in  order  to  avoid  destruction.  At  these 
seasons,  Trincomalee  alone,  of  all  the  parts 
on  this  side  of  the  peninsula,  is  capable  of 
affording  to  vessels  a  safe  retreat;  which  a 
vessel  from  Madras  may  reach  in  two  days. 
These  circumstances  render  the  value  of 
Trincomalee  much  greater  than  that  of  the 
whole  island  ;  the  revenue  of  which  will  cer- 
tainly be  hardly  sufficient  to  defray  the  expense 
45 


of  the  establishments  kept  up  there.  The 
agriculture  of  Ceylon  is,  in  fact,  in  such  an 
imperfect  state,  and  the  natives  have  so  little 
availed  themselves  of  its  natural  fertility,  that 
great  part  of  the  provisions  necessary  for  its 
support  are  imported  from  Bengal. 

Ceylon  produces  the  elephant,  the  buffalo, 
tiger,  elk,  wild-hog,  rabbit,  hare,  flying-fox,  and 
musk-rat.  Many  articles  are  rendered  entirely 
useless  by  the  smell  of  musk,  which  this  latter 
animal  communicates  in  merely  running  over 
them.  Mr.  Percival  asserts  (and  the  fact  has 
been  confirmed  to  us  by  the  most  respectable 
authority),  that  if  it  even  pass  over  a  bottle  of 
wine,  however  well  corked  and  sealed  up,  the 
wine  becomes  so  strongly  tainted  with  musk, 
that  it  cannot  be  used;  and  a  whole  cask  may 
be  rendered  useless  in  the  same  manner. 
Among  the  great  variety  of  birds,  we  were 
struck  with  Mr.  Percival's  account  of  the 
honey-bird,  into  whose  body  the  soul  of  a  com- 
mon informer  appears  to  have  migrated.  It 
makes  a  loud  and  shrill  noise,  to  attract  the 
notice  of  anybody  whom  it  may  perceive;  and 
thus  inducing  him  to  follow  the  course  it 
points  out,  leads  him  to  the  tree  where  the  bees 
have  concealed  their  treasure  ;  after  the  apiary 
has  been  robbed,  this  feathered  scoundrel 
gleans  his  reward  from  the  hive.  The  list  of 
Ceylonese  snakes  is  hideous;  and  we  become 
reconciled  to  the  crude  and  cloudy  land  in 
which  we  live,  from  reflecting,  that  the  indis- 
criminate activity  of  the  sun  generates  what  is 
loathsome,  as  well  as  what  is  lovely;  that  the 
asp  reposes  under  the  rose  ;  and  the  scorpion 
crawls  under  the  fragrant  flower  and  the  lus- 
cious fruit. 

The  usual  stories  are  repeated  here,  of  the 
immense  size  and  voracious  appetite  of  a  cer- 
tain species  of  serpent.  The  best  history  of 
this  kind  we  ever  remember  to  have  read,  was 
of  a  serpent  killed  near  one  of  our  settlements, 
in  the  East  Indies  ;  in  whose  body  they  found 
the  chaplain  of  the  garrison,  all  in  black,  the 

Rev.  Mr. (somebody  or  other,  whose  name 

we  have  forgotten),  and  who,  after  having  been 
missing  for  above  a  week,  was  discovered  in 
this  very  inconvenient  situation.  The  domi- 
nions of  the  King  of  Candia  are  partly  defended 
by  leeches,  which  abound  in  the  woods,  and 
from  which  our  soldiers  suffered  in  the  most 
dreadful  manner.  The  Ceylonese,  in  compen- 
sation for  their  animated  plagues,  are  endowed 
with  two  vegetable  blessings,  the  cocoa-nut 
tree  and  the  talipot  tree.  The  latter  affords  a 
prodigious  leaf,  impenetrable  to  sun  or  rain, 
and  large  enough  to  shelter  ten  men.  It  is  a 
natural  umbrella,  and  is  of  as  eminent  service 
in  that  country  as  a  great-coat  tree  would  be 
in  this.  A  leaf  of  <he  talipot  tree  is  a  tent  to 
the  soldier,  a  parasol  to  the  traveller,  and  a 
book  to  the  scholar.*  The  cocoa  tree  affords 
bread,  milk,  oil,  wine,  spirits,  vinegar,  yeast, 
sugar,  cloth,  paper,  huts,  and  ships. 

We  could  With  great  pleasure  proceed  to 
give  a  farther  abstract  of  this  very  agreeable 
and  interesting  publication,  which  we  very 
strongly  recommend  to  the  public.  It  is  writ- 
ten with  great  modesty,  entirely  without  pre 


*  All  books  are  written  upon  it  in  Ceylon 
2g  2 


354 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tensions,  and  abounds  with  curious  and  import- 
ant information.  '  Mr.  Percival  will  accept  our 
best  thanks  for  the  amusement  he  has  afforded 
us.  When  we  can  praise  with  such  justice, 
we  are  always  happy  to  do  it;  and  regret  that 
the  rigid  and  independent  honesty  which  we 


have  made  the  very  basis  of  our  literary  un- 
dertaking, should  so  frequently  compel  us  to 
speak  of  the  authors  who  come  before  us,  in  a 
style  so  different  from  that  in  which  we  have 
vindicated  the  merits  of  Mr.  Percival. 


belphine; 


[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


This  dismal  trash,  which  has  nearly  dislo- 
cated the  jaws  of  every  critic  among  us  with 
gaping,  has  so  alarmed  Bonaparte,  that  he  has 
seized  the  whole  impression,  sent  Madame  de 
Stael  out  of  Paris,  and,  for  aught  we  know, 
sleeps  in  a  night-cap  of  steel,  and  dagger- 
proof  blankets.  To  us  it  appears  rather  an 
attack  upon  the  Ten  Commandments  than  the 
government  of  Bonaparte,  and  calculated  not 
so  much  to  enforce  the  rights  of  the  Bourbons, 
as  the  benefits  of  adultery,  murder,  and  a  great 
number  of  other  vices,  which  have  been  some- 
how or  other  strangely  neglected  in  this  coun- 
try, and  too  much  so  (according  to  the  ap- 
parent opinion  of  Madame  de  Stael)  even  in 
France. 

It  happens,  however,  fortunately  enough, 
that  her  book  is  as  dull  as  it  could  have  been 
if  her  intentions  had  been  good;  for  wit,  dex- 
terity, and  the  pleasant  energies  of  the  mind, 
seldom  rank  themselves  on  the  side  of  virtue 
and  social  order;  while  vice  is  spiritual,  elo- 
quent, and  alert,  ever  choice  in  expression, 
happy  in  allusion,  and  judicious  in  arrange- 
ment. 

The  story  is  simply  this. — Delphine,  a  rich 
young  widow,  presents  her  cousin  Matilda  de 
Vernon  with  a  considerable  estate,  in  order  to 
enable  her  to  marry  Leonce  Mondeville.  To 
this  action  she  is  excited  by  the  arts  and  the 
intrigues  of  Madame  de  Vernon,  an  hackneyed 
Parisian  lady,  who  hopes,  by  this  marriage,  to 
be  able  to  discharge  her  numerous  and  pressing 
debts.  Leonce,  who,  like  all  other  heroes  of 
novels,  has  fine  limbs,  and  fine  qualities,  comes 
to  Paris — dislikes  Matilda — falls  in  love  with 
Delphine,  Delphine  with  him  ;  and  they  are 
upon  the  eve  of  jilting  poor  Matilda,  when, 
from  some  false  reports  spread  abroad  respect- 
ing the  character  of  Delphine  (which  are  ag- 
gravated by  her  own  imprudences,  and  by  the 
artifices  of  Madame  Vernon),  Leonce,  not  in  a 
fit  of  honesty,  but  of  revenge,  marries  the  lady 
whom  he  came  to  marry.  Soon  after,  Madame 
de  Vernon  dies — discovers  the  artifices  by 
which  she  had  prevented  the  union  of  Leonce 
and  Delphine — and  then,  after  this  catastrophe, 
which  ought  to  have  terminated  the  novel, 
come  two  long  volumes  of  complaint  and 
despair.      Delphine     becomes    a    nun — runs 


*  Delphine.     By  Madame  de  Stael  Holstein. 
don,  Mawiuan.    6  vols.  12iuo. 


lon- 


away  from  the  nunnery  with  Leonce,  who  is 
taken  by  some  French  soldiers,  upon  the  sup- 
position that  he  has  been  serving  in  the  French 
emigrant  army  against  his  country — is  shot, 
and  upon  his  dead  body  falls  Delphine  as  dead 
as  he. 

Making  every  allowance  for  reading  this 
book  in  a  translation,  and  in  a  very  bad  trans- 
lation, we  cannot  but  deem  it  a  heavy  per- 
formance. The  incidents  are  vulgar;  the  cha- 
racters vulgar,  too,  except  those  of  Delphine 
and  Madame  de  Vernon.  Madame  de  Stael 
has  not  the  artifice  to  hide  what  is  coming. 
In  travelling  through  a  flat  country,  or  a  flat 
book,  we  see  our  road  before  us  for  half  the 
distance  we  are  going.  There  are  no  agree- 
able sinuosities,  and  no  speculations  whether 
we  are  to  ascend  next,  or  descend ;  what  new 
sight  we  are  to  enjoy,  or  to  which  side  we  are 
to  bend.  Leonce  is  robbed  and  half  murdered; 
the  apothecary  of  the  place  is  certain  he  will 
not  live ;  we  were  absolutely  certain  that  he 
would  live,  and  could  predict  to  an  hour  the 
time  of  his  recovery.  In  the  same  manner 
we  could  have  prophesied  every  event  of  the 
book  a  whole  volume  before  its  occurrence. 

This  novel  is  a  perfect  Alexandrian.  The 
two  last  volumes  are  redundant,  and  drag  their 
wounded  length:  it  should  certainly  have  ter- 
minated where  the  interest  ceases,  at  the  death 
of  Madame  de  Vernon  ;  but,  instead  of  this, 
the  scene-shifters  come  and  pick  up  the  dead 
bodies,  wash  the  stage,  sweep  it,  and  do  every 
thing  which  the  timely  fall  of  the  curtain 
should  have  excluded  from  the  sight,  and  left 
to  the  imagination  of  the  audience.  We  hum- 
bly apprehend,  that  young  gentlemen  do  not  in 
general  make  their  tutors  the  confidants  of 
their  passion  ;  at  least  we  can  find  no  rule  of 
that  kind  laid  down  either  by  Miss  Hamilton 
or  Miss  Edgeworth,  in  their  treatises  on  educa- 
tion. The  tutor  of  Leonce  is  Mr.  Barton,  a 
grave  old  gentleman,  in  a  peruke  and  snuff- 
coloured  clothes.  "Instead  of  writing  to  this 
solemn  personage  about  second  causes,  the 
ten  categories,  and  the  eternal  fitness  of  things, 
the  young  lover  raves  to  him,  for  whole  pages, 
about  the  white  neck  and  auburn  hair  of  his 
Delphine ;  and,  shame  to  tell !  the  liquorish 
old  pedagogue  seems  to  think  these  amorous 
ebullitions  the  pleasantest  sort  of  writing  in 
usum  Delphmi  that  he  has  yet  met  with. 

By  altering  one  word,  and  making  only  one 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


355 


lalse  quantity,*  we  shall  change  the  rule  of 
Horace  to 

"  Nee  febris  intersit  nisi  dignus  vindice  nodus 
Inciderit." 

Delphine  and  Leonce  have  eight  very  bad  ty- 
phus fevers  between  them,  besides  hcemoptoe, 
hemorrhage,  deliquium  animi,  singultus,  hysteria, 
and  fceminci  uhdalus,  or  screams  innumerable. 
Now,  that  there  should  be  a  reasonable  allow- 
ance of  sickness  in  every  novel,  Ave  are  will- 
ing to  admit,  and  will  cheerfully  permit  the 
heroine  to  be  once  given  over,  and  at  the  point 
of  death;  but  we  cannot  consent,  that  the  in- 
terest which  ought  to  be  excited  by  the  feel- 
ings of  the  mind  should  be  transferred  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  body,  and  a  crisis  of  perspi- 
ration be  substituted  for  a  crisis  of  passion. 
Let  us  see  difficulties  overcome,  if  our  appro- 
bation is  required;  we  cannot  grant  it  to  such 
cheap  and  sterile  artifices  as  these. 

The  characters  in  this  novel  are  all  said  to 
be  drawn  from  real  life;  and  the  persons  for 
whom  they  are  intended  are  loudly  whispered 
at  Paris.  Most  of  them  we  have  forgotten ; 
but  Delphine  is  said  to  be  intended  for  the  au- 
thoress, and  Madame  dc  Vernon  (by  a  slight 
sexual  metamorphosis)  for  Talleyrand,  minis- 
ter of  the  French  republic  for  foreign  affairs. 
As  this  lady  (once  the  friend  of  the  authoress) 
may  probably  exercise  a  considerable  influ- 
ence over  the  destinies  of  this  country,  we 
shall  endeavour  to  make  our  readers  a  little 
better  acquainted  with  her;  but  we  must  first 
remind  them  that  she  was  once  a  bishop,  a 
higher  dignity  in  the  church  than  was  ever  at- 
tained by  any  of  her  sex  since  the  days  of 
Pope  Joan ;  and  that  though  she  swindles 
Delphine  out  of  her  estate  with  a  considerable 
degree  of  address,  her  dexterity  sometimes 
fails  her,  as  in  the  memorable  instance  of  the 
American  commissioners.  Madame  de  Stael 
gives  the  following  description  of  this  pasto- 
ral metropolitan  female : 

"Though  she  is  at  least  forty,  she  still  ap- 
pears charming  even  among  the  young  and 
beautiful  of  her  own  sex.  The  paleness  of 
her  complexion,  the  slight  relaxation  of  her 
features,  indicate  the  languor  of  indisposition, 
and  not  the  decay  of  years ;  the  easy  negli- 
gence of  her  dress  accords  with  this  impres- 
sion. Every  one  concludes,  that  when  her 
health  is  recovered,  and  she  dresses  with  more 
care,  she  must  be  completely  beautiful :  this 
change,  however,  never  happens,  but  it  is  al- 
wa3'^s  expected;  and  that  is  sufficient  to  make 
the  imagination  still  add  something  more  to  the 
natural  effect  of  her  charms." — (Vol.  I.  p.  21.) 

Nothing  can  be  more  execrable  than  the 
manner  in  which  this  book  is  translated.  The 
bookseller  has  employed  one  of  our  country- 
men for  that  purpose,  who  appears  to  have 
been  very  lately  caught.  The  contrast  between 
the  passionate  exclamations  of  Madame  de 
Stael,  and  the  barbarous  vulgarities  of  poor 
Sawney,  produces  a  mighty  ludicrous  effect. 
One  of  the  heroes,  a  man  of  high  fastidious 
temper,  exclaims  in  a  letter  to  Delphine,  "  I 

*  Perhaps  a  fault  of  all  others  which  the  English  are 
least  disposed  to  pardon.  A  yonns  man,  who,  on  a  pub- 
lic ocrnsinn,  makes  a  false  quantity  at  the  outset  of  life, 
ean  seldom  or  never  ect  over  it. 


cannot  endure  this  Paris;  I  have  met  with  ever 
so  many  people  whom  my  soul  abhors."  And  the, 
accomplished  and  enraptured  Leonce  termi- 
nates one  of  his  letters  thus:  "Adieu!  Adieu,, 
my  dearest  Delphine  !  I  will  give  you  a  call  to- 
morrow." We  doubt  if  Grub  street  ever  im 
ported  from  Caledonia  a  more  abominable 
translator. 

We  admit  the  character  of  Madame  de  Ver- 
non to  be  drawn  with  considerable  skill.  There 
are  occasional  traits  of  eloquence  and  pathos 
in  this  novel,  and  very  many  of  those  obser- 
vations upon  manners  and  character,  M^hich 
are  totally  out  of  the  reach  of  all  who  have 
lived  not  long  in  the  world,  and  observed  it 
well. 

The  immorality  of  any  book  (in  our  estima- 
tion) is  to  be  determined  by  the  general  im- 
pression it  leaves  on  those  minds,  whose  prin- 
ciples, not  yet  ossified,  are  capable  of  affording 
a  less  powerful  defence  to  its  influence.  The 
most  dangerous  effect  that  any  fictitious  cha- 
racter can  produce,  is  when  two  or  three  of  its 
popular  vices  are  varnished  over  with  every 
thing  that  is  captivating  and  gracious  in  the 
exterior,  and  ennobled  by  association  with 
splendid  virtues :  this  apology  will  be  more 
sure  of  its  effect,  if  the  faults  are  not  against 
nature,  but  against  society.  The  aversion  to 
murder  and  cruelty  could  not  perhaps  be  so 
overcome ;  but  a  regard  to  the  sanctity  of  mar- 
riage vows,  to  the  sacred  and  sensitive  delicacy 
of  the  female  character,  and  to  numberless  re- 
strictions important  to  the  well-being  of  our 
species,  may  easily  be  relaxed  by  this  subtle  and 
voluptuous  confusion  of  good  and  evil.  It  is 
in  vain  to  say  the  fable  evinces,  in  the  last  act, 
that  vice  is  productive  of  misery.  We  may 
decorate  a  villain  with  graces  and  felicities 
for  nine  volumes,  and  hang  him  in  the  last 
page.  This  is  not  teaching  virtue,  but  gilding 
the  gallows,  and  raising  up  splendid  associa- 
tions in  favour  of  being  hanged.  In  such  an 
union  of  the  amiable  and  the  vicious,  (espe- 
cially if  the  vices  are  such,  to  the  commission 
of  which  there  is  no  want  of  natural  disposi- 
tion,) the  vice  will  not  degrade  the  man,  but 
the  man  will  ennoble  the  vice.  We  shall 
wish  to  be  him  we  admire,  in  spite  of  his  vices, 
and,  if  the  novel  be  well  written,  even  in  con- 
sequence of  his  vice.  There  exists,  through  the 
whole  of  this  novel,  a  shoAV  of  exquisite  sen- 
sibility to  the  evils  which  individuals  suffer  by 
the  inflexible  rules  of  virtue  prescribed  by  so- 
ciety, and  an  eager  disposition  to  apologize 
for  particular  transgressions.  Such  doctrine 
is  not  confined  to  Madame  de  Stael ;  an  Arca- 
dian cant  is  gaining  fast  upon  Spartan  gravity; 
and  the  happiness  diffused,  and  the  beautiful 
order  established  in  society,  by  this  unbending 
discipline,  are  wholly  swallowed  up  in  com- 
passion for  the  unfortunate  and  interesting  in- 
dividual. Either  the  exceptions  or  the  rule 
must  be  given  up :  every  highwayman  Avho 
thrusts  his  pistol  into  a  chaise  window  has 
metwith  unforeseen  misfortunes ;  and  every  loose 
matron  who  flies  into  the  arms  of  her  GrcviUe 
was  compelled  to  marry  an  old  man  whom  sho 
detested,  by  an  avaricious  and  unfeeling  fa- 
ther. The  passions  want  not  accelerating,  but 
retarding  machinery.    This  fatal  and.  foolisli. 


356 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


sophistry  has  power  enough  over  every  heart, 
not  to  need  the  aid  of  fine  composition,  and 
well-contrived  incident — auxiliaries  which  Ma- 
dame de  Stael  intended  to  bring  forward  in  the 
cause,  though  she  has  fortunately  not  suc- 
ceeded. 

M.  de  Serbellone  is  received  as  a  guest  into 
the  house  of  M.  d'Ervins,  whose  wife  he  de- 
bauches as  a  recompense  for  his  hospitality. 
Is  it  possible  to  be  disgusted  with  ingratitude 
and  injustice,  when  united  to  such  an  assem- 
blage of  talents  and  virtues  as  this  man  of  pa- 
per possesses  1  Was  there  ever  a  more  de- 
lightful, fascinating  adulteress  than  Madame 
d'Ervins  is  intended  to  bel  or  a.povcro  cornuto 
less  capable  of  exciting  compassion  than  her 
husband  1  The  morality  of  all  this  is  the  old 
morality  of  Farquhar,  Vanburgh,  and  Con- 
greve — that  every  witty  man  may  transgress 
the  seventh  commandment,  which  was  never 
meant  for  the  protection  of  husbands  who  la- 
bour under  the  incapacity  of  making  repartees. 
In  Matilda,  religion  is  always  as  unamiable  as 
dissimulation  is  graceful  in  Madame  de  Ver- 
non, and  imprudence  generous  in  Delphine. 
This  said  Delphine,  with  her  fine  auburn  hair, 
and  her  beautiful  blue  or  green  eyes  (we  forget 
which),  cheats  her  cousin  Matilda  out  of  her 
lover,  alienates  the  atfections  of  her  husband, 
and  keeps  a  sort  of  assignation  house  for  Ser- 
bellone and  his  rhere  amie,  justifying  herself 
by  the  most  touching  complaints  against  the 
rigour  of  the  world,  and  using  the  customary 
phrases,  union  of  souls,  married  in  the  eye  of  hea- 
ven, &c.  «&c.  &c.,  and  such  like  diction,  the 


types  of  which  Mr.  Lane,  of  the  Minerva  Press, 
very  prudently  keeps  ready  composed,  in  order 
to  facilitate  the  printing  of  the  Adventures  of 
Captain  C and  Miss  F ,  and  other  in- 
teresting stories,  of  which  he,  the  said  inimi- 
table Mr.  Lane,  of  the  Minerva  Press,  well 
knows  these  sentiments  must  make  a  part. 
Another  perilous  absurdity  which  this  useful 
production  tends  to  cherish,  is  the  common  no- 
tion, that  contempt  of  rule  and  order  is  a  proof 
of  greatness  of  mind.  Delphine  is  everywhere 
a  great  spirit  struggling  with  the  shackles  im- 
posed upon  her  in  common  with  the  little 
world  around  her;  and  it  is  managed  so  that 
her  contempt  of  restrictions  shall  always  ap- 
pear to  flow  from  the  extent,  variety,  and  splen- 
dour of  her  talents.  The  vulgarity  of  this  he- 
roism ought  in  some  degree  to  diminish  its 
value.  Mr.  Colquhoun,  in  his  Police  of  the 
Metropolis,  reckons  up  above  40,000  heroines 
of  this  species,  most  of  whom,  we  dare  to  say, 
have  at  one  time  or  another  reasoned  like  the 
sentimental  Delphine  about  the  judgments  of 
the  world. 

To  conclude — Our  general  opinion  of  this 
book  is,  that  it  is  calculated  to  shed  a  mild 
lustre  over  adultery;  by  gentle  and  convenient 
gradation,  to  destroy  the  modesty  and  the  cau- 
tion of  women  ;  to  facilitate  the  acquisition  of 
easy  vices,  and  encumber  the  difficulty  of  vir- 
tue. What  a  wretched  qualification  of  this 
censure  to  add,  that  the  badness  of  the  princi- 
ple is  alone  corrected  by  the  badness  of  the 
style,  and  that  this  celebrated  lady  would  have 
been  very  guilty,  if  she  had  not  been  very  dull! 


MISSION  TO  ashantee; 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1819,] 


Cape  Coast  Castle,  or  Cape  Corso,  is  a 
factory  of  Africa,  on  the  Gold  Coast.  The 
Portuguese  settled  here  in  1610,  and  built  the 
citadel ;  from  which,  in  a  few  years  after- 
wards, they  were  dislodged  by  the  Dutch.  In 
1661,  it  was  demolished  by  the  English  under 
Admiral  Holmes ;  and  by  the  treaty  of  Breda, 
it  was  made  over  to  our  government.  The 
latitude  of  Cape  Coast  Castle  is  5°  6'  north  ; 
the  longitude  1°  51'  west.  The  capital  of  the 
kingdom  of  Ashantee  is  Coomassie,  the  lati- 
tude of  which  is  about  6°  30'  20"  north,  and 
the  longitude  2°  6'  30"  west.  The  mission 
quitted  Cape  Coast  Castle  on  the  22d  of  April, 
and  arrived  at  Coomassie  about  the  lOlh  of 
May — halting  two  or  three  days  on  the  route, 
and  walking  the  whole  distance,  or  carried  by 
hammock-bearers  at  a  foot-pace.  The  dis- 
tance between  the  fort  and  the  capital  is  not 
more  than  150  miles,  or  about  as  far  as  from 


*  Mission  from  Cape  Coast  Castle  to  Jlshmitee,  tnith  a 
Statistical  Account  of  that  Kinn-dom,  and  Gencrravhrcal 
Jfotices  of  other  Parts  of  the  Interior  of  Africa.  liy  T. 
Kdward  Bowdich,  Esq.,  Conductor  London,  Mur- 
lav,  1819. 


Durham  to  Edinburgh  ;  and  yet  the  kingdom 
of  Ashantee  was,  before  the  mission  of  Mr. 
Bowdich,  almost  as  much  unknown  to  us  as 
if  it  had  been  situated  in  some  other  planet. 
The  country  which  surrounds  Cape  Coast 
Castle  belongs  to  the  Fantees ;  and,  about  the 
year  1807,  an  Ashantee  army  reached  the 
coast  for  the  first  time.  They  invaded  Fantee 
again  in  1811,  and,  for  the  third  time,  in  1816. 
To  put  a  stop  to  the  horrible  cruelties  com- 
mitted by  the  stronger  on  the  weaker  nation  ; 
to  secure  their  own  safety,  endangered  by  the 
Ashantees  ;  and  to  enlarge  our  knowledge  of 
Africa — the  government  of  Cape  Coast  Castle 
persuaded  the  African  committee  to  send  a 
deputation  to  the  kingdom  of  Ashantee ;  and 
of  this  embassy  the  publication  now  before  us 
is  the  narrative.  The  embassy  walked  through 
a  beautiful  country,  laid  waste  by  the  recent 
wars,  and  arrived  in  the  time  we  have  men- 
tioned, and  without  meeting  with  any  remark- 
able accident  at  Coomassie,  the  capital.  The 
account  of  their  first  reception  there  we  shall 
lay  before  our  readers. 
"  We  entered  Coomassie  at  two  o'clock,  pass- 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV,  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


35", 


ing  under  a  fetish,  or  sacrifice  of  a  dead  sheep, 
wrapped  up  in  red  silk,  and  suspended  be- 
tween two  lofty  poles.  Upwards  of  5000  peo- 
ple, the  greater  part  warriors,  met  us  with 
awful  bursts  of  martial  music,  discordant  only 
in  its  mixture ;  for  horns,  drums,  rattles,  and 
gong-gongs,  were  all  exerted  with  a  zeal  bor- 
dering on  frenzy,  to  subdue  us  by  (he  first  im- 
pression. The  smoke  which  encircled  us  from 
the  incessant  discharges  of  musketry,  confined 
our  glimpses  to  the  foreground ;  and  we  were 
halted  whilst  the  captains  performed  their 
Pyrrhic  dance,  in  the  centre  of  a  circle  formed 
by  their  warriors ;  where  a  confusion  of  flags, 
English,  Dutch,  and  Danish,  were  waved  and 
flourished  in  all  directions  ;  the  bearers  plung- 
ing and  springing  from  side  to  side,  with  a 
passion  of  enthusiasm  only  equalled  by  the 
captains,  who  followed  them,  discharging  their 
shining  blunderbusses  so  close,  that  the  flags 
now  and  then  were  in  a  blaze  ^  and  emerging 
from  the  smoke  with  all  the  gesture  and  dis- 
tortion of  maniacs.  Their  followers  kept  up 
the  firing  around  us  in  the  rear.  The  dress 
of  the  captains  was  a  war  cap,  with  gilded 
rams'  horns  projecting  in  front,  the  sides  ex- 
tended beyond  all  proportion  by  immense 
plumes  of  eagles'  feathers,  and  fastened  under 
the  chin  with  bands  of  cowries.  Their  vest 
was  of  red  cloth,  covered  with  fetishes  and 
saphies  in  gold  and  silver ;  and  embroidered 
cases  of  almost  every  colour,  which  flapped 
against  their  bodies  as  they  moved,  intermixed 
with  small  brass  bells,  the  horns  and  tails  of 
animals,  shells,  and  knives ;  long  leopards' 
tails  hung  down  their  backs,  over  a  small  bow 
covered  with  fetishes.  They  wore  loose  cot- 
ton trowsers,  with  immense  boots  of  a  dull  red 
leather,  coming  half  way  up  the  thigh,  and 
fastened  by  small  chains  to  their  cartouch  or 
waist  belt;  these  were  also  ornamented  with 
bells,  horses'  tails,  strings  of  amulets,  and  in- 
numerable shreds  of  leather;  a  small  quiver 
of  poisoned  arrows  hung  from  their  right 
wrist,  and  they  held  a  long  iron  chain  between 
their  teeth  with  a  scrap  of  Moorish  writing 
affixed  to  the  end  of  it.  A  small  spear  was 
in  their  left  hands,  covered  with  red  cloth  and 
silk  tassels  ;  their  black  countenances  height- 
ened the  eff'ect  of  this  attire  and  completed  a 
figure  scarcely  human. 

"  This  exhibition  continued  about  half  an 
hour,  when  we  were  allowed  to  proceed,  en- 
circled by  the  warriors,  whose  numbers,  with 
the  crowds  of  people,  made  our  movement  as 
gradual  as  if  it  had  taken  place  in  Cheapside  ; 
the  several  streets  branching  off  to  the  right 
presented  long  vistas  crammed  with  people ; 
and  those  on  the  left  hand  being  on  an  accli- 
vity, innumerable  rows  of  heads  rose  one 
above  another :  the  large  open  porches  of  the 
houses,  like  the  fronts  of  stages  in  small  thea- 
tres, were  filled  with  the  better  sort  of  females 
and  children,  all  impatient  to  behold  white 
men  for  the  first  time  ;  their  exclamations  were 
drowned  in  the  firing  and  music,  but  their  ges- 
tures were  in  character  with  the  scene.  When 
we  reached  the  palace,  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  place  where  we  entered,  we  were  again 
halted,  and  an  open  file  was  made,  through 
which  the  bearers  were  passed,  to  deposit  the 


presents  and  baggage  in  the  house  assigned  to 
us.  Here  we  were  gratified  by  observing  seve- 
ral of  the  caboceers  (chiefs)  pass  by  with  their 
trains,  the  novel  splendour  of  which  astonished 
us.  The  bands,  principally  composed  of 
horns  and  flutes,  trained  to  play  in  concert, 
seemed  to  soothe  our  hearing  into  its  natural 
tone  again  by  their  wild  melodies ;  whilst  the 
immense  umbrellas,  made  to  sink  and  rise 
from  the  jerkings  of  the  bearers,  and  the 
large  fans  waving  around,  refreshed  us  with 
small  currents  of  air,  under  a  burning  sun, 
clouds  of  dust,  and  a  density  of  atmosphere 
almost  suffocating.  •  We  were  then  squeezed, 
at  the  same  funeral  pace,  up  a  long  street,  to 
an  open-fronted  house,  where  we  were  desired 
by  a  royal  messenger  to  wait  a  further  invita- 
tion from  the  king." — (pp.  31 — 33.) 

The  embassy  remained  about  four  months, 
leaving  one  of  their  members  behind  as  a 
permanent  resident.  Their  treatment,  though 
subjected  to  the  fluctuating  passions  of  bar- 
barians, was,  upon  the  whole,  not  bad;  and  a 
foundation  appears  to  have  been  laid  for  fu- 
ture intercourse  with  the  Ashantees,  and  a 
mean  opened,  through  them,  of  becoming  bet- 
ter acquainted  with  the  interior  of  Africa. 

The  Moors,  who  seem  (barbarians  as  they 
are)  to  be  the  civilizers  of  internal  Africa, 
have  penetrated  to  the  capital  of  the  Ashan- 
tees :  they  are  bigoted  and  intolerant  to  Chris- 
tians, but  not  sacrificers  of  human  victims  in 
their  religious  ceremonies ; — nor  averse  to 
commerce;  and  civilized  in  comparison  to 
most  of  the  idolatrous  natives  of  Africa.  From 
their  merchants  who  resorted  from  various 
parts  of  the  interior,  Mr.  Bowdich  employed 
himself  in  procuring  all  the  geographical 
details  which  their  travels  enabled  them  to 
aflxird.  Timbuctoo  they  described  as  inferior 
toHoussa,and  not  at  all  comparable  to  Boornoo- 
The  Moorish  influence  was  stated  to  be  power- 
ful in  it,  but  not  predominant.  A  small  river 
goes  nearly  round  the  town,  overflowing  in  the 
rains,  and  obliging  the  people  of  the  saoiirbs 
to  move  to  an  eminence  in  the  centre  of  the 
town  where  the  king  lives.  The  king,  a 
Moorish  negro  called  Billabahada,  had  a  few 
double-barrelled  guns,  which  were  fired  on 
great  occasions  ;  and  gunpowder  was  as  dear 
as  gold.  Mr.  Bowdich  calculates  Houssa  to 
be  N.  E.  from  the  Niger  20  days'  journey  of 
18  miles  each  day;  and  the  latitude  and  lon- 
gitude to  be  18°  59'  N.  and  3°  59'  E.  Boornoo 
was  spoken  of  as  the  first  empire  in  Africa. 
The  Mahometans  of  Sennaar  reckon  it  among 
the  four  powerful  empires  of  the  world; 
the  other  three  being  Turkey,  Persia,  and 
Abyssinia. 

The  Niger  is  only  known  to  the  Moors  by 
the  name  of  the  Quolla,  pronounced  as  Qiwrra 
by  the  negroes,  who,  from  whatever  countries 
they  come,  all  spoke  of  this  as  the  largest  river 
with  which  they  were  acquainted;  and  it  was 
the  grand  feature  in  all  the  routes  to  Ashantee, 
whether  from  Houssa,  Foornoo,  or  the  interme- 
diate countries.  The  Niger,  after  leaving  the 
lake  Dibbri,  was  invariably  described  as  divid- 
ing into  two  large  streams;  the  Quolla,  or  the 
greater  division,  pursuing  its  course  south- 
eastward, till  it  joined  the  Bahr  jibiad;   and 


358 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


the  other  branch  running  northward  of  east, 
near  to  Timbuctoo,  and  dividing  again  soon  af- 
terwards— the  smaller  division  running  north- 
wards by  Yahoodce^  a  place  of  great  trade,  and 
the  larger  running  directly  eastward,  and  en- 
tering the  lake  Caudi  under  the  name  of  Gam- 
baroo.  "The  variety  of  this  concurrent  evi- 
dence respecting  the  Gamharou,  made  an  im- 
pression on  my  mind,"  says  Mr.  Bowdich,  "al- 
most amounting  to  conviction."  The  same 
author  adds,  that  he  found  the  Moors  \ery  cau- 
tious in  their  accounts ;  declining  to  speak  un- 
less they  were  positive — and  frequently  refer- 
ring doubtful  points  to  others  whom  Ihey  knew 
to  be  better  acquainted  with  them. 

The  character  of  the  present  king  is,  upon 
the  whole,  respectable ;  but  he  is  ambitious, 
has  conquered  a  great  deal,  and  is  conquering 
still.  He  has  a  love  of  knowledge ;  and  was 
always  displeased  when  the  European  objects 
which  attracted  his  attention  were  presented 
to  him  as  gifts.  His  motives,  he  said,  ought  to 
be  better  understood,  and  more  respect  paid 
to  his  dignity  and  friendship.  He  is  acute, 
capricious,  and  severe,  but  not  devoid  of  hu- 
manity; and  has  incurred  unpopularity  on 
some  occasions,  by  limiting  the  number  of 
human  sacrifices  more  than  was  compatible 
with  strict  orthodoxy.  His  general  subjects 
of  discourse  with  the  mission  were  war,  legis- 
lation, and  mechanics.  He  seemed  very  de- 
sirous of  standing  well  in  the  estimation  of  his 
European  friends  ;  and  put  ofl"  a  conversation 
once  because  he  was  a  little  tipsy,  and  at 
another  time  because  he  felt  himself  cross  and 
out  of  temper. 

The  king,  four  aristocratical  assessors,  and 
the  assembly  of  captains,  are  the  three  estates 
of  the  Ashantee  government.  The  noble  quar- 
tumvirate,  in  all  matters  of  foreign  policy, 
have  a  veto  on  the  king's  decisions.  They 
watch,  rather  than  share,  the  domestic  admi- 
nistration ;  generally  influencing  it  by  their 
opinion,  rather  than  controlling  it  by  their  au- 
thority. In  exercising  his  judicial  functions, 
the  king  always  retires  in  private  with  the 
anstv^cracy,  to  hear  their  opinions.  The  course 
of  succession  in  Ashantee  is  the  brother,  the 
sister's  son,  the  son,  and  the  chief  slave. 

The  king's  sisters  may  marry,  or  intrigue 
with  any  person  they  please,  provided  he  is 
very  strong  and  handsome  ;  and  these  elevated 
and  excellent  women  are  ahvays  ready  to  set 
an  example  of  submission  to  the  laws  of  their 
country.  The  interest  of  money  is  about  300 
per  cent.  A  man  may  kill  his  own  slave ;  or 
an  inferior,  for  the  price  of  seven  slaves.  Tri- 
fling thefts  are  punished  by  exposure.  The 
property  of  the  wife  is  distinct  from  that  of  the 
husband — though  the  king  is  heir  to  it.  Those 
accused  of  Avitchcraft  are  tortured  to  death. 
Slaves,  if  ill  treated,  are  allowed  the  libeity  of 
transferring  themselves  to  other  masters. 

The  Ashantees  believe  that  an  higher  sort 
of  god  takes  care  of  the  whites,  and  that  they 
are  left  to  the  care  of  an  inferior  species  of 
deities.  Still  the  black  kings  and  black  nobi- 
lity are  to  go  to  the  upper  gods  after  death, 
where  they  are  to  enjoy  eternally  the  state  and 
luxury  which  was  their  portion  on  earth.  For 
ibis  reason  a  certain  number  of  cooks,  butlers. 


and  domestics  of  every  description,  are  sacri- 
ficed on  their  tombs.  They  have  two  sets  of 
priests :  the  one  dwell  in  the  temples,  and 
communicate  with  the  idols ;  the  other  species 
do  business  as  conjurors  and  cunning  men, 
tell  fortunes,  and  detect  small  thefts.  Half 
the  ofierings.  to  the  idols  are  (as  the  priests 
say)  thrown  into  the  river,  the  other  half  they 
claim  as  their  own.  The  doors  of  the  temples 
are,  from  motives  of  the  highest  humanity, 
open  to  runaway  slaves ;  but  shut,  upon  a  fee 
paid  by  the  master  to  the  priest.  Every  per- 
son has  a  small  set  of  household  gods,  bought 
of  the  Fetishmen.  They  please  their  gods  by 
avoiding  particular  sorts  of  meat ;  but  the 
prohibited  viand  is  not  always  the  same. 
Some  curry  favour  by  eating  no  veal ;  some 
seek  protection  by  avoiding  pork;  others  say, 
that  the  real  monopoly  which  the  celestials 
wish  to  establish,  is  that  of  beef — and  so  they 
piously  and  prudently  rush  into  a  course  of 
mutton.  They  have  the  customary  nonsense 
of  lucky  days,  trial  by  ordeal,  and  libations 
and  relics.  The  most  horrid  and  detestable 
of  their  customs  is  their  sacrifice  of  human 
victims,  and  the  tortures  preparatory  to  it. 
This  takes  place  at  all  their  great  festivals,  or 
customs,  as  they  are  called. — Some  of  these 
occur  every  twenty-one  days;  and  there  are 
not  fewer  than  a  hundred  victims  immolated 
at  each.  Besides  these,  there  are  sacrifices  at 
the  death  of  every  person  of  rank,  more  or  less 
bloody  according  to  their  dignity.  On  the 
death  of  his  mother,  the  king  butchered  no 
less  than  three  thousand  victims;  and  on  his 
own  death  this  number  would  probably  be 
doubled.  The  funeral  rites  of  a  great  captain 
were  repeated  weekly  for  three  months ;  and 
200  persons,  it  is  said,  were  slaughtered  each 
time,  or  2400  in  all.  The  author  gives  an  ac- 
count of  the  manner  of  these  abominations,  in 
one  instance  of  which  he  was  an  unwilling 
spectator.  On  the  funeral  of  the  mother  of 
Quatchie  Quofie,  which  was  by  no  means  a 
great  one, — 

"A  dash  of  sheep  and  rum  was  exchanged 
between  the  king  and  Quatchie  Quofie,  and 
the  drums  announced  the  sacrifice  of  the  vic- 
tims. All  the  chiefs  first  visited  them  in  turn; 
I  was  not  near  enough  to  distinguish  where- 
fore. The  executioners  wrangled  and  struggled 
for  the  office  :  and  the  indifference  with  which 
the  first  poor  creature  looked  on,  in  the  torture 
he  was  from  the  knife  passed  through  his 
cheeks,  was  remarkable.  The  nearest  execu- 
tioner snatched  the  sword  from  the  others,  the 
right  hand  of  the  victim  was  then  lopped  off, 
he  was  thrown  down,  and  his  head  wa^  sawed 
rather  than  cut  off:  it  was  cruelly  prolonged, 
I  will  not  say  wilfully. .  Twelve  more  were 
dragged  forward,  but  we  forced  our  way 
through  the  crowd,  and  retired  to  our  quarters. 
Other  sacrifices,  principally  female,  were  made 
in  the  bush  where  the  body  was  buried.  It  is 
usual  to  'wet  the  grave'  with  the  blood  of  a 
freeman  of  respectability.  All  the  retainers 
of  the  family  being  present,  and  the  heads  of 
all  the  victims  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  the 
grave,  several  are  unsuspectingly  called  on  in 
a  hurry  to  assist  in  placing  the  coffin  or  bas- 
ket ;  and  just  as  it  rests  on  the  head  or  skulls, 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


359 


a  slave  from  behind  stuns  one  of  these  free- 
men by  a  violent  blow,  followed  by  a  deep 
gash  in  the  back  part  of  the  neck,  and  he  is 
rolled  in  on  the  top  of  the  body,  and  the  grave 
instantly  filled  up."— (pp.  287,  288.) 

"  About  a  hundred  persons,  mostly  culprits 
reserved,  are  generally  sacrificed,  in  different 
quarters  of  the  town,  at  this  custom  (that  is, 
at  the  feast  for  the  new  year).  Several  slaves 
were  also  sacrificed  at  Bantama,  over  the  large 
brass  pan,  their  blood  mingling  with  the  vari- 
ous vegetable  and  animal  matter  within  (fresh 
and  putrefied),  to  complete  the  charm,  and 
produce  invincible  fetish.  All  the  chiefs  kill 
several  slaves,  that  their  blood  may  flow  into 
the  hole  from  whence  the  new  yam  is  taken. 
Those  who  cannot  afibrd  to  kill  slaves,  take 
the  head  of  one  already  sacrificed,  and  place 
it  on  the  hole." — (p.  279.) 

The  Ashantees  are  very  superior  in  disci- 
pline and  courage  to  the  water-side  Africans  : 
they  never  pursue  when  it  is  near  sunset;  the 
general  is  always  in  the  rear,  and  the  fugi- 
tives are  instantly  put  to  death.  The  army  is 
prohibited,  during  the  active  part  of  the  cam- 
paign, from  all  food  but  meal,  which  each  man 
carries  in  a  small  bag  by  his  side,  and  mixes 
in  his  hands  Math  the  first  water  he  comes  to ; 
no  fires  are  allowed,  lest  their  position  should 
be  betrayed ;  they  eat  little  select  bits  of  the 
first  enemy's  heart  whom  they  kill;  and  all 
wear  ornaments  of  his  teeth  and  bones. 

In  their  buildings,  a  mould  is  made  for  re- 
ceiving the  clay,  by  two  rows  of  stakes  placed 
at  a  distance  equal  to  the  intended  thickness 
of  the  wall:  the  interval  is  then  filled  with 
gravelly  clay  mixed  with  water,  which,  with 
tlie  outward  surface  of  the  frame-work,  is  plas- 
tered so  as  to  exhibit  the  appearance  of  a  thick 
mud  wall.  The  captains  have  pillars  which 
assist  to  support  the  roof,  and  form  a  prosce- 
nium, or  open  front.  The  steps  and  raised 
floors  of  the  rooms  are  clay  and  stone,  with  a 
thick  layer  of  red  earth,  washed  and  painted 
daily. 

"  While  the  walls  are  still  soft,  they  formed 
moulds  or  frame-works  of  the  patterns  in  deli- 
cate slips  of  cane,  connected  by  grass.  The 
two  first  slips  (one  end  of  each  being  inserted 
in  the  soft  wall)  projected  the  relief,  com- 
monly mezzo:  the  interstices  were  then  filled 
up  with  the  plaster,  and  assumed  the  appear- 
ance depicted.  The  poles  or  pillars  were 
sometimes  encircled  by  twists  of  cane,  inter- 
secting each  other,  which,  being  filled  up  with 
thin  plaster,  resembled  the  lozenge  and  cable 
ornaments  of  the  Anglo-Norman  order ;  the 
quatre-foil  was  very  common,  and  by  no  means 
rude,  from  the  symmetrical  bend  of  the  cane 
which  formed  it.  I  saw  a  few  pillars  (after 
they  had  been  squared  with  the  plaster),  with 
numerous  slips  of  cane  pressed  perpendicular- 
ly on  to  the  wet  surface,  which,  being  covered 
again  with  a  very  thin  coat  of  plaster,  closely 
resembled  fluting.  When  they  formed  a  large 
arch,  they  inserted  one  end  of  a  thick  piece  of 
cane  in  the  wet  clay  of  the  floor  or  base,  and, 
bending  the  other  over,  inserted  it  in  the  same 
manner;  the  entablature  was  filled  up  with 
wattle-work    plastered    over.      Arcades    and 


piazzas  were  common.  A  white  wash,  very 
frequently  renewed,  was  made  from  a  clay  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Of  course  the  plastering 
is  very  frail,  and  in  the  relief  frequently  dis- 
closes the  edges  of  the  cane,  giving,  however, 
a  piquant  effect,  auxiliary  to  the  ornament. 
The  doors  were  an  entire  piece  of  cotton  wood, 
cut  with  great  labour  out  of  the  stems  or  but- 
tresses of  that  tree  ;  battens  variously  cut  and 
painted  were  aftei-w^ards  nailed  across.  So 
disproportionate  was  the  price  of  labour  to 
that  of  provision,  that  I  gave  but  two  tokoos 
for  a  slab  of  cotton  wood,  five  feet  by  three. 
The  locks  they  use  are  from  Houssa,  and  quite 
original:  one  will  be  sent  to  the  British  Mu- 
seum. Where  they  raised  a  first  floor,  the 
under  room  was  divided  into  two  by  an  inter- 
secting wall,  to  support  the  rafters  for  the 
upper  room,  which  were  generally  covered 
with  a  frame-work  thickly  plastered  over  with 
red  ochre.  I  saw  but  one  attempt  at  flooring 
with  plank ;  it  was  cotton  wood  shaped  en- 
tirely with  an  adze,  and  looked  like  a  ship's 
deck.  The  windows  were  open  wood-work, 
carved  in  fanciful  figures  and  intricat3  pat- 
terns, and  painted  red ;  the  frames  were  fre- 
quently cased  in  gold,  about  as  thick  as 
cartridge  paper.  What  surprised  me  most, 
and  is  not  the  least  of  the  many  circumstances 
deciding  their  great  superiority  over  the  gene- 
rality of  negroes,  was  the  discovery  that  every 
house  had  its  cloacse,  besides  the  common 
ones  for  the  lower  orders  without  the  town." 
—(pp.  305,  306.) 

The  rubbish  and  offal  of  each  house  are 
burnt  every  morning  at  the  back  of  the  street; 
and  they  are  as  nice  in  their  dwellings  as  in 
their  persons.  The  Ashantee  loom  is  precisely 
on  the  same  principles  as  the  English :  the 
firmness,  variety,  brilliancy,  and  size  of  their 
cloths  are  astonishing.  They  paint  white 
cloths,  not  inelegantly,  as  fast  as  an  European 
can  write.  They  excel  in  pottery,  and  are 
good  goldsmiths.  Their  weights  are  very 
neat  brass  casts  of  almost  every  animal,  fruit, 
and  vegetable,  known  in  the  country.  The 
king's  scales,  blow-pan,  boxes,  weights,  and 
pipe-tongs  were  neatly  made  of  the  purest 
gold.  They  work  finely  in  iron,  tan  leather, 
and  are  excellent  carpenters. 

Mr.  Bowdich  computes  the  number  of  men 
capable  of  bearing  arms  to  be  204,000.  The 
disposable  force  is  150,000;  the  population  a 
million  ;  the  number  of  square  miles  14,000. 
Polygamy  is  tolerated  to  the  greatest  extent; 
the  king's  alloAvance  is  3333  wives;  and  the 
fall  complement  is  always  kept  up.  Four  of 
the  principal  streets  in  Coomassie  are  half  a 
mile  long,  and  from  50  to  100  yards  wide. 
The  streets  were  all  named,  and  a  superior 
captain  in  charge  of  each.  The  street  where 
the  mission  was  lodged  was  called  Apperemsoo, 
or  Cannon  S'.rcet ;  another  street  was  called 
Daebrim,  or  Great  Market  Street ;  another.  Pri- 
son Street,  and  so  on.  A  plan  of  the  town  is 
given.  The  Ashantees  persisted  in  faying 
that  the  population  of  Coomassie  was  above 
100.000;  but  this  is  thought,  by  the  gentlemen 
of  the  mission,  to  allude  rather  to  the  popula- 
tion collected  on  great  occasions,  than  the 
permanent  residents,  not  computed  by  them  at 


360 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


more  than  15,000.  The  markets  were  daily ; 
and  the  articles  for  sale,  beef,  mutton,  wild- 
hog,  deer,  monkeys'  flesh,  fowls,  yams,  plan- 
tains, corn,  sugarcane,  rice,  peppers,  vegetable 
butter,  oranges,  papans,  pine-apples,  bananas, 
salt  and  dried  fish,  large  snails  smoke-dried  ; 
palm  wine,  rum,  pipes,  beads,  looking-glasses  ; 
sandals,  silk,  cotton  cloth,  powder,  small  pil- 
ars, white  and  blue  thread,  and  calabashes. 
The  cattle  .1  Ashantee  are  as  large  as  English 
cattle ;  their  sheep  are  hairy.  They  have  no 
implement  but  the  hoe ;  have  two  crops  of 
corn  in  the  year ;  plant  their  yams  at  Christ- 
mas, and  dig  them  up  in  September.  Their 
plantations,  extensive  and  orderly,  have  the 
appearance  of  hop  gardens  well  fenced  in,  and 
regularly  planted  in  lines,  with  a  broad  walk 
around,  and  a  hut  at  each  wicker-gate,  where 
a  slave  and  his  family  reside  to  protect  the 
plantation.  All  the  fruits  mentioned  as  sold  in 
tlie  market  grew  in  spontaneous  abundance, 
as  did  the  sugarcane.  The  oranges  were  of  a 
large  size  and  exquisite  flavour.  There  were 
no  coroa  trees.  The  berry  which  gives  to 
acids  'che  flavour  of  sweets,  making  limes 
taste  like  honey,  is  common  here.  The  castor- 
oil  plant  rises  to  a  large  tree.  The  cotton  tree 
sometimes  rises  to  the  height  of  150  feet. 

The  great  obstacle  to  the  improvement  of 
commerc"  with  the  Ashantee  people  (besides 
the  jealousy  natural  to  barbarians)  is  our  re- 
jection of  the  slave  trade,  and  the  continuance 
of  that  detestable  traffic  by  the  Spaniards. 
While  the  mission  was  in  that  country,  one 
thousand  slaves  left  Ashantee  for  two  Spanish 
schooners  on  the  coast. — How  is  an  African 
monarch  to  be  taught  that  he  has  not  a  right 
to  turn  human  creatures  into  rum  and  tobacco  1 
or  that  the  nation  which  prohibits  such  an  in- 
tercourse are  not  his  enemies  1  To  have  free 
access  to  Ashantee,  would  command  Dag- 
wumba.  The  people  of  Inta  and  Dagwumba 
being  commercial,  rather  than  warlike,  an  in- 
tercourse with  them  would  be  an  intercourse 
with  the  interior,  as  far  as  Timbuctoo  and 
Houssa  northwards,  and  Cassina,  if  not  Boor- 
noo,  eastwards. 

After  the  observations  of  Mr.  Bowdich,  se- 
nior officer  of  the  mission,  follows  the  narra- 
tive of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  left  as  charge  d'af- 
faires, upon  the  departure  of  the  other  gentle- 
men. Mr.  Hutchinson  mentions  some  white 
men  residing  at  Yenne,  whom  he  supposes  to 
have  been  companions  of  Park  ;  and  Ali  Baba, 
a  man  of  good  character  and  consideration, 
upon  the  eve  of  departure  from  these  regions, 
assured  him,  that  there  were  two  Europeans 
then  resident  at  Timbuctoo. — In  his  observa- 
tions on  the  river  Gaboon,  Mr.  Bowdich  has 
the  following  information  on  the  present  state 
of  the  slave  trade: — 

"  Three  Portuguese,  one  French,  and  t\yo 
large  Spanish  ships,  visited  the  river  for  slaves 
during  our  stay;  and  the  master  of  a  Liver- 
pool vessel  assured  me  that  he  had  fallen  in 
with  twenty-two  between  Gaboon  and  the  Con- 
go. Their  grand  rendezvous  is  Mayumba. 
The  Portuguese  of  St.  Thomas's  and  Prince's 
Islands  send  small  schooner  boats  to  Gaboon 
for  slaves,  which  are  kept,  after  they  are  trans- 
ported this  short  distance,  until   the  coast  is 


clear  for  shipping  them  to  America.  A  third 
large  Spanish  ship,  well  armed,  entered  the 
river  the  night  before  we  quitted  it,  and  hurried 
our  exit,  for  one  of  that  character  was  commit- 
ting piracy  in  the  neighbouring  rivers.  Having 
suffered  from  falling  into  their  hands  before,  I 
felicitated  myself  on  the  escape.  We  v."ere 
afterwards  chased  and  boarded  by  a  Spanish 
armed  schooner,  with  three  hundred  slaves  on 
board  ;  they  only  desired  provisions." 

These  are  the  most  important  extracts  from 
this  publication,  which  is  certainly  of  conside- 
rable importance,  from  the  account  it  gives  us 
of  a  people  hitherto  almost  entirely  unknown; 
and  from  the  light  which  the  very  diligent  and 
laborious  inquiries  of  Mr.  Bowdich  have 
thrown  upon  the  geography  of  Africa,  and  the 
probability  held  out  to  us  of  approaching  the 
great  kingdoms  on  the  Niger,  by  means  of  an 
intercourse  by  no  means  difficult  to  be  es-ta- 
blished  with  the  kingdoms  of  Inta  and  Dag- 
wumba. The  river  Volta  flows  into  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea,  in  latitude  7°  north.  It  is  naviga- 
ble, and  by  the  natives  navigated  for  ten  days, 
to  Odentee.  Now,  from  Odentee  to  Sallagha, 
the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Inta,  is  but  four 
days'  journey;  and  seven  days' journey  from 
Sallagha,  through  the  Inta  Jam  of  Zengoo,  is 
Yahndi,  the  capital  of  Dagwumba.  Yahndi  is 
described  to  be  beyond  comparison  larger  than 
Coomassie,  the  houses  much  better  built  and 
ornamented.  The  Ashantees  who  had  visited 
it,  told  Mr.  Bowdich  they  had  frequently  lost 
themselves  in  the  streets.  The  king  has  been 
converted  by  the  Moors,  who  have  settled 
themselves  therein  great  numbers.  Mr.  Lucas 
calls  it  the  Mahometan  kingdom  of  Degomba; 
and  it  was  represented  to  him  as  peculiarly 
■wealthy  and  civilized.  The  markets  of  Yahndi 
are  described  as  animated  scenes  of  commerce, 
constantly  crowded  with  merchants  from  al- 
most all  the  countries  of  the  interior.  It  seems 
to  us,  that  the  best  way  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  Africa,  is  not  to  plan  such  sweeping  ex- 
peditions as  have  been  lately  sent  out  by  go- 
vernment, but  to  submit  to  become  acquainted 
with  it  by  degrees,  and  to  acquire  by  little  and 
little  a  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  arrang- 
ing expeditions.  The  kingdom  of  Dagwumba, 
for  instance,  is  not  200  miles  from  a  well-known 
and  regular  water  carriage,  on  the  Volta. 
Perhaps  it  is  nearer,  but  the  distance  is  not 
greater  than  this.  It  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
mercial nations  in  Africa,  and  one  of  the  most 
civilized ;  and  yet  it  is  utterly  unknown,  ex- 
cept by  report,  to  Europeans.  Then  why  not 
plan  an  expedition  to  Dagwumba?  The  ex- 
pense of  which  would  be  very  trifling,  and  the 
issue  known  in  three  or  four  months.  The  in- 
formation prociired  from  such  a  wise  and 
moderate  undertaking,  would  enable  any  future 
mission  to  proceed  with  much  greater  ease 
and  safety  into  the  interior  ;  or  prevent  them 
from  proceeding,  as  they  hitherto  have  done, 
to  their  own  destruction.  We  strongly  be- 
lieve, with  Mr.  Bowdich,  that  this  is  the  right 
road  to  the  Niger. 

Nothing  in  this  world  is  created  in  vain : 
lions,  tigers,  conquerors,  have  their  use.  Am- 
bitious monarchs,  who  are  the  curse  of  civi- 
lized nations,  are  the  civilizers  of  savage  people. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


361 


With  a  number  of  little  independent  hordes, 
civilization  is  impossible.  They  must  have  a 
common  interest  before  there  can  be  peace ; 
and  be  directed  by  one  will  before  there  can 
be  order.  When  mankind  are  prevented  from 
daily  quarrelling  and  fighting,  they  first  begin 
to  improve;  and  all  this,  we  are  afraid,  is 
only  to  be  accomplished,  in  the  first  instance. 


by  some  great  conqueror.  We  sympathize, 
therefore,  with  the  victories  of  the  King  of 
Ashantee — and  feel  ourselves,  for  the  first 
time,  in  love  with  military  glory.  The  ex- 
emperor  of  the  French  would,  at  Coomassie, 
Dagwumba,  or  Inta,  be  an  eminent  benefactor 
to  the  human  race. 


WITTMAN^S  TRAVELS.* 

[Edinburgh  Review,  1803.] 


Dr.  Wittmaw  was  sent  abroad  with  the 
military  mission  to  Turkey,  towards  the  spring 
of  1799,  and  remained  attached  to  it  during 
its  residence  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Con- 
stantinople, its  march  through  the  desert,  and 
its  short  operations  in  Egypt.  The  military 
mission,  consisting  of  General  Koehler,  and 
some  oflicers  and  privates  of  the  artillery  and 
engineers,  amounting  on  the  whole  to  seventy, 
were  assembled  at  Constantinople,  June,  1799, 
which  they  left  in  the  same  month  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  joined  the  grand  vizier  at  Jaffa  in 
July,  and  entered  Egypt  with  the  Turks  in 
April,  1801.  After  the  military  operations 
were  concluded  there,  Dr.  Wittman  returned 
home  by  Constantinople,  Vienna,  &c. 

The  travels  are  written  in  the  shape  of  a 
journal,  which  begins  and  concludes  with  the 
events  which  we  have  just  mentioned.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  route  described  by  Dr.  Wittman 
is  not  new:  he  could  make  no  cursory  and 
superficial  observations  upon  the  people  whom 
he  saw,  or  the  countries  through  which  he 
passed,  with  which  the  public  are  not  already 
familiar.  If  his  travels  were  to  possess  any 
merit  at  all,  they  were  to  derive  that  merit 
from  accurate  physical  researches,  from  copi- 
ous information  on  the  state  of  medicine,  sur- 
gery, and  disease  in  Turkey;  and  above  all, 
perhaps,  from  gratifying  the  rational  curiosity 
which  all  inquiring  minds  must  feel  upon  the 
nature  of  the  plague,  and  the  indications  of 
cure.  Dr.  Wittman,  too,  was  passing  over 
the  same  ground  trodden  by  Bonaparte  in 
his  Syrian  expedition,  and  had  an  ample 
opportunity  of  inquiring  its  probable  object, 
and  the  probable  success  which  (but  for  the 
heroic  defence  of  Acre)  might  have  attended 
it ;  he  was  on  the  theatre  of  Bonaparte's  im- 
puted crimes,  as  well  as  his  notorious  defeat; 
and  might  have  brought  us  back,  not  anile 
conjecture,  but  sound  evidence  of  events 
which  must  determine  his  character,  who  may 
determine  our  fate.  We  should  have  been 
happy  also  to  have  found  in  the  travels  of  Dr. 
Wittman  a  full  account  of  the  tactics  and 
manoeuvres  of  the  Turkish  army;  and  this  it 
would  not  have  been  difficult  to  have  obtained 
through   the   medium   of    his    military   com- 


*  Travels  in  Tvrkev,  J?s?ii  Minor,  avd  Syria,  SfC,  and 
into  Efrjipt.  By  William  Wittman,  M.  D.  1803.  Lon- 
don.   Phillips. 

46 


panions.  Such  appear  to  us  to  be  the  sub- 
jects, from  an  able  discussion  of  which.  Dr. 
Wittman  might  have  derived  considerable 
reputation,  by  gratifying  the  ardour  of  tempo- 
rary curiosity,  and  adding  to  the  stock  of  per- 
manent knowledge. 

Upon  opening  Dr.  Wittman's  book,  we 
turned,  with  a  considerable  degree  of  interest, 
to  the  subject  of  Jatfa;  and  to  do  justice  to  the 
doctor,  we  shall  quote  all  that  he  has  said  upon 
the  subject  of  Bonaparte's  conduct  at  this  place. 

"  After  a  breach  had  been  effected,  the  French 
troops  stormed  and  carried  the  place.  It  was 
probably  owing  to  the  obstinate  defence  made 
by  the  Turks,  that  the  French  commander-in- 
chief  was  induced  to  give  orders  for  the  horrid 
massacre  which  succeeded.  Four  thousand 
of  the  wretched  inhabitants  who  had  sur- 
rendered, and  who  had  in  vain  implored  the 
mercy  of  their  conquerors,  were,  together 
with  a  part  of  the  late  Turkish  garrison  of 
El-Arish  (amounting,  it  has  been  said,  to  five 
or  six  hundred),  dragged  out  in  cold  blood, 
four  days  after  the  French  had  obtained  possession 
of  Jaffa,  to  the  sand  hills,  about  a  league  dis- 
tant, in  the  way  to  Gaza,  and  there  most 
inhumanly  put  to  death.  I  have  seen  the 
skeletons  of  these  unfortunate  victims,  which 
lie  scattered  over  the  hills ;  a  modern  Golgotha, 
which  remains  a  lasting  disgrace  to  a  nation 
calling  itself  civilized.  It  would  give  pleasure 
to  the  author  of  this  work,  as  well  as  to  every 
liberal  mind,  to  hear  these  facts  contradicted 
on  substantial  evidence.  Indeed,  I  am  sorry 
to  add,  that  the  charge  of  cruelty  against  the 
French  general  does  not  rest  here.  It  having 
been  reported,  that,  previously  to  the  retreat 
of  the  French  army  from  Syria,  their  com- 
mander-in-chief had  ordered  all  the  French 
sick  at  Jaffa  to  be  poisoned,  I  was  led  to  make 
the  inquiry  to  which  every  one  who  should 
have  visited  the  spot  would  naturally  have 
been  directed,  respecting  an  act  of  such  sin 
gular,  and,  it  should  seem,  wanton  inhumanity. 
It  concerns  me  to  have  to  state,  not  only  that 
such  a  circumstance  was  positively  asserted 
to  have  happened,  but  that,  while  in  Egypt,  an 
individual  was  pointed  out  to  us,  as  having 
been  the  executioner  of  these  diaoo/ical  com 
mands." — (p.  128.) 

Now,  in  this  passage,  Dr.  Wittman  offers  no 
2H 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


other  evidence  whatever  of  the  massacre,  than 
that  he  had  seen  the  skeletons  scattered  over 
the  hills,  and  that  the  fact  was  universally 
believed.  But  how  does  Dr.  Wittman  know 
what  skeletons  those  were  which  he  saw? 
An  oriental  camp,  affected  by  the  plague, 
leaves  as  man}'-  skeletons  behind  it  as  a  mas- 
sacre. And  though  the  Turks  bury  their  dead, 
the  doctor  complains  of  the  very  little  depth 
at  which  they  are  interred ;  so  that  jackals, 
high  winds,  and  a  sandy  soil,  might,  with  great 
facilit)'^,  undo  the  work  of  Turkish  sextons. 
Let  any  one  read  Dr.  Wittman's  account  of 
the  camp  near  Jaffa,  where  the  Turks  remained 
so  long  in  company  Avith  the  military  mission, 
and  he  will  immediately  perceive  that,  a  year 
after  their  departure,  it  might  have  been  mis- 
taken, with  great  ease,  for  the  scene  of  a 
jnassacre.  The  spot  which  Dr.  Wittman  saw 
might  have  been  the  .spot  where  a  battle  had 
been  fought.  In  the  turbulent  state  of  Syria, 
and  amidst  the  variety  of  its  barbarous  inhabit- 
ants, can  it  be  imagined  that  every  bloody 
battle,  with  its  precise  limits  and  circumscrip- 
tiun,  is  accurately  committed  to  tradition,  and 
faithfully  reported  to  inquirers  ?  Besides,  why 
scattered  among  hills?  If  5000  men  were 
marched  out  to  a  convenient  spot  and  mas- 
sacred, their  remains  would  be  heaped  up  in  a 
small  space,  a  mountain  of  the  murdered,  a 
vast  bridge  of  bones  and  rottenness.  As  the 
doctor  has  described  the  bone  scenery,  it  has 
much  more  the  appearance  of  a  battle  and 
pursuit  than  of  a  massacre.  After  all,  this 
gentleman  lay  eight  months  under  the  walls 
of  Jaffa;  whence  comes  it  he  has  given  us 
no  better  evidence?  Were  5000  men  mur- 
dered in  cold  blood  by  a  division  of  the  French 
army,  a  year  before,  and  did  no  man  remain 
in  Jaffa,  who  said,  I  saw  it  done — -I  was  pre- 
sent when  they  were  marched  out — I  went  the 
next  day,  and  saw  the  scarcely  dead  bodies  of 
the  victims?  If  Dr.  Wittman  received  any 
such  evidence,  why  did  he  not  bring  it  forward? 
If  he  never  inquired  for  such  evidence,  how  is 
he  qualified  to  write  upon  the  subject?  If  he 
inquired  for  it  and  could  not  find  it,  how  is  the 
fact  credible  ? 

This  autho'"  cannot  make  the  same  excuse 
as  Sir  Robert  Wilson,  for  the  suppression  of 
his  evidence,  as  there  could  be  no  probability 
that  Bonaparte  would  wreak  his  vengeance 
upon  Soliman  Aga,  Mustapha  Cawn,  Sidi 
Mahomet,  or  any  given  Turks,  upon  whose 
positive  evidence  Dr.  Wittman  might  have 
rested  his  accusation.  Two  such  wicked  acts 
as  the  poisoning  and  the  massacre,  have  not 
been  committed  within  the  memory  of  man  ; — 
within  the  same  memory, no  such  extraordinary 
person  nas  appeared,  as  he  who  is  said  to  have 
committed  them;  and  yet,  though  their  com- 
mission must  have  been  public,  no  one  has 
yet  said,  Vidi  ego.  The  accusation  still  I'ests 
upon  hearsay. 

At  the  same  time,  widely  disseminated  as 
this  accusation  has  been  over  Europe,  it  is 
extraordinary  that  it  has  not  been  contradicted 
in  print:  and,  though  Sir  Robert  Wilson's 
book  must  have  been  read  in  France,  that  no 
officer  of  the  division  of  Bon  has  come  for- 
ward in  vindication  of  a  criminal  who  could 


repay  incredulity  so  well.  General  Andreossi, 
who  was  with  the  First  Consul  in  Syria,  treats 
the  accusations  as  contemptible  falsehoods. 
But  though  we  are  convinced  he  is  a  man  of 
character,  his  evidence  has  certainly  less 
weight,  as  he  may  have  been  speaking  in  the 
mask  of  diplomacy.  As  to  the  general  circu- 
lation of  the  report,  he  must  think  much 
higher  of  the  sagacity  of  multitudes  than  we 
do,  who  would  convert  this  into  a  reason  of 
belief.  Whoever  thinks  it  so  easy  to  get  at 
truth  in  the  midst  of  passion,  should  read  the 
various  histories  of  the  recent  rebellion  in 
Ireland;  or  he  may,  if  he  chooses,  believe, 
with  thousands  of  worthy  Frenchmen,  that  the 
wfernale  was  planned  by  Mr.  Pitt  and  Lord 
Melville.  As  for  us,  we  will  state  what  appears 
to  us  to  be  the  truth,  should  it  even  chance  to 
justify  a  man  in  whose  lifetime  Europe  can 
know  neither  happiness  nor  peace. 

The  story  of  the  poisoning  is  given  by  Dr. 
Wittman  precisely  in  the  same  desultory  man- 
ner as  that  of  the  massacre.  "An  individual 
was  pointed  out  to  us  as  the  executioner  of 
these  diabolical  commands."  By  how  many 
persons  was  he  pointed  out  as  the  executioner  1 
by  persons  of  what  authority?  and  of  what 
credibility  ?  Was  it  asserted  from  personal 
knowledge,  or  merely  from  rumour  ?  Whence 
comes  it  that  such  an  agent,  after  the  flight  of 
his  employer,  was  not  driven  away  by  the 
general  indignation  of  the  army?  If  Dr. 
Wittman  had  combined  this  species  of  infor- 
mation with  his  stories,  his  conduct  would 
have  been  more  just,  and  his  accusations 
would  have  carried  greater  weight.  At  pre- 
sent, when  he,  who  had  the  opportunity  of  tell- 
ing us  so  much,  has  told  us  so  little,  we  are 
rather  less  inclined  to  believe  than  we  were 
before.  We  do  not  say  these  accusations  are 
not  true,  but  that  Dr.  Wittman  has  not  proved 
them  to  be  true. 

Dr.  Wittman  did  not  see  more  than  two 
cases  of  plague:  he  has  given  both  of  them 
at  full  length.  The  symptoms  were,  thirst, 
headache,  vertigo,  pains  in  the  limbs,  bilious 
vomitings,  &nd  painful  tumours  in  the  groins. 
The  means  of  cure  adopted  were,  to  evacuate 
the  primas  viae ;  to  give  diluting  and  refreshing 
drinks;  to  expel  the  redundant  bile  by  emetics; 
and  to  assuage  the  pain  in  the  groin  by  fomenta- 
tions and  anodynes ;  both  cases  proved  fatal. 
In  one  of  the  cases,  the  friction  with  warm  oil 
was  tried  in  vain ;  but  it  was  thought  useful 
in  the  prevention  of  plague :  the  immediate 
effect  produced  was,  to  throw  the  person 
rubbed  into  a  very  copious  perspiration.  A 
patient  in  typhus,  who  was  given  over,  re- 
covered after  this  discipline  was  administered. 

The  boldness  and  enterprise  of  medical  men 
are  quite  as  striking  as  the  courage  displayed 
in  battle,  and  evinces  how  much  the  power  of 
encountering  danger  depends  upon  habit. — 
Many  a  military  veteran  would  tremble  to  feed 
upon  ptis;  to  sleep  in  sheets  running  with 
water;  or  to  draw  up  the  breath  of  feverish 
patients.  Dr.  White  might  not,  perhaps,  have 
marched  up  to  a  battery  with  great  alacrity; 
but  Dr.  White,  in  the  year  1801,  inoculated 
himself  in  the  arms,  with  recent  matter  taken 
from  the  bubo  of  a  pestiferous  patient,  and 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


363 


nibbed  the  same  matter  upon  different  parts 
of  his  body.  With  somewhat  less  of  courage, 
and  more  of  injustice,  he  wrapt  his  Arab  ser- 
vant in  the  bed  of  a  person  just  dead  of  the 
plague.  The  doctor  died;  and  the  doctor's 
man  (perhaps  to  prove  his  master's  theory, 
that  the  plague  was  not  contagious)  ran  away. 
The  bravery  of  our  naval  officers  never  pro- 
duced any  thing  superior  to  this  therapeutic 
heroism  of  the  doctor's. 

Dr.  Wittman  has  a  chapter  which  he  calls 
An  Historical  Journal  of  the  Plague;  but  the  in- 
formation which  it  contains  amounts  to  nothing 
at  all.  He  confesses  that  he  has  had  no  expe- 
rience in  the  complaint ;  that  he  has  no  remedy 
to  offer  for  its  cure,  and  no  theory  for  its 
cause.*  The  treatment  of  the  minor  plague 
of  Egypt,  ophthalmia,  was  precisely  the  me- 
thod common  in  this  country ;  and  was  gene- 
rally attended  with  success,  where  the  remedies 
were  applied  in  time. 

Nothing  can  be  conceived  more  dreadful 
than  was  the  situation  of  the  military  mission 
in  the  Turkish  camp ;  exposed  to  a  mutinous 
Turkish  soldiery,  to  infection,  famine,  and  a 
scene  of  the  most  abominable  filth  and  putre- 
faction ;  and  this  they  endured  for  a  year  and 
a  half,  Math  the  patience  of  apostles  of  peace, 
rather  than  war.  Their  occupation  was  to 
teach  diseased  barbarians,  who  despised  them, 
and  thought  it  no  small  favour  that  they  should 
be  permitted  to  exist  in  their  neighbourhood. 
They  had  to  witness  the  cruelties  of  despotism, 
and  the  passions  of  armed  and  ignorant  multi- 
tudes ;  and  all  this  embellished  with  the  fair 
probability  of  being  swept  off,  in  some  grand 
engagement,  by  the  superior  tactics  and  ac- 
tivity of  the  enemy  to  whom  the  Turks  were 
opposed.  To  the  filth,  irregularity,  and  tumult 
of  a  Turkish  camp,  as  it  appeared  to  the 
British  officers  in  1800,  it  is  curious  to  oppose 
the  picture  of  one  drawn  by  Busbequius  in  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century:  "Turcre  in 
proximis  campis  tendebant;  cum  vero  in  eo 
loco  tribus  mensibus  vixerim,fuit  mihi  facultas 
videndorum  ipsorum  castrorum,  et  cognos- 
cendae  aliqua  ex  parte  disciplina; ;  qua  de  re 
nisi  pauca  attingam,  habeas  fortasse  quod  me 
accuses.  Sumpto  habitu  Christianis  homini- 
bus  in  illis  locis  usitato,  cum  uno  aut  altero 
coraite  quacunque  vagabar  ignotus :  primum 
videbam  summo  ordine  cujusque  coi"poris 
milites  suis  locis  distributos,  et,  quod  vix  cre- 
dat,  qui  nostratis  militiaD  consuetudinem  novit, 
summum  eratubique  silentium,  summa  quies, 
rixa  nulla,  nullum  cujusquam  insolens  factum: 
sed  ne  nox  quidem  aut  vitulatio  per  lasciviam 
aut  ebrietatem  emissa.  M  hac  summa  mundi- 
ties,  nulla  sterquilinia,  nulla  purgatnenta,  nihil 
quod  oculos  aut  nares  offenderet.  Quicquid 
est  hujusmodi,  aut  defodiuntTurcse,  aut  procul 
a  conspectu  submovent.  Sed  nee  uUas  com- 
potationes  aut  convivia,  nullum  aleos  genus, 
magnum  nostratis  militice  flagitium,  videre 
erat:  nulla  lusoriarum  chartarum,  neque  les- 
serarum  damna  norunt  Turcte." — Augeri  Bus- 
bequii,  Epist.  3,^.  IS7.    Hanovia.    1622.    There 


*  One  fart  mentioned  by  Dr.  Wittman  appears  tn  be 
curious ; — that  Constantinople  was  nearly  free  from 
plague  during  the  interruption  of  its  communication  with 
Egypt. 


is  at  present,  in  the  Turkish  army,  a  curious 
mixture  of  the  severest  despotism  in  the  com- 
mander, and  the  most  rebellious  insolence  in 
the  soldier.  When  the  soldier  misbehaves, 
the  vizier  cuts  his  head  off,  and  places  it  xin-. 
der  his  arm.  When  the  soldier  is  dissatisfied 
with  his  vizier,  he  fires  his  ball  through  his 
tent,  and  admonishes  him,  by  these  messen- 
gers, to  a  more  pleasant  exercise  of  his  au- 
thority. That  such  severe  punishments  should 
not  confer  a  more  powerful  authority,  and  give 
birth  to  abetter  discipline,  is  less  extraordinary, 
if  we  reflect,  that  we  hear  only  that  the  punish- 
ments are  severe,  not  that  they  are  steady,  and 
that  they  are  just;  for,  if  the  Turkish  soldiers 
were  always  punished  with  the  same  severity 
when  they  were  in  fault,  and  never  but  then,  it  is 
not  in  human  nature  to  suppose,  that  the  Turk- 
ish army  would  long  remain  in  as  contemptible 
a  state  as  it  now  is.  But  the  governed  soon 
learn  to  distinguish  between  systematic  energy, 
and  the  excesses  of  casual  and  capricious  cru- 
elty; the  one  awes  them  into  submission,  the 
other  rouses  them  to  revenge. 

Dr.  Wittman,  in  his  chapter  on  the  Turkish 
army,  attributes  much  of  its  degradation  to  the 
altered  state  of  the  corps  of  Janissaries ;  the 
original  constitution  of  which  corps  was  cer- 
tainly both  curious  and  wise.  The  children 
of  Christians  made  prisoners  in  the  predatory 
incursions  of  the  Turks,  or  procured  in  any 
other  manner,  were  exposed  in  the  public 
markets  of  Constantinople.  Any  farmer  or 
artificer  was  at  liberty  to  take  one  into  his 
service,  contracting  with  government  to  pro- 
duce him  again  when  he  should  be  wanted: 
and  in  the  mean  time  to  feed  and  clothe  him, 
and  to  educate  him  to  such  works  of  labour  as 
are  calculated  to  strengthen  the  body.  As  the 
Janissaries  were  killed  off,  the  government 
drew  upon  this  stock  of  hardy  orphans  for  its 
levies;  who,  instead  of  hanging  upon  weeping 
parents  at  their  departure,  came  eagerly  to  the 
camp,  as  the  situation  which  they  had  always 
been  taught  to  look  upon  as  the  theatre  of 
their  future  glory,  and  towards  which  all  their 
passions  and  affections  had  been  bent,  from 
their  earliest  years.  Arrived  at  the  camp,  they 
received  at  first  low  pay,  and  performed  me- 
nial offices  for  the  little  division  of  Janissaries 
to  which  they  were  attached:  "Ad  Gianizaros 
rescriptus  primo  meret  menstruo  stipendio, 
paulo  plus  minus,  unius  ducati  cum  diniidio. 
Id  enim  militi  novitio,  et  rudi  satis  esse  cen- 
sent.  Sed  tamen  ne  quid  victus  necessitati 
desit,  cum  ea  decuria,  in  cujus  contuernium 
adscitus  est,  gratis  cibum  capit,  ea  conditione, 
ut  in  culina  reliquoque  ministerio  ei  decurias 
serviat;  usum  armorum  adeptus  tyro,  cnedum 
tamen  suis  contubernalibus  honore  neque  sti- 
pendio par  unam  in  soldvirtute,  se  illis  aquan- 
di,  spem  habet:  utpote  si  militisg  quae  prima 
se  obtulerit,  tale  specimen  sui  dederit,  ut  dignus 
judicetur,  qui  tyrocinio  exemptus,  honoris 
gradu  et  stipendii  magnitudine,  reliquis  Gian- 
izaris  par  habeatur.  Qua  quidem  spe  plerique 
tyrones  impulsi,  multa  preeclare  audent,  et 
fortitudine  cum  veteranis  certant." — Busbequi- 
us, De  Re  Mil.  cont.  Turc.  Inslit.  Consilium.*  The 

*  This  is  a  very  spirited  appeal  to  his  countrymen  on 
the  tremendous  power  of  tha  Turks ;  and,  with  the  sub- 


964. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


same  author  observes,  that  there  was  no  rank 
or  dignity  in  the  Turkish  army,  to  which  a 
common  Janissary  might  not  arrive,  by  his 
courage  or  his  capacity.  This  last  is  a  most 
powerful  motive  to  exertion,  and  is,  perhaps, 
one  leading  cause  of  the  superiority  of  the 
French  arms.  Ancient  governments  promote, 
from  numberless  causes  Avhich  ought  to  have 
no  concern  with  promotion :  revolutionary  go- 
vernments, and  military  despotisms,  can  make 
generals  of  persons  who  are  fit  for  generals : 
to  enable  them  to  be  unjust  in  all  other  in- 
stances, they  are  forced  to  be  just  in  this. 
What,  in  fact,  are  the  sultans  and  pashas  of 
Paris,  but  Janissaries  raised  from  the  ranks  1 
At  present,  the  Janissaries  are  procured  from 
the  lowest  of  the  people,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
corps  is  evaporated.  The  low  state  of  their 
armies  is  in  some  degree  imputable  to  this ; 
but  the  principal  reason  why  the  Turks  are  no 
longer  as  powerful  as  they  were,  is,  that  they 
are  no  longer  enthusiasts,  and  that  war  is  now 
become  more  a  business  of  science  than  of 
personal  courage. 

The  person  of  the  greatest  abilities  in  the 
Turkish  empire  is  the  capitan  pasha;  he  has 
disciplined  some  ships  and  regiments  in  the 
European  fashion,  and  would,  if  he  were  well 
seconded,  bring  about  some  important  reforms 
in  the  Turkish  empire.  But  what  is  become 
of  all  the  reforms  of  the  famous  Gazi  Hassan  1 
The  blaze  of  partial  talents  is  soon  extin- 
guished.    Never  was  there  so  great  a  prospect 


Etitution  of  France  for  Turkey,  is  so  applicable  to  the 
present  times  tliat  it  might  be  spoken  in  Parliament  with 
great  effect. 


of  improvement  as  that  afforded  by  the  exer 
tions  of  this  celebrated  man,  who,  in  spite  of 
the  ridicule  thrown  upon  him  by  Baron  de 
Tott,  was  such  a  man  as  the  Turks  cannot 
expect  to  see  again  once  in  a  century.  He 
had  the  whole  power  of  the  Turkish  empire  at 
his  disposal  for  fifteen  years;  and,  after  re- 
peated efforts  to  improve  the  army,  abandoned 
the  scheme  as  totally  impracticable.  The  cele- 
brated Bonneval,  in  his  time,  and  De  Tott 
since,  made  the  same  attempt  with  the  same 
success.  They  are  not  to  be  taught ;  and  six 
months  after  his  death,  every  thing  the  present 
capitan  pasha  has  done  will  be  immediately 
pulled  to  pieces.  The  present  grand  vizier  is 
a  man  of  no  ability.  There  are  some  very 
entertaining  instances  of  his  gross  ignorance 
cited  in  the  133d  page  of  the  Travels.  Upon 
the  news  being  communicated  to  him  that  the 
earth  was  round,  he  observed  that  this  could 
not  be  the  case  :  for  the  people  and  the  objects 
on  the  other  side  would  in  that  case  fall  off; 
and  that  the  earth  could  not  move  round  the 
sun ;  for  if  so,  a  ship  bound  from  Jaffa  to  Con- 
stantinople, instead  of  proceeding  to  the  capital, 
would  be  carried  to  London,  or  elsewhere.  We 
cannot  end  this  article  without  confessing  with 
great  pleasure  the  entertainment  we  have  re- 
ceived from  the  work  which  occasions  it.  It 
is  an  excellent  lounging-book,  full  of  pleasant 
details,  never  wearying  by  prolixity,  or  offend- 
ing by  presumption,  and  is  apparently  the  pro- 
duction of  a  respectable,  worthy  man.  So  far 
we  can  conscientiously  recommend  it  to  the 
public  ;  for  any  thing  else, 

Non  cuivis  homini  contingit  adire,  &c.  &c.  &c. 


SPEECHES. 


CATHOLIC  CLAIMS. 

A  Speech  at  a  Meeting  of  the  Clergy  of  the  Archdeaconry  of  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  held  at  Be- 
verley,  in  that  Riding,  on  Monday,  .April  11,  1825, /or  the  Purpose  of  Petitioning  Parliament,  (fc* 


Me.  AncHDEAcojf, — It  is  very  disagreeable  to 
me  to  differ  from  so  many  worthy  and  respect- 
able clergymen  here  assembled,  and  not  only 
to  differ  from  them,  but,  I  am  afraid,  to  stand 
alone  among  them.  I  would  much  rather  vote 
in  majorities,  and  join  in  this,  or  any  other  po- 
litical chorus,  than  to  stand  unassisted  and 
alone,  as  I  am  now  doing.  I  dislike  such  meet- 
ings for  such  purposes — I  wish  I  could  recon- 
cile it  to  my  conscience  to  stay  away  from 
them,  and  to  my  temperament  to  be  silent  at 
them ;  but  if  they  are  called  by  others,  I  deem 
it  right  to  attend — if  I  attend  I  must  say  what 
I  think.  If  it  is  unwise  in  us  to  meet  in  taverns 
to  discuss  political  subjects,  the  fault  is  not 
mine,  for  I  should  never  think  of  calling  such 
a  meeting.  If  the  subject  is  trite,  no  blame  is 
imputable  to  me :  it  is  as  dull  to  me  to  handle 
such  subjects,  as  it  is  to  you  to  hear  them. 
The  customary  promise  on  the  threshold  of  an 
inn  is  good  entertainment  for  man  and  horse. 
— If  there  is  any  truth  in  any  part  of  this  sen- 
tence at  the  Tiger,  at  Beverley,  our  horses  at 
this  moment  must  certainly  be  in  a  state  of 
much  greater  enjoyment  than  the  masters  who 
rode  them. 

It  will  be  some  amusement,  however,  to  this 
meeting,  to  observe  the  schism  which  this 
question  has  occasioned  in  my  own  parish  of 
Londesborough.  My  excellent  and  respecta- 
ble curate,  Mr.  Milestones,  alarmed  at  the  effect 
of  the  pope  upon  the  East  Riding,  has  come 
here  to  oppose  me,  and  there  he  stands,  breath- 
ing war  and  vengeance  on  the  Vatican.  We 
had  some  previous  conversation  on  this  sub- 
ject, and,  in  imitation  of  our  superiors,  we 
agreed  not  to  make  it  a  cabinet  question. — Mr. 
Milestones,  indeed,  with  that  delicacy  and  pro- 
priety which  belong  to  his  character,  expressed 
some  scruples  upon  the  propriety  of  voting 
againsthis  rector,  but  I  insisted  he  should  come 
and  vote  against  me.  I  assured  him  nothing 
would  give  me  more  pain  than  to  think  I  had 
prevented,  in  any  man,  the  free  assertion  of 
honest  opinions.  That  such  conduct,  on  his 
part,  instead  of  causing  jealousy  and  animosi- 
ty between  us,  could  not,  and  would  not  fail  to 
increase  my  regard  and  respect  for  him. 

I  beg  leave,  sir,  before  I  proceed  on  this  sub- 
ject,  to  state  what  I  mean  by  Catholic  emanci- 
pation. I  mean  eligibility  of  Catholics  to  all 
civil  offices,  with  the  usual  exceptions  inlro- 


*  I  was  left  at  tliis  raeelitig  in  a  minority  of  one.  A 
poor  clergyman  wtiispered  to  me,  that  he  was  quite  of 
my  way  of  thinking,  but  had  nine  children.  I  begged 
he  would  remain  a  Protestant. 


duced  into  all  bills — jealous  safeguards  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Protestant  church,  and  for 
the  regulation  of  the  intercourse  with  Rome — 
and,  lastly,  provision  for  the  Catholic  clergy. 

I  object,  sir,  to  the  law  as  it  stands  at  pre- 
sent, because  it  is  impolitic,  and  because  it  is 
unjust.  It  is  impolitic,  because  it  exposes  this 
country  to  the  greatest  danger  in  time  of  war. 
Can  you  believe,  sir,  can  any  man  of  the  most 
ordinary  turn  for  observation,  believe,  that  the 
monarchs  of  Europe  mean  to  leave  this  coun- 
try in  the  quiet  possession  of  the  high  station 
which  it  at  present  holds  1  Is  it  not  obvious 
that  a  war  is  coming  on  between  the  govern- 
ments of  law  and  the  governments  of  despot- 
ism ? — that  the  weak  and  tottering  race  of  the 
Bourbons  will  (whatever  our  wishes  may  be) 
be  compelled  to  gratify  the  wounded  vanity  of 
the  French,  by  plunging  them  into  a  war  with 
England.  Already  they  are  pitying  the  Irish 
people,  as  you  pity  the  West  Indian  slaves— 
already  they  are  opening  colleges  for  the  recep- 
tion of  Irish  priests.  Will  they  wait  for  your 
tardy  wisdom  and  reluctant  liberality!  Is  not 
the  present  state  of  Ireland  a  premium  upon 
early  invasion  1  Does  it  not  hold  out  the  most 
alluring  invitation  to  your  enemies  to  begin  ? 
And  if  the  flag  of  any  hostile  power  in  Europe 
is  unfurled  in  that  unhappy  country,  is  there 
one  Irish  peasant  who  will  not  hasten  to  join 
it^-^and  not  only  the  peasantry,  sir;  the  peas- 
antry begin  these  things,  but  the  peasantry  do 
not  end  them — they  are  soon  joined  by  aa 
order  a  little  above  them — and  then,  after  a 
trifling  success,  a  still  superior  class  think  it 
worth  while  to  try  the  risk:  men  are  hurried 
into  a  rebellion,  as  the  oxen  are  pulled  into  the 
cave  of  Cacus — tail  foremost.  The  mob  first, 
who  have  nothing  to  lose  but  their  lives,  of 
which  every  Irishman  has  nine — then  comes 
the  shopkeeper — then  the  parish  priest — then 
the  vicar-general — then  Dr.  Doyle,  and,  lastly, 
Daniel  O'Connell.  But  if  the  French  were  to 
make  the  same  blunders  respecting  Ireland  as 
Napoleon  committed,  if  wind  and  weather  pre- 
served Ireland  for  you  a  second  time,  still  all 
your  resources  would  be  crippled  by  watching 
Ireland.  The  force  employed  for  this  might 
liberate  Spain  and  Portugal,  protect  India,  or 
accomplish  any  great  purpose  of  offence  or 
defence. 

War,  sir,  seems  to  be  almost  as  natural  a 
state  to  mankind  as  peace;  but  if  you  could 
hope  to  escape  war,  is  there  a  more  powerlui 
receipt  for  destroying  the  prosperity  of  any 
country  than  these  eternal  jealousies  and  di.s- 
2  B  2  365 


366 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tinctions  between  the  two  religions'?  What 
man  will  carry  his  industry  and  his  capital 
into  a  country  where  his  yard  measure  is  a 
sword,  his  pounce-box  a  powder-flask,  and  his 
ledger  a  return  of  killed  and  wounded  1  Where 
a  cat  will  get,  there  I  know  a  cotton-spinner 
will  penetrate  ;  but  let  these  gentlemen  wait  till 
a  few  of  their  factories  have  been  burnt  down, 
till  one  or  two  respectable  merchants  of  Man- 
chester have  been  carded,  and  till  they  have 
seen  the  cravatists  hanging  the  shanavists  in 
cotton  twist.  In  the  present  fervour  for  spin- 
ning, ourang-outangs,  sir,  would  be  employed 
to  spin,  if  they  could  be  found  in  sufficient 
quantities  ;  but  miserably  will  those  reasoners 
be  disappointed  who  repose  upon  cotton — not 
upon  justice — and  who  imagine  this  great 
question  can  be  put  aside,  because  a  few  hun- 
dred Irish  spinners  are  gaining  a  morsel  of 
bread  by  the  overflowing  industry  of  the  Eng- 
lish market. 

But  what  right  have  you  to  continue  these 
rules,  sir,  these  laws  of  exclusion  1  What  ne- 
cessity can  you  show  for  it  1  Is  the  reigning 
monarch  a  concealed  Catholic  1 — Is  his  suc- 
cessor an  open  one  1 — Is  there  a  disputed  suc- 
cession]— Is  there  a  Catholic  pretender  ]  If 
some  of  these  circumstances  are  said  to  have 
justified  the  introduction,  and  others  the  con- 
tinuation of  these  measures,  why  does  not  the 
disappearance  of  all  these  circumstances  jus- 
tify the  repeal  of  the  restrictions  1  If  you  must 
be  unjust — if  it  is  a  luxury  you  cannot  live 
without — reserve  your  injustice  for  the  weak, 
and  not  for  the  strong — persecute  the  Unitari- 
ans, muzzle  the  Ranlers,  be  unjust  to  a  few 
thousand  sectaries,  not  to  six  millions — gal- 
vanize a  frog,  don't  galvanize  a  tiger. 

If  you  go  into  a  parsonage  house  in  the 
country,  Mr.  Archdeacon,  you  see  sometimes  a 
style  and  fashion  of  furniture  which  does  very 
well  for  us,  but  which  has  had  its  day  in  Lon- 
don. It  is  seen  in  London  no  more;  it  is  ban- 
ished to  the  provinces ;  from  the  gentlemen's 
houses  of  the  provinces  these  pieces  of  furni- 
ture, as  soon  as  they  are  discovered  to  be  un- 
fashionable, descend  to  the  farm-houses,  then 
to  cottages,  then  to  the  faggot-heap,  then  to 
the  dunghill.  As  it  is  with  furniture,  so  is  it 
with  arguments.  I  hear  at  country  meetings 
many  arguments  against  the  Catholics  which 
are  never  heard  in  London  ;  their  London  ex- 
istence is  over — they  are  only  to  be  met  with  in 
the  provinces,  and  there  they  are  fast  hastening 
down,  with  clumsy  chairs  and  ill-fashioned 
sofas,  to  another  order  of  men.  But,  sir,  as 
they  are  not  yet  gone  where  I  am  sure  they  are 
going,  I  shall  endeavour  to  point  out  their  de- 
fects, and  to  accelerate  their  descent. 

Many  gentlemen  now  assembled  at, the  Tiger 
Inn,  at  Beverley,  believe  that  the  Catholics  do 
not  keep  faith  with  heretics;  these  gentlemen 
ought  to  know  that  Mr.  Pitt  put  this  very  ques- 
tion to  six  of  the  leading  Catholic  universities 
in  Europe.  He  inquired  of  them  whether  this 
tenet  did  or  did  not  constitute  any  part  of  the 
Catholic  faith.  The  question  received  from 
these  universities  the  most  decided  negative; 
they  denied  that  such  doctrine  formed  any  part 
of  the  creed  of  Catholics.  Such  doctrine,  sir, 
IS  denipd  upon  oath,  in  the  bill  now  pending  in 


Parliament,  a  copy  of  which  I  hold  in  my  hand. 
The  denial  of  such  a  doctrine  upon  oath  is  the 
onl}^  means  by  which  a  Catholic  can  relieve 
himself  from  his  present  incapacities.  If  a 
Catholic,  therefore,  sir,  will  not  take  the  oath, 
he  is  not  relieved,  and  remains  where  you  wish 
him  to  remain ;  if  he  does  take  the  oath,  you 
are  safe  from  his  peril:  if  he  has  no  scruple 
about  oaths,  of  what  consequence  is  it  whether 
this  bill  passes,  the  very  object  of  which  is  to 
relieve  him  from  oaths  1  Look  at  the  fact,  sir. 
Do  the  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzerland,  living 
under  the  same  state  with  the  Catholic  cantons, 
complain  that  no  faith  is  kept  with  heretics  1 
Do  not  the  Catholics  and  Protestants  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  meet  in  one  com- 
mon Parliament  ?  Could  they  pursue  a  com- 
mon purpose,  have  common  friends,  and  com- 
mon enemies,  if  there  was  a  shadow  of  truth  in 
this  doctrine  imputed  to  the  Catholics  1  The 
religious  affairs  of  this  last  kingdom  are  man- 
aged with  the  strictest  impartiality  to  both  sects'! 
ten  Catholics  and  ten  Protestants  (gentlemen 
need  not  look  so  much  surprised  to  hear  it), 
positively  meet  together,  sir,  in  the  same  room. 
They  constitute  what  is  called  the  religious 
committee  for  the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands, 
and  so  extremely  desirous  are  they  of  preserving 
the  strictest  impartiality,  that  they  have  chosen 
a  Jew  for  their  secretary.  Their  conduct  has 
been  unimpeachable  and  unimpeached;  the 
two  sects  are  at  peace  with  each  other ;  and 
the  doctrine,  that  no  faith  is  kept  with  heretics, 
would,  I  assure  you,  be  very  little  credited  at 
Amsterdam  or  the  Hague,  cities  as  essentially 
Protestant  as  the  town  of  Beverley. 

Wretched  is  our  condition,  and  still  m«re 
wretched  the  condition  of  Ireland,  if  the  Catho- 
lic does  not  respect  his  oath.  He  serves  on 
grand  and  petty  juries  in  both  countries ;  we 
trust  our  lives,  our  liberties,  and  our  properties, 
to  his  conscientious  reverence  of  an  oath,  and 
yet,  when  it  suits  the  purposes  of  party  to  bring 
forth  this  argument,  we  say  he  has  no  respect 
for  oaths.  The  right  to  a  landed  estate  of 
3000/.  per  annum  was  decided  last  week,  in 
York,  by  a  jury,  the  foreman  of  which  was  a 
Catholic ;  does  any  human  being,  harbour  a 
thought,  that  this  gentleman,  whom  we  all 
know  and  respect,  would,  under  any  circum- 
stances, have  thought  more  lightly  of  the  obli- 
gation of  an  oath,  than  his  Protestant  brethren 
of  the  box  ]  We  all  disbelieve  these  arguments 
of  Mr.  A.  the  Catholic,  and  of  Mr.  B.  the  Catho- 
lic :  but  we  believe  them  of  Catholics  in  gen- 
eral, of  the  abstract  Catholics,  of  the  Catholic 
of  the  Tiger  Inn,  at  Beverley,  the  formidable  un- 
known Catholic,  that  is  so  apt  to  haunt  our 
clerical  meetings. 

I  observe  that  some  gentlemen  who  argue 
this  question,  are  very  bold  about  other  offices, 
but  very  jealous  lest  Catholic  gentlemen  should 
become  justices  of  the  peace.  If  this  jealousy 
is  justifiable  anywhere,  it  is  justifiable  in  Ire- 
land, where  some  of  the  best  and  most  respect- 
able magistrates  are  Catholics. 

It  is  not  true  that  the  Roman  Catholic  reli- 
gion is  what  it  was.  I  meet  that  assertion  with 
a  plump  denial.  The  pope  does  not  dethrone 
kings,  nor  give  away  kingdoms,  does  not  ex- 
tort money,  has  given  up,  in  some  instances, 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


367 


the  nomination  of  bishops  to  Catholic  princes, 
in  some,  I  believe,  to  Protestant  princes;  Pro- 
testant worship  is  now  carried  on  at  Rome.  In 
the  Low  Countries,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  of 
Alva's  cruelties,  the  Catholic  tolerates  the  Pro- 
testant, and  sits  with  him  in  the  same  Parlia- 
ment— the  same  in  Hungary — the  same  in 
France.  The  first  use  which  even  the  Spanish 
people  made  of  their  ephemeral  liberty,  was  to 
destroy  the  Inquisition.  It  was  destroyed  also 
by  the  mob  of  Portugal.  I  am  so  far  from 
thinking  the  Catholic  not  to  be  more  tolerant 
than  he  was,  that  I  am  much  afraid  the  English, 
who  gave  the  first  lesson  of  toleration  to  man- 
kind, will  very  soon  have  a  great  deal  to  learn 
from  their  pupils. 

Some  men  quarrel  with  the  Catholics,  be- 
cause their  language  was  violent  in  the  Asso- 
ciation ;  but  a  groan  or  two,  sir,  after  two  hun- 
dred years  of  incessant  tyranny,  may  surely  be 
forgiven.  A  few  warm  phrases  to  compensate 
the  legal  massacre  of  a  million  of  Irishmen  are 
not  unworthy  of  our  pardon.  All  this  hardly 
deserves  the  eternal  incapacity  of  holding  civil 
offices.  Then  they  quarrel  wilh  the  Bible  Soci- 
ety; in  other  words  they  vindicate  that  ancient 
tenet  of  their  church,  that  the  Scriptures  are  not 
to  be  left  to  the  unguided  judgment  of  the  laity. 
The  objection  to  Catholics  is,  that  they  did  what 
Catholics  ought  to  do — and  do  not  many  pre- 
lates of  our  church  object  to  the  Bible  Society, 
and  contend  that  the  Scriptures  ought  not  to  be 
circulated  without  the  comment  of  the  Prayer 
Book  and  the  Articles  !  If  they  are  right,  the 
Catholics  are  not  wrong;  and  if  the  Catholics 
are  wrong,  they  are  in  such  good  company,  that 
we  ought  to  respect  their  errors. 

Why  not  pay  their  clergy  1  the  Presbyterian 
clergy  in  the  north  of  Ireland  are  paid  by  the 
state  :  the  Catholic  clergy  of  Canada  are  pro- 
vided for:  the  priests  of  the  Hindoos  are,  I 
believe,  in  some  of  their  temples,  paid  by  the 
Company.  You  must  surely  admit  that  the 
Catholic  religion  (the  religion  of  two-thirds  of 
Europe),  is  better  than  no  religion.  I  do  not 
regret  that  the  Irish  ai^e  under  the  dominion  of 
the  priests.  I  am  glad  that  so  savage  a  people 
as  the  lower  orders  of  Irish  are  under  the  do- 
minion of  their  priests;  for  it  is  a  step  gained 
to  place  such  beings  under  any  influence,  and 
the  clergy  are  always  the  first  civilizers  of  man- 
kind. The  Irish  are  deserted  by  their  natural 
aristocracy,  and  I  should  wish  to  make  their 
priesthood  respectable  in  their  appearance,  and 
easy  in  their  circumstances.  A  government 
provision  has  produced  the  most  important 
changes  in  the  opinions  of  the  Presbyterian 
clergy  of  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  has  changed 
them  from  levellers  and  Jacobins  into  reasona- 
ble men;  it  would  not  fail  to  improve  most 
materially  the  political  opinions  of  the  Catholic 
priests.  This  cannot,  however,  be  done,  with- 
out the  emancipation  of  the  laity.  No  priest 
would  dare  to  accept  a  salary  from  government, 
unless  this  preliminary  was  settled.  I  am 
aware  it  would  give  to  government  a  tremen- 
dous power  in  that  country;  but  I  must  choose 
the  least  of  two  evils.  The  great  point,  as  phy- 
sicians say,  in  some  diseases,  is  to  resist  the 
tendencjr  to  death.  The  great  object  of  our  day 
is  to  prevent  the  loss  of  Ireland,  and  the  conse- 


quent ruin  of  England;  to  obviate  the  tendency 
to  death ;  we  will  first  keep  the  patient  alive, 
and  then  dispute  about  his  diet  and  his  medi- 
cine. 

Suppose  a  law  were  passed,  that  no  clergy- 
man who  had  ever  held  a  living  in  the  East 
Riding,  could  be  made  a  bishop.  Many  gentle- 
men here  (who  have  no  hopes  of  ever  being 
removed  from  their  parishes)  would  feel  the 
restriction  of  the  law  as  a  considerable  degra- 
dation. We  should  soon  be  pointed  at  as  a 
lower  order  of  clergymen.  It  would  not  be 
long  before  the  common  people  would  find  some 
fortunate  epithet  for  us,  and  it  would  not  be  long 
either  before  we  should  observe  in  our  brethren 
of  the  north  and  west  an  air  of  superiority, 
which  would  aggravate  not  a  little  the  justice 
of  the  privation.  Every  man  feels  the  insult 
thrown  upon  his  caste ;  the  insulted  party  falls 
lower,  every  body  else  becomes  higher.  There 
are  heart-burnings  and  recollections.  Peace 
flies  from  that  land.  The  volume  of  parlia- 
mentary evidence  I  have  brought  here  is  loaded 
with  the  testimony  of  witnesses  of  all  ranks  and 
occupations,  stating  to  the  House  of  Commons 
the  undoubted  efl^ects  produced  upon  the  lower 
order  of  Catholics  by  these  disqualifying  laws, 
and  the  lively  interest  they  take  in  their  re- 
moval. I  have  seventeen  quotations,  sir,  from 
this  evidence,  and  am  ready  to  give  any  gen- 
tleman my  references  ;  but  I  forbear  to  read 
them,  from  compassion  to  my  reverend  breth- 
ren, who  have  trotted  many  miles  to  vote 
against  the  pope,  and  who  will  trot  back  in  the 
dark,  if  I  attempt  to  throw  additional  light  upoa 
the  subject. 

I  have  also,  sir,  a  high-spirited  class  of  gen- 
tlemen to  deal  with,  who  will  do  nothing  from 
fear,  who  admit  the  danger,  but  think  it  dis- 
graceful to  act  as  if  they  feared  it.  There  is  a 
degree  of  fear,  which  destroys  a  man's  faculties, 
renders  him  incapable  of  acting,  and  makes 
him  ridiculous.  There  is  another  sort  of  fear, 
which  enables  a  man  to  foresee  a  coming  evil, 
to  measure  it,  to  examine  his  powers  of  resist- 
ance, to  balance  the  evil  of  submission  against 
the  evils  of  opposition  or  defeat,  and  if  he  thinks 
he  must  be  ultimately  overpowered,  leads  hira 
to  find  a  good  escape  in  a  good  time.  I  can  see 
no  possible  disgrace  in  feeling  this  sort  of  fear, 
and  in  listening  to  its  suggestions.  But  it  is 
mere  cant  to  say,  that  men  will  not  be  actuated 
by  fear  in  such  questions  as  these.  Those  who 
pretend  not  to  fear  now,  would  be  the  first  to 
fear  upon  the  approach  of  danger  ;  it  is  always 
the  case  with  this  distant  valour.  Most  of  the 
concessions  which  have  been  given  to  the  Irish 
have  been  given  to  fear.  Ireland  would  have 
been  lost  to  this  country,  if  the  British  legisla- 
ture had  not,  with  all  the  rapidity  and  precipi- 
tation of  the  truest  panic,  passed  those  acts 
which  Ireland  did  not  ask,  but  demanded  in  the 
time  of  her  armed  associations.  I  should  not 
think  a  man  brave,  but  mad,  who  did  not  fear 
the  treasons  and  rebellions  of  Ireland  in  ^ime 
of  war.  I  should  think  him  not  dastardly,  but 
consummately  wise,  who  provided  against  them 
in  time  of  peace.  The  Catholic  question  has 
made  a  greater  progress  since  the  opening  of 
this  Parliament  than  I  ever  remember  it  to  have 
made,  and  it  has  made  that  progress  from  fe;ir 


S68 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


alone.  The  House  of  Commons  were  aston- 
ished by  the  union  of  the  Irish  Catholics.  They 
saw  that  Catholic  Ireland  had  discovered  her 
strength,  and  stretched  out  her  limbs,  and  felt 
manly  powers,  and  called  for  manly  treatment ; 
and  the  House  of  Commons  wisely  and  practi- 
cally yielded  to  the  innovations  of  time,  and  the 
shifting  attitude  of  human  affairs. 

I  admit  the  church,  sir,  to  be  in  great  danger. 
I  am  sure  the  state  is  so  also.  My  remedy  for 
these  evils  is,  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  the 
Irish  people — to  conciliate  the  clergy,  by  giving 
them  pensions — to  loyalize  the  laity,  by  putting 
them  on  a  footing  with  the  Protestant.  My 
remedy  is  the  old  one,  approved  of  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  to  lessen  dangers,  by 
increasing  friends,  and  appeasing  enemies.  I 
think  it  most  probable,  that  under  this  system 
of  crown  patronage,  the  clergy  will  be  quiet. 
A  Catholic  layman,  who  finds  all  the  honours  of 
the  state  open  to  him,  will  not,  I  think,  run  into 
treason  and  rebellion — will  not  live  with  a  rope 
about  his  neck,  in  order  to  turn  our  bishops  out, 
and  put  his  own  in ;  he  may  not,  too,  be  of 
opinion  that  the  utility  of  his  bishop  will  be 
four  times  as  great,  because  his  income  is  four 
limes  as  large ;  but  whether  he  is  or  not,  he 
will  never  endanger  his  sweet  acres  (large  mea- 
sure) for  such  questions  as  these.  Anti-Trini- 
tarian Dissenters  sit  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, whom  we  believe  to  be  condemned  to  the 
punishments  of  another  world.  There  is  no 
limit  to  the  introduction  of  Dissenters  into 
both  houses — Dissenting  Lords  or  Dissenting 
Commons.  What  mischief  have  Dissenters 
for  this  last  century  and  a  half  plotted  against 
the  Church  of  England  T  The  Catholic  lord 
and  the  Catholic  gentleman  (restored  to  their 
fair  rights)  will  never  join  with  levellers  and  Ico- 
noclasts. You  will  find  them  defending  you 
hereafter  against  your  Protestant  enemies. — 
The  crosier  in  any  hand,  the  mitre  on  any  head, 
are  more  tolerable  in  the  eyes  of  a  Catholic 
than  doxological  Barebones  and  tonsured  Crom- 
well. 

We  preach  to  our  congregations,  sir,  that  a 
tree  is  known  by  its  fruits.  By  the  fruits  it 
produces  I  will  judge  your  system.  What  has 
it  done  for  Ireland  1  New  Zealand  is  emerg- 
ing— Otaheite  is  emerging — Ireland  is  not 
emerging — she  is  still  veiled  in  darkness — her 
children,  safe  under  no  law,  live  in  the  very 
shadow  of  death.  Has  your  system  of  exclu- 
sion made  Ireland  rich  1  Has  it  made  Ireland 
loyall  Has  it  made  Ireland  freel  Has  it 
made  Ireland  happy  1  How  is  the  wealth  of 
Ireland  proved  1  Is  it  by  the  naked,  idle,  suf- 
fering savages,  who  are  slumbering  on  the  mud 
floor  of  their  cabins  1  In  what  does  the  loyalty 
of  Ireland  consist  1  Is  it  in  the  eagerness  with 
which  they  would  range  themselves  under  the 
hostile  banner  of  any  invader,  for  your  destruc- 
tion and  for  your  distress!  Is  it  liberty  when 
men  breathe  and  move  among  the  bayonets  of 
English  soldiers  ?  Is  their  happiness  and  their 
history  any  thing  but  such  a  tissue  of  murders, 
burnings.hanging,  famine,  and  disease,  as  never 
existed  before  in  the  annals  of  the  world  1 — 
This  is  the  system  which,  I  am  sure,  with  very 
different  intentions,  and  different  views  of  its 
iiffects,  you  are  met  this  day  to  uphold.     These 


are  the  dreadful  consequences,  which  those 
laws  your  petition  prays  may  be  continued, 
have  produced  upon  Ireland.  From  the  prin- 
ciples of  that  system,  from  the  cruelty  of  those 
laws,  I  turn,  and  turn  with  the  homage  of  my 
whole  heart,  to  that  memorable  proclamation 
which  the  head  of  ourchurch — the  present  mo- 
narch of  these  realms — has  lately  made  to  his 
hereditary  dominions  of  Hanover — That  no  man 
should  be  subjected  to  civil  incapacities  on  account  of 
religious  opinions.  Sir,  there  have  been  many 
memorable  things  done  in  this  reign.  Hostile 
armies  have  been  destroyed ;  fleets  have  been 
captured;  formidable  combinations  have  been 
broken  to  pieces — bid  this  sentiment,  in  the  mouth 
of  a  king,  deserves  more  than  all  glories  and 
victories  the  notice  of  that  historian  who  is  des- 
tined to  tell  to  future  ages  the  deeds  of  the  Eng- 
lish people.  I  hope  he  will  lavish  upon  it 
every  gem  which  glitters  in  the  cabinet  of  genius, 
and  so  uphold  it  to  the  world  that  it  will  be  re- 
membered when  Waterloo  is  forgotten,  and 
when  the  fall  of  Paris  is  blotted  out  from  the 
memory  of  man.  Great  as  it  is,  sir,  this  is  not 
the  only  pleasure  I  have  received  in  these  lat- 
ter days.  I  have  seen,  within  these  few  weeks, 
a  degree  of  wisdom  in  our  mercantile  laws, 
such  superiority  to  vulgar  prejudice,  views  so 
just  and  so  profound,  that  it  seemed  to  me  as  if 
I  was  reading  the  works  of  a  speculative  econo- 
mist, rather  than  the  improvement  of  a  practical 
politician,  agreed  to  by  a  legislative  assembly, 
and  upon  the  eve  of  being  carried  into  execu- 
tion, for  the  benefit  of  a  great  people.  liCt  who 
will  be  their  master,  I  honour  and  praise  the 
ministers  who  have  learnt  such  a  lesson.  I  re- 
joice that  I  have  lived  to  see  such  an  improve- 
ment in  English  affairs — that  the  stubborn  resis- 
tance to  all  improvement — the  contempt  of  all 
scientific  reasoning,  and  the  rigid  adhesion  to 
every  stupid  error  which  so  long  characterized 
the  proceedings  of  this  country,  are  fast  giving 
away  to  better  things,  under  better  men,  placed 
in  better  circumstances. 

I  confess  it  is  not  without  severe  pain  that, 
in  the  midst  of  all  this  expansion  and  improve- 
ment, I  perceive  that  in  our  profession  we  are 
still  calling  for  the  same  exclusion — still  ask- 
ing that  the  same  fetters  maybe  riveted  on  our 
fellow-creatures — still  mistaking  what  consti- 
tutes the  weakness  and  misfortune  of  the 
church,  for  that  which  contributes  to  its  glory, 
its  dignity,  and  its  strength.  Sir,  there  are  two 
petitions  at  this  moment  in  this  house,  against 
two  of  the  wisest  and  best  measures  which 
ever  came  into  the  British  Parliament,  against 
the  impending  corn  law  and  against  the  Catholic 
emancipation — the  one  bill  intended  to  increase 
the  comforts,  and  the  other  to  allay  the  bad  pas- 
sions of  man. — Sir,  I  am  not  in  a  situation  of  life 
to  do  much  good,  but  I  will  take  care  that  I  will 
not  willingly  do  any  evil. — The  wealth  of  the 
Riding  should  not  tempt  me  to  petition  against 
either  of  those  bills.  With  the  corn  bill,  I  have 
nothing  to  do  at  this  time.  Of  the  Catholic 
emancipation  bill,  I  shall  say,  that  it  will  he 
the  foundation  stone  of  a  lasting  religious 
peace;  that  it  will  give  to  Ireland  not  all  that 
it  wants,  but  what  it  most  wants,  and  without 
which  no  other  boon  will  be  of  any  avail. 

When  this  bill  passes,  it  will  be  a  signal  to 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


369 


all  the  religious  sects  of  that  unhappy  country 
to  lay  aside  their  mutual  hatred,  and  to  live  in 
peace,  as  equal  men  should  live  under  equal 
law — when  this  bill  passes,  the  Orange  flag 
will  fall — when  this  bill  passes,  the  Green  flag 
of  the  rebel  will  fall — when  this  bill  passes,  no 


other  flag  will  fly  in  the  land  of  Erin  than  that 
flag  which  blends  the  lion  with  the  harp — that 
flag  which,  wherever  it  does  fly,  is  the  sign  of 
freedom  and  of  joy — the  only  banner  in  Europe 
which  floats  over  a  limited  king  and  a  free 
people. 


SPEECH  AT  THE  TAUNTON  EEEORM  MEETING.* 


Mr.  Bailiff, — This  is  the  greatest  measure 
which  has  ever  been  before  Parliament  in  my 
time,  and  the  most  pregnant  with  good  or  evil 
to  the  country ;  and  though  I  seldom  meddle 
with  political  meetings,  I  could  not  reconcile  it 
to  my  conscience  to  be  absent  from  this. 

Every  year,  for  this  half  century,  the  ques- 
tion of  reform  has  been  pressing  upon  us,  till 
it  has  swelled  up  at  last  into  this  great  and 
awful  combination  ;  so  that  almost  every  city 
and  every  borough  in  England  are  at  this  mo- 
ment assembled  for  the  same  purpose,  and  are 
doing  the  same  thing  we  are  doing.  It  damps 
the  ostentation  of  argument  and  mitigates  the 
pain  of  doubt,  to  believe  (as  I  believe)  that  the 
measure  is  inevitable;  the  consequences  may 
be  good  or  bad,  but  done  it  must  be  ;  I  defy  the 
most  determined  enemy  of  popular  influence, 
either  now  or  a  little  lime  from  now,  to  prevent 
a  reform  in  Parliament.  Some  years  ago,  by 
timely  concession,  it  might  have  been  prevent- 
ed. If  members  had  been  granted  to  Birming- 
ham, Leeds,  and  Manchester,  and  other  great 
towns,  as  opportunities  occurred,  a  spirit  of 
conciliation  would  have  been  evinced,  and  the 
people  might  have  been  satisfied  with  a  reform, 
which  though  remote  would  have  been  gradual ; 
but  with  the  customary  blindness  and  insolence 
of  human  beings,  the  day  of  adversity  was  for- 
gotten, the  rapid  improvement  of  the  people 
was  not  noticed;  the  object  of  a  certain  class 

*  1  was  a  sincere  friend  to  reform  ;  I  am  so  still.  It 
was  a  great  deal  too  violent — but  the  only  justification 
is,  that  you  cannot  reform  as  you  wish,  by  degrees  ; 
you  must  avail  yourself  of  the  few  opportunities  that 
present  themselves.  The  reform  carried,  it  became  the 
business  nf  every  honest  man  to  turn  it  to  good,  and  to 
see  that  the  people  (drunk  with  their  new  power)  did 
not  ruin  our  ancient  institutions.  We  have  been  in 
considerable  danger,  and  that  danger  is  not  over.  What 
alarms  me  most  is  the  large  price  paid  by  both  parties 
for  popular  favour.  The  yeomanry  were  put  down  : 
nothing  could  be  more  grossly  absurd — the  people  were 
rising  up  against  the  poor-laws,  and  such  an  excellent 
and  permanent  force  was  abolished  because  they  were 
not  deemed  a  proper  force  to  deal  with  popular  insur- 
rections. You  may  just  as  well  object  to  put  out  a  fire 
with  pond  water  because  pump  water  is  better  for  the 
purpose  :  I  say,  put  out  the  fire  with  the  first  water  you 
can  get ;  but  the  truth  is,  radicals  don't  like  armed  yeo- 
men :  they  have  an  ugly  homicide  appearance.  Again, 
— a  million  of  revenue  is  given  up  in  the  nonsensical 
penny-post  scheme,  to  please  my  old,  excellent,  and 
universally  dissentient  friend,  Noah  Warburton.  I  ad- 
mire the  whig  ministry,  and  think  they  have  done  more 
good  things  than  all  the  ministries  since  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  but  these  concessions  are  sad  and  unworthy 
marks  of  weakness,  and  fill  reasonable  men  with  just 
alarm.  All  this  folly  has  taken  place  since  they  have 
become  ministers  upon  principles  of  chivalry  and  gal- 
lantry ;  and  the  tories,  too,  for  fear  of  the  people,  have 
been  much  too  quiet.  There  is  only  one  principle  of 
public  conduct — Do  what  you  fhiiilc  ria-ht,  avd  Inlce  place 
andpoicer  as  an  accident.  Upon  any  other  plan,  office  is 
ehabbiness,  labour,  and  sorrow. 
47 


of  politicians  was  to  please  the  court  and  to 
gratify  their  own  arrogance  by  treating  every 
attempt  to  expand  the  representation,  and  to 
increase  the  popular  influence,  with  every  spe- 
cies of  contempt  and  obloquy :  the  golden  op- 
portunity was  lost ;  and  now  proud  lips  must 
swallow  bitter  potions. 

The  arguments  and  the  practices  (as  I  re- 
member to  have  heard  Mr.  Huskisson  say), 
which  did  very  well  twenty  years  ago,  will  not 
do  now.  The  people  read  too  much,  think  too 
much,  see  too  many  newspapers,  hear  too 
inany  speeches,  have  their  eyes  too  intensely 
fixed  upon  political  events.  But  if  it  was  pos- 
sible to  put  oif  parliamentary  reform  a  M'eek 
ago,  is  it  possible  now?  When  a  monarch 
(whose  amiable  and  popular  manners  have,  I 
verily  believe,  saved  us  from  a  revolution)  ap- 
proves the  measure — when  a  minister  of  exalt- 
ed character  plans  and  fashions  it — when  a 
cabinet  of  such  varied  talent  and  disposition 
protects  it — when  such  a  body  of  the  aristocra- 
cy vote  for  it — when  the  hundred-horse  power 
of  the  press  is  labouring  for  it; — who  does  not 
know,  after  this,  (whatever  be  the  decision  of 
the  present  Parliament,)  that  the  measure  is 
virtually  carried — and  that  all  the  struggle 
between  such  annunciation  of  such  a  plan, 
and  its  completion,  is  tumult,  disorder,  disaf- 
fection, and  (it  may  be)  political  ruin  ? 

An  honourable  member  of  the  honourable 
hou.S'e,  much  connected  with  this  town,  and 
once  its  representative,  seems  to  be  amazingly 
surprised,  and  equally  dissatisfied,  at  this  com- 
bination of  king,  ministers,  nobles,  and  people, 
against  his  opinion: — like  the  gentleman  who 
came  home  from  serving  on  a  jury  very  much 
disconcerted,  and  complaining  he  had  met  with 
eleven  of  the  most  obstinate  people  he  had  ever 
seen  in  his  life,  whom  he  found  it  absolutely 
impossible  by  the  strongest  arguments  to  bring 
over  to  his  way  of  thinking. 

They  tell  you,  gentlemen,  that  you  have  grown 
rich  and  powerful  with  these  rotten  boroughs, 
and  that  it  would  be  madness  to  part  with 
them,  or  to  alter  a  constitution  which  had  pro- 
duced such  happy  effects.  There  happens, 
gentlemen,  to  live  near  my  parsonage  a  labour 
ing  man,  of  very  superior  character  and  under 
standing  to  his  fellow-labourers  ;  and  who  has 
made  such  good  use  of  that  superiority,  thai 
he  has  saved  what  is  (for  his  station  in  life) 
a  very  considerable  sum  of  money,  and  if  his 
existence  is  extended  to  the  common  period, 
he  will  die  rich.  It  happens,  however,  that  he. 
is  (and  long  has  been)  troubled  with  violent 
stomachic  pains,  for  which  he  has  hitherto  ob' 


mo 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tained  no  relief,  and  which  really  are  the  bane 
and  torment  of  his  life.  Now,  if  my  excellent 
labourer  were  to  send  for  a  physician,  and  to 
consult  him  respecting  this  malady,  would  it 
not  be  very  singular  language  if  our  doctor 
were  to  say  to  him,  "  My  good  friend,  you  sure- 
ly  will  not  be  so  rash  as  to  attempt  to  get  rid  of 
these  pains  in  your  stomach.  Have  you  not 
grown  rich  with  these  pains  in  your  stomach  1 
have  you  not  risen  under  them  from  poverty 
to  prosperity  1  has  not  your  situation,  since  you 
were  first  attacked,  been  improving  every  year  1 
You  surely  will  not  be  so  foolish  and  so  indis- 
creet as  to  part  with  the  pains  in  your  sto- 
mach?"— Why,  what  would  be  the  answer  of 
the  rustic  to  this  nonsensical  monition  "?  "  Mon- 
ster of  rhubarb !  (he  would  say)  I  am  not  rich 
in  consequence  of  the  pains  in  my  stomach, 
but  in  spite  of  the  pains  in  ray  stomach ;  and 
I  should  have  been  ten  times  richer,  and  fifty 
times  happier,  if  I  had  never  had  any  pains  in 
my  stomach  at  all."  Gentlemen,  these  rotten 
boroughs  are  your  pains  in  the  stomach — and 
you  would  have  been  a  much  richer  and  greater 
people  if  you  had  never  had  them  at  all.  Your 
wealth  and  your  power  have  been  owing, 
not  to  the  debased  and  corrupted  parts  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  but  to  the  many  inde- 
pendent and  honourable  members  whom  it  has 
always  contained  within  its  walls.  If  there 
had  been  a  few  more  of  these  very  valuable 
members  for  close  boroughs,  we  should,  I  verily 
believe,  have  been  by  this  time  about  as  free 
as  Denmark,  Sweden,  or  the  Germanized  states 
of  Italy. 

They  tell  you  of  the  few  men  of  name  and 
character  who  have  sat  for  boroughs  ;  but  no- 
thing is  said  of  those  mean  and  menial  men 
who  are  sent  down  every  day  by  their  aristo- 
cratic masters  to  continue  unjust  and  unneces- 
sary wars,  to  prevent  inquiring  into  profligate 
expenditure,  to  take  money  out  of  your  pock- 
ets, or  to  do  any  other  bad  or  base  thing  which 
the  minister  of  the  day  may  require  at  their 
unclean  hands.  What  mischief,  it  is  asked, 
have  these  boroughs  done  1  I  believe  there  is 
not  a  day  of  your  lives  in  which  you  are  not 
sufiering  in  all  the  taxed  commodities  of  life 
from  the  accumulation  of  bad  votes  of  bad 
men.  But,  Mr.  Bailiff,  if  this  tvere  otherwise,  if 
it  really  were  a  great  political  invention,  that 
cities  of  100,000  men  should  have  no  repre- 
sentatives, because  those  representatives  were 
"wanted  for  political  ditches,  political  walls,  and 
political  parks ;  that  the  people  should  be 
bought  and  sold  like  any  other  commodity; 
that  a  retired  merchant  should  be  able  to  go 
into  the  market  and  buy  ten  shares  in  the  go- 
vernment of  twenty  millions  of  his  fellow- 
subjects  ;  yet  can  such  asseverations  be  made 
openly  before  the  people  1  Wise  men,  men 
conversant  with  human  affairs,  may  whisper 
such  theories  to  each  other  in  retirement;  but 
can  the  people  ever  be  taught  that  it  is  right 
they  should  be  bought  and  sold  1  Can  the  ve- 
hemence of  eloquent  democrats  be  met  with 
such  arguments  and  theories  1  Can  the  doubts 
of  honest  and  limited  men  be  met  by  such  ar- 
guments and  theories'?  The  moment  such  a 
government  is  looked  at  by  all  the  people  it  is 
lost.    It  is  impossible  to  explain,  defend,  and 


recommend  it  to  the  mass  of  mankind.  And 
true  enough  it  is,  that  as  often  as  misfortune 
threatens  us  at  home,  or  imitation  excites  us 
from  abroad,  political  reform  is  clamored  for 
by  the  people — there  it  stands,  and  ever  will 
stand,  in  the  apprehension  of  tlie  multitude — 
reform,  the  cure  of  every  evil — corruption,  the 
source  of  every  misfortune — famine,  defeat, 
decayed  trade,  depressed  agriculture,  will  all 
lapse  into  the  question  of  reform.  Till  that 
question  is  set  at  rest  (and  it  may  be  set  at 
rest),  all  will  be  disaflTection,  tumult,  and  per- 
haps (which  God  avert!)  destruction. 

13ut  democrats  and  agitators  (and  democrats 
and  agitators  there  are  in  the  world),  will  not 
be  contented  with  this  reform.  Perhaps  not, 
sir;  I  never  hope  to  content  men  whose  game 
is  never  to  be  contented — but  if  they  are  not 
contented,  I  am  sure  their  discontent  will  then 
comparatively  be  of  little  importance,  I  ain 
afraid  of  them  now;  I  have  no  arguments  to 
answer  them :  but  I  shall  not  be  afraid  of  them 
after  this  bill,  and  would  tell  them  boldly,  in 
the  middle  of  their  mobs,  that  there  was  no 
longer  cause  for  agitation  and  excitement,  and 
that  they  ■were  intending  wickedly  to  the  peo- 
ple. You  may  depend  upon  it  such  a  measure 
would  destroy  their  trade,  as  the  repeal  of  du- 
ties would  destroy  the  trade  of  the  smuggler; 
their  functions  would  be  carried  on  faintly,  and 
with  little  profit ;  you  would  soon  feel  that  your 
position  was  stable,  solid,  and  safe. 

All  would  be  well,  it  is  urged,  if  they  would 
but  let  the  people  alone.  But  what  chance  is 
there,  I  demand,  of  these  wise  politicians,  that 
the  people  will  ever  be  let  alone ;  that  the  ora- 
tor will  lay  down  his  craft,  and  the  demagogue 
forget  his  cunning  1  If  many  things  were  let 
alone,  which  never  will  be  let  alone,  the  aspect 
of  human  aflTairs  would  be  a  little  varied.  If 
the  winds  would  let  the  waves  alone,  there 
would  be  no  storms.  If  gentlemen  would  let 
ladies  alone,  there  would  be  no  unhappy  mar- 
riages, and  deserted  damsels.  If  persons  who 
can  reason  no  better  than  this,  would  leave 
speaking  alone,  the  school  of  eloquence  might 
be  improved.  I  have  little  hopes,  however,  of 
witnessing  any  of  these  acts  of  forbearance, 
particularly  the  last,  and  so  we  must  (however 
foolish  it  may  appear),  proceed  to  make  laws 
for  a  people  who,  we  are  sure,  will  not  be  let 
alone. 

We  might  really  imagine,  from  the  objec- 
tions made  to  the  plan  of  reform,  that  the  great 
mass  of  Englishmen  were  madmen,  robbers, 
and  murderers.  The  kingly  power  is  to  be  de- 
stroyed, the  House  of  Lords  is  to  be  annihilat- 
ed, the  church  is  to  be  ruined,  estates  are  to  be 
confiscated,  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  to  find  in 
these  perpetrators  of  crimes — in  this  mass  of 
pillagers  and  lunatics — the  steady  and  respect- 
able tradesmen  and  farmers,  who  will  have 
votes  to  confer,  and  the  steady  and  respectable 
country  gentlemen,  who  will  probably  have 
votes  to  receive ; — it  may  be  true  of  the  trades- 
men of  Mauritania,  it  may  be  just  of  the  coun- 
try gentlemen  of  Fez — it  is  any  thing  but  true 
of  the  English  people.  The  English  are  a 
tranquil,  phlegmatic,  money-loving,  money-get- 
ting people,  who  want  to  be  quiet — and  would 
be  quiet  if  they  were  not  surrounded  by  evils 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


^t 


of  such  magnitude,  that  it  would  be  baseness 
and  pusillanimity  not  to  oppose  to  them  the 
strongest  constitutional  resistance. 

Then  it  is  said  that  there  is  to  be  a  lack  of 
talent  in  the  new  Parliament :  it  is  to  be  com- 
posed of  ordinary  and  inferior  persons,  who 
will  bring  the  government  of  the  country  into 
contempt.  But  the  best  of  all  talents,  gentle- 
men, is  to  conduct  our  affairs  honestly,  dili- 
gently, and  economically — and  this  talent  will, 
I  am  sure,  abound  as  much  in  the  new  Parlia- 
ment as  in  many  previous  parliaments.  Par- 
liament is  not  a  school  for  rhetoric  and  decla- 
mation, where  a  stranger  would  go  to  hear  a 
speech,  as  he  would  go  to  the  opera  to  hear  a 
song ;  but  if  it  v/ere  otherwise — if  eloquence 
be  a  necessary  ornament  of,  and  an  indispen- 
sable adjunct  to,  popular  assemblies — can  it  ever 
be  absent  from  popular  assemblies  ?  I  have 
always  found  that  all  things  moral  or  physical 
grow  in  the  soil  best  suited  for  them.  Show 
me  a  deep  and  tenacious  earth — and  I  am  sure 
the  oak  will  spring  up  in  it.  In  a  low  and  damp 
soil  I  am  equally  certain  of  the  alder  and  the 
willow.  Gentlemen,  the  free  Parliament  of  a 
free  people  is  the  native  soil  of  eloquence — 
and  in  that  soil  will  it  ever  flourish  and  abound 
— there  it  will  produce  those  intellectual  effects 
which  drive  before  them  whole  tribes  and  na- 
tions of  the  human  i-ace,  and  settle  the  desti- 
nies of  man.  And,  gentlemen,  if  a  few  persons 
of  a  less  elegant  and  aristocratic  description 
were  to  become  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, where  would  be  the  evil  1  They  would 
probably  understand  the  common  people  a 
great  deal  better,  and  in  this  way  the  feelings 
and  interests  of  all  classes  of  people  would  be 
better  represented.  The  House  of  Commons, 
thus  organized,  will  express  more  faithfully 
the  opinions  of  the  people. 

The  people  are  sometimes,  it  is  urged,  gross- 
ly mistaken  ;  but  ai-e  kings  never  mistaken? 
Are  the  higher  orders  never  mistaken? — never 
wilfully  corrupted  by  their  own  interests  ?  The 
people  have  at  least  this  superiority,  that  they 
always  intend  to  do  what  is  rigtit. 

The  argument  of  fear  is  very  easily  disposed 
of:  he  who  is  afraid  of  a  knock  on  the  head 
or  a  cut  on  the  cheek  is  a  coward;  he  who  is 
afraid  of  entailing  greater  evils  on  the  country 
by  refusing  the  remedy  than  by  applying  it, 
and  who  acts  in  pursuance  of  that  conviction, 
is  a  wise  and  prudent  man — nothing  can  be 
more  different  than  personal  and  political  fear; 
it  is  the  artifice  of  our  opponents  to  confound 
them  together. 

The  right  of  disfranchisement,  gentlemen, 
must  exist  somewhere,  and  where  but  in  Par- 
liament? If  not,  how  was  the  Scotch  union, 
how  was  the  Irish  union,  effected  ?  The  Duke 
of  Wellington's  administration  disfranchised 
at  one  blow  200,000  Irish  voters — for  no  fault 
of  theirs,  and  for  no  other  reason  than  the  best 
of  all  reasons,  that  public  expediency  required 
it.  These  very  same  politicians  are  now  look- 
ing in  an  agony  of  terror  at  the  disfranchise- 
ment of  corporations  containing  twenty  or 
thirty  persons,  sold  to  their  representatives, 
who.are  themselves  perhaps  sold  to  the  govern- 


ment: and  to  put  an  end  to  these  enormous 
abuses  is  called  corporation  robbery,  and  there 
are  some  persons  wild  enough  to  talk  of  com- 
pensation. This  principle  of  compensation 
you  will  consider  perhaps  in  the  following  in- 
stance to  have  been  carried  as  far  as  sound 
discretion  permits.  When  I  was  a  young  man, 
the  place  in  England  I  remember  as  most  no- 
torious for  highwaymen  and  their  exploits  was 
Finchley  Common,  near  the  metropolis ;  but 
Finchley  Common,  gentlemen,  in  the  progress 
of  improvement,  came  to  be  enclosed,  and  the 
highwaymen  lost  by  these  means  the  opportu- 
nity of  exercising  their  gallant  vocation.  I 
remember  a  friend  of  mine  proposed  to  draw 
up  for  them  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons for  compensation,  M'hich  ran  in  this  man- 
ner— "We,  your  loyal  highwaymen  of  Finch- 
ley Common,  and  its  neighbourhood,  having, 
at  great  expense,  laid  in  a  stock  of  blunder- 
busses, pistols,  and  other  instruments  for  plun- 
dering the  public,  and  finding  ourselves  impeded 
in  the  exercise  of  our  calling  by  the  said  en- 
closure of  the  said  Common  of  Finchley, 
humbly  petition  your  honourable  house  will  be 
pleased  to  assign  to  us  such  compensation  as 
your  honourable  house  in  its  wisdom  and  jus- 
tice may  think  fit."  Gentlemen,  I  must  leave 
the  application  to  you. 

An  honourable  baronet  says,  if  Parliament 
is  dissolved,  I  will  go  to  my  borough  with  the 
bill  in  my  hand,  and  will  say,  "I  know  of  no 
crime  you  have  committed,  I  found  nothing 
proved  against  you :  I  voted  against  the  bill, 
and  am  come  to  fling  myself  upon  your  kind- 
ness, with  the  hope  that  my  conduct  will  be 
approved,  and  that  you  will  return  me  again  to 
Parliament."  That  honourable  baronet  may, 
perhaps,  receive  from  his  borough  an  answer 
he  little  expects — "  We  are  above  being  bribed 
by  such  a  childish  and  unworthy  artifice  ;  we 
do  not  choose  to  consult  our  own  interest  at 
the  expense  of  the  general  peace  and  happi- 
ness of  the  country ;  we  are  thoroughly  con- 
vinced a  reform  ought  to  take  place;  we  are 
very  willing  to  sacrifice  a  privilege  we  ought 
never  to  have  possessed  to  the  good  of  the 
community,  and  we  will  return  no  one  to  Par- 
liament who  is  not  deeply  impressed  with  the 
same  feeling."  This  I  hope  is  the  answer  that 
gentleman  will  receive,  and  this,  I  hope,  will 
be  the  noble  and  generous  feeling  of  every  bo- 
rough in  England. 

The  greater  part  of  human  improvements, 
gentlemen,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  are  made  after 
war,  tumult,  bloodshed,  and  civil  commotion : 
mankind  seem  to  object  to  every  species  of 
gratuitous  happiness,  and  to  consider  every 
advantage  as  too  cheap,  which  is  not  purchased 
by  some  calamity.  I  shall  esteem  it  as  a  sin- 
gular act  of  God's  providence,  if  this  great 
nation,  guided  by  these  warnings  of  history, 
not  waiting  till  tumult  for  reform,  nor  trusting 
reform  to  the  rude  hands  of  the  lowest  of  the 
people,  shall  amend  their  decayed  institutions 
at  a  period  when  they  are  ruled  by  a  popular 
monarch,  guided  by  an  upright  minister,  and 
blest  with  profound  peace. 


37» 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


SPEECH  AT  TAUNTON. 


Mr.  Chaikmaw, — I  am  particularly  happy  to 
assist  on  this  occasion,  because  I  think  that  the 
accession  of  the  present  king  is  a  marked  and 
important  era  in  English  history.  Another 
coronation  has  taken  place  since  I  have  been 
in  the  world,  but  I  never  assisted  at  its  celebra- 
tion. I  saw  in  it  a  change  of  masters,  not  a 
change  of  system.  I  did  not  understand  the  joy 
which  it  occasioned.  I  did  not  feel  it,  and  I  did 
not  counterfeit  what  I  did  not  feel. 

I  think  very  differently  of  the  accession  of  his 
present  majesty.  I  believe  I  see  in  that  acces- 
sion a  great  probability  of  serious  improvement, 
and  a  great  increase  of  public  happiness.  The 
evils  which  have  been  long  complained  of  by 
bold  and  intelligent  men  are  now  universally 
admitted.  The  public  feeling,  which  has  been  so 
often  appealed  to,  is  now  intensely  excited.  The 
remedies  which  have  so  often  been  called  for 
are  now  at  last  vigorously,  wisely  and  faith- 
fully applied.  I  admire,  gentlemen,  in  the  pre- 
sent king,  his  love  of  peace — I  admire  in  him 
his  disposition  to  economy,  and  I  admire  in 
him,  above  all,  his  faithful  and  honorable  con- 
duct to  those  who  happen  to  be  his  ministers. 
He  was,  I  believe,  quite  as  faithful  to  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  as  to  Lord  Grey,  and  would,  I 
have  no  doubt,  be  quite  as  faithful  to  the  politi- 
cal enemies  of  Lord  Grey  (if  he  thought  fit  to 
employ  them),  as  he  is  to  Lord  Grey  himself. 
There  is  in  this  reign,  no  secret  influence,  no 
double  ministry — on  whomsoever  he  confers 
the  office,  to  him  he  gives  that  confidence  with- 
out which  the  office  cannot  be  holden  with 
honour,  nor  executed  with  effect.  He  is  not 
only  a  peaceful  king,  and  an  economical  king, 
but  he  is  an  honest  king.  So  far,  I  believe, 
every  individual  of  this  company  will  go  with 
me.  There  is  another  topic  of  eulogium,  on 
which,  before  I  sit  down,  I  should  like  to  say 
a  few  words — I  mean  the  willingness  of  our 
present  king  to  investigate  abuses  and  to  re- 
form them.  If  this  subject  is  not  unpleasant,  I 
will  offer  upon  it  a  very  few  observations — a 
few,  because  the  subject  is  exhausted,  and  be- 
cause, if  it  were  not,  I  have  no  right,  from  my 
standing  or  my  situation  in  this  county,  to  de- 
tain yoii  long  upon  that  or  any  other  subject. 

In  criticising  this  great  question  of  reform,  I 
think  there  is  some  injustice  done  to  its  authors. 
Men  seem  to  suppose  that  a  minister  can  sit 
down  and  make  a  plan  of  reform  with  as  much 
ease  and  as  much  exactness,  and  with  as  com- 
plete a  gratification  of  his  own  will,  as  an 
architect  can  do  in  building  or  altering  a  house. 
But  a  minister  of  state  (it  should  be  in  justice 
observed),  works  in  the  midst  of  hatred,  injus- 
tice, violence,  and  the  worst  of  human  passions 
— his  works  are  not  the  works  of  calm  and 
unembarrassed  wisdom — they  are  not  the  best 
that  a  dreamer  of  dreams  can  imagine.  It  is 
enough  if  they  are  the  best  plans  which  the 
passions,  parties,  and  prejudices  of  the  times 
in  which  he  acts  will  permit.  In  passing  are- 
form  bill,  the  minister  overthrows  the  long  and 
deep   interest  which  powerful  men  have  in, 


existing  abuses — he  subjects  himself  to  the 
deepest  hatred,  and  encounters  the  bitterest  op- 
position. Auxiliaries  he  must  have,  and  auxili- 
aries he  can  only  find  among  the  people — not 
the  mob — but  the  great  mass  of  those  who  have 
opinions  worth  hearing,  and  property  worth  de- 
fending — a  greater  mass,  I  am  happy  to  say,  in 
this  country  than  exists  in  any  other  country  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  Now,  before  the  mid- 
dling orders  will  come  forward  with  one  great 
impulse,  they  must  see  that  something  is  of- 
fered them  worth  the  price  of  contention ;  they 
must  see  that  the  object  is  great  and  the  gain 
serious.  If  you  call  them  in  at  all,  it  must  not 
be  to  displace  one  faction  at  the  expense  of 
another,  but  to  put  down  all  factions — to  sub- 
stitute  purity  and  principle  for  corruption — to 
give  to  the  many  that  political  power  which  the 
few  have  unjustly  taken  to  themselves — to  get 
rid  of  evils  so  ancient  and  so  vast  that  any 
other  arm  than  the  public  arm  would  be  lifted 
up  against  them  in  vain.  This,  then,  I  say,  is 
one  of  the  reasons  why  ministers  have  been 
compelled  to  make  their  measures  a  little  more 
vigorous  and  decisive  than  a  speculative  phi- 
losoper,  sitting  in  his  closet,  might  approve  of. 
They  had  a  mass  of  opposition  to  contend  with 
which  could  be  encountered  only  by  a  general 
exertion  of  public  spirit — they  had  a  long-suf- 
fering and  an  often  deceived  public  to  appeal 
to,  who  were  determined  to  suffer  no  longer, 
and  to  be  deceived  no  more.  The  alternative 
was  to  continue  the  ancient  abuses,  or  to  do 
what  they  have  done — and  most  firmly  do  I  be- 
lieve that  you  and  I,  and  the  latest  posterity  of 
us  all,  will  rejoice  in  the  decision  they  have 
made.  Gradation  has  been  called  for  in  re- 
form :  we  might,  it  is  said,  have  taken  thirty  or 
forty  years  to  have  accomplished  what  we  have 
done  in  one  year.  'It  is  not  so  much  the  mag- 
nitude of  what  you  are  doing  we  object  to,  as 
the  suddenness.'  But  was  not  gradation  ten- 
dered 1  Was  it  not  said  by  the  friends  of  re- 
form— 'Give  us  Birmingham  and  Manchester, 
and  we  will  be  satisfied  V  and  what  was  the 
answer  1  'No  Manchester,  no  Birmingham, 
no  reform  in  any  degree — all  abuses  as  they 
are — all  perversions  as  we  found  them — the 
corruptions  which  our  fathers  bequeathed  us 
we  will  hand  down  unimpaired  and  unpurified 
to  our  children.'  But  I  would  say  to  the  gra- 
duate philosopher, — '  How  often  does  a  reform- 
ing minister  occur  V  and  if  such  are  so  com- 
mon that  you  can  command  them  when  you 
please,  how  often  does  a  reforming  monarch 
occur  1  and  how  often  does  the  conjunction 
occur?  Are  you  sure  that  a  people,  bursting 
into  new  knowledge,  and  speculating  on  every 
public  event,  will  wait  for  your  protracted  re- 
form 1  Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot — up  with 
the  arm,  and  down  with  the  hammer,  and  up 
again  with  the  arm,  and  down  again  with  the 
hammer.  The  iron  is  hot— the  opportunity 
exists  now — if  you  neglect  it,  it  may  not  return 
for  an  hundred  years  to  come. 
There  is  an  argument  I  have  often  heard,  and 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


373 


that  is  this — Are  we  to  be  afraid  1 — is  this  mea- 
sure to  be  carried  by  intimidation  1 — is  the 
House  of  Lords  to  be  overawed  1  But  this 
style  of  argument  proceeds  from  confounding 
together  two  sets  of  feelings  which  are  entirely 
distinct — personal  fear  and  political  fear.  If 
I  am  afraid  of  voting  against  this  bill,  because 
a  mob  may  gather  about  the  house  of  Lords — 
because  stones  may  be  flung  at  my  head — be- 
cause my  house  may  be  attacked  by  a  mob,  I 
am  a  poltroon,  and  unfit  to  meddle  with  public 
affairs  ;  but  I  may  rationally  be  afraid  of  pro- 
ducing great  public  agitation — I  may  be  honour- 
ably afraid  of  flinging  people  into  secret  clubs 
and  conspiracies — I  may  be  wisely  afraid  of 
making  the  aristocracy  hateful  to  the  great  body 
of  the  people.  This  surely  has  no  more  to  do 
•with  fear  than  a  loose  identity  of  name  ;  it  is  in 
fact  prudence  of  the  highest  order;  the  delibe- 
rate reflection  of  a  wise  man  who  does  not  like 
what  he  is  going  to  do,  but  likes  still  less  the 
consequence  of  not  doing  it,  and  who,  of  two 
evils,  chooses  the  least. 

There  are  some  men  much  afraid  of  what  is 
to  happen  :  my  lively  hope  of  good  is,  I  con- 
fess, mingled  with  very  little  apprehension,  but 
of  one  thing  I  must  be  candid  enough  to  say 
that  I  am  much  afraid,  and  that  is  of  the  opinion 
now  increasing,  that  the  people  are  become  in- 
different to  reform ;  and  of  that  opinion  I  am 
afraid,  because  I  believe  in  an  evil  hour  it  may 
lead  some  misguided  members  of  the  upper 
house  of  Parliament  to  vote  against  the  bill. 
As  for  the  opinion  itself,  I  hold  it  in  the  utmost 


contempt.  The  people  are  waiting  in  virtuous 
patience  for  the  completion  of  the  bill,  because 
they  know  it  is  in  the  hands  of  men  who  do  not 
mean  to  deceive  them.  1  do  not  believe  they  have 
given  up  one  atom  of  reform — I  do  not  believe 
that  a  great  people  were  ever  before  so  firmly 
bent  upon  any  one  measure.  I  put  it  to  any  maa 
of  common  sense,  whether  he  believes  it  possi- 
ble, after  the  king  and  Parliament  have  acted  as 
they  have  done,  that  the  people  will  ever  be 
content  with  much  less  than  the  present  bill 
contains.  If  a  contrary  principle  is  acted  upon, 
and  the  bill  attempted  to  be  got  rid  of  altogether, 
I  confess  I  tremble  for  the  consequences,  which 
I  believe  will  be  of  the  worst  and  most  painful 
description ;  and  this  I  say  deliberately,  after 
the  most  diligent  and  extensive  inquiry. — 
Upon  that  diligent  inquiry  I  repeat  again  my 
firm  conviction,  that  the  desire  of  reform  has 
increased,  not  diminished  ;  that  the  present  re- 
pose is  not  indifference,  but  the  calmness  of 
victory^  and  the  tranquillity  of  success.  Whea 
I  see  all  the  wishes  and  appetites  of  created 
beings  changed,  when  I  see  an  eagle,  that  after 
long  confinement,  has  escaped  into  the  air, 
come  back  to  his  cage  and  his  chains, — whea 
I  see  the  emancipated  negro  asking  again  for 
the  hoe  which  has  broken  down  his  strength, 
and  the  lash  which  has  tortured  his  body,  I  will 
then,  and  not  till  then,  believe  that  the  English 
people  will  return  to  their  ancient  degradation 
— that  they  will  hold  out  their  repentant  hands 
for  those  manacles  which  at  this  moment  lay 
broken  into  links  at  their  feet. 


SPEECH  AT  TAUNTON. 

[From  the  "  Taunton  Courier"  of  October  12th,  1831.] 


The  REVERENn  Sydney  Smith  rose  and  said: 
— Mr.  Bailiff,  I  have  spoken  so  often  on  this 
subject,  that  I  am  sure  both  you  and  the  gen- 
tlemen here  present  will  be  obliged  to  me  for 
saying  but  little,  and  that  favour  I  am  as  will- 
ing to  confer,  as  you  can  be  to  receive  it.  I 
feel  most  deeply  the  event  which  has  taken 
place,  because,  by  putting  the  two  houses  of 
Parliament  in  collision  with  each  other,  it  will 
impede  the  public  business,  and  diminish  the 
public  prosperity.  I  feel  it  as  a  churchman, 
because  I  cannot  but  blush  to  see  so  many  dig- 
nitaries of  the  church  arrayed  against  the  wishes 
and  happiness  of  the  people.  I  feel  it  more  than 
all,  because  I  believe  it  will  sow  the  seeds  of 
deadly  hatred  between  the  aristocracy  and  the 
great  mass  of  the  people.  The  loss  of  the  bill 
I  do  not  feel,  and  for  the  best  of  all  possible 
reasons — because  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea 
that  it  is  lost.  I  have  no  more  doubt,  before 
the  expiration  of  the  winter,  that  this  bill  will 
pass,  than  I  have  that  the  annual  tax  bills  will 
pass,  and  greater  certainty  than  this  no  man  can 
have,  for  Franklin  tells  us,  there  are  but  two 
things  certain  in  this  world — death  and  taxes. 
As  for  the  possibility  of  the  House  of  Lords 
preventing  ere  long  a  reform  of  Parliament,  I 


hold  it  to  be  the  most  absurd  notion  that  ever 
entered  into  human  imagination.  I  do  not 
mean  to  be  disrespectful,  but  the  attempt  of  the 
lords  to  stop  the  progress  of  reform,  reminds 
me  very  forcibly  of  the  great  storm  of  Sidmouth, 
and  of  the  conduct  of  the  excellent  Mrs.  Part- 
ington on  that  occasion.  In  the  winter  of  1824, 
there  set  in  a  great  flood  upon  that  town — the 
tide  rose  to  an  incredible  height — the  waves 
rushed  in  upon  the  houses,  and  every  thing 
was  threatened  with  destruction.  In  the  midst 
of  this  sublime  and  terrible  storm.  Dame  Part- 
ington, who  lived  upon  the  beach,  was  seen  at 
the  door  of  her  house  with  mop  and  pattens, 
trundling  her  mop,  squeezing  out  the  sea-water, 
and  vigoroiisly  pushing  away  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  The  Atlantic  was  roused.  Mrs.  Part- 
ington's spirit  was  up  ;  but  I  need  not  tell  you 
that  the  contest  was  unequal.  The  Atlantic 
Ocean  beat  Mrs.  Partington.  She  was  excel- 
lent at  a  slop,  or  a  puddle,  but  she  should  not 
have  meddled  with  a  tempest.  Gentlemen,  be 
at  your  ease — be  quiet  and  steady.  You  will 
beat  Mrs.  Partington. 

They  tell  you,  gentlemen,  in  the  debates  by 
which  we  have  been  lately  occupied,  that  the 
bill  is   not  justified  by  experience.     I  do  net 
2  I 


374 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


think  this  true,  but  if  it  were  true,  nations  are 
sometimes  compelled  to  act  without  experience 
for  their  guide,  and  to  trust  to  their  own  saga- 
city for  the  anticipation  of  consequences.  The 
instances  where  this  country  has  been  compel- 
led thus  to  act  have  been  so  eminently  success- 
ful, that  I  see  no  cause  for  fear,  even  if  we 
were  acting  in  the  manner  imputed  to  us  by  our 
enemies.  What  precedents  and  what  experi- 
ence were  there  at  the  Reformation,  when  the 
country,  with  one  unanimous  effoii,  pushed  out 
the  pope,  and  his  grasping  and  ambitious  cler- 
gy ■? — What  experience,  when,  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, we  drove  away  our  ancient  race  Oi  kings, 
and  chose  another  family  more  congenial  to 
our  free  principles'! — And  yet  to  those  two 
events,  contrary  to  experience,  and  unguided 
by  precedents,  we  owe  all  our  domestic  happi- 
ness, and  civil  and  religious  freedom — and 
having  got  rid  of  corrupt  priests  and  despotic 
kings,  by  our  sense  and  our  courage,  are  we 
now  to  be  intimidated  by  the  awful  danger  of 
extinguishing  boroughmongers,  and  shaking 
from  our  necks  the  ignominious  yoke  which 
their  baseness  has  imposed  upon  us  1  Go  on, 
they  say,  as  you  have  done  for  these  hundred 
years  last  past.  I  answer,  it  is  impossible — 
five  hundred  people  now  write  and  read  where 
one  hundred  wrote  and  read  fifty  years  ago. 
The  iniquities  and  enormities  of  the  borough 
system  are  now  known  to  the  meanest  of  the 
people.  You  have  a  different  sort  of  men  to 
deal  with — you  must  change  because  the  beings 


whom  you  govern  are  changed.  After  all,  and 
to  be  short,  I  must  say  that  it  has  always  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  the  most  absolute  nonsense 
that  we  cannot  be  a  great,  or  a  rich  and  happy 
nation,  without  suffering  ourselves  to  be  bought 
and  sold  every  five  years  like  a  pack  of  negro 
slaves.  I  hope  I  am  not  a  very  rash  man,  but 
I  would  launch  boldly  into  this  experiment 
without  any  fear  of  consequences,  and  I  believe 
there  is  not  a  man  here  present  who  would  not 
cheerfully  embark  with  me.  As  to  the  enemies 
of  the  bill,  who  pretend  to  be  reformers,  I  know 
them,  I  believe,  better  than  you  do,  and  I  ear- 
nestly caution  you  against  them.  You  will  have 
no  more  of  reform  than  they  are  compelled  to 
grant — you  will  have  no  reform  at  all,  if  they 
can  avoid  it — you  will  be  hurried  into  a  war  to 
turn  your  attention  from  reform.  They  do  not 
understand  you — they  will  not  believe  in  the 
improvement  you  have  made — they  think  the 
English  of  the  present  day  are  as  the  English 
of  the  times  of  Queen  Anne  or  George  the  First. 
They  know  no  more  of  the  present  state  of  their 
own  country,  than  of  the  state  of  the  Esquimaux 
Indians.  Gentlemen,  I  view  the  ignorance  of 
the  present  state  of  the  country  with  the  most 
serious  concern,  and  I  believe  they  will  one  day 
or  another  waken  into  conviction  with  horror 
and  dismay.  I  will  omit  no  means  of  rousing 
them  to  a  sense  of  their  danger;  for  this  object 
I  cheerfully  sign  the  petition  proposed  by  Dr. 
Kinglake,  which  I  consider  to  be  the  wisest  and 
most  moderate  of  the  two. 


SPEECH  BY  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Stick  to  the  bill — it  is  your  Magna  Charta, 
and  your  Runnymede.  King  John  made  a  pre- 
sent to  the  barons.  King  William  has  made  a 
similar  present  to  you.  Never  mind,  common 
qualities  good  in  common  times.  If  a  man 
does  not  vote  for  the  bill  he  is  unclean — the 
'J)lague-spot  is  upon  him ;  push  him  into  the 
lazaretto  of  the  last  century,  with  Wetherell 
and  Saddler ;  purify  the  air  before  you  approach 
him  ;  bathe  your  hands  in  chloride  of  lime,  if 
you  have  been  contaminated  by  his  touch. 

So  far  from  its  being  a  merely  theoretical 
improvement,  I  put  it  to  any  man,  who  is  him- 
self embarked  in  a  profession,  or  has  sons  in 
the  same  situation,  if  the  unfair  influence  of 
boroughmongers  has  not  perpetually  thwarted 
him  in  his  lawful  career  of  ambition,  and  pro- 
fessional emolument"!  "  I  have  been  in  three 
general  engagements  at  sea,"  said  an  old  sailor 
■ — "  have  been  twice  wounded  ; — I  commanded 
the  boats  when  the  French  frigate,  the  Astro- 
lADE,  was  cut  out  so  gallantly."  "Then  you 
are  made  a  post  captain  V  "  No.  I  was  very 
near  it ;  but — Lieutenant  Thomson  cut  me  out, 
as  I  cut  out  the  French  frigate;  his  father  is 
town    clerk   of  the    borough   of   which   Lord 

F is  member,  and  there  my  chance 

was  finished."  In  the  same  manner,  all  over 
England,  you  will  find  great  scholars  rotting  on 
curacies — brave  captains  starving  in  garrets — 


profound  lawyers  decayed  and  mouldering  in 
the  inns  of  court,  because  the  parsons,  warriors, 
and  advocates  of  boroughmongers  must  be 
crammed  to  saturation,  before  there  is  a  morsel 
of  bread  for  the  man  who  does  not  sell  his  votes, 
and  put  his  country  up  to  auction;  and  though 
this  is  of  every  day  occurrence,  the  borough 
system,  we  are  told,  is  no  practical  evil. 

Who  can  bear  to  walk  through  a  slaughter- 
house 1  blood,  garbage,  stomachs,  entrails,  legs, 
tails,  kidneys,  horrors — I  often  walk  a  mile 
about  to  avoid  it.  What  a  scene  of  disgust  and 
horror  is  an  election — the  base  and  infamous 
traffic  of  principles — a  candidate  of  high  cha- 
racter reduced  to  such  means — the  perjury  and 
evasion  of  agents — the  detestable  rapacity  of 
voters — the  ten  days'  dominion  of  mammon 
and  Belial.  The  bill  lessens  it — begins  the 
destruction  of  such  practices — affords  some 
chance,  and  some  means  of  turning  public 
opinion  against  bribery,  and  of  rendering  it  in- 
famous. 

But  the  thing  I  cannot,  and  will  not  bear,  if 
this; — what  right  has  this  lord,  or  that  marquis 
to  buy  ten  seats  in  Parliament,  in  the  shape  of 
boroughs,  and  then  to  make  laws  to  govern  me  1 
And  how  are  these  masses  of  power  re-distri- 
buted? The  eldest  son  of  my  lord  is  just  come 
from  Eton — he  knows  a  good  deal  about  ^neas, 
and  Dido,  Apollo,  and  Daphne — and  that  is  all; 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tm 


and  to  this  boy,  his  father  gives  a  six  hundredth 
part  of  the  power  of  making  laws,  as  he  would 
give  him  a  horse,  or  a  double-barreled  gun. 
Then  Vellum,  the  steward,  is  put  in — an  admi- 
rable man; — he  has  raised  the  estates — watched 
the  progress  of  the  family  road,  and  canal  bills 
— and  Vellum  shall  help  to  rule  over  the  people 
of  Israel.  A  neighbouring  country  gentleman, 
Mr.  Plumpkin,  hunts  with  my  lord — opens  him 
a  gate  or  two,  while  the  hounds  are  running — 
dines  with  my  lord — agrees  with  my  lord — 
wishes  he  could  rival  the  Southdown  sheep  of 
my  lord — and  upon  Plumpkin  is  conferred  a 
portion  of  the  government.  Then  there  is  a 
distant  relation  of  the  same  name,  in  the  coun- 
ty militia,  with  white  teeth,  who  calls  up  the 
carriage  at  the  opera,  and  is  always  wishing 
O'Connell  was  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered — 
then  a  barrister,  who  has  written  an  article  in 
the  Quarterly,  and  is  very  likely  to  speak,  and 
refute  M'Culloch ;  and  these  five  people,  in 
whose  nomination  I  have  no  more  agency  than 
I  have  in  the  nomination  of  the  toll-keepers  of 
the  Bosphorus,  are  to  make  laws  for  me  and 
my  family — to  put  their  hands  in  my  purse,  and 
to  sway  the  future  destinies  of  this  country; 
and  when  the  neighbours  step  in,  and  beg  per- 
mission to  say  a  few  words  before  these  persons 
are  chosen,  there  is  an  universal  cry  of  ruin, 
confusion,  and  destruction ; — we  have  become 
a  great  people  under  Vellum  and  Plumpkin — 
under  Vellum  and  Plumpkin  our  ships  have 
covered  the  ocean — under  Vellum  and  Plump- 
kin our  armies  have  secured  the  strength  of  the 
hills — to  turn  out  Vellum  and  Plumpkin  is  not 
reform,  but  revolution. 

Was  there  ever  such  a  ministry  1  Was  there 
ever  before  a  real  ministry  of  the  people  1  Look 
at  the  condition  of  the  country  when  it  was 
placed  in  their  hands  :  the  state  of  the  house 
when  the  incoming  tenant  took  possession: 
windows  broken,  chimneys  on  fire,  mobs  round 
the  house  threatening  to  pull  it  down,  roof  tum- 
bling, rain  pouring  in.  It  was  courage  to  occu- 
py it;  it  was  a  miracle  to  save  it;  it  will  be  the 
glory  of  glories  to  enlarge  and  expand  it,  and  to 
make  it  the  eternal  palace  of  wise  and  temperate 
freedom. 

Proper  examples  have  been  made  among  the 
unhappy  and  misguided  disciples  of  Swing:  a 
rope  had  been  carried  round  O'Connell's  legs, 
and  a  ring  inserted  in  Gobbett's  nose.  Then 
the  game  laws ! ! !  Was  ever  conduct  so  shabby 
as  that  of  the  two  or  three  governments  which 
preceded  that  of  Lord  Grey  1  The  cruelties  and 
enormities  of  this  code  had  been  thoroughly 
exposed;  and  a  general  conviction  existed  of 
the  necessity  of  a  change.  Bills  were  brought 
in  by  various  gentlemen,  containing  some  tri- 
fling alteration  in  this  abominable  code,  and 
even  these  were  sacrificed  to  the  tricks  and 
manoeuvres  of  some  noble  Nimrod,  who  availed 
himself  of  the  emptiness  of  the  town  in  July, 
and  flung  out  the  bill.  Government  never 
stirred  a  step.  The  fulness  of  the  prisons,  the 
wretchedness  and  demoralization  of  the  poor, 
never  came  across  them.  The  humane  and 
considerate  Peel  never  once  offered  to  extend 
his  cEgis  over  them.  It  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  state  of  party;  and  some  of  their  double- 
barreled  voters  might  be  oflTended.     In  the  mean 


time,  for  every  ten  pheasants  which  fluttered  in 
the  wood,  one  English  peasant  was  rotting  in 
jail.  No  sooner  is  Lord  Althorp  chancellor  of 
the  exchequer,  than  he  turns  out  of  the  house  a 
trumpery  and  (perhaps)  an  insidious  bill  for 
the  improvement  of  ihe  game  laws  ;  and  in  an 
instant  offers  the  assistance  of  government  for 
the  abolition  of  the  whole  code. 

Then  look  at  the  gigantic  Brougham,  sworn 
in  at  12  o'clock,  and  before  6,  has  a  bill  on  the 
table  abolishing  the  abuses  of  a  court  which 
has  been  the  curse  of  the  people  of  England 
for  centuries.  For  twenty-five  long  years  did 
Lord  Eldon  sit  in  that  court,  surrounded  with 
misery  and  sorrow,  which  he  never  held  up  a 
finger  to  alleviate.  The  widow  and  the  orphan 
cried  to  him  as  vainly  as  the  town  crier  cries 
when  he  offers  a  small  reward  for  a  full  purse ; 
the  bankrupt  of  the  court  became  the  lunatic  of 
the  court ;  estates  mouldered  away,  and  man- 
sions fell  down  ;  but  the  fees  came  in,  and  all 
was  well.  But  in  an  instant  the  iron  mace  of 
Brougham  shivered  to  atoms  this  house  of 
fraud  and  of  delay ;  and  this  is  the  man  who 
will  help  to  govern  you;  who  bottoms  his  repu- 
tation on  doing  good  to  you ;  who  knows,  that 
to  reform  abuses  is  the  safest  basis  of  fame  and 
the  surest  instrument  of  power;  who  uses  the 
highest  gifts  of  reason,  and  the  most  splendid 
efforts  of  genius,  to  rectify  those  abuses,  which 
all  the  genius  and  talent  of  the  profession*  have 
hitherto  been  employed  to  justify,  and  to  pro- 
tect. Look  to  Brougham,  and  turn  you  to  that 
side  where  he  waves  his  long  and  lean  finger  ; 
and  mark  well  that  face  which  nature  has  mark- 
ed so  forcibly — which  dissolves  pensions — 
turns  jobbers  into  honest  men — scares  away 
the  plunderer  of  the  public — and  is  a  terror  to 
him  who  doeth  evil  to  the  people.  But,  above 
all,  look  to  the  northern  earl,  victim,  before  this 
honest  and  manly  reign,  of  the  spitefulness  of 
the  court.  You  may  now,  for  the  first  time, 
learn  to  trust  in  the  professions  of  a  minister; 
you  are  directed  by  a  man  who  prefers  charac- 
ter to  place,  and  who  has  given  such  unequivo- 
cal, proofs  of  honesty  and  patriotism,  that  his 
image  ought  to  be  amongst  your  household 
gods,  and  his  name  to  be  lisped  by  your  chil- 
dren ;  two  thousand  years  hence  it  will  be  a  le- 
gend like  the  fable  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda; 
Britannia  changed  to  a  mountain — two  hundred 
rotten  animals  menacing  her  destruction,  till  a 
tall  earl,  armed  with  schedule  A.,  and  followed 
by  his  page  Russell,  drives  them  into  the  deep, 
and  delivers  over  Britannia  in  safety  to  crowds 
of  ten-pound  renters,  who  deafen  the  air  with 
their  acclamations.  Forthwith,  Latin  verses 
upon  this — school  exercises — boys  whipt,  and 
all  the  usual  absurdities  of  education.  Don't 
part  with  an  administration  composed  of  Lord 
Grey  and  Lord  Brougham;  and  not  only  these, 
but  look  at  them  all — the  mild  wisdom  of  Lans- 
downe — the  genius  and  extensive  knowledge  of 
Holland,  in  whose  bold  and  honest  life  there  is 
no  varying  or  shadow  of  change — the  unexpect- 
ed and  exemplary  activity  of  Lord  Melbourne 
— and  the  rising  parliamentary  talents  of  Stan 
ley.     You  are  ignorant  of  your  best  interests, 

*  Lord  Lyndhurst  is  an  exception  ;  I  firmly  believe  hn 
had  no  wisti  lo  perpetuate  the  abuses  of  tUe  Court  of 
Ciiancery. 


,376 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


if  every  vote  you  can  bestow  is  not  given  to 
such  a  ministry  as  this. 

You  will  soon  find  an  alteration  of  behaviour 
in  the  upper  orders  when  elections  become 
real.  You  will  find  that  you  are  raised  to  the 
importance  to  which  you  ought  to  be  raised. 
The  merciless  ejector,  the  rural  tyrant,  will  be 
restrained  within  the  limits  of  decency  and  hu- 
manity, and  will  improve  their  own  characters, 
at  the  same  time  that  they  better  your  condition. 

It  is  not  the  power  of  aristocracy  that  will  be 
destroyed  by  these  measures,  but  the  unfair 
power.  If  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  is  kind  and 
obliging  to  his  neighbours,  he  will  probably 
lead  his  neighbours  ;  if  he  is  a  man  of  sense,  he 
will  lead  them  more  certainly,  and  to  a  better 
purpose.  All  this  is  as  it  should  be ;  but  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  at  present,  by  buying  cer- 
tain old  houses,  could  govern  his  neighbours, 
and  legislate  for  them,  even  if  he  had  not  five 
grains  of  understanding,  and  if  he  were  the  most 
churlish  and  brutal  man  under  heaven.  The 
present  state  of  things  renders  unnecessary  all 
those  important  virtues,  which  rich  and  well- 
born men,  under  a  better  system,  would  exer- 
cise for  the  public  good.  The  Duke  of  New- 
castle (I  mention  him  only  as  an  instance,) 
Lord  Exeter  will  do  as  well,  but  either  of  those 
noblemen,  depending  not  upon  walls,  arches, 
and  abutments,  for  their  power — but  upon  mer- 
cy, charity,  forbearance,  indulgence,  and  exam- 
ple— would  pay  this  price,  and  lead  the  people 
by  their  affections ;  one  would  be  the  god  of 
Stamford,  and  the  other  of  Newark.  This  union 
of  the  great  with  the  many  is  the  real  healthy 
state  of  a  country ;  such  a  country  is  strong  to 
invincibility — and  this  strength  the  borough 
system  entirely  destroys. 

Cant  words  creep  in,  and  affect  quarrels ;  the 
changes  are  rung  between  revolution  and  re- 
form ;  but,  first  settle  whether  a  wise  govern- 
ment ought  to  attempt  the  measure — whether 
any  thing  is  wanted — whether  less  would  do — 
and,  having  settled  this,  mere  nomenclature 
becomes  of  very  little  consequence.  But,  after 
all,  if  it  is  revolution,  and  not  reform,  it  will 
only  induce  me  to  receive  an  old  political  toast, 
in  a  twofold  meaning,  and  with  twofold  pleasure. 
When  King  William  and  the  great  and  glorious 
devolution  are  given,  I  shall  think  not  only  of 
escape  from  bigotry,  but  exemption  from  cor- 
ruption ;  and  I  shall  thank  Providence,  which 
has  given  us  a  second  King  William  for  the 
destruction  of  vice,  as  the  other,  of  that  name, 
was  given  us  for  the  conservation  of  freedom. 

All  formal  political  changes,  proposed  by 
these  very  men,  it  is  said,  were  mild  and  gentle, 
compared  to  this  ;  true,  but  are  you  on  Satur- 
day night  to  seize  your  apothecary  by  the  throat, 
and  to  say  to  him,  "  Subtle  compounder,  frau- 
dulent posologist,  did  not  you  order  me  a  drachm 
of  this  medicine  on  Monday  morning,  and  now 
you  declare  that  nothing  short  of  an  ounce  can 
do  me  any  good  1"  "  True  enough,"  would  he  of 
the  phials  reply,  "but  you  did  not  take  the  drachm 
on  Monday  viorning — that  makes  all  the  differ- 
ence, my  dear  sir  ;  if  yon  had  done  as  I  advised 
you  at  first,  the  small  quantity  of  medicine 
would  have  sufficed;  and  instead  of  being  in  a 
night-gown  and  slippers  up  stairs,  yon  would 
have  been  walking  vigorously  in  Piccadilly.  Do 


as  you  please — and  die  if  you  please;  but  don't 
blame  me  because  you  despised  my  advice,  and 
by  your  own  ignorance  and  obstinacy  have  en- 
tailed upon  yourself  tenfold  rhubarb,  and  unli- 
mited infusion  of  senna." 

Now  see  the  consequences  of  having  a  manly 
leader,  and  a  manly  cabinet.  Suppose  they 
had  come  out  Avith  a  little  ill-fashoned  seven 
months'  reform  ;  what  would  have  been  the  con- 
sequence 1  The  same  opposition  from  the  to- 
nes— that  would  have  been  quite  certain — and 
not  a  single  reformer  in  England  satisfied  with 
the  measure.  You  have  now  a  real  reform, 
and  a  fair  share  of  power  delegated  to  the  people. 

The  anti-reformers  cite  the  increased  power 
of  the  press — this  is  the  very  reason  why  I  want 
an  increased  power  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  Times,  Herald,  Advertiser,  Globe,  Sun, 
Courier,  and  Chronicle,  are  an  heptarchy, 
which  govern  this  country,  and  govern  it  be- 
cause the  people  are  so  badly  represented.  I 
am  perfectly  satisfied,  that  with  a  fair  and  ho- 
nest House  of  Commons  the  power  of  the  press 
would  diminish — and  that  the  greatest  authority 
would  centre  in  the  highest  place. 

Is  it  possible  for  a  gentleman  to  get  into 
Parliament,  at  present,  without  doing  things  he 
is  utterly  ashamed  of — without  mixing  himself 
up  with  the  lowest  and  basest  of  mankind? 
Hands,  accustomed  to  the  scented  lubricity  of 
soap,  are  defiled  with  pitch,  and  contaminated 
with  filth.  Is  there  not  some  inherent  vice  in  a 
government,  which  cannot  be  carried  on  but 
with  such  abominable  wickedness,  in  which  no 
gentleman  can  mingle  without  moral  degrada- 
tion ;  and  the  practice  of  crimes,  the  very  im- 
putation of  which,  on  other  occasions,  he  would 
repel  at  the  hazard  of  his  lifel 

What  signifies  a  small  majority  in  the  house  1 
The  miracle  is,  that  there  should  have  been 
any  majority  at  all ;  that  there  was  not  an  im- 
mense majority  on  the  other  side.  It  w^as  a 
very  long  period  before  the  courts  of  justice  in 
Jersey  ccmld  put  down  smuggling;  and  why? 
The  judges,  counsel,  attorneys,  crier  of  the 
court,  grand  and  petty  jurymen,  were  all  smug- 
glers, and  the  high  sheriff  and  the  constable 
were  running  goods  every  moonlight  night. 

How  are  you  to  do  without  a  government? 
And  what  other  government,  if  this  bill  is  ulti- 
mately lost,  could  possibly  be  found"?  How 
could  any  country  defray  the  ruinous  expense 
of  protecting  with  troops  and  constables,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  Sir  Robert  Peel,  who 
literally  would  not  be  able  to  walk  from  the 
Horse  Guards  to  Grosvenor  Square,  without 
two  or  three  regiments  of  foot  to  screen  them 
from  the  mob;  and  in  these  hollow  squares  the 
hero  of  Waterloo  would  have  to  spend  his  po- 
litical life.  By  the  whole  exercise  of  his  splen- 
did military  talents,  by  strong  batteries  at 
Bootle's,  and  White's,  he  might,  on  nights  of 
great  debate,  reach  the  House  of  Lords ;  but  Sir 
Robert  would  probably  be  cut  off,  and  nothing 
could  save  his  Twist  and  Lewis. 

The  great  majority  of  persons  returned  by 
the  new  boroughs  would  either  be  men  of  high 
reputaticm  for  talents,  or  persons  of  fortune 
known  in  the  neighborhood;  they  have  pro- 
perly and  character  to  lose.  Why  are  they  to 
plunge  into  mad  and  revolutionary  projects  of 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


377 


pillaging  the  public  creditor'?  It  is  not  the  in- 
terest of  any  such  man  to  do  it ;  he  would  lose 
more  by  the  destruction  of  public  credit  than 
what  he  would  gain  by  a  remission  of  what  he 
paid  for  the  interest  of  the  public  debt.  And  if 
it  is  not  the  interest  of  any  one  to  act  in  this 
manner,  it  is  not  the  interest  of  the  mass.  How 
many,  also,  of  these  new  legislators  would  there 
be,  who  were  not  themselves  creditors  of  the 
state  ]  Is  it  the  interest  of  such  men  to  create 
a  revolution,  by  destroying  the  constitutional 
power  of  the  House  of  Lords,  or  of  the  king  7 
Does  there  exist  in  persons  of  that  class,  any 
disposition  for  such  changes  1  Are  not  all 
feelings,  and  opinions,  and  prejudices,  on  the 
opposite  side  ?  The  majority  of  the  new  mem- 
bers will  be  landed  gentlemen :  their  genus  is 
utterly  distinct  from  the  revolutionary  tribe ; 
they  have  molar  teeth ;  they  are  destitute  of  the 
carnivorous  and  incisive  jaws  of  political  ad- 
venturers. 

There  will  be  mistakes  at  first,  as  there  are 
in  all  changes.  All  young  ladies  will  imagine 
(as  soon  as  this  bill  is  carried)  that  they  will 
be  instantly  married.  Schoolboys  believe  that 
gerunds  and  supines  will  be  abolished,  and 
that  currant  tarts  must  ultimately  come  down 
in  price  ;  the  corporal  and  sergeant  are  sure  of 
double  pay ;  bad  poets  will  expect  a  demand  for 
their  epics  ;  fools  will  be  disappointed,  as  they 
always  are  ;  reasonable  men,  who  know  what 
to  expect,  will  find  that  a  very  serious  good  has 
been  obtained. 

What  good  to  the  hewer  of  wood  and  the 
drawer  of  water]  How  is  he  benefited,  if  Old 
Sarum  is  abolished,  and  Birmingham  members 
created  1  But  if  you  ask  this  question  of  reform, 
you  must  ask  it  of  a  great  number  of  other  mea- 
sures. How  is  he  benefited  by  Catholic  emanci- 
pation,  by  the  repeal  of  the  Corporation  and  Test 
Act,  by  the  Revolution  of  168S,  by  any  great  po- 
litical change  1  by  a  good  government?  In  the 
first  place,  if  many  are  benefited,  and  the  lower 
orders  are  not  injured,  this  alone  is  reason 
enough  for  the  change.  But  the  hewer  of  wood 
and  the  drawer  of  water  nre  benefited  by  reform. 
Reform  will  produce  economy  and  investiga- 
tion ;  there  will  be  fewer  jobs,  and  a  less  lavish 
expenditure;  wars  will  not  be  persevered  in  for 
years  after  the  people  are  tired  of  them;  taxes 
will  be  taken  off"  the  poor  and  laid  upon  the  rich  : 
democratic  habits  will  be  more  common  in  a 
country  where  the  rich  are  forced  to  court  the 
poor  for  political  pov/er;  cruel  and  oppressive 
punishments  (such  as  those  for  night  poaching), 
will  be  abolished.  If  you  steal  a  pheasant,  you 
will  be  punished  as  you  ought  to  be,  but  not  sent 
away  from  your  wife  and  children  for  seven 
years.  Tobacco  will  be  2f/.  per  lb.  cheaper.  Can- 
dles will  fall  in  price.  These  last  results  of  an 
improved  government  will  be  felt.  We  do  not 
pretend  to  abolish  poverty  or  to  prevent  wretch- 
edness ;  but  if  peace,  economy,  and  justice  are 
the  results  of  reform,  a  number  of  small  bene- 
fits, or  rather  of  benefits  which  appear  small  to 
us  but  not  to  them,  will  accrue  to  millions  of 
people  ;  and  the  connection  between  the  exis- 
tence of  John  Russell,  and  the  reduced  price  of 
bread  and  cheese,  will  be  as  clear  as  it  has  been 
the  object  of  his  honest,  wise,  and  useful  life  to 
make  it. 

48 


Don't  be  Jed  away  by  such  nonsense  ;  all 
things  are  dearer  under  a  bad  government,  and 
cheaper  under  a  good  one.  The  real  question 
they  ask  you  is,  What  difference  can  any 
change  of  government  make  to  you?  They 
want  to  keep  the  bees  from  buzzing  and  sting- 
ing, in  order  that  they  may  rob  the  hive  in 
peace. 

Work  well !  How  does  it  work  well,  when 
every  human  being  in  doors  and  out  (except 
the  Duke  of  Wellington),  says  it  must  be  made 
to  work  better,  or  it  will  soon  cease  to  work  at 
all  ?  It  is  little  short  of  absolute  nonsense  to 
call  a  government  good,  which  the  great  mass 
of  Englishmen  would  before  twenty  years  were 
elapsed,  if  reform  were  denied,  rise  up  and 
destroy.  Of  what  use  have  all  the  cruel  laws 
been  of  Perceval,  Eldon,  and  Castlereagh,  to 
extinguish  reform  ?  Lord  John  Russell  and 
his  abettors,  would  have  been  committed  to  jail 
twenty  years  ago  for  half  only  of  his  present 
reform ;  and  now  relays  of  the  people  would  drag 
them  from  London  to  Edinburgh  ;  at  which  latter 
city  we  are  told  by  Mr.  Dundas,  that  there  is  no 
eagerness  for  reform.  Five  minutes  before 
Moses  struck  the  rock,  this  gentleman  would 
have  said  that  there  was  no  eagerness  for  water. 

There  are  two  methods  of  making  altera- 
tions; the  one  is  to  despise  the  applicants,  to 
begin  with  refusing  every  concession,  then  to 
relax  by  making  concessions  which  are  always 
too  late  ;  by  ofl^ering  in  1831  what  is  then  too 
late,  but  would  have  been  cheerfully  accepted 
in  18.30 — gradually  to  O'Connellize  the  country, 
till  at  last,  after  this  process  has  gone  on  for 
some  time,  the  alarm  becomes  too  great,  and 
every  thing  is  conceded  in  hurry  and  confusion. 
In  the  mean  time  fresh  conspiracies  have  been 
hatched  by  the  long  delay,  and  no  gratitude  is 
expressed  for  what  has  been  extorted  by  fear. 
In  this  way,  peace  was  concluded  with  America, 
and  emancipation  granted  to  the  Catholics  ;  and 
in  this  way  the  war  of  complexion  will  be 
finished  in  the  West  Indies.  The  other  method 
is,  to  see  at  a  distance  that  the  thing  must  be 
done,  and  to  do  it  effectually,  and  at  once ;  to 
take  it  out  of  the  hands  of  the  common  people, 
and  to  carry  the  measure  in  a  manl}'  liberal 
manner,  so  as  to  satisfy  the  great  majority. — 
The  merit  of  this  belongs  to  the  administration 
of  Lord  Grey.  He  is  the  only  minister  I  know 
of  who  has  begun  a  great  measure  in  good 
time,  conceded  at  the  beginning  of  twenty 
years  what  would  have  been  extorted  at  the 
end  of  it,  and  prevented  that  folly,  ¥iolence, 
and  ignorance,  which  emanate  from  a  long  de- 
nial and  extorted  concession  of  justice  to  great 
masses  of  human  beings.  I  believe  the  question 
of  reform,  or  any  dangerous  agitation  of  it,  is 
set  at  rest  for  thirty  or  forty  years  ;  and  this  is 
an  eternity  in  politics. 

Boroughs  are  not  the  power  proceeding  from 
wealth.  Many  men,  M'ho  have  no  boroughs,  are 
infinitely  richer  than  those  who  have — but  it  is 
the  artifice  of  wealth  in  seizing  hold  of  certain 
localities.  The  boroughmonger  is  like  rheuma- 
tism, which  owes  its  power  not  so  much  to  the 
intensity  of  the  pain  as  to  its  peculiar  position  ; 
a  little  higher  up,  or  a  little  lower  down,  the 
same  pain  would  be  trifiing ;  but  it  fixes  in 
the  joints,  and  gets  into  the  head-quarters  of 
2i2 


378 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


motion  and  activity.  The  boroughmonger 
knows  the  importance  of  arthritic  positions ; 
he  disdains  muscle,  gets  into  the  joints,  and 
lords  it  over  the  whole  machine  by  felicity  of 
place.  Other  men  are  as  rich — but  those 
riches  are  not  fixed  in  the  critical  spot. 

I  live  a  good  deal  with  all  ranks  and  descrip- 
tions of  people ;  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that  the  party  of  democrats  and  republicans  is 
very  small  and  contemptible ;  that  the  English 
love  their  institutions — that  they  love  not  only 
this  king,  (who  would  not  love  himl)  but  the 
kingly  office — that  they  have  no  hatred  to  the 
aristocracy.  I  am  not  afraid  of  trusting  Eng- 
lish happiness  to  English  gentlemen.  I  believe 
that  the  half  million  of  new  voters  will  choose 
much  better  for  the  public  than  the  twenty  or 
thirty  peers,  to  whose  usurped  power  they  suc- 
ceed. 

If  any  man  doubts  the  power  of  reform,  let 
him  take  these  two  memorable  proofs  of  its 
omnipotence.  First,  but  for  the  declaration 
against  it,  I  believe  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
might  this  day  have  been  in  office ;  and,  se- 
condly, in  the  whole  course  of  the  debates  at 
county  meetings,  and  in  Parliament,  there  are 
not  twenty  men  who  have  declared  against  re- 
form. Some  advance  an  inch,  some  a  foot, 
some  a  yard — bvit  nobody  stands  still — nobody 
says,  We  ought  to  remain  just  where  we  were 
— every  body  discovers  that  he  is  a  reformer, 
and  has  long' been  so — and  appears  infinitely 
delighted  with  this  new  view  of  himself.  No- 
body appears  without  the  cockade — bigger  or 
less — but  always  the  cockade. 

An  exact  and  elaborate  census  is  called  for 
— vast  information  should  have  been  laid  upon 
the  table  of  the  House — great  time  should  have 
been  given  for  deliberation.  All  these  objec- 
tions, being  turned  into  English,  simply  mean, 
that  the  chances  of  another  year  should  have 
been  given  for  defeating  the  bill.  In  that  time 
the  Poles  may  be  crushed,  the  Belgians  organ- 
ized, Louis  Philip  dethroned;  war  may  rage 
all  over  Europe — the  popular  spirit  may  be 
diverted  to  other  objects.  It  is  certainly  pro- 
voking that  the  ministry  foresaw  all  these  pos- 
sibilities, and  determined  to  model  the  iron 
while  it  was  red  and  glowing. 

It  is  not  enough  that  a  political  institution 


works  well  practically :  it  must  be  defensible ; 
it  must  be  such  as  will  bear  discussion,  and 
not  excite  ridicule  and  contempt.  It  might 
work  well  for  aught  I  know,  if,  like  the  savages 
of  Onelashka,  we  sent  out  to  catch  a  king :  but 
who  could  defend  a  coronation  by  chase  1  who 
can  defend  the  payment  of  40,000/.  for  the 
three-hundredth  part  of  the  power  of  Parlia- 
ment,  and  the  re-sale  of  this  power  to  govern- 
ment  for  places  to  the  Lord  Williams,  and 
Lord  Charles's,  and  others  of  the  Anglophagi? 
Teach  a  million  of  the  common  people  to  read 
— and  such  a  government  (work  it  ever  so 
well)  must  perish  in  twenty  years.  It  is  im- 
possible to  persuade  the  mass  of  mankind,  that 
there  are  not  other  and  better  methods  of  go- 
verning a  country.  It  is  so  complicated,  so 
wicked,  such  envy  and  hatred  accumulate 
against  the  gentlemen  who  have  fixed  them- 
selves on  the  joints,  that  it  cannot  fail  to  perish, 
and  to  be  driven  as  it  is  driven  from  the  coun- 
try, by  a  general  burst  of  hatred  and  detesta- 
tion. I  meant,  gentlemen,  to  have  spoken  for 
another  half-hour,  but  I  am  old  and  tired. 
Thank  me  for  ending — but,  gentlemen,  bear 
with  me  for  another  moment;  one  word  before 
I  end.  I  am  old,  but  I  thank  God  I  have  lived 
to  see  more  than  my  observations  on  human 
nature  taught  me  I  had  any  right  to  expect. 
I  have  lived  to  see  an  honest  king,  in  whose 
word  his  ministers  can  trust ;  who  disdains 
to  deceive  those  men  whom  he  has  called 
to  the  public  service,  but  makes  common 
cause  with  them  for  the  common  good ;  and 
exercises  the  highest  powers  of  a  ruler  for  the 
dearest  interests  of  the  state.  I  have  lived  to 
see  a  king  with  a  good  heart,  who,  surrounded 
by  nobles,  thinks  of  common  men  ;  who  loves 
the  great  mass  of  English  people,  and  wishes 
to  be  loved  by  them  ;  who  knows  that  his  real 
power,  as  he  feels  that  his  happiness,  is  found- 
ed on  their  affection.  I  have  lived  to  see  a 
king,  who,  without  pretending  to  the  pomp  of 
superior  intellect,  has  the  wisdom  to  see,  that 
the  decayed  institutions  of  human  policy 
require  amendment;  and  who,  in  spite  of  cla- 
raor,  interest,  prejudice,  and  fear,  has  the  man- 
liness to  carry  these  wise  changes  into  imme- 
diate execution.  Gentlemen,  farewell:  shout 
for  the  king. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


379 


EALLOT. 


It  is  possible,  and  perhaps  not  very  difficult, 
to  invent  a  machine,  by  the  aid  of  which 
electors  may  vote  for  a  candidate,  or  for  two 
or  three  candidates,  out  of  a  greater  number, 
without  its  being  discovered  for  whom  they 
vote ;  it  is  less  easy  than  the  rabid  and  foam- 
ing radical  supposes ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  it 
may  be  accomplished.  In  Mr.  Grote's  dagger 
ballot  box,  which  has  been  carried  round  the 
country  by  eminent  patriots,  you  stab  the 
card  of  your  favourite  candidate  with  a  dagger. 
I  have  seen  another,  called  the  mouse-trap 
ballot  box,  in  which  you  poke  your  finger  into 
the  trap  of  the  member  you  prefer,  and  are 
caught  and  detained  till  the  trap-clerk  below 
(who  knows  by  means  of  a  wire  when  you  are 
caught)  marks  your  vote,  pulls  the  liberator, 
and  releases  you.  Which  may  be  the  most 
eligible  of  these  two  methods  I  do  not  pretend 
to  determine,  nor  do  I  think  my  excellent  friend 
Mr.  Babbage  has  as  yet  made  up  his  mind  on 
the  subject;  but,  by  some  means  or  other,  I 
have  no  doubt  the  thing  may  be  done. 

Landed  proprietors  imagine  they  have  a 
right  to  the  votes  of  their  tenants ;  and  in- 
stances, in  every  election,  are  numerous  where 
tenants  have  been  dismissed  for  voting  con- 
trary to  the  wishes  of  their  landlords.  In  the 
same  manner  strong  combinations  are  made 
against  tradesmen  who  have  chosen  to  think 
and  act  for  themselves  in  political  matters, 
rather  than  yield  their  opinions  to  the  solici- 
tations of  their  customers.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  tyranny  and  injustice  in  all  this.  I 
should  no  more  think  of  asking  what  the  po- 
litical opinions  of  a  shopkeeper  were,  than  of 
asking  whether  he- was  tall  or  short,  or  large 
or  small :  for  a  difference  of  24  per  cent.,  I 
would  desert  the  most  aristocratic  butcher  that 
ever  existed,  and  deal  with  one  who 

"Shook  the  arsenal  and  fulmined over  Greece." 

On  the  contraiy,  I  would  not  adhere  to  the 
man  who  put  me  in  uneasy  habiliments,  how- 
ever great  his  veneration  for  trial  by  jur)^,  or 
however  ardent  his  attachment  to  the  liberty 
of  the  subject.  A  tenant  I  never  had ;  but  I 
firmly  believe  that  if  he  had  gone  through  cer- 
tain pecuniary  formalities  twice  a  year,  I 
should  have  thought  it  a  gross  act  of  tyranny 
to  have  interfered  either  with  his  political  or 
his  religious  opinions. 

I  distinctly  admit  that  every  man  has  a  right 
to  do  what  he  pleases  with  his  own.  I  cannot, 
bylaw,  prevent  any  one  from  discharging  his 
tenants  and  changing  his  tradesmen  for  po- 
litical reasons ;  but  I  may  judge  whether  that 
man  exercises  his  right  to  the  public  detri- 
ment, or  for  the  public  advantage.  A  man  has 
a  right  to  refuse  dealing  with  any  tradesman 
who  is  not  five  feet  eleven  inches  high  ;  but  if 
he  acts  upon  this  rule,  he  is  either  a  madman 
or  a  fool.  He  has^  a  right  to  lay  waste  his 
own  estate,  and  to  make  it  utterl}'  barren  ;  but 
I  have  also  a  right  to  point  him  out  as  one 


who  exercises  his  right  in  a  manner  very  in- 
jurious to  society.  He  may  set  up  a  religious 
or  a  political  test  for  his  tradesmen  ;  but  ad- 
mitting his  right,  and  deprecating  all  inter- 
ference of  law,  I  must  tell  him  he  is  making 
the  aristocracy  odious  to  the  great  mass,  and 
that  he  is  sowing  the  seeds  of  revolution.  His 
purse  may  be  full,  and  his  fields  may  be  wide ; 
but  the  moralist  will  still  hold  the  rod  of  public 
opinion  over  his  head,  and  tell  the  money- 
bloated  blockhead  that  he  is  shaking  those 
laws  of  property  which  it  has  taken  ages  to 
extort  from  the  wretchedness  and  rapacity  of 
mankind ;  and  that  what  he  calls  his  own  will 
not  long  be  his  own,  if  he  tramples  too  heavily 
upon  human  patience. 

All  these  practices  are  bad;  but  the  facts 
and  the  consequences  are  exaggerated. 

In  the  first  place,  the  plough  is  not  a  politi- 
cal machine  :  the  loom  and  the  steam-engine 
are  furiously  political,  but  the  plough  is  not. 
Nineteen  tenants  out  of  twenty  care  nothing 
about  their  votes,  and  pull  off  their  opinions  as 
easily  to  their  landlords  as  they  do  their  hats. 
As  far  as  the  great  majority  of  tenants  are 
concerned,  these  histories  of  persecution  are 
mere  declamatory  nonsense ;  they  have  no 
more  predilection  for  whom  they  vote  than  the 
organ  pipes  have  for  what  tunes  they  are  to 
play.  A  tenant  dismissed  for  a  fair  and  just 
cause  often  attributes  his  dismissal  to  political 
motives,  and  endeavours  to  make  himself  a 
martyr  with  the  public :  a  man  who  ploughs 
badly,  or  who  pays  badly,  says  he  is  dismissed 
for  his  vote.  No  candidate  is  willing  to  allow 
that  he  has  lost  his  election  by  his  demerits; 
and  he  seizes  hold  of  these  stories,  and  circu- 
lates them  with  the  greatest  avidity  :  they  are 
stated  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  John  Rus- 
sel  and  Spring  Rice  fall  a-crying :  there  is 
lamentation  of  liberals  in  the  land;  and  many 
groans  for  the  territorial  tyrants. 

A  standing  reason  against  the  frequency  of 
dismissal  of  tenants  is,  that  it  is  always  inju- 
rious to  the  pecuniary  interests  of  a  landlord 
to  dismiss  a  tenant;  the  property  always  suf- 
fers in  some  degree  by  a  going  oiT  tenant ;  and 
it  is  therefore  always  the  interest  of  a  land- 
lord not  to  change  when  the  tenant  does  his 
duty  as  an  agriculturalist. 

To  part  with  tenants  for  political  reasons 
always  makes  a  landlord  unpopular.  The  Con- 
stitutional, price  4(f.;  the  Cato,  at  3|rf. ;  and  the 
Lucius  Junius  Brutus,  at  2f/.,  all  set  upon  the 
unhappy  scutiger;  and  the  squire,  unused  to 
be  pointed  at,  and  thinking  that  all  Europe  and 
part  of  Asia  are  thinking  of  him  and  his  farm- 
ers, is  driven  to  the  brink  of  suicide  and  de- 
spair. That  such  things  are  done  is  not  denied, 
that  they  are  scandalous  when  they  are  done 
is  equally  true;  but  these  ai-v.  reasons  why 
such  acts  are  less  frequent  than  they  are  com- 
monly represented  to  be.  In  the  same  manner, 
there  are  instances  of  shopkeepers  being  ma- 
terially injured  in   their   business   from   the 


380 


WORKS   OF   THE   RFV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


votes  they  have  j^iven ;  but  the  facts  themselves, 
as  well  as  the  consequences,  are  grossly  ex- 
aggerated. If  shopkeepers  lose  tory,  they  gain 
whig  customers  ;  and  it  is  not  always  the  vote 
which  does  the  mischief,  but  the  low,  vulgar 
impertinence  and  the  unbridled  scurrility  of  a 
man  who  thinks  that,  by  dividing  to  mankind 
their  rations  of  butter  and  of  cheese,  he  has 
qualified  himself  for  legislation,  and  that  he 
can  hold  the  rod  of  empire  because  he  has 
wielded  the  yard  of  mensuration.  I  detest  all 
inquisition  into  political  opinions,  but  I  have 
very  rarely  seen  a  combination  against  any 
tradesman  who  modestly,  quietly,  and  con- 
scientiously took  his  own  line  in  politics.  But 
Brutus  and  butterman,  cheesemonger  and  Cato, 
do  not  harmonize  well  together;  good  taste  is 
offended,  the  coxcomb  loses  his  friends,  and 
general  disgust  is  mistaken  for  combined  op- 
pression. Shopkeepers,  too,  are  very  apt  to  cry 
out  before  they  are  hurt:  a  man  who  sees,  after 
an  election,  one  of  his  customers  buying  a  pair 
of  gloves  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  M'ay, 
ro.irs  out  that  his  honesty  will  make  him  a 
bankrupt,  and  the  county  papers  are  filled  with 
letters  from  Brutus,  Publicola,  Hampden,  and 
Pym. 

This  interference  with  the  freedom  of  voting, 
bad  as  it  is,  produces  no  political  deliberation  ; 
it  does  not  make  the  tories  stronger  than  the 
whigs,  nor  the  whigs  than  the  tories,  for  both 
are  equally  guilty  of  this  species  of  tyranny; 
and  any  particular  system  of  measure  fails  or 
prevails,  much  as  if  no  such  practice  existed. 
The  practice  had  better  not  be  at  all,  but  if  a 
certain  quantity  of  the  evil  does  exist,  it  is 
better  that  it  should  be  equally  divided  among 
both  parties,  than  that  it  should  be  exercised 
by  one  for  the  depression  of  the  other.  There 
are  politicians  always  at  a  white  heat,  who 
suppose  that  there  are  landed  tyrants  only  on 
one  side  of  the  question;  but  human  life  has 
been  distressingly  abridged  by  the  flood:  there 
is  no  time  to  spare;  it  is  impossible  to  waste 
it  upon  such  senseless  bigotry. 

If  a  man  is  sheltered  from  intimidation,  is  it 
at  all  clear  that  he  would  vote  from  any  better 
motive  than  intimidation  1  If  you  make  so 
tremendous  an  experiment,  are  you  sure  of  at- 
taining your  object  1  The  landlord  has  perhaps 
said  a  cross  word  to  the  tenant ;  the  candidate 
for  whom  the  tenant  votes  in  opposition  to  his 
landlord  has  taken  his  second  son  for  a  foot- 
man, or  his  father  knew  the  candidate's  grand- 
father: how  many  thousand  votes,  sheltered 
(as  the  ballotists  suppose)  from  intimidation, 
would  be  given  from  such  silly  motives  as 
these "?  how  many  would  be  given  from  the 
mere  discontent  of  inferiority?  or  from  that 
strange  simious  schoolboy  passion  of  giving 
pain  to  others,  even  when  the  author  cannot  be 
tound  out? — motives  as  pernicious  as  any 
which  could  proceed  from  intimidation.  So 
that  all  voters  screened  by  ballot  would  not  be 
screened  for  any' public  good. 

The  radicals,  (I  do  not  use  this  word  in  any 
offensive  sense,  for  I  know  many  honest  and 
excellent  men  of  this  way  of  thinking), — but 
the  radicals  praise  and  admit  the  lawful  influ- 
ence of  wealth  and  power.  They  are  quite 
iatiijfied  LI  a  rich  man  of  popular  manners 


gains  the  votes  and  affections  of  nis  aependants; 
but  why  is  this  not  as  bad  as  intimidation  ? 
The  real  object  is  to  vote  for  the  good  politi- 
cian, not  for  the  kind-hearted  or  agreeable  man; 
the  mischief  is  just  the  same  to  the  country 
whether  I  am  smiled  into  a  corrupt  choice  or 
frowned  into  a  corrupt  choice, — what  is  it  to 
me  whether  my  landlord  is  the  best  of  land- 
lords, or  the  most  agreeable  of  men  ?  I  must 
vote  for  Joseph  Hume,  if  I  think  Joseph  more 
honest  than  the  marquis.  The  more  mitigated 
radical  may  pass  over  this,  but  the  real  carni- 
vorous variety  of  the  animal  should  declaim 
as  loudly  against  the  fascinations  as  against 
the  threats  of  the  great.  The  man  who  pos- 
sesses the  land  should  never  speak  to  the  man 
who  tills  it.  The  intercourse  between  landlord 
and  tenant  should  be  as  strictly  guarded  as  that 
of  the  sexes  in  Turkey.  A  funded  duenna 
should  be  placed  over  every  landed  grandee. — 
And  then  intimidation !  Is  intimidation  con- 
fined to  the  aristocracy!  Can  anything  be 
more  scandalous  and  atrocious  than  the  in- 
timidation of  mobs  ]  Did  not  the  mob  of  Bris- 
tol occasion  more  ruin,  wretchedness,  death, 
and  alarm,  than  all  the  ejection  of  tenants,  and 
combinations  against  shopkeepers,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  century  1  and  did  not  the 
Scotch  philosophers  tear  off  the  clothes  of  the 
tories  in  Mintoshire  1  or  at  least  such  clothes 
as  the  customs  of  the  country  admit  of  being 
worn  ■? — and  did  not  they,  without  any  reflec- 
tion at  all  upon  the  customs  of  the  country, 
wash  the  tory  voters  in  the  river  ] 

Some  sanguine  advocates  of  the  ballot  contend 
that  it  would  put  an  end  to  all  canvassing: 
why  should  it  do  sol  Under  the  ballot,  I  can- 
vass (it  is  true)  a  person  who  may  secretly 
deceive  me.  I  cannot  be  sure  he  will  not  do 
so — but  I  am  sure  it  is  much  less  likely  he  will 
vote  against  me,  when  I  have  paid  him  all  the 
deference  and  attention  which  a  representative 
bestows  on  his  constituents,  than  if  I  had  total- 
ly neglected  him:  to  any  other  objections  he 
may  have  against  me,  at  least  I  will  not  add 
that  of  personal  incivility. 

Scarcely  is  any  great  virtue  practised  with- 
out some  sacrifice;  and  the  admiration  which 
virtue  excites  seems  to  proceed  from  the  con- 
templation of  such  sufferings,  and  of  the  exer- 
tions by  which  they  are  endured  :  a  tradesman 
suffers  some  loss  of  trade  by  voting  for  his 
country;  is  he  not  to  vote?  he  might  suffer 
some  loss  of  blood  in  fighting  for  his  country; 
is  he  not  to  fight]  Every  one  would  be  a  good 
Samaritan,  if  he  was  quite  sure  his  compassioa 
would  cost  him  nothing.  We  should  all  be  he- 
roes, if  it  was  not  for  blood  and  fractures  ;  all 
saints,  if  it  were  not  for  the  restrictions  and  priva- 
tions of  sanctity  ;  all  patriots,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  losses  and  misrepresentations  to  which  pa- 
triotism exposes  us.  The  ballotists  are  a  set  of 
Englishmen  glowing  with  the  love  of  England 
and  the  love  of  virtue,  but  determined  to  ha- 
zard the  most  dangerous  experiments  in  politics, 
rather  than  run  the  risk  of  losing  a  penny  in 
defence  of  their  exalted  feelings. 

An  abominable  tyranny  exercised  by  the  bal- 
lot is,  that  it  compels  those  persons  to  conceal 
their  votes,  who  hate  all  concealment,  and  who 
glory  in  the  cause  they  support.     If  you  are 


WORKS  OF  THE  EEV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


381 


afraid  to  go  in  at  the  front  door,  and  to  say  in 
a  clear  voice  what  you  have  to  say,  go  in  at 
the  back  door,  and  say  it  in  a  whisper — but 
this  is  not  enough  for  you ;  you  make  me,  who 
am  bold  and  honest,  sneak  in  at  the  back  door 
as  well  as  yourself:  because  you  are  afraid  of 
selling  a  dozen  or  two  of  gloves  less  than  usual, 
you  compel  me,  who  have  no  gloves  to  sell,  or 
who  would  dare  and  despise  the  loss,  if  I  had,  to 
hide  the  best  feelings  of  my  heart,  and  to  lower 
myself  down  to  your  mean  morals.  It  is  as 
if  a  few  cowards,  who  could  only  fight  behind 
walls  and  houses,  were  to  prevent  the  whole 
regiment  from  showing  a  bold  front  in  the  field: 
what  right  has  the  coward  to  degrade  me  who 
am  no  coward,  and  put  me  in  the  same  shame- 
ful predicament  with  himself?  If  ballot  is  es- 
tablished, a  zealous  voter  cannot  do  justice  to 
his  cause  ;  there  will  be  so  many  false  Hamp- 
dens,  and  spurious  Catos,  that  all  men's  actions 
and  motives  will  be  mistrusted.  It  is  in  the 
power  of  any  man  to  tell  me  that  my  colours 
are  false,  that  I  declaim  with  stimulated 
warmth,  and  canvass  with  fallacious  zeal ; 
that  I  am  a  tory,  though  I  call  Russell  for  ever, 
or  a  whig,  in  spite  of  my  obstreperous  pane- 
gyrics of  Peel.  It  is  really  a  curious  condition 
that  all  men  must  imitate  the  defects  of  a  few, 
in  order  that  it  may  not  be  known  who  have 
the  natural  imperfection,  and  who  put  it  on 
from  conformity.  In  this  way,  in  former  days, 
to  hide  the  gray  hairs  of  the  old,  every  body 
was  forced  to  wear  powder  and  pomatum. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  in  the  ballot, 
concealment  must  be  absolutely  compulsory.  It 
would  never  do  to  let  one  man  vote  openly, 
and  another  secretly.  You  may  go  to  the  edge 
of  the  box,  and  say,  "  I  vote  for  A.,"  but  who 
knows  that  your  ball  is  not  put  in  for  B.l 
There  must  be  a  clear,  plain  opportunity  for 
telling  an  undiscoverable  lie,  or  the  whole  in- 
vention is  at  an  end.  How  beautiful  is  the 
progress  of  man ! — printing  has  abolished 
ignorance — gas  put  an  end  to  darkness — 
steam  has  conquered  time  and  distance — it 
remained  for  Grote  and  his  box  to  remove  the 
incumbrance  of  truth  from  human  transac- 
tions. May  we  not  look  now  for  more  little 
machines  to  abolish  the  other  cardinal  virtues. 
But  if  all  men  are  suspected ;  if  things  are 
so  contrived  that  it  is  impossible  to  know  what 
men  really  think,  a  serious  impediment  is 
created  to  the  formation  of  good  public  opinion 
in  the  multitude.  There  is  a  town  (No.  1.)  in 
which  live  two  very  clever  and  respectable 
men,  Johnson  and  Pelham,  small  tradesmen, 
men  always  willing  to  run  some  risk  for  the 
public  good,  and  to  be  less  rich,  and  more 
honest  than  their  neighbours.  It  is  of  con- 
siderable consequence  to  the  formation  of  opi- 
nion in  this  town,  as  an  example,  to  know  how 
Johnson  and  Pelham  vote.  It  guides  the  af- 
fections, and  directs  the  understandings,  of  the 
whole  population,  and  materially  affects  public 
opinion  in  this  town  ;  and  in  another  borough. 
No.  2,  it  would  be  of  the  highest  importance 
to  public  opinion  if  it  were  certain  how  Mr. 
Smith,  the  ironmonger,  and  Mr.  Rodgers,  the 
London  carrier,  voted ;  because  they  are  both 
thoroughly  honest  men,  and  of  excellent  under-  I  *.'^5-.p''°"' '?  *  """^  worthy,  honest,  and  able  man ; 
c-fo«.i,.f~  /     ti  J-.-  c  ^■c       ivT         .1        and,  if  the  world  were  a  chpsa-board,  would  oe  an  UO" 

standmg  for  their  condition  of  life.    Now,  the  I  portant  politician. 


tendency  of  ballot  would  be  to  destroy  all  the 
Pelhams,  Johnsons,  Rodgers's,  and  Smiths,  to 
sow  a  universal  mistrust,  and  to  exterminate 
the  natural  guides  and  leaders  of  the  people : 
political  influence,  founded  upon  honour  and 
ancient  honesty  in  politics,  could  not  grow  up 
under  such  a  system.  No  man's  declarations 
could  get  believed.  It  would  be  easy  to  whis 
per  away  the  character  of  the  best  men ;  and 
to  assert,  that  in  spite  of  all  his  declarations, 
which  are  nothing  but  a  blind,  the  romantic 
Rodgers  has  voted  on  the  other  side,  and  is  in 
secret  league  with  our  enemies. 

"  Who  brought  that  mischievous  profligate 
villain  into  Parliament  1  Let  us  see  the  names 
of  his  real  supporters.  Who  stood  out  against 
the  strong  and  uplifted  arm  of  power  1  Who 
discovered  this  excellent  and  hitherto  unknown 
person  1  Who  opposed  the  man  whom  we  all 
know  to  be  one  of  the  first  men  in  the  coun- 
try!" Are  these  fair  and  useful  questions  to 
be  veiled  hereafter  in  impenetrable  mystery  1 
Is  this  sort  of  publicity  of  no  good  as  a  re- 
straint] is  it  of  no  good  as  an  incitement  to 
and  a  reward  for  exertions  1  Is  not  public 
opinion  formed  by  such  feelings  1  and  is  it  not 
a  dark  and  demoralizing  system  to  draw  this 
veil  over  human  actions;  to  say  to  the  mass, 
be  base,  and  you  will  not  be  despised  ;  be  vir- 
tuous, and  you  will  not  be  honoured  1  Is  this 
the  way  in  which  Mr.  Grote  would  foster  the 
spirit  of  a  bold  and  indomitable  people  1  Was 
the  liberty  of  that  people  established  by  fraud? 
Did  America  lie  herself  into  independence  1 
Was  it  treachery  which  enabled  Holland  to 
shake  off  the  yoke  of  Spain  1  Is  there  any  in- 
stance since  the  beginning  of  the  world  where 
human  liberty  has  been  established  by  little 
systems  of  trumpery  and  trick"!  These  are 
the  weapons  of  monarchs  against  the  people, 
not  of  the  people  against  monarchs.  With 
their  own  right  hand,  and  with  their  mighty 
arm,  have  the  people  gotten  to  themselves  the 
victory,  and  upon  them  may  they  ever  depend ; 
and  then  comes  Mr.  Grote,  a  scholar  and  gen- 
tleman, and  knowing  all  the  histories  of  public 
courage,  preaches  cowardice  and  treachery  to 
England ;  tells  us  that  the  bold  cannot  be  free, 
and  bids  us  seek  for  libert}"-  by  clothing  our- 
selves in  the  mask  of  falsehood,  and  trampling 
on  the  cross  of  truth.* 

If  this  shrinking  from  the  performance  of 
duties  is  to  be  tolerated,  voters  are  not  the  only 
persons  who  would  recur  to  the  accommodat- 
ing convenience  of  ballot.  A  member  of  Par- 
liament, who  votes  against  government,  can 
get  nothing  in  the  anny,  navy,  or  church,  or 
at  the  bar,  for  his  children  or  himself;  they 
are  placed  on  the  north  wall,  and  starved  for 
their  honesty.  Judges,  too,  suffer  for  their  un- 
popularity— Lord  Kilwarden  was  murdered. 
Lord  Mansfield  burnt  down;  but  voters,  for- 
getting that  they  are  only  trustees  for  those 
who  have  no  vote,  require  that  they  themselves 
should  be  virtuous  with  impunity,  and  that  all 
the  penalties  of  austerity  and  Catonism  should 
fall  upon  others.  I  am  aware  Miat  it  is  of  the 
greatest  consequence  to  the  constituent  that 


383 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


he  should  be  made  acquainted  with  the  con- 
duct of  his  representative ;  but  I  maintain,  that 
to  know,  without  the  fear  of  mistake,  what  the 
conduct  of  individuals  has  been  in  their  fulfil- 
ment of  the  great  trust  of  electing  members  of 
Parliament,  is  also  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  the  formation  of  public  opinion ;  and  that, 
when  men  acted  in  the  dark,  the  power  of  dis- 
tinguishing between  the  bad  and  the  good 
would  be  at  an  end. 

To  institute  ballot,  is  to  apply  a  very  dan- 
gerous innovation  to  a  temporary  evil ;  for  it 
is  seldom,  but  in  very  excited  times,  that  these 
acts  of  power  are  complained  of  which  the 
ballot  is  intended  to  remedy.  There  never 
was  an  instance  in  this  country  where  parties 
were  so  nearly  balanced ;  but  all  this  will  pass 
away,  and,  in  a  very  few  years,  either  Peel 
will  swallow  Lord  John,  or  Lord  John  will  pas- 
ture upon  Peel ;  parties  will  coalesce,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  Viscount  Melbourne 
meet  at  the  same  board,  and  the  lion  lie  down 
with  the  lamb.  In  the  mean  time  a  serious 
and  dangerous  political  change  is  resorted  to 
for  the  cure  of  a  temporary  evil,  and  we  may 
be  cursed  with  ballot  when  we  do  not  want  it, 
and  cannot  get  rid  of  it. 

If  there  is  ballot  there  can  be  no  scrutiny, 
the  controlling  power  of  Parliament  is  lost, 
and  the  members  are  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
returning  officers. 

An  election  is  hard  run — the  returning  offi- 
cer lets  in  twenty  votes  which  he  ought  to  have 
excluded,  and  the  opposite  candidate  is  un- 
justly returned.  I  petition,  and  as  the  law  now 
stands,  the  return  would  be  amended,  and  I, 
who  had  the  legitimate  majority,  should  be 
seated  in  Parliament.  But  how  could  justice 
be  done  if  the  ballot  obtained,  and  if  the  re- 
turning officer  were  careless  or  corrupt] 
Would  you  put  all  the  electors  upon  their 
oath'!  Would  it  be  advisable  to  accept  any 
oath  where  detection  was  impossible  1  and 
could  any  approximation  to  truth  be  expected 
under  such  circumstances,  from  such  an  in- 
quisition] It  is  true,  the  present  committees 
of  the  House  of  Commons  are  a  very  unfair 
tribunal,  but  that  tribunal  may  and  will  be 
amended ;  and  bad  as  that  tribunal  is,  nobody 
can  be  insane  enough  to  propose  that  we  are  to 
take  refuge  in  the  blunders  or  the  corruptions  of 
600  returning  officers,  100  of  whom  are  Irish. 

It  is  certainly  in  the  power  of  a  committee, 
when  incapacity  or  villany  of  the  returning 
officer  has  produced  an  unfair  return,  to  annul 
the  whole  election,  and  to  proceed  again  de 
novo;  but  how  is  this  justi  or  what  satisfaction 
is  this  to  me,  who  have  unquestionably  a  law- 
ful majority,  and  who  ask  of  the  House  of 
Commons  to  examine  the  votes,  and  to  place 
in  their  house  the  man  who  has  combined  the 
greatest  number  of  suffrages  I  The  answer  of 
the  House  of  Commons  is,  "  One  of  you  is  un- 
doubtedly the  rightful  member,  but  we  have  so 
framed  our  laws  of  election,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  find  out  which  that  man  is ;  the  loss 
and  penalties  ought  only  to  fall  upon  one,  but 
they  must  fall  upon  both;  we  put  the  well- 
doer and  the  evil-doer  precisely  in  the  same 
situation;  there  shall  be  no  election;"  and  this 
may  happen  ten  times  running. 


Purity  of  electiori,  the  fair  choice  of  repre- 
sentatives, must  be  guarded  either  by  the  co- 
ercing power  of  the  House  of  Commons  exer- 
cised upon  petitions,  or  it  must  be  guarded  by 
the  watchful  jealousy  of  opposite  parties  at 
the  registrations  ;  but  if  (as  the  radicals  sup- 
pose) ballot  gives  a  power  of  perfect  conceal- 
ment, whose  interest  is  it  to  watch  the  regis- 
trations 1  If  I  despair  of  distinguishing  my 
friends  from  my  foes,  why  should  I  take  any 
trouble  about  registrations  1  Why  not  leave 
every  thing  to  that  great  prinmm  mobile  of  all 
human  affairs,  the  barrister  of  six  years' 
standing! 

The  answer  of  the  excellent  Benthamites  to 
all  this  is,  "  What  you  say  may  be  true  enough 
in  the  present  state  of  registrations,  but  we 
have  another  scheme  of  registration  to  which 
these  objections  will  not  apply."  There  is 
really  no  answering  this  paulo-post  legisla- 
tion. I  reason  now  upon  registration  and  re- 
form which  are  in  existence,  which  I_  have 
seen  at  work  for  several  years.  What  new 
improvements  are  in  the  womb  of  time,  or  (if 
time  has  no  womb)  in  the  more  capacious 
pockets  of  the  followers  of  Bentham,  I  know 
not:  when  I  see  them  tried,  I  will  reason  upon 
them.  There  is  no  end  to  these  eternal 
changes ;  we  have  made  an  enormous  revolu- 
tion within  the  last  ten  years, — let  us  stop  a  little 
and  secure  it,  and  prevent  it  from  being  turned 
into  ruin ;  I  do  not  say  the  reform  bill  is  final, 
but  I  want  a  little  time  for  breathing ;  and  if 
there  are  to  be  any  more  changes,  let  them  be 
carried  into  execution  hereafter  by  those  little 
legislators  who  are  now  receiving  every  day 
after  dinner  a  cake  or  a  plumb,  in  happy  ig- 
norance of  Mr.  Grote  and  his  ballot.  I  long 
for  the  quiet  times  of  Log,  when  all  the  English 
common  people  are  making  calico,  and  all 
the  English  gentlemen  are  making  long  and 
short  verses,  with  no  other  interruption  of 
their  happiness  than  when  false  quantities  are 
discovered  in  one  or  the  other. 

What  is  to  become  of  petitions  if  ballot  is 
established  ?  Are  they  to  be  open  as  they  now 
are,  or  are  they  to  be  conducted  by  ballot  1 
Are  the  radical  shopkeepers  and  the  radical 
tenant  to  be  exposed  (as  they  say)  to  all  the 
fury  of  incensed  wealth  and  power,  and  is  that 
protection  to  be  denied  to  them  in  petitions, 
which  is  so  loudly  demanded  in  the  choice  of 
representatives  ?  Are  there  to  be  two  distinct 
methods  of  ascertaining  the  opinions  of  the 
people,  and  these  completely  opposed  to  each 
other?  A  member  is  chosen  this  week  by  a 
large  majority  of  voters  who  vote  in  the  dark, 
and  the  next  week,  when  men  vote  in  the  light 
of  day,  some  petition  is  carried  totally  opposite 
to  all  those  principles  for  which  the  member 
with  invisible  votes  was  returned  to  Parlia- 
ment. How,  under  such  a  system,  can  Parlia- 
ment ever  ascertain  what  the  wishes  of  the 
people  really  are"?  The  representatives  are 
radicals,  the  petitioners  eminently  conserva' 
tive  ;  the  voice  is  the  voice  of  Jacob,  but  the 
hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau. 

And  if  the  same  protection  is  adopted  for 
petitions  as  is  given  in  elections,  and  if  both 
are  conducted  by  ballot,  how  is  the  House  of 
Cominons  to  deal  with  petitions  1     When  it  is 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


383 


intended  particularly  that  a  petition  should 
attract  the  attention  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
some  member  bears  witness  to  the  respecta- 
bility or  the  futility  of  the  signatures ;  and 
how  IS  it  possible,  without  some  guides  of  this 
kind,  that  the  House  could  form  any  idea  of 
the  value  and  importance  of  the  petition? 

These  observations  apply  with  equal  force 
to  the  communications  between  the  represen- 
tative and  the  constituent.  It  is  the  radical 
doctrine  that  a  representative  is  to  obey  the 
instructions  of  his  constituents.  He  has  been 
elected  under  the  ballot  by  a  large  majority; 
an  open  meeting  is  called,  and  he  receives  in- 
structions in  direct  opposition  to  all  those 
principles  upon  which  he  has  been  elected. 
Is  this  the  real  opinion  of  his  constituents  1 
and  if  he  receives  his  instructions  for  a  ballot 
meeting,  who  are  his  instructors  1  The  lowest 
men  in  the  town,  or  the  wisest  and  the  -best  1 — 
But  if  ballot  is  established  for  elections  only,  and 
all  communications  between  the  constituents 
on  one  side,  and  Parliament  and  the  represen- 
tatives on  the  other,  are  carried  on  in  open  meet- 
ings, then  are  there  two  publics  according  to 
the  radical  doctrines,  essentially  different  from 
each  other;  the  one  acting  under  the  influence 
of  the  rich  and  powerful,  the  other  free ;  and 
if  all  political  petitions  are  to  be  carried  on  by 
ballot,  how  is  Pai"liament  to  know  who  peti- 
tions, or  the  member  to  know  who  instructs  1 

I  have  hitherto  spoken  of  ballot,  as  if  it 
were,  as  the  radicals  suppose  it  to  be,  a  mean 
of  secrecy  ;  their  very  cardinal  position  is,  that 
landlords,  after  the  ballot  is  established,  will 
give  up  in  despair  all  hopes  of  commanding 
the  votes  of  their  tenants.  I  scarcely  ever 
heard  a  more  foolish  and  gratuitous  as- 
sumption. Given  up  ?  Why  should  they  be 
given  up]  I  can  give  many  reasons  why 
landlords  should  never  exercise  this  unrea- 
sonable power,  but  I  can  give  no  possible 
reason  why  a  man  determined  to  do  so  should 
be  baffled  by  the  ballot.  When  two  great 
parties  in  the  empire  are  combating  for  the 
supreme  power,  does  Mr.  Grote  imagine,  that 
the  man  of  woods,  forests,  and  rivers, — that 
they  who  have  the  strength  of  the  hills,-^are 
to  be  baffled  by  bumpkins  thrusting  a  little  pin 
into  a  little  card  in  a  little  box  1  that  England 
is  to  be  governed  by  political  acupunctura- 
tion] 

A  landlord  who  would  otherwise  be  guilty 
-of  the  oppression  will  not  change  his  purpose, 
because  you  attempt  to  outwit  him  by  the  in- 
vention of  the  ballot;  he  will  become,  on  the 
contrary,  doubly  vigilant,  inquisitive,  and 
severe.  "  I  am  a  professed  radical,"  said  the 
tenant  of  a  great  duke  to  a  friend  of  mine, 
"  and  the  duke  knows  it ;  but  if  I  vote  for  his 
candidates,  he  lets  me  talk  as  I  please,  live 
with  whom  I  please,  and  does  not  care  if  I 
dine  at  a  radical  dinner  every  day  in  the  week. 
If  there  was  a  ballot,  nothing  could  persuade 
the  duke,  or  the  duke's  master,  the  steward, 
that  I  was  not  deceiving  them,  and  I  should 
luse  my  farm  in  a  wfek."  This  is  the  real 
history  of  what  Avould  take  place.  The  single 
lie  on  the  hustings  would  not  suffice  ;  the  con- 
cealed democrat  who  voted  against  his  land- 
lord must  talk  with  the  wrong  people,  sub- 


scribe to  the  wrong  club,  huzza  at  the  wrong 
dinner,  break  the  wrong  head,  lead  (if  he 
wished  to  escape  from  the  watchful  jealousy 
of  his  landlord)  a  long  life  of  lies  between 
every  election ;  and  he  must  do  this,  not  only 
eundo,  in  his  oalm  and  prudential  state,  but  re- 
dcundo  from  the  market,  warmed  with  beer  and 
expanded  by  alcohol ;  and  he  must  not  only 
carry  on  his  seven  years  of  dissimulation  be- 
j  fore  the  world,  but  in  the  very  bosom  of  his 
family,  or  he  must  expose  himself  to  the  dan- 
j  gerous  garrulity  of  wife,  children,  and  ser- 
vants, from  whose  indiscretion  every  kind  of 
evil  report  would  be  carried  to  the  ears  of  the 
watchful  steward.  And  when  once  the  ballot 
is  established,  mere  gentle,  quiet  lying  will  not 
do  to  hide  the  tenant  who  secretly  votes 
against  his  landlord;  the  quiet  passive  liar 
will  be  suspected,  and  he  will  find,  if  he  does 
not  wave  his  bonnet  and  strain  his  throat  in  fur- 
therance of  his  bad  faith,  and  lie  loudly,  that  he 
has  put  in  a  false  ball  in  the  dark  to  very  little 
purpose.  I  consider  a  long  concealment  of 
political  opinion  from  the  landlord  to  be  nearly 
impossible  for  the  tenant ;  and  if  you  conceal 
from  the  landlord  the  only  proof  he  can  have 
of  his  tenant's  sincerity,  you  are  taking  from  the 
tenant  the  only  means  he  has  of  living  quietly 
upon  his  farm.  You  are  increasing  the  jea- 
lousy and  irascibility  of  the  tyrant,  and  mul- 
tiplying instead  of  lessening  the  number  of 
his  victims. 

Not  only  you  do  not  protect  the  tenant  who 
wishes  to  deceive  his  landlord,  by  promising 
one  way  and  voting  another,  but  you  expose  all 
the  other  tenants  who  have  no  intention  of  de- 
ceiving, to  all  the  evils  of  mistake  and  misre- 
presentation. The  steward  hates  a  tenant,  and 
a  rival  wants  his  farm :  they  begin  to  whisper 
him  out  of  favour,  and  to  propagate  rumours 
of  his  disaffection  to  the  blue  or  the  yellow 
cause ;  as  matters  now  stand  he  can  refer  to 
the  poll-book,  and  show  how  he  has  voted. 
Under  the  ballot  his  security  is  gone,  and  he 
is  exposed,  in  common  with  his  deceitful  neigh- 
bour, to  that  suspicion  from  which  none  can 
be  exempt  when  all  vote  in  secret.  If  ballot 
then  answered  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
intended,  the  number  of  honest  tenants  whom 
it  exposed  to  danger  would  be  as  great  as"  the 
number  of  deceitful  tenants  whom  it  screened. 

But  if  landlords  could  fce  prevented  from 
influencing  their  tenants  in  voting,  by  threat- 
ening them  with  the  loss  of  farms  ; — if  public 
opinion  were  too  strong  to  allow  of  such  threats, 
what  would  prevent  a  landlord  from  refusing 
to  take,  as  a  tenant,  a  man  whose  political 
opinion  did  not  agree  with  his  own  1  what 
would  prevent  him  from  questioning,  long 
before  the  election,  and  cross-examining  his 
tenant,  and  demanding  certificates  of  his  be- 
haviour and  opinions,  till  he  had,  according 
to  all  human  probability,  found  a  man  who 
felt  as  strongly  as  himself  upon  political  sub> 
jects,  and  who  would  adhere  to  those  opinion? 
with  as  much  firmness  and  tenacity  ?  What 
would  prevent,  for  instance,  an  Orange  landlord 
from  filling  his  farms  with  Orange  tenants,  and 
from  cautiously  rejecting  every  Catholic  tenant 
who  presented  himself  plough  m  handl  But 
if  this  practice  were  to  obtain  generally,  of 


334 


WORKS    OF    THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


cautiously  selecting  tenants  from  their  politi- 
cal opinion,  what  would  become  of  the  seven- 
fold shield  of  the  ballot  ]  Not  only  this  tenant 
is  not  continued  in  the  farm  he  already  holds, 
but  he  finds,  from  the  severe  inquisition  into 
which  men  of  property  are  driven  by  the  in- 
vention of  ballot,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
for  a  man  whose  principles  are  opposed  to 
those  of  his  landlord,  to  get  any  farm  at  all. 

The  noise  and  jollity  of  a  ballot  mob  must 
be  such  as  the  very  devils  would  look  on  with 
delight.  A  set  of  deceitful  wretches,  wearing 
the  wrong  colours,  abusing  their  friends,  pelt- 
ing the  man  for  whom  they  voted,  drinking 
their  enemies'  punch,  knocking  down  persons 
Avith  Avhom  they  entirely  agreed,  and  roaring 
out  eternal  duration  to  principles  they  abhor- 
red. A  scene  of  wholesale  bacchanalian  fraud, 
a  posse  comitatus  of  liars,  which  would  disgust 
any  man  with  a  free  government,  and  make 
him  sigh  for  the  monocracy  of  Constantinople. 

All  the  argumepts  which  apply  to  suspected 
tenants  apply  to  suspected  shopkeepers.  Their 
condition  under  the  ballot  would  be  infinitely 
worse  than  under  the  present  system;  the 
veracious  shopkeeper  would  be  suspected, 
perhaps  without  having  his  vote  to  appeal  to 
for  his  protection,  and  the  shopkeeper  who 
meant  to  deceive  must  prop  up  his  fraud,  by 
accommodating  his  whole  life  to  the  first  de- 
ceit, or  he  would  have  told  a  disgraceful  false- 
hood in  vain.  The  political  persecutors  would 
not  be  baffled  by  the  ballot ;  customers,  who 
think  they  have  a  right  to  persecute  tradesmen 
now,  would  do  it  then ;  the  only  difference 
would  be  that  more  would  be  persecuted  then 
on  suspicion,  than  are  persecuted  now  from  a 
full  knowledge  of  every  man's  vote.  Inquisi- 
tors would  be  exasperated  by  this  attempt  of 
their  victims  to  become  invisible,  and  the 
search  for  delinquents  would  be  more  sharp 
and  incessant. 

A  state  of  things  may  (to  be  sure)  occur 
where  the  aristocratic  part  of  the  voters  may 
be  desirous,  by  concealing  their  votes,  of  pro- 
tecting themselves  from  the  fury  of  the  multi- 
tude ;  but  precisely  the  same  objection  obtains 
against  ballot,  whoever  may  be  the  oppressor 
or  the  oppressed.  It  is  no  defence;  the  single 
falsehood  at  the  hustings  will  not  suffice.  Hy- 
poci-isy  for  seven  years  is  impossible ;  the 
multitude  will  be  just  as  jealous  of  preserving 
the  power  of  intimidation,  as  aristocrats  are 
of  preserving  the  power  of  property,  and  will 
in  the  same  way  redouble  their  vicious  activity 
from  the  attempt  at  destroying  their  empire 
by  ballot. 

Ba,llot  could  not  prevent  the  disfranchise- 
ment of  a  great  number  of  voters.  The  shop- 
keeper, harassed  by  men  of  both  parties, 
equally  consuming  the  articles  in  which  he 
dealt,  would  seek  security  in  not  voting  at  all, 
and  of  course,  the  ballot  could  not  screen  the 
disobedient  tenant  whom  the  landlord  re- 
quested to  stay  away  from  the  poll.  Mr.  Grote 
lias  no  box  for  this  ;  but  a  remedy  for  securing 
the  freedom  of  election,  which  has  no  power 
to  prevent  the  voter  from  losing  the  exercise 
of  his  franchise  altogether,  can  scarcely  be 
considered  as  a  remedy  at  all.  There  is  a 
method,  indeed,  by  which  this  might  be  reme- 


died, if  the  great  soul  of  Mr.  Grote  will  stoop 
to  adopt  it.  Why  are  the  acts  of  concealment 
to  be  confined  to  putting  in  a  ball?  Why  not 
vote  in  a  domino,  taking  off  the  vizor  to  the 
returning  officer  only  1  or  as  tenant  Jenkins 
or  tenant  Hodge  might  be  detected  by  their 
stature,  why  not  poll  in  sedan  chairs  with  the 
curtains  closely  drawn,  choosing  the  chairman 
by  ballot] 

What  a  flood  of  deceit  and  villany  comes  in 
with  ballot !  I  admit  there  are  great  moral 
faults  under  the  present  system.  It  is  a  serious 
violation  of  duty  to  vote  for  A.  when  you  think 
B.  the  more  worthy  representative ;  but  the 
open  voter,  acting  under  the  influence  of  his 
landlord,  commits  only  this  one  fault,  great  as 
it  is : — if  he  vote  for  his  candidate,  the  land- 
lord is  satisfied,  and  asks  no  other  sacrifice  of 
truth  and  opinion  ;  but  if  the  tenant  votes 
against  his  landlord  under  the  ballot,  he  is 
practising  every  day  some  fraud  to  conceal 
his  first  deviation  from  truth.  The  present 
method  may  produce  a  vicious  act,  but  the 
ballot  establishes  a  vicious  habit ;  and  then  it 
is  of  some  consequence,  that  the  law  should 
not  range  itself  on  the  side  of  vice.  In  the 
open  voting,  the  law  leaves  you  fairly  to 
choose  between  the  dangers  of  giving  an 
honest,  or  the  convenience  of  giving  a  dis- 
honest vote  ;  but  the  ballot  law  opens  a  booth 
and  asylum  for  fraud,  calling  upon  all  men  to 
lie  by  beat  of  drum,  forbidding  open  honesty, 
promising  impunity  for  the  most  scandalous 
deceit,  and  encouraging  men  to  take  no  other 
view  of  virtue  than  whether  it  pays  or  does 
not  pay ;  for  it  must  always  be  remembered 
and  often  repeated,  and  said  and  sung  to  Mr. 
Grote,  that  it  is  to  the  degraded  liar  only  that 
the  box  will  be  useful.  The  man  who  per- 
forms what  he  promises  needs  no  box.  The 
man  who  refuses  to  do  what  he  is  asked  to  do 
despises  the  box.  The  liar,  who  says  he  will 
do  what  he  never  means  to  do,  is  the  only  man 
to  whom  the  box  is  useful,  and  for  whom  this 
leaf  out  of  the  Punic  pandects  is  to  be  inserted 
in  our  statute  book;  the  other  vices  will  begin 
to  look  up,  and  to  think  themselves  neglected, 
if  falsehood  obtains  such  flattering  distinction, 
and  is  thus  defended  by  the  solemn  enact- 
ments of  law. 

Old  John  Randolph,  the  American  orator, 
was  asked  one  day  at  a  dinner  party  in  lion- 
don,  whether  the  ballot  prevailed  in  his  state 
of  Virginia — "  I  scarcely  believe,"  he  said, 
"  we  have  such  a  fool  in  all  Virginia,  as  to 
mention  even  the  vote  by  ballot ;  and  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  the  adoption  of  the  ballot 
would  make  any  nation  a  nation  of  scoundrels, 
if  it  did  not  find  them  so."  John  Randolph 
was  right;  he  felt  that  it  was  not  necessaiy 
that  a  people  should  be  false  in  order  to  be 
free  ;  universal  hypocrisy  would  be  the  conse- 
quence of  ballot:  we  should  soon  say  on 
deliberation  what  David  only  asserted  in  his 
haste,  that  all  men  loere  liars. 

This  exclamation  of  old  Randolph  applied 
to  the  method  of  popular  elections,  which  I 
believe  has  always  been  b)'^  open  voice  in 
Virginia;  but  the  assemblies  voted,  and  the 
judges  were  chosen  by  ballot;  and  in  the  year 
1830,  upon  a  solemn  review  of  their  institu- 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


385 


tions,  ballot  was  entirely  abolished  in  every  I 
instance  throughout  the  state,  and  open  voting 
substituted  in  its  place.  [ 

Not  only  would  the  tenant  under  ballot  be 
constantly  exposed  to  the  suspicions  of  the 
landlord,  but  the  landlord  would  be  exposed  to 
the  constant  suspicions  and  the  unjust  misre- 
presentation of  the  tenant.  Every  tenant  who 
was  dismissed  for  a  fair  and  a  just  cause, 
would  presume  he  was  suspected,  would  attri- 
bute his  dismissal  to  political  motives,  and 
endeavour  to  make  himself  a  martyr  with  the 
public ;  and  in  this  way  violent  liatred  would 
be  by  the  ballot  disseminated  among  classes 
of  men  on  whose  agreement  the  order  and 
happiness  of  England  depend. 

All  objections  to  ballot  which  are  important 
in  England  apply  with  much  greater  force  to 
Ireland,  a  country  of  intense  agitation,  fierce 
passions,  and  quick  movements.  Then  how 
would  the  ballot  box  of  Mr.  Grote  harmonize 
with  the  confessional  box  of  Father  O'Leary  1 

I  observe  Lord  John  Russell,  and  some  im- 
portant men  as  w^ell  as  him,  saying,  "We  hate 
ballot,  but  if  these  practices  continue,  we  shall 
be  compelled  to  vote  for  it."  What !  vote  for 
it,  if  ballot  is  no  remedy  of  these  evils  ]  Vote 
for  it,  if  ballot  produces  still  greater  evils  than 
it  cures  '?  That  is  (says  the  physician),  if 
fevers  increase  in  this  alarming  manner,  I 
shall  be  compelled  to  make  use  of  some  medi- 
cine which  will  be  of  no  use  to  fevers,  and 
will  at  the  same  time  bring  on  diseases  of  a 
much  more  serious  nature.  I  shall  be  under 
the  absolute  necessity  of  putting  out  your 
eyes,  because  I  cannot  prevent  you  from  being 
lame.  In  fact,  this  sort  of  language  is  utterly 
unworthy  of  the  sense  and  courage  of  Lord 
John ;  he  gives  hopes  where  he  ought  to  create 
absolute  despair.  This  is  that  hovering  be- 
tween two  principles  which  ruins  political 
strength  by  lowering  political  character,  and 
creates  a  notion  that  his  enemies  need  not 
fear  such  a  man,  and  that  his  friends  cannot 
trust  him.  No  opinion  could  be  more  unjust 
as  applied  to  Lord  John ;  but  such  an  opinion 
will  grow  if  he  begins  to  value  himself  more 
upon  his  dexterity  and  finesse,  than  upon  those 
fine,  manly,  historico-Russell  qualities  he  most 
undoubtedly  possesses.  There  are  two  beauti- 
ful words  in  the  English  language, — yes  and 
no;  he  must  pronounce  them  boldly  and  em- 
phatically; stick  to  yes  and  no  to  the  death; 
for  yes  and  no  lay  his  head  down  upon  the 
scaffold,  where  his  ancestors  have  laid  their 
heads  before,  and  cling  to  his  yes  and  no  in 
spite  of  Robert  Peel  and  John  Wilson,  and 
Joseph,  and  Daniel,  and  Fergus,  and  Stevens 
himself.  He  must  do  as  the  Russells  always 
have  done,  advance  his  firm  foot  on  the  field 
of  honour,  plant  it  on  the  line  marked  out  by 
justice,  and  determine  in  that  cause  to  perish 
or  to  prevail. 

In  clubs,  ballot  preserves  secrecy ;  but  in 
clubs,  after  the  barrister  has  blackballed  the 
colonel,  he  most  likely  never  hears  of  the 
colonel  again :  he  does  not  live  among  people 
who  are  callina:  oiU  for  seven  years  the  colonel 
forever;  nor  is  there  anyone  who,  thinking 
he  has  a  right  to  the  barrister's  suflTrage,  ex- 
ercises the  most  incessant  vigilcince  to  detect 
49 


whether  or  not  he  has  been  defrauded  of  it.  I 
do  not  say  that  ballot  can  never  in  any  in- 
stance be  made  a  mean  of  secrecy  and  safety, 
but  that  it  cannot  be  so  in  popular  elections. 
Even  in  elections,  a  consummate  hypocrite 
who  was  unmarried,  and  drank  water,  might 
perhaps  exercise  his  timid  patriotism  with 
impunity;  but  the  instances  would  be  so  rare, 
as  to  render  ballot  utterly  inefficient  as  a  ge- 
neral protection  against  the  abuses  of  power. 

In  America,  ballot  is  nearly  a  dead  letter; 
no  protection  is  wanted :  if  the  ballot  protects 
any  one,  it  is  the  master,  not  the  man.  Some 
of  the  states  have  no  ballot, — some  have  ex- 
changed the  ballot  for  open  voting. 

Bribery  carried  on  in  any  town  now  would 
probably  be  carried  on  with  equal  success 
under  the  ballot.  The  attorney  (if  such  a  sys- 
tem prevailed)  would  say  to  the  candidate, 
"  There  is  my  list  of  promises  ;  if  you  come  in 
I  will  have  5000/.,  and  if  you  do  not,  you  shall 
pay  me  nothing."  To  this  list,  to  which  I 
suppose  all  the  venal  rabble  of  the  town  to 
have  put  their  names,  there  either  is  an  oppo- 
sition bribery  list,  or  there  is  not :  if  there  is 
not,  the  promisers,  looking  only  to  make 
money  by  their  vote,  have  every  inducement 
to  keep  their  word.  If  there  is  an  opposite 
list,  the  only  trick  which  a  promiser  can  play 
is  to  put  down  his  name  upon  both  lists :  but 
this  trick  would  be  so  easily  detected,  so  much 
watched  and  suspected,  and  would  even  in  the 
vote  market  render  a  man  so  infamous,  that  it 
never  would  be  attempted  to  any  great  extent. 
At  present,  if  a  man  promises  his  vote  to  A., 
and  votes  for  B.,  because  he  can  get  more 
money  by  it,  he  does  not  become  infamous 
among  the  bribed,  because  they  lose  no  money 
by  him ;  but  where  a  list  is  foimd,  and  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money  is  to  be  divided  among  that 
list,  every  interloper  lessens  the  receipts  of  all 
the  rest ;  it  becomes  their  interest  to  guard 
against  fraudulent  intrusion  ;  and  a  man  who 
puts  his  name  upon  more  lists  than  the  votes 
he  was  entitled  to  give,  would  soon  be  hunted 
down-  by  those  he  had  robbed.  Of  course 
there  would  be  no  pay  till  after  the  election, 
and  the  man  who  having  one  vote  had  put 
himself  down  on  two  lists,  or  having  two  votes 
had  put  himself  down  on  three  lists,  could 
hardly  fail  to  be  detected,  and  would,  of  course, 
lose  his  political  aceldama.  There  must  be 
honour  among  thieves ;  the  mob  regularly 
inured  to  bribery  under  the  canopy  of  the  bal- 
lot, would  for  their  own  sake  soon  introduce 
rules  for  the  distribution  of  the  plunder,  and 
infuse,  with  their  customary  energy,  the 
morality  of  not  being  sold  more  than  once  at 
every  election. 

If  ballot  were  established,  it  would  be  re- 
ceived by  the  upper  classes  with  the  greatest 
possible  suspicion,  and  every  effort  would  be 
made  to  counteract  it  and  to  get  rid  of  it. 
Against  those  attacks  the  inferior  orders  would 
naturally  wish  to  strengthen  themselves,  and 
the  obvious  means  would  be  by  extending  the 
number  of  voters  ;  and  so  comes  on  universal 
suffrage.  The  ballot  would  fail :  it  would  be 
found  neither  to  prevent  intimidation  nor 
bribery.  Universal  suffrage  would  cure  both, 
as  a  teaspoonful  of  prussic  acid  is  a  certain 
2  K 


386 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


cure  for  the  most  formidable  diseases ;  but 
universal  suffrage  would  in  all  probability  be 
the  next  step.  "The  200  richest  voters  of 
Bridport  shall  not  beat  the  400  poorest  voters. 
Every  body  who  has  a  house  shall  vote,  or 
every  body  who  is  twenty-one  shall  vote,  and 
then  the  people  will  be  sure  to  have  their  way 
— we  will  blackball  every  member  standing 
for  Bridgewater  who  does  not  promise  to  vote 
for  universal  suffrage." 

The  ballot  and  universal  suffrage  are  never 
mentioned  by  the  radicals  without  being 
coupled  together.  Nobody  ever  thinks  of 
separating  them.  Any  person  who  attempted 
to  separate  them  at  torchlight  or  sunlight 
meetings  would  be  hooted  down.  It  is  pro- 
fessedly avowed  that  ballot  is  only  wanted  for 
ulterior  purposes,  and  no  one  makes  a  secret 
of  what  those  ulterior  purposes  are  :  not  only 
■would  the  gift  of  ballot,  if  universal  suffrage 
were  refused,  not  be  received  with  gratitude, 
but  it  would  be  received  with  furious  indigna- 
tion and  contempt,  and  universal  suffrage  be 
speedily  extorted  from  you. 

There  would  be  this  argument  also  for  uni- 
versal suffrage,  to  which  I  do  not  think  it  very 
easy  to  find  an  answer.  The  son  of  a  man 
who  rents  a  house  of  ten  pounds  a  year  is 
often  a  much  cleverer  man  than  his  father ; 
the  wife  more  intelligent  than  the  husband. 
Under  the  system  of  open  voting,  these  persons 
are  not  excluded  from  want  of  intellect,  but  for 
want  of  independence,  for  they  would  neces- 
sarily vote  with  their  principal ;  but  the  mo- 
ment the  ballot  is  established,  according  to  the 
reasoning  of  the  Grote  school,  one  man  is  as 
independent  as  another,  because  all  are  con- 
cealed, and  so  all  are  equally  entitled  to  offer 
their  suffrages.  This  cannot  sow  dissensions 
in  families ;  for  how,  ballotically  reasoning, 
can  the  father  find  it  out]  or,  if  he  did  find  it 
out,  how  has  any  father,  ballotically  speaking, 
a  right  to  control  the  votes  of  his  family  1 

I  have  often  drawn  a  picture  in  my  own 
mind  of  a  Balloto-Grotical  family  voting  and 
promising  under  the  new  system.  There  is 
one  vacancy,  and  three  candidates,  tory,  whig, 
and  radical.  Walter  Wiggins,  a  small  artificer 
of  shoes,  for  the  moderate  gratuity  of  five 
pounds  promises  his  own  vote,  and  that  of  the 
chaste  Arabella  his  wife,  to  the  tory  candidate; 
he,  Walter  Wiggins,  having  also  sold,  for  one 
sovereign,  the  vote  of  the  before-named  Ara- 
bella to  the  whigs.  Mr.  John  Wiggins,  a  tailor, 
the  male  progeny  of  Walter  and  Arabella,  at 
the  solicitation  of  his  master,  promises  his 
vote  to  the  whigs,  and  persuades  his  sister 
Honoria  to  make  a  similar  promise  in  the  same 
cause.  Arabella,  the  wife,  yields  implicitly  to 
the  wishes  of  her  husband.  In  this  way,  be- 
fore the  election,  stand  committed  the  highly 
moral  family  of  Mr.  Wiggins.  The  period  for 
lying  arrives,  and  the  mendacity  machine  is 
exhibited  to  the  view  of  the  Wigginses.  What 
happens  1  Arabella,  who  has  in  the  interim 
been  chastised  by  her  drunken  husband,  votes 
secretly  for  the  radicals,  having  been  sold  both 
to  whig  and  tory.  Mr.  John  Wiggins,  pledged 
beyond  redemption  to  whigs,  votes  for  the 
Tory;  and  Honoria,  extrinsically  furious  in  the 
cause  of  whigs,  is  persuaded  by  her  lover  to 


vote  for  the  radical  member.  The  following 
table  exhibits  the  state  of  this  moral  family 
before  and  after  the  election : — 

Walter  Wieeins  sells  himself  once  and  his  wife  twice. 
Arabella  Wiggins,  sold  to  tory  and  whig,  votes  for  rad- 
ical, 
.lohn  Wiggins,  promised  to  whig,  votes  for  tory. 
Honoria  Wiggins,  promised  to  whig,  votes  for  radical. 

In  this  way  the  families  of  the  poor,  under  the 
legislation  of  Mr.  Grote,  will  become  schools 
for  good  faith,  openness,  and  truth.  What  are 
Chrysippus  and  Grantor,  and  all  the  moralists 
of  the  whole  world,  compared  to  Mr.  Gi-ote  1 

It  is  urged  that  the  lower  order  of  voters, 
proud  of  such  a  distinction,  will  not  be  anxious 
to  extend  it  to  others ;  but  the  lower  order  of 
voters  will  often  find  that  they  possess  this 
distinction  in  vain — that  wealth  and  education 
are  too  strong  for  them  ;  and  they  will  call  in 
the  multitude  as  auxiliaries,  firmly  believing 
that  they  can  curb  their  inferiors  and  conquer 
their  superiors.  Ballot  is  a  mere  illusion,  but 
universal  suffrage  is  not  an  illusion.  The 
common  people  will  get  nothing  by  the  one, 
but  they  will  gain  every  thing,  and  ruin  every 
thing,  by  the  last. 

Some  members  of  Parliament  who  mean  to 
vote  for  ballot,  in  the  fear  of  losing  their  seats, 
and  who  are  desirous  of  reconciling  to  their 
conscience  such  an  act  of  disloyalty  to  man- 
kind, are  fond  of  saying  that  ballot  is  harm- 
less ;  that  it  will  neither  do  the  good  nor  the 
evil  that  is  expected  from  it ;  and  that  the  peo- 
ple may  fairly  be  indulged  in  such  an  innocent 
piece  of  legislation.  Never  was  such  folly  and 
madness  as  this ;  ballot  will  be  the  cause  of 
interminable  hatred  and  jealousy  among  the 
different  orders  of  mankind;  it  will  familiarize 
the  English  people  to  a  long  tenour  of  deceit; 
it  will  not  answer  its  purpose  of  protecting  the 
independent  voter ;  and  the  people,  exasperated 
and  disappointed  by  the  failure,  will  indemnify 
themselves  by  insisting  upon  unlimited  suffrage. 
And  then  it  is  talked  of  as  an  experiment,  as 
if  men  were  talking  of  acids  and  alkalies,  and 
the  galvanic  pile ;  as  if  Lord  John  could  get 
on  the  hustings  and  say,  "  Gentlemen,  you  see 
this  ballot  does  not  answer;  do  me  the  favour 
to  give  it  up,  and  to  allow  yourselves  to  be  re- 
placed in  the  same  situation  as  the  ballot  found 
you."  Such,  no  doubt,  is  the  history  of  na- 
tions and  the  march  of  human  affairs;  and,  in 
this  way,  the  error  of  a  sudden  and  foolish 
largess  of  power  to  the  people  might,  no  doubt, 
be  easily  retrieved.  The  most  unpleasant  of 
all  bodily  feelings  is  a  cold  sweat;  nothing 
brings  it  on  so  surely  as  perilous  nonsense  in 
politics.  I  lose  all  warmth  from  the  bodily 
frame  when  I  hear  the  ballot  talked  of  as  an 
experiment. 

I  cannot  at  all  understand  what  is  meant  by 
this  indolent  opinion.  Votes  are  coerced  now ; 
if  votes  are  free,  will  the  elected  be  the  same  1 
if  not,  will  the  difference  of  the  elected  be  un- 
important 1  Will  not  the  ballot  stimulate  the 
upper  orders  to  fresh  exertions  1  and  are  their 
increased  jealousy  and  interference  of  no  im- 
portance ?  If  ballot,  after  all,  is  found  to  hold 
out  a  real  protection  to  the  voter,  is  universal 
lying  of  no  importance  1  I  can  understand 
what  is  meant  by  calling  ballot  a  great  good. 


WORKS    OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


387 


or  a  great  evil ;  but,  in  the  mighty  contention 
for  power  which  is  raging  in  this  country,  to 
call  it  indifferent  appears  to  me  extremely 
foolish  in  all  those  in  whom  it  is  not  extremely 
dishonest. 

If  the  ballot  did  succeed  in  enabling  the 
jower  order  of  voters  to  conquer  their  betters, 
so  much  the  worse.  In  a  town  consisting  of 
700  voters,  the  300  most  opulent  and  powerful 
(and  therefore  probably  the  best  instructed) 
would  make  a  much  better  choice  than  the 
remaining  400 ;  and  the  ballot  would,  in  that 
case,  do  more  harm  than  good.  In  nineteen 
cases  out  of  twenty,  the  most  numerous  party 
•would  be  in  the  wrong.  If  this  is  the  case, 
why  give  the  franchise  to  all  1  why  not  con- 
fine it  to  the  first  division  1  because  even  with  all 
the  abttses  which  occur,  and  in  spite  of  them,  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  are  much  more  satisfied 
with  having  a  vote  occasionally  controlled  than  tvith 
having  none.  Many  agree  with  their  superiors, 
and  therefore  feel  no  control.  Many  are  per- 
suaded by  their  superiors,  and  not  controlled. 
Some  are  indifferent  which  way  they  exercise 
the  power,  though  they  would  not  like  to  be 
utterly  deprived  of  it.  Some  guzzle  away  their 
vote,  some  sell  it,  some  brave  their  superiors, 
a  few  are  threatened  and  controlled.  The 
election,  in  different  ways,  is  affected  by  the 
superior  influence  of  the  upper  orders;  and 
the  great  mass  (occasionally  and  justly  com- 
plaining) are,  beyond  all  doubt,  better  pleased 
than  if  they  had  no  votes  at  all.  The  lower 
orders  always  have  it  in  their  power  to  rebel 
against  their  superiors;  and  occasionally  they 
will  do  so,  and  have  done  so,  and  occasionally 
and  justly  carried  elections*  against  gold,  and 
birth,  and  education.  But  it  is  madness  to 
make  laws  of  society  which  attempt  to  shake 
off  the  great  laws  of  nature.  As  long  as  men 
love  bread,  and  mutton,  and  broadcloth,  wealth, 
in  a  long  series  of  years,  must  have  enormous 
effects  upon  human  affairs,  and  the  strong  box 
will  beat  the  ballot  box.  Mr.  Grote  has  both, 
but  he  miscalculates  their  respective  powers. 
Mr.  Grote  knows  the  relative  values  of  gold 
and  silver ;  but  by  what  moral  rate  of  exchange 
is  he  able  to  tell  us  the  relative  values  of  li- 
berty and  truth  1 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  any  thing  about 


*  The  400  or  500  votins  against  tlie  200  are  risht  about 
as  often  as  juries  are  right  in  differing  from  judges ;  and 
that  is  very  seldom. 


universal  suffrage,  as  there  is  no  act  of  folly 
or  madness  Avhich  it  may  not  in  the  beginning 
produce.  There  would  be  the  greatest  risk 
that  the  monarchy,  as  at  present  constituted, 
the  funded  debt,  the  established  church,  titles, 
and  hereditary  peerage,  would  give  way  before 
it.  Many  really  honest  men  may  wish  for 
these  changes ;  I  know,  or  at  least  believe, 
that  wheat  and  barley  would  grow  if  there  was 
no  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  domestic 
fowls  would  breed  if  our  Viscount  Melbourne 
was  again  called  Mr.  Lamb ;  but  they  have 
stronger  nerves  than  I  have  who  would  ven- 
ture to  bring  these  changes  about.  So  few 
nations  have  been  free,  it  is  so  difficult  to 
guard  freedom  from  kings,  and  mobs,  and  pa- 
triotic gentlemen  ;  and  we  are  in  such  a  very 
tolerable  state  of  happiness  in  England,  that  I 
think  such  changes  would  be  very  rash ;  and  I 
have  an  utter  mistrust  in  the  sagacity  and  pene- 
tration of  political  reasoners  who  pretend  to 
foresee  all  the  consequences  to  which  they 
would  give  birth.  When  I  speak  of  the  toler- 
able state  of  happiness  in  which  we  live  in 
England,  I  do  not  speak  merely  of  nobles, 
squires,  and  canons  of  St.  Paul's,  but  of  dri- 
vers of  coaches,  clerks  in  offices,  carpenters, 
blacksmiths,  butchers,  and  bakers,  and  most 
men  who  do  not  marry  upon  nothing,  and 
become  burdened  with  large  families  before 
they  have  arrived  at  years  of  maturity.  The 
earth  is  not  sufficiently  fertile  for  this: 
Difficilem  victum  fundit  durissima  tellus. 

After  all,  the  great  art  in  politics  and  war  is 
to  choose  a  good  position  for  making  a  stand. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  examined  and  forti- 
fied the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras  a  year  before 
he  had  any  occasion  to  make  use  of  them,  and 
he  had  previously  marked  out  Waterloo  as  the 
probable  scene  of  some  future  exploit.  The 
people  seem  to  be  hui'rying  on  through  all  the 
well-known  steps  to  anarchy;  they  must  be 
stopped  at  some  pass  or  another :  the  first  is 
the  best  and  most  easily  defended.  The  peo- 
ple have  a  right  to  ballot  or  to  any  thing  else 
which  will  make  them  happy;  and  they  have 
a  right  to  nothing  which  will  make  them  un- 
happy. The)'  are  the  best  judges  of  their  im- 
mediate gratifications,  and  the  worst  judges  of 
what  would  best  conduce  to  their  interests  for 
a  series  of  years.  Most  earnestly  and  consci- 
entiously wishing  their  good,  I  say,  No  Bali-ot. 


3881 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


FIRST  LETTER  TO  ARCHDEACON  SINGLETON, 


ECCLESIASTICAL  COMMISSION. 


Mt  deah  Sih,  ' 

As  you  do  me  the  honour  to  ask  my  opinion 
respecting  the  constitution  and  proceedings  of 
the  ecclesiastical  commission,  and  of  their  con- 
duct to  the  dignitaries  of  the  church,  I  shall 
write  to  you  without  any  reserve  upon  this 
subject. 

The  first  thing  which  excited  my  surprise, 
was  the  constitution  of  the  commission.  As 
the  reform  was  to  comprehend  every  branch 
of  churchmen,  bishops,  dignitaries,  and  paro- 
chial clergymen,  I  cannot  but  think  it  would 
have  been  much  more  advisable  to  have  added 
to  the  commission  some  members  of  the  two 
lower  orders  of  the  church — they  would  have 
supplied  that  partial  knowledge  which  appears 
in  so  many  of  the  proceedings  of  the  commis- 
sioners to  have  been  wanting — they  Avould 
have  attended  to  those  interests  (not  episcopal) 
which  appear  to  have  been  so  completely  over- 
looked— and  they  would  have  screened  the 
commission  from  those  charges  of  injustice 
and  partiality  which  are  now  so  generally 
brought  against  it.  There  can  be  no  charm  in 
the  name  of  bishop — the  man  who  was  a  cu- 
rate yesterday  is  a  bishop  to-day.  There  are 
many  prebendaries,  many  rectors,  and  many 
vicars,  who  would  have  come  to  the  reform 
of  the  church  with  as  much  integrity,  wisdom, 
and  vigour  as  any  bishop  on  the  bench ;  and 
I  believe,  with  a  much  stronger  recollection 
that  all  the  orders  of  the  church  were  not  to 
be  sacrificed  to  the  highest ;  and  that  to  make 
their  work  respectable,  and  lasting,  it  should 
in  all  (even  in  its  minutest  provisions),  be 
founded  upon  justice. 

All  the  interests  of  the  church  in  the  com- 
mutation of  tithes  are  entrusted  to  one  paro- 
chial clergyman  ;*  and  I  have  no  doubt,  from 
what  I  hear  of  him,  that  they  will  be  Avell  pro- 
tected. Why  could  not  one  or  two  such  men 
have  been  added  to  the  commission,  and  a  ge- 
neral impression  been  created,  that  government 
in  this  momentous  change  had  a  parental  feel- 
ing for  all  orders  of  men  \vhose  interests  might 
be  affected  by  it  1  A  ministry  may  laugh  at 
this,  and  think  if  they  cultivate  bishops,  that 
they  may  treat  the  other  orders  of  the  church 
with  contempt  and  neglect;  but  I  say,  that  to 
create  a  general  impression  of  justice,  if  it  be 
not  what  common  honesty  requires  from  any 
ministry,  is  what  common  sense  points  out  to 
them.     It  is  strength  and  duration — it  is  the 


♦  The  Rev.  Mr.  Jones  is  the  commissioner  appointed 
by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  watch  over  the  in- 
terests of  the  church. 


only  power  which  is  worth  having — in  the 
struggle  of  parties  it  gives  victory,  and  is  re- 
membered, and  goes  down  to  other  times. 

A  mixture  of  diflerent  orders  of  clergy  in  the 
commission  would  at  least  have  secured  a  de- 
cent attention  to  the  representations  of  all ;  for 
of  seven  communications  made  to  the  com- 
mission by  cathedrals,  and  involving  very  se- 
rious representations  respecting  high  interests, 
six  were  totally  disregarded,  and  the  receipt 
of  the  papers  not  even  acknowledged. 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  commission- 
ers have  done  a  great  deal  too  much.  Reform 
of  the  church  was  absolutely  necessary — it 
cannot  be  avoided,  and  ought  not  to  be  post- 
poned ;  but  I  would  have  found  out  what  really 
gave  offence,  have  applied  a  remedy,  removed 
the  nuisance,  and  done  no  more.  I  would  not 
have  operated  so  largely  on  an  old,  and  (I 
fear)  a  decaying  building.  I  would  not,  in 
days  of  such  strong  political  excitement,  and 
amidst  such  a  disposition  to  universal  change, 
have  done  one  thing  more  than  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  remove  the  odium  against  the 
establishment,  the  only  sensible  reason  for  is- 
suing any  commission  at  all;  and  the  means 
which  I  took  to  effect  this,  should  have  agreed, 
as  much  as  possible,  with  institutions  already 
established.  For  instance,  the  public  were 
disgusted  with  the  spectacle  of  rich  prebenda- 
ries enjoying  large  incomes,  and  doing  little 
or  nothing  for  them.  The  real  remedy  for 
this  would  have  been  to  have  combined  wealth 
and  labour ;  and  as  each  of  the  present  preben- 
daries fell  off,  to  have  annexed  the  stall  to 
some  large  and  populous  parish.  A  preben- 
dary of  Canterbury  or  of  St.  Paul's,  in  his  pre- 
sent state,  may  make  the  church  unpopular ; 
but  place  him  as  rector  of  a  parish,  with  8000 
or  9000  people,  and  in  a  benefice  of  little  or 
no  value,  he  works  for  his  wealth,  and  the 
odium  is  removed.  In  like  manner  the  pre- 
bends, which  are  not  the  property  of  the  resi- 
dentiaries,  might  have  been  annexed  to  the 
smallest  livings  of  the  neighbourhood  where 
the  prebendal  estate  was  situated.  The  inter- 
val which  has  elapsed  since  the  first  furious 
demand  for  reform,  would  have  enabled  the 
commissioners  to  adopt  a  scheme  of  much 
greater  moderation  than  might  perhaps  have 
been  possible  at  the  first  outbreak  of  popular 
indignation  against  the  church;  and  this  sort 
of  distribution  would  have  given  much  more 
general  satisfaction  than  the  plan  adopted  by 
commissioners  ;  for  though  money,  in  the  es- 
timation of  philosophers,  has  no  ear-mark,  it 


WORKS   or  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


389 


has  a  very  deep  one  in  the  opinion  of  the  mul- 
titude. The  riches  of  the  church  of  Durham 
were  most  hated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dur- 
ham ;  and  there  such  changes  as  I  have  pointed 
out  would  have  been  most  gladly  received, 
and  would  have  conciliated  the  greatest  favour 
to  the  church.  The  people  of  Kent  cannot 
see  why  their  Kentish  estates,  given  to  the  ca- 
thedral of  Canterbury,  are  to  augment  livings 
in  Cornwall.  The  citizens  of  London  see 
some  of  their  ministers  starving  in  the  city, 
and  the  profits  of  the  extinguished  prebends 
sent  into  Northumberland.  These  feelings 
may  be  very  unphilosophical,  but  they  are  the 
feelings  of  the  mass ;  and  to  the  feelings  of 
the  mass  the  reforms  of  the  church  ought  to 
be  directed.  In  this  way  the  evil  would  have 
been  corrected  where  it  was  most  seen  and 
noticed.  All  patronage  would  have  been  left 
as  it  was.  One  order  of  the  church  would  not 
have  plundered  the  other.  Nor  would  all  the 
cathedrals  in  England  have  been  subjected  to 
the  unconciliating  empire,  and  unwearied  en- 
ergy of  one  man. 

Instead  of  this  quiet  and  cautious  mode  of 
proceeding,  all  is  change,  fusion  and  confu- 
sion. New  bishops,  new  dioceses,  confiscated 
prebends — clergymen  changing  bishops,  and 
bishops  clergymen — mitres  in  Manchester, 
Gloucester  turned  into  Bristol.  Such  a  scene 
of  revolution  and  commutation  as  has  not  been 
seen  since  the  days  of  Ireton  and  Cromwell !  and 
the  singularity  is,  that  all  this  has  been  effected 
by  men  selected  from  their  age,  their  dignity, 
and  their  known  principles,  and  from  whom 
the  considerate  part  of  the  community  ex- 
pected all  the  caution  and  calmness  which 
these  high  requisites  seemed  to  promise,  and 
ought  to  have  secured. 

The  plea  of  making  a  fund  is  utterly  unte- 
nable— the  great  object  was  not  to  make  a  fund ; 
and  there  is  the  mistake  into  which  the  com- 
mission have  fallen  :  the  object  was  not  to  add 
lOl.  or  20?.  per  annum  to  a  thousand  small  liv- 
ings, and  to  diminish  inequalities  in  a  ratio  so 
trifling  that  the  public  will  hardly  notice  it ;  a 
very  proper  thing  to  do  if  higher  interests  were 
not  sacrificed  to  it;  but  the  great  object  was  to 
remove  the  causes  of  hatred  from  the  church, 
by  lessening  such  incomes  as  those  of  Canter- 
bury, Durham,  and  London,  exorbitantly  and 
absurdly  great — by  making  idleness  work — and 
by  these  means  to  lessen  the  envy  of  laymen. 
It  is  impossible  to  make  a  fund  which  will  raise 
the  smaller  livings  of  the  church  into  any  thing 
like  a  decent  support  for  those  who  possess 
them.  The  whole  income  of  the  church,  epis- 
copal, prebendal,  and  parochial,  divided  among 
the  clergy,  would  not  give  to  each  clergyman 
an  income  equal  to  that  which  is  enjoyed  by 
the  upper  domestic  of  a  great  nobleman.  The 
method  in  which  the  church  has  been  paid,  and 
must  continue  to  be  paid,  is  by  unequal  divi- 
sions. All  the  enormous  changes  which  the 
commission  is  making  will  produce  a  very  tri- 
fling ditference  in  the  inequality,  while  it  will 
accustom  more  and  more  those  enemies  of  the 
church,  who  are  studying  under  their  right 
rev.  masters,  to  the  boldest  revolutions  in  ec- 
clesiastical aff'airs.  Out  of  10,478  benefices, 
there  are  297  of  about  40/.  per  annum  value. 


1,629  at  about  751.  and  1,602  at  about  125Z.;  to 
raise  all  these  benefices  to  200Z.  per  annum,would 
require  an  annual  sum  of  371,293/.;  and  upon 
2,878  of  those  benefices  there  are  no  houses  ;  and 
uponl,728  no  houses  fit  for  residence.  Whatdif- 
ference  in  the  apparent  inequality  of  the  church 
would  this  sum  of  371,293/.  produce,  if  it  could 
be  raised]  or  in  what  degree  would  it  lessen 
the  odium  which  that  inequality  creates  ?  The 
case  is  utterly  hopeless  ;  and  yet  with  all  their 
confiscations  the  commissioners  are  so  far 
from  being  able  to  raise  the  annual  sum  of 
371,000/.,  that  the  utmost  they  expect  to  gain  is 
130,000/.  per  annum. 

It  seems  a  paradoxical  statement,  but  the 
fact  is,  that  the  respectability  of  the  church,  as 
well  as  of  the  bar,  is  almost  entirely  preserved 
by  the  unequal  division  of  their  revenues.  A 
bar  of  one  hundred  lawyers  travel  the  northern 
circuit,  enlightening  provincial  ignorance,  cur- 
ing local  partialities,  diffusing  knowledge, 
and  dispensing  justice  in  their  route:  it  is 
quite  certain  that  all  they  gain  is  not  equal  to 
all  that  they  spend;  if  the  profits  were  equally 
divided  there  would  not  be  six  and  eight-pence 
for  each  person,  and  there  would  be  no  bar  at  all. 
At  present,  the  success  of  the  leader  animates 
them  all — each  man  hopes  to  be  a  Scarlett  or 
a  Brougham — and  takes  out  his  ticket  in  a  lot- 
tery by  which  the  mass  must  infallibly  lose, 
trusting  (as  mankind  are  so  apt  to  do)  to  his 
good  fortune,  and  believing  that  the  prize  is  re- 
served for  him,  disappointment  and  defeat  for 
others.  So  it  is  with  the  clergy ;  the  whole  in- 
come of  the  church,  if  equally  divided,  would 
be  about  250/.  for  each  minister.  Who  would 
go  into  the  church  and  spend  1,200/.  or  1,500/. 
upon  his  education,  if  such  were  the  highest 
remuneration  he  could  ever  look  to  1  At  pre- 
sent, men  are  tempted  into  the  church  by  the 
prizes  of  the  church,  and  bring  into  that  church 
a  great  deal  of  capital,  which  enables  them  to 
live  in  decency,  supporting  themselves,  not 
with  the  money  of  the  public,  but  with  their 
own  money,  which,  but  for  this  temptation, 
would  have  been  carried  into  some  retail  trade. 
The  officers  of  the  church  would  then  fall  down 
to  men  little  less  coarse  and  ignorant  than 
agricultural  labourers — the  clergyman  of  the 
parish  would  soon  be  seen  in  the  squire's 
kitchen ;  and  all  this  would  take  place  in  a 
country  where  poverty  is  infamous. 

In  fact,  nothing  can  be  more  unjust  and  idle 
than  the  reasoning  of  many  laymen  upon 
church  matters.  You  choose  to  have  an  es- 
tablishment— God  forbid  you  should  choose 
otherwise !  and  you  wish  to  have  men  of  de- 
cent manners,  and  good  education,  as  the  min- 
isters of  that  establishment;  all  this  is  very 
right:  but  are  you  willing  to  pay  them  as  such 
men  ought  to  be  paidi  Are  you  willing  to  pay 
to  each  clergyman,  confining  himself  to  one 
spot,  and  giving  up  all  his  time  to  the  care  of 
one  parish,  a  salary  of  500/.  per  annum  1  To  do 
this  would  require  three  millions  to  be  added 
to  the  present  revenues  of  the  church ;  and 
such  an  expenditure  is  impossible!  What 
then  remains,  if  you  will  have  a  clergy  and 
will  not  pay  them  equitably  and  separately, 
than  to  pay  them  unequally  and  by  lottery? 
and  yet  this  very  inequality,  which  secures  to 
2  k:2 


390 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


you  a  respectable  clergy  upon  the  most  eco- 
nomical terms,  is  considered  by  laymen  as  a 
gross  abuse.  It  is  an  abuse,  however,  which 
they  have  not  the  spirit  to  extinguish  by  in- 
creased munificence  to  their  clergy,  nor  jus- 
tice to  consider  as  the  only  other  method  by 
■which  all  the  advantages  of  a  respectable  es- 
tablishment can  be  procured;  but  they  use  it 
at  the  same  time  as  a  topic  for  sarcasm,  and 
a  source  of  economy. 

This,  it  will  be  said,  is  a  mammonish  view 
of  the  subject;  it  is  so,  but  those  who  make 
this  objection,  forget  the  immense  effect  which 
mammon  produces  upon  religion  itself.  Shall 
the  Gospel  be  preached  by  men  paid  by  the 
state  1  shall  these  men  be  taken  from  the  lower 
orders  and  be  meanly  paid  1  shall  they  be  men 
of  learning  and  education]  and  shall  there  be 
some  magnificent  endowments  to  allure  such 
men  into  the  church  1  Which  of  these  methods 
is  the  best  for  diffusing  the  rational  doctrines 
of  Christianity  1  not  in  the  age  of  the  apostles, 
not  in  the  abstract,  timeless,  nameless,  place- 
less  land  of  the  philosophers,  but  in  the  year 
1837,  in  the  porter-brewing,  cotton-spinning, 
tallow-melting  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  burst- 
ing with  opulence,  and  flying  from  poverty  as 
the  greatest  of  human  evils.  Many  different 
answers  may  be  given  to  these  questions,  but 
they  are  questions  which,  not  ending  in  mam- 
mon, have  a  powerful  bearing  on  religion,  and 
deserve  the  deepest  consideration  from  its 
disciples  and  friends.  Let  the  comforts  of  the 
clergy  go  for  nothing.  Consider  their  state 
only  as  religion  is  afiected  by  it.  If  upon  this 
principle  I  am  forced  to  allot  to  some  an  opu- 
lence which  my  clever  friend  the  Examiner 
would  pronounce  to  be  apostolical,  I  cannot 
help  it;  I  must  take  this  people  with  all  their 
follies,  and  prejudices,  and  circumstances,  and 
carve  out  an  establishment  best  suited  for 
them,  however  unfit  for  early  Christianity  in 
barren  and  conquered  Judea. 

Not  only  will  this  measure  of  the  commis- 
r.ion  bring  into  the  church  a  lower  and  worse 
educated  set  of  men,  but  it  will  have  a  ten- 
dency to  make  the  clergy  fanatical.  You 
will  have  a  set  of  ranting,  raving  pastors,  who 
will  wage  war  against  all  the  innocent  plea- 
sures of  life,  vie  with  each  other  in  extrava- 
gance of  zeal,  and  plague  your  heart  out  with 
their  nonsense  and  absurdity  :  cribbage  must 
be  played  in  caverns,  and  sixpenny  whist  take 
refuge  in  the  howling  wilderness.  In  this  way 
low  men  doomed  to  hopeless  poverty,  and 
galled  by  contempt,  will  endeavour  to  force 
themselves  into  station  and  significance. 

There  is  an  awkward  passage  in  the  memo- 
rial of  the  church  of  Can  terbury,  which  deserves 
some  consideration  from  him  to  whom  it  is 
directed.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  at 
his  consecration,  takes  a  solemn  oath  that  he 
will  maintain  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
church  of  Canterbury;  as  chairman,  however, 
of  the  new  commission,  he  seizes  the  patron- 
age of  that  church,  takes  two-thirds  of  its 
revenues,  and  abolishes  two-thirds  of  its  mem- 
bers. That  there  is  an  answer  to  this  I  am 
very  willing  to  believe,  but  I  cannot  at  present 
find  out  what  it  is ;  and  this  attack  upon  the 
Kivenues  and  members  of  Canterbury,  is  not 


obedience  to  an  act  of  Parliament,  but  the  very 
act  of  Parliament,  which  takes  away,  is  recom- 
mended, drawn  up,  and  signed  by  the  person 
who  has  sworn  he  will  never  take  away ;  and 
this  little  apparent  inconsistency  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  but  is 
shared  equally  by  all  the  bishop  commission- 
ers, who  have  all  (unless  I  am  grievously 
mistaken)  taken  similar  oaths  for  the  preser- 
vation of  their  respective  chapters.  It  would 
be  more  easy  to  see  our  way  out  of  this  little 
embarrassment,  if  some  of  the  embarrassed 
had  not,  unfortunately,  in  the  parliamentary 
debates  on  the  Catholic  question,  laid  the 
greatest  stress  upon  the  king's  oath,  applauded 
the  sanctity  of  the  monarch  to  the  skies,  reject* 
ed  all  comments,  called  for  the  oath  in  its  plain 
meaning,  and  attributed  the  safety  of  the  Eng- 
lish church  to  the  solemn  vow  made  by  the 
king  at  the  altar  to  the  Archbishops  of  Canter- 
bury and  York,  and  the  other  bishops.  I 
should  be  very  sorry  if  this  were  not  placed 
on  a  clear  footing,  as  fools  will  be  imputing  to 
our  church  the  pia  el  religiosa  Culliditas,  which 
is  so  commonly  brought  against  the  Catholics. 

Urbem  quam  dicunt  Roniani,  Meliboee,  putavi 
Stultus  ego  huic  nostra;  similem. 

The  words  of  Henry  VIII.,  in  endowing  the 
cathedral  of  Canterbury,  are  thus  given  in  the 
translation.  "  We,  therefore,  dedicating  the 
aforesaid  close,  site,  circle,  and  precinct  to  the 
honour  and  glory  of  the  Holy  and  undivided 
Trinity,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  have 
decreed  that  a  certain  Cathedral  and  Metro- 
politan Church,  with  one  Dean,  Presbyter,  and 
twelve  Prebendaries  Presbyters ;  these  verily 
and  for  ever  to  serve  Almighty  God  shall  be 
created,  set  up,  settled,  and  established;  and 
the  same  aforesaid  Cathedral  and  Metropolitan 
Church,  with  one  Dean,  Presbyter,  and  twelve 
Prebendaries  Presbyters,  with  other  Ministers 
necessary  for  divine  worship,  by  the  tenor  of 
these  presents  in  reality,  and  plenitude  of 
force,  we  do  create,  set  up,  settle,  and  establish, 
and  do  command  to  be  established  and  to  be 
in  perpetuity,  and  inviolably  maintained  and 
upheld  by  these  presents."  And  this  is  the 
church,  the  rights  and  liberties  of  which  the 
archbishop  at  his  consecration  swears  to  main- 
tain. Nothing  can  be  more  ill-natured  among 
politicians,  than  to  look  back  into  Hansard's 
Debates,  to  see  •what  has  been  said  by  par- 
ticular men  upon  particular  occasions,  and 
to  contrast  such  speeches  with  present  opi- 
nions— and  therefore  I  forbear  to  introduce 
some  inviting  passages  upon  taking  oaths  in 
their  plain  and  obvious  sense,  both  in  debates 
on  the  Catholic  question  and  upon  that  fatal 
and  Mezentian  oath  which  binds  the  Irish  to 
the  English  church. 

It  is  quite  absurd  to  see  how  all  the  cathe- 
drals are  to  be  trimmed  to  an  exact  Procrustes 
pattern  ; — quieta  movere  is  the  motto  of  the  com- 
mission : — there  is  to  be  everywhere  a  dean, 
and  four  residentiaries ;  but  St.  Paul's  and 
Lincoln  have  at  present  only  three  residentia- 
ries, and  a  dean,  who  officiates  in  his  turn  as 
a  canon : — a  fourth  must  be  added  to  each. 
Why  1  nobody  wants  more  prebendaries ;  St 
Paul's  and  Lincoln  go  on  very  well  as  they 
are.    It  is  not  for  the  lack  of  prebendaries,  it 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


391 


is  for  idleness,  that  the  Church  of  England  is 
unpopular ;  but  in  the  lust  of  reforming,  the 
commission  cut  and  patch  property  as  they 
would  cut  figures  in  pasteboard.  This  little 
piece  of  wanton  change,  however,  gives  to  two 
of  the  bishops,  who  are  commissioners  as  well 
as  bishops,  patronage  of  a  thousand  a  year 
each  ;  and  though  I  am  willing  not  to  consider 
this  as  the  cause  of  the  recommendation,  yet  I 
must  observe  it  is  not  very  common  that  the 
same  persons  should  bring  in  the  verdict  and 
receive  the  profits  of  the  suit.  No  other  arch- 
deacons are  paid  in  such  a  manner,  and  no 
other  bishops  out  of  the  commission  have  re- 
ceived such  a  bonus.* 

I  must  express  my  surprise  that  nothing  in 
this  commission  of  bishops,  either  in  the  bill 
which  has  passed,  or  in  the  report  which  pre- 
ceded it,  is  said  of  the  duties  of  bishops.  A 
bishop  is  not  now  forced  by  law  to  be  in  his 
diocese  or  to  attend  his  duty  in  Parliament — 
he  may  be  entirely  absent  from  both  ;  nor  are 
there  wanting  instances  within  these  six  years 
where  such  has  been  the  case.  It  would  have 
been  very  easy  to  have  placed  the  repairs  of 
episcopal  palaces  (as  the  concurrent  leases  of 
bishops  are  placed)  under  the  superintendence 
of  deans  and  chapters  ;  but  though  the  bishops' 
bill  was  accompanied  by  another  bill,  contain- 
ing the  strictest  enactments  for  the  residence 
of  the  clergy,  and  some  very  arbitrary  and 
unjust  rules  for  the  repair  of  their  houses,  it 
did  not  appear  upon  the  face  of  the  law  that 
the  bishops  had  any  such  duties  to  perform ; 
and  yet  I  remember  the  case  of  a  bishop,  dead 
not  six  years  ago,  who  was  scarcely  ever  seen 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  or  in  his  diocese  ;  and 
I  remember  well  also  the  indignation  with 
which  the  inhabitants  of  a  great  cathedral 
town  spoke  of  the  conduct  of  another  bishop 
(now  also  deceased),  who  not  only  never 
entered  his  palace,  but  turned  his  horses  into 
the  garden.  When  I  mention  these  instances, 
I  am  not  setting  m)'-self  up  as  the  satirist  of 
bishops.  I  think,  upon  the  whole,  they  do 
their  duty  in  a  very  exemplary  manner,  but 
they  are  not,  as  the  late  bills  would  have  us 
to  suppose,  impeccable.  The  church  commis- 
sioners should  not  have  suffered  their  reports 
and  recommendations  to  paint  the  other 
branches  of  the  church  as  such  slippery  trans- 
gredient  mortals,  and  to  leave  the  world  to  ima- 
gine that  bishops  may  be  safely  trusted  to  their 
own  goodness  without  enactment  or  control. 

This  squabble  about  patronage  is  said  to  be 
disgraceful.  Those  who  mean  to  be  idle,  and 
insolent,  because  they  are  at  peace,  may  look 
out  of  the  window  and  say,  "This  is  a  dis- 
graceful squabble  between  bishops  and  chap- 
ters ;"  but  those  who  mean  to  be  just,  should 
ask,  Who  begins?  the  real  disgrace  of  the  squab- 
ble is  in  the  attack,  and  not  in  the  defence. 
If  any  man  puts  his  hand  into  my  pocket  to 
take  my  property,  am  I  disgraced  if  I  prevent 
him  ■?  Churchmen  are  ready  enough  to  be 
submissive  to  their  superiors;  but  were  they 
to   submit  to   a  spoliation  so  gross,  accom- 


*  This  extrava!aiit  p^y  of  archdeacons  ig  taken,  re- 
member, from  that  fund  for  the  ansmentation  of  small 
livings,  for  the  establishment  of  which  all  the  divisions 
arid  conliscations  have  been  made. 


panied  with  ignominy  and  degradation,  and  to 
bear  all  this  in  submissive  silence ; — to  be  ac- 
cused of  nepotism  by  nepotists,  who  were 
praising  themselves  indirectly  by  the  accusa- 
tion, and  benefiting  themselves  directly  by  the 
confiscation  founded  on  it; — the  real  disgrace 
would  have  been  to  have  submitted  to  this : 
and  men  are  to  be  honoured,  not  disgraced, 
who  come  forth,  contrary  to  their  usual  habits, 
to  oppose  those  masters- whom,  in  common 
seasons,  they  would  willingly  obey ;  but  who, 
in  this  matter,  have  tarnished  their  dignity, 
and  forgotten  what  they  owe  to  themselves 
and  to  us. 

It  is  a  very  singular  thing  that  the  law  al- 
ways suspects  judges,  and  never  suspects 
bishops.  If  there  is  any  way  in  which  the 
partialities  of  the  judge  may  injure  laymen, 
the  subject  is  fenced  round  with  all  sorts  of 
jealousies,  and  enactments,  and  prohibitions — 
all  partialities  are  guarded  against,  and  all 
propensities  watched.  Where  bishops  are 
concerned,  acts  of  Parliament  are  drawn  up 
for  beings  who  can  never  possibly  be  polluted 
by  pride,  prejudice,  passion,  or  interest.  Not 
otherwise  would  be  the  case  with  judges,  if 
they,  like  the  heads  of  the  church,  legislated 
for  themselves. 

Then  comes  the  question  of  patronage  ;  can 
any  thing  be  more  flagrantly  unjust,  than  that 
the  patronage  of  cathedrals  should  be  taken 
away  and  conferred  upon  the  bishops  1  I  do 
not  want  to  go  into  a  long  and  tiresome  history 
of  episcopal  nepotism,  but  it  is  notorious  to 
all,  that  bishops  confer  their  patronage  upon 
their  sons,  and  sons-in-law,  and  all  their  rela- 
tions ;  and  it  is  really  quite  monstrous  in  the 
face  of  the  world,  who  see  this  every  day,  and 
every  hour,  to  turn  round  upon  deans  and 
chapters,  and  to  say  to  them,  "  We  are  credibly 
informed  that  there  are  instances  in  your 
chapters  where  preferment  has  not  been  given 
to  the  most  learned  men  you  can  find,  but  to 
the  sons  and  brothers  of  some  of  the  prebend- 
aries. These  things  must  not  be — we  must 
take. these  benefices  into  our  own  keeping;" 
and  this  is  the  language  of  men  swarming 
themselves  with  sons  and  daughters,  and  who, 
in  enumerating  the  advantages  of  their  sta- 
tions, have  always  spoken  of  the  opportuni- 
ties of  providing  for  their  families  as  the 
greatest  and  most  important.  It  is,  I  admit, 
the  duty  of  every  man,  and  of  every  body,  to 
present  the  best  man  that  can  be  found  to  any 
living  of  which  he  is  the  patron ;  but  if  this 
duty  has  been  neglected,  it  has  been  neglected 
by  bishops  quite  as  much  as  by  chapters  ;  and 
no  man  can  open  the  "  Clerical  Guide"  and 
read  two  pages  of  it,  without  seeing  that  the 
bench  of  bishops  are  the  last  persons  from 
whom  any  remedy  of  this  evil  is  to  be  ex- 
pected. 

The  legislature  has  not  always  taken  the 
same  view  of  the  comparative  trust-worthiness 
of  bishops  and  chapters  as  is  taken  by  the 
commission.  Bishops'  leases  for  years  are 
for  twenty-one  years,  renewable  every  seven 
When  seven  years  are  expired,  if  the  present 
tenant  will  not  renew,  the  bishop  may  grant  a 
concurrent  lease.  How  does  his  lordship  act 
on  such  occasions  1     He  generally  asks  two 


39!^ 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


years'  income  for  the  renewal,  when  chapters, 
not  having  the  privilege  of  granting  such  con- 
curring leases,  ask  only  a  year  and  a  half;  and 
if  the  bishop's  price  is  not  given,  he  puts  a 
son,  or  a  daughter,  or  a  trustee,  into  the  estate, 
and  the  price  of  the  lease  deferred  is  money 
saved  for  his  family.  But  unfair  and  exorbi- 
tant terms  may  be  asked  by  his  lordship,  and 
the  tenant  may  be  unfairly  dispossessed — 
therefore,  the  legislature  enacts  that  all  those 
concurrent  leases  must  be  countersigned  by 
the  dean  and  chapter  of  the  diocese — making 
them  the  safeguards  against  episcopal  rapa- 
city ;  and,  as  I  hear  from  others,  not  making 
them  so  in  vain.  These  sorts  of  laws  do  not 
exactly  correspond  with  the  relative  views 
taken  of  both  parties  by  the  ecclesiastical 
commission.  This  view  of  chapters  is  of 
course  overlooked  by  a  commission  of  bishops, 
just  as  all  mention  of  bridles  would  be  omitted 
in  a  meeting  of  horses ;  but  in  this  view, 
chapters  might  be  made  eminently  useful.  In 
what  profession,  too,  are  there  no  gradations! 
Why  is  the  Church  of  England  to  be  nothing 
but  a  collection  of  beggars  and  bishops — the 
Right  Reverend  Dives  in  the  palace,  and  Laza- 
rus in  orders  at  the  gate,  doctored  by  dogs, 
and  comforted  with  crumbs  1 

But  to  take  away  the  patronage  of  existing 
prebendaries  is  objectionable  for  another  class 
of  reasons.  If  it  is  right  to  take  away  the  pa- 
tronage of  my  cathedral  and  to  give  it  to  the 
bishop,  it  is  at  least  unjust  to  do  so  with  my 
share  of  it  during  my  life.  Society  have  a 
right  to  improve,  or  to  do  what  they  think  an 
improvement,  but  then  they  have  no  right  to 
do  so  suddenly  and  hastily,  to  my  prejudice ! 
After  securing  to  me  certain  possessions  by  one 
hundred  statutes  passed  in  six  hundred  years — 
after  having  clothed  me  in  fine  garments,  and 
conferred  upon  me  pompous  names,  they  have 
no  right  to  turn  round  upon  me  all  of  a  sud- 
den to  say.  You  are  not  a  dean  nor  a  canon- 
residentiary,  but  a  vagabond  and  an  outcast, 
and  a  morbid  excrescence  upon  society.  This 
would  not  be  a  reform,  but  the  grossest  tyran- 
ny and  oppression.  If  a  man  cannot  live 
under  the  canopy  of  ancient  law,  where  is  he 
safe?  how  can  he  see  his  way,  or  lay  out  his 
plan  of  life  1 

"Dubitant  homines  serere  atque  impendere  curas." 

You  tolerated,  for  a  century,  the  wicked 
traffic  in  slaves,  legislated  for  that  species  of 
property,  encouraged  it  by  premiums,  defended 
it  in  your  courts  of  justice — West  Indians 
bought  and  sold,  trusting  (as  Englishmen  al- 
ways ought  to  trust)  in  parliaments.  Women 
went  to  the  altar,  promised  that  they  should 
be  supported  by  that  property;  and  children 
were  born  to  it,  and  young  men  were  educated 
with  it:  but  God  touched  the  hearts  of  the 
English  people,  and  they  would  have  no  slaves. 
The  scales  fell  from  their  eyes,  and  they  saw 
the  monstrous  wickedness  of  the  traffic;  but 
then  they  said,  and  said  magnificently,  to  the 
West  Indians,  "We  mean  to  become  wiser 
and  better,  but  not  at  your  expense;  the  loss 
shall  be  ours,  and  we  will  not  involve  you  in 
fuin,  because  we  are  ashamed  of  our  former 
cruelties,  and  have  learnt  a  better  lesson  of 


humanity  and  wisdom."  And  this  is  the  way 
in  which  improving  nations  ought  to  act,  and 
this  is  the  distinction  between  reform  and 
revolution. 

Justice  is  not  changed  by  the  magnitude  or 
minuteness  of  the  subject.  The  old  cathedrals 
have  enjoyed  their  patronage  for  seven  hun- 
dred years,  and  the  new  ones  since  the  time 
of  Henry  VIII.;  which  latter  period  even 
gives  a  much  longer  possession  than  ninety- 
nine  out  of  a  hundred  of  the  legislators,  who 
are  called  upon  to  plunder  us,  can  boast  for 
their  own  estates.  And  these  rights,  thus 
sanctioned,  and  hallowed  by  time,  are  torn 
from  their  present  possessors  without  the  least 
warning,  or  preparation,  in  the  midst  of  all 
that  fever  of  change  which  has  seized  upon 
the  people,  and  which  frightens  men  to  the 
core  of  their  hearts  ;  and  this  spoliation  is 
made,  not  by  low  men  rushing  into  the  plunder 
of  the  church  and  state,  but  by  men  of  admi- 
rable and  unimpeached  character  in  all  the 
relations  of  life — not  by  rash  men  of  new 
politics,  but  by  the  ancient  conservators  of 
ancient  law — by  the  archbishops  and  bishops 
of  the  land,  high  oflicial  men,  invented  and  cre- 
ated, and  put  in  palaces  to  curb  the  lawless 
changes,  and  the  mutations,  and  the  madness 
of  mankind ;  and  to  crown  the  whole,  the  lu- 
dicrous is  added  to  the  unjust,  and  what  they 
take  from  the  other  branches  of  th^  church 
they  confer  upon  themselves. 

Never  dreaming  of  such  sudden  revolutions 
as  these,  a  prebendary  brings  up  his  son  to 
the  church,  and  spends  a  large  sum  of  money 
in  his  education,  which,  perhaps,  he  can  ill 
afford.  His  hope  is  (wicked  wretch !)  that, 
according  to  the  established  custom  of  the 
body  to  which  he  (immoral  man !)  belongs, 
the  chapter  will  (when  his  turn  arrives),  if 
his  son  be  of  fair  attainments  and  good  cha- 
racter, attend  to  his  nefarious  recommenda- 
tion, and  confer  the  living  upon  the  young 
man;  and  in  an  instant  all  his  hopes  are  de- 
stroyed, and  he  finds  his  preferment  seized 
upon,  under  the  plea  of  public  good,  by  a 
stronger  churchman  than  himself.  I  can  call 
this  by  no  other  name  than  that  of  tyranny 
and  oppression.  I  know  very  well  that  this  is 
not  the  theory  of  patronage  ;  but  who  does  bet- 
ter ] — do  individual  patrons  1 — do  colleges  who 
give  in  succession  1 — and  as  for  bishops,  lives 
there  the  man  so  weak  and  foolish,  so  little 
observant  of  the  past,  as  to  believe  (when 
this  tempest  of  purity  and  perfection  has 
blown  over)  that  the  name  of  Bloomfield  will 
not  figure  in  those  benefices  from  which  the 
names  of  Copleston,  Blomberg,  Taite,  and 
Smith,  have  been  so  virtuously  excluded  1  I 
have  no  desire  to  make  odious  comparisons 
between  the  purity  of  one  set  of  patrons  and 
another,  but  they  are  forced  upon  me  by  the 
injustice  of  the  commissioners.  I  must  either 
make  such  comparisons  or  yield  up,  without 
remonstrance,  those  rights  to  which  I  am  fairly 
entitled. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  bishops  will  do  bet- 
ter in  future ;  that  now  the  public  eye  is  upon 
them,  they  will  be  ashamed  into  a  more  lofty 
and  anti-nepotic  spirit;  but,  if  the  argument 
of  past  superiority  is  given  up,  and  the  hope 


WORKS  OP  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


393 


of  future  amendment  resorted  to,  why  may  we 
not  improve  as  well  as  our  masters  1  but  the 
commission  says,  "  These  excellent  men 
(meaning  themselves)  have  promised  to  do 
better,  and  we  have  an  implicit  confidence  in 
their  word :  we  must  have  the  patronage  of  the 
cathedrals."  In  the  mean  time  we  are  ready 
to  promise  as  well  as  the  bishops. 

With  regard  to  that  common  newspaper 
phrase,  the  public  eye — there's  nothing  (as  the 
bench  well  know)  more  wandering  and  slip- 
pery than  the  public  eye.  In  five  years  hence, 
the  public  eye  will  no  more  see  what  descrip- 
tion of  men  are  promoted  by  bishops,  than  it 
will  see  what  doctors  of  law  are  promoted  by 
the  Turkish  Ulhema;  and  at  the  end  of  this 
pei'iod  (such  is  the  example  set  by  the  com- 
mission), the  public  eye,  turned  in  every  direc- 
tion, may  not  be  able  to  see  any  bishops  at  all. 

In  many  instances,  chapters  are  better  pa- 
trons than  bishops,  because  their  preferment 
is  not  given  exclusively  to  one  species  of  in- 
cumbents. I  have  a  diocese  now  in  my  pri- 
vate eye  which  has  undergone  the  following 
changes.  The  first  of  three  bishops  whom  I 
remember  was  a  man  of  careless,  easy  temper, 
and  how  patronage  went  in  those  early  days 
maybe  conjectured  by  the  following  letters; 
which  are  not  his,  but  serve  to  illustrate  a 
system : 

THE    BISHOP    TO    LOUD    A . 

My  dear  Lord, 

I  have  noticed  with  great  pleasure  the  be- 
haviour of  your  lordship's  second  son,  and  am 
most  happy  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  offer  to 
him  the  living  of  *  *  *.  He  will  find  it  of 
considerable  value  ;  and  there  is,  I  understand, 
a  very  good  house  upon  it,  &c.  &c. 

This  is  to  confer  a  living  upon  a  man  of 
real  merit  out  of  the  family;  into  which  family, 
apparently  sacrificed  to  the  public  good,  the 
living  is  brought  back  by  the  second  letter: — 

THE  SAME  TO  THE  SAME,  A  TEAK  AFTER. 

My  dear  Lord, 

Will  you  excuse  the  liberty  I  take  in  soli- 
citing promotion  for  my  grandson  1  He  is  an 
officer  of  great  skill  and  gallantry,  and  can 
bring  the  most  ample  testimonials  from  some 
of  the  best  men  in  the  profession :  the  Arethusa 
frigate  is,  I  understand,  about  to  be  commis- 
sioned ;  and  if,  &c.  &c. 

Now  I  am  not  saying  that  hundreds  of  pre- 
bendaries have  not  committed  such  enormities 
and  stupendous  crimes  as  this  (a  declaration 
which  will  fill  the  whig  cabinet  with  horror)  ; 
all  that  I  mean  to  contend  for  is,  that  such  is 
the  practice  of  bishops  quite  as  much  as  it  is 
of  inferior  patrons. 

The  second  bishop  was  a  decided  enemy  of 
Calvinistical  doctrines,  and  no  clergyman  so 
tainted  had  the  slightest  chance  of  preferment 
in  his  diocese. 

The  third  bishop  could  endure  no  man 
whose  principles  were  not  strictly  Calvinislic, 
and  who  did  not  give  to  the  articles  that  kind 
of  interpretation.  Now  here  Avere  a  great 
mass  of  clergy  naturally  alive  to  the  emolu- 
ments of  their  profession,  and  not  knowing 
50 


which  way  to  look  or  stir,  because  they  de- 
pended so  entirely  upon  the  will  of  one  person. 
Not  otherwise  is  it  with  a  very  whig  bishop, 
or  a  very  tory  bishop  ;  but  the  worst  case  is 
that  of  a  superannuated  bishop  ;  here  the  pre- 
ferment is  given  away,  and  must  be  given 
away  by  wives  and  daughters,  or  by  sons,  or 
by  butlers,  perhaps,  and  valets,  and  the  poor 
dying  patron's  paralytic  hand  is  guided  to  the 
signature  of  papers,  the  contents  of  which  he 
is  utterly  unable  to  comprehend.  In  all  such 
cases  as  these,  the  superiority  of  bishops  as 
patrons  will  not  assist  that  violence  which  the 
commissioners  have  committed  upon  the  pa- 
tronage of  cathedrals. 

I  never  heard  that  cathedrals  had  sold  the 
patronage  of  their  preferment;  such  a  prac- 
tice, however,  is  not  quite  unknown  among 
the  higher  orders  of  the  church.  When  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  consecrates  an  in- 
ferior bishop,  he  marks  some  piece  of  prefer- 
ment in  the  gift  of  the  bishop  as  his  own. 
This  is  denominated  an  option;  and  when  the 
preferment  falls,  it  is  not  only  in  the  gift  of  the 
archbishop,  if  he  is  alive,  but  in  the  gift  of  his 
representatives  if  he  is  not.  It  is  an  absolute 
chattel,  which,  like  any  other  chattel,  is  part 
of  the  archbishop's  assets  ;  and  if  he  died  in 
debt,  might  be  taken  and  sold  for  the  benefit 
of  his  creditors — and  within  the  memory  of 
man  such  options  have  been  publicly  sold  by 
auction — and  if  the  present  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  were  to  die  in  debt  to-morrow,  such 
might  be  the  fate  of  his  options.  What  Arch- 
bishop Moore  did  with  his  options  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  late  Archbishop  Sutton  very 
handsomely  and  properly  left  them  to  the  pre- 
sent— a  bequest,  however,  which  would  not 
have  prevented  such  options  from  coming  to 
the  hammer,  if  Archbishop  Sutton  had  not 
cleared  off,  before  his  death,  those  incum- 
brances which,  at  one  period  of  his  life,  sat  so 
heavily  upon  him. 

What  the  present  archbishop  means  to  do 
with  them,  I  am  not  informed.  They  are  not 
alluded  to  in  the  church  returns,  though  they 
must  be  worth  some  thousand  pounds.  The 
commissioners  do  not  seem  to  know  of  their 
existence — at  least  they  are  profoundly  silent 
on  the  subject;  and  the  bill  which  passed 
through  Parliament  in  the  summer  for  the 
regulation  of  the  emoluments  of  bishops,  does 
not  make  the  most  distant  allusion  to  them. 
When  a  parallel  was  drawn  between  two  spe- 
cies of  patrons — which  ended  im  the  confisca- 
tion of  the  patronage  of  cathedrals — when  two 
archbishops  helped  to  draw  the  parallel,  and 
profited  by  the  parallel,  I  have  a  perfect  right 
to  state  this  corrupt  and  unabolished  practice 
of  their  own  sees — a  practice  which  I  never 
heard  charged  against  deans  and  chapters.* 

I  do  not  mean  to  imply,  in  the  most  remote 
degree,  that  either  of  the  present  archbishops 
have  sold  their  options,  or  ever  thought  of  it. 
Purer  and  more  high-minded  gentlemen  do  not 
exist,  nor  men  more  utterly  incapable  of  doing 
any  thing  unworthy  of  their  high  station ;  and 

*  Can  any  thinp  he  more  shabby  in  a  government  legis- 
lating upon  church  abuses,  than  to  pass  over  such  scan- 
dals as  these  existing  in  high  places  ?  Two  years  have 
passed,  and  they  are  unnoticed 


394 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


I  am  convinced  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury* 
will  imitate  or  exceed  the  munificence  of  his 
predecessor:  but  when  twenty-four  public 
bodies  are  to  be  despoiled  of  their  patronage, 
we  must  look  not  only  to  present  men,  but 
historically,  to  see  how  it  has  been  adminis- 
tered in  times  of  old,  and  in  times  also  recently 
past;  and  to  remember,  that  at  this  moment, 
when  bishops  are  set  up  as  the  most  admirable 
lispensers  of  patronage — as  the  only  persons 
fit  to  be  intrusted  with  it — as  marvels,  for 
whom  law  and  justice  and  ancient  possessions 
ought  to  be  set  aside,  that  this  patronage  (very 
valuable  because  selected  from  the  whole 
diocese)  of  the  two  heads  of  the  church  is 
liable  to  all  the  accidents  of  succession — that 
it  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  superannuated 
wife,  of  a  profligate  son,  of  a  weak  daughter, 
or  a  rapacious  creditor — that  it  may  be  brought 
to  the  hammer,  and  publicly  bid  for  at  an 
auction,  like  all  the  other  chattels  of  the  palace; 
and  that  such  have  been  the  indignities  to 
which  this  optional  patronage  has  been  ex- 
posed, from  the  earliest  days  of  the  church  to 
this  moment.  Truly,  men  who  live  in  houses 
of  glass  (especially  where  the  panes  are  so 
large)  ought  not  to  fling  stones  ;  or  if  they  do, 
they  should  be  specially  careful  at  whose  head 
they  are  flung. 

And  then  the  patronage  which  is  not  seized 
— the  patronage  which  the  chapter  is  allowed 
to  present  to  its  own  body — may  be  divided 
without  their  consent.  Can  any  thing  be  more 
thoroughly  lawless,  or  unjust  than  this — that 
my  patronage  during  my  life  shall  be  divided 
without  my  consent  1  How  do  my  rights 
during  my  life  differ  from  those  of  a  lay  patron, 
who  is  tenant  for  life  1  and  upon  what  principle 
of  justice  or  common  sense  is  his  patronage 
protected  from  the  commissioners'  dividing 
power  to  which  mine  is  subjected?  That  one 
can  sell,  and  the  other  cannot  sell,  the  next 
presentation,  would  be  bad  reasoning  if  it  were 
good  law  ;  but  it  is  not  law,  for  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal corporation,  aggregate  or  sole,  can  sell  a 
next  presentation  as  legally  as  a  lay  life-tenant 
can  do.  They  have  the  same  power  of  selling 
as  laymen,  but  they  never  do  so;  that  is,  they 
dispense  their  patronage  with  greater  propriety 
and  delicacy,  which,  in  the  estimate  of  the 
commissioners,  seems  to  make  their  right 
weaker,  and  the  reasons  for  taking  it  away 
more  powerful. 

Not  only  are  laymen  guarded  by  the  same 
act  which  give^  the  power  of  dividing  livings 
to  the  commissioners,  but  bishops  are  also 
guarded.  The  commissioners  may  divide  the 
livings  of  chapters  without  their  consent ;  but 
before  they  can  touch  the  living  of  a  bishop, 
his  consent  must  be  obtained.  It  seems,  after 
a  few  of  those  examples,  to  become  a  little 
clearer,  and  more  intelligible,  why  the  appoint- 
ment of  any  other  ecclesiastics  than  bishops 
was  so  disagreeable  to  the  bench. 


♦  The  options  of  the  Archbishop  of  York  are  compara- 
tively triflini;.  I  never  heard,  at  any  period,  tliat  they 
have  been  sold  ;  but  they  remain,  lilte  those  of  Canter- 
bury, in  the  absolute  possession  of  ihe  archbishop's  re- 
presentatives after  his  deatli.  I  will  answer  for  it  that 
the  present  archliishop  will  do  every  thing  with  them 
which  becomes  his  high  station  and  iiifih  character. 
They  ought  to  be  abolished  by  act  of  Parliament. 


The  reasoning,  then,  is  this:  If  a  good  living 
is  vacant  in  the  patronage  of  a  chapter,  they 
will  only  think  of  conferring  it  on  one  of  their 
body  or  their  friends.  If  such  a  living  falls  to 
the  gift  of  a  bishop,  he  will  totally  overlook 
the  interests  of  his  sons  and  daughters,  and 
divide  the  living  into  small  portions  for  the 
good  of  the  pitblic;  and  with  these  sort  of 
anilities,  whig  leaders,  whose  interest  it  is  to 
lull  the  bishops  into  a  reform,  pretend  to  be 
satisfied;  and  upon  this  intolerable  nonsense 
they  are  not  ashamed  to  justify  spoliation.* 

A  division  is  set  up  between  public  and  pri- 
vate patronage,  and  it  is  pretended  that  one  is 
holden  in  trust  for  the  public,  the  other  is  pri- 
vate property.  This  is  mere  theory — a  slight 
film  thrown  over  convenient  injustice.  Henry 
VIII.  gave  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  much  of  his 
patronage.  Roger  de  Hoveden  gave  to  the 
church  of  St  Paul's  much  of  his  patronage 
before  the  Russells  were  in  existence.  The 
duke  has  the  legal  power  to  give  his  prefer- 
ment to  whom  he  pleases — so  have  we.  We 
are  both  under  the  same  moral  and  religious 
restraint  to  administer  that  patronage  properly 
— the  trust  is  precisely  the  same  to  both ;  and 
if  the  public  good  requires  it,  the  power  of 
dividing  livings  without  the  consent  of  patrons 
should  be  given  in  all  instances,  and  not  con- 
fined as  a  mark  of  infamy  to  cathedrals  alone. 
This  is  not  the  real  reason  of  the  difierence : 
bishops  are  the  active  members  of  the  com- 
mission— they  do  not  choose  that  their  own 
patronage  should  be  meddled  with,  and  they 
know  that  the  laity  would  not  allow  for  a  mo- 
ment that  their  livings  should  be  pulled  to 
pieces  by  bishops  ;  and  that  if  such  a  proposal 
were  made,  there  would  be  more  danger  of  the 
bishop  being  pulled  to  pieces  than  the  living. 
The  real  distinction  is,  between  the  weak  and 
the  strong — between  those  who  have  power  to 
resist  encroachment,  and  those  who  have  not. 
This  is  the  reason  why  we  are  selected  for 
experiment,  and  so  it  is  with  all  the  bill  from 
beginning  to  end.  There  is  purple  and  fine 
linen  in  every  line  of  it. 

Another  strong  objection  to  the  dividing 
power  of  the  commission  is  this  :  according 
to  the  printed  bill  brought  forward  last  ses- 
sion, if  the  living  is  not  taken  by  some  mem- 
bers of  the  body,  it  lapses  to  the  bishop.  Sup- 
pose, then,  the  same  person  to  be  bishop  and 
commissioner,  he  breaks  the  living  into  little 
pieces  as  a  commissioner,  and  after  it  is  re- 
jected in  its  impoverished  state  by  the  chapter, 
he  gives  it  away  as  bishop  of  the  diocese. 
The  only  answer  that  is  given  to  such  objec- 
tions is,  the  impeccabilily  of  bishops ;  and  upon 
this  principle  the  whole  bill  has  been  con- 
structed, and  here  is  the  great  mistake  about 
bishops.  They  are,  upon  the  whole,  very  good 
and  worthy  men ;  but  they  are  not  (as  many 
ancient  ladies  suppose)  wholly  exempt  from 
human  infirmities;  they  have  their  malice, 
hatred,  uncharitableness,  persecution  and 
interest  like  other  men;  and  an  administra- 
tion who  did  not  think  it  more  magnificent  to 
laugh  at  the  lower  clergy,  than  to  protect  them, 

*  These  reasonincs  have  had  their  effect,  and  many 
early  acts  of  injustice  of  the  commission  have  been 
subsequently  corrected. 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


395 


should  suffer  no  ecclesiastical  bill  to  pass 
through  Parliament  without  seriously  consi- 
dering how  its  provisions  may  affect  the  hap- 
piness of  poor  clergymen  pushed  into  living 
tombs,  and  pining  in  solitude — 

Vates  procul  atque-in  sola  relegant 
Pascua,  post  montem  oppositum,  et  trans  flumina  lata. 

There  is  a  practice  among  some  bishops, 
which  may  as  well  be  mentioned  here  as  any- 
where else,  but  which,  I  think,  cannot  be  too 
severely  reprobated.  They  send  for  a  clergy- 
man, and  insist  upon  his  giving  evidence  re- 
specting the  character  and  conduct  of  his 
neighbour.  Does  he  hunt?  Does  he  shoot  1 
Is  he  in  debf?  Is  he  temperate?  Does  he 
attend  to  his  parish  1  &c.  &c.  Now  what  is 
this,  but  to  destroy  for  all  clergymen  the  very 
elements  of  social  life — to  put  an  end  to  all 
confidence  between  man  and  man — and  to  dis- 
seminate among  gentlemen,  who  are  bound  to 
live  in  concord,  every  feeling  of  resentment, 
hatred  and  suspicion  1  But  the  very  essence 
of  tyranny  is  to  act  as  if  the  finer  feelings, 
like  the  finer  dishes,  were  delicacies  only  for 
the  rich  and  great,  and  that  little  people  have 
no  taste  for  them  and  no  right  to  them.  A 
good  and  honest  bishop  (I  thank  God  there 
are  many  who  deserve  that  character !)  ought 
to  suspect  himself,  and  carefully  to  watch  his 
own  heart.  He  is  all  of  a  sudden  elevated 
from  being  a  tutor,  dining  at  an  early  hour 
with  his  pupil  (and  occasionally,  it  is  believed, 
on  cold  meat),  to  be  a  spiritual  lord;  he  is 
dressed  in  a  magnificent  dress,  decorated  with 
a  title,  flattered  by  chaplains,  and  surrounded 
by  little  people  looking  up  for  the  things  which 
he  has  to  give  away;  and  this  often  happens 
to  a  man  who  has  had  no  opportunities  of 
seeing  the  world,  whose  parents  were  in  very 
humble  life,  and  who  has  given  up  all  his 
thoughts  to  the  Frogs  of  Aristophanes  and  the 
Targum  of  Onkelos.  How  is  it  possible  that 
such  a  man  should  not  lose  his  headl  that  he 
should  not  swell  1  that  he  should  not  be 
guilty  of  a  thousand  follies,  and  worry  and 
tease  to  death  (before  he  recovers  his  common 
sense)  an  hundred  men  as  good  and  as  wise 
and  as  able  as  himself  1* 

The  history  of  the  division  of  Edmonton 
has,  I  understand,  been  repeatedly  stated  in 
the  commission — and  told,  as  it  has  been,  by 
a  decided  advocate,  and  with  no  sort  of  evi- 
dence called  for  on  the  other  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, has  produced  an  unfair  impression  against 
chapters.  The  history  is  shortly  this : — Be- 
sides the  mother  church  of  Edmonton,  there 
are  two  chapels — Southgate  and  Winchmore 
Hill  chapel.  Winchmore  Hill  chapel  was 
built  by  the  society  for  building  churches 
upon  the  same  plan  as  the  portions  of  Mary- 
lebone  are  arranged;  the  clergyman  was  to 
be  remunerated  by  the  lease  of  the  pews,  and 
if  curates  with  talents  for  preaching  had  been 
placed  there,  they  might  have  gained  200/.  per 
annum.    Though  men  of  perfectly  respectable 


♦  Since  writing  this,  and  after  declining  the  living  for 
myself,  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  it  presented  in 
an  undivided  state  to  my  amiahle  and  excellent  friend, 
Mr.  Taite,  who,  after  a  long  life  of  moods  and  tenses, 
has  acquired  (as  he  has  deserved)  ease  and  opulence  in 
bis  old  age. 


and  honourable  character,  they  were  not 
endowed  with  this  sort  of  talent,  and  they 
gained  no  more  than  90/.  to  lOOZ.  per  annum. 
The  Bishop  of  London  applied  to  the  cathedral 
of  St.  Paul's,  to  consent  to  250/.  per  annum  in 
addition  to  the  proceeds  from  the  letting  of  the 
pews,  or  that  proportion  of  the  whole  of  the 
value  of  the  living,  should  be  allotted  to  the 
chapel  of  Winchmore ;  and  at  the  same  time 
we  received  an  application  from  the  chapel  at 
Southgate,  that  another  considerable  portion,  I 
forget  what,  but  believe  it  to  have  been  rather 
less  (perhaps  200/.),  should  be  allotted  to  them, 
and  the  whole  living  severed  into  three  parishes. 
Now  the  living  of  Edmonton  is  about  1,350/. 
per  annum,  besides  surplice  fees ;  but  this 
1,350/.  depends  upon  a  corn  rent  of  10s.  3d, 
per  bushel,  present  valuation,  which,  at  the 
next  valuation  would,  in  the  opinion  of  emi- 
nent land  surveyors  whom  we  consulted,  be 
reduced  to  about  6s.  per  bushel,  so  that  the 
living,  considering  the  reduction  also  of  all 
voluntary  offerings  to  the  church,  would  be 
reduced  one  half,  and  this  half  was  to  be 
divided  into  three,  and  one  or  two  curates 
(two  curates  by  the  present  bill)  to  be  kept  by 
the  vicar  of  the  old  church ;  and  thus  three 
clerical  beggars  were,  by  the  activity  of  the 
Bishop  of  London,  to  be  established  in  a  dis- 
trict where  the  extreme  dearness  of  all  provi- 
sions is  the  plea  for  making  the  see  of  London 
double  in  value  to  that  of  any  bishopric  in  the 
country.  To  this  we  declined  to  agree ;  and 
this,  heard  only  on  one  side,  with  the  total 
omission  of  the  changing  value  of  the  benefice 
from  the  price  of  corn,  has  most  probably 
been  the  parent  of  the  clause  in  question. 
The  right  cure  for  this  and  all  similar  cases 
would  be  to  give  the  bishop  a  power  of  allot- 
ting to  such  chapels  as  high  a  salary  as  to  any 
other  curate  in  the  diocese,  taking,  as  part  of 
that  salary,  whatever  was  received  from  the 
lease  of  the  pews,  and  to  this  no  reasonable 
man  could  or  would  object:  but  this  is  not 
enough — all  must  bow  to  one  man — "  Chapters 
must-  be  taught  submission.  No  pamphlets, 
no  meeting  of  independent  prebendaries,  to 
remonstrate  against  the  proceedings  of  their 
superiors — no  opulence  and  ease  but  mine." 

Some  effect  was  produced  also  upon  the 
commission,  by  the  evidence  of  a  prelate,  who 
is  both  dean  and  bishop,*  and  who  gave  it  as 
his  opinion  that  the  patronage  of  bishops  was 
given  upon  better  principles  than  that  of  chap- 
ters, which,  translated  into  fair  English,  is  no 
more  than  this — that  the  said  witness,  not 
meaning  to  mislead,  but  himself  deceived,  has 
his  own  way  entirely  in  his  diocesL,  and  caa 
only  have  it  partially  in  his  chapter. 

There  is  a  namour  that  these  reasorings, 
with  which  they  were  assailed  from  so  many 
quarters  in  the  last  session  of  Parliament, 
have  not  been  without  their  effect,  and  that  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  commissioners  only  to 
take  away  the  patronage  from  the  cathedrals 
exactly  in  proportion  as  the  numbers  of  their 
members  are  reduced.  Such  may  be  the  inten- 
tion of  the  commissioners ;  but  as  that  inten- 


*  This  prelate  stated  it  as  his  opinion  to  the  commii- 
sion,  that  in  future  all  prelates  ought  to  declare  that  Ihejr 
held  their  patronage  in  trust  for  the  public. 


399 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


tion  has  not  been  publicly  notified,  it  depends 
only  upon  report;  and  the  commissioners  have 
changed  their  minds  so  often,  that  they  may 
alter  their  intentions  twenty  times  again  before 
the  meeting  of  Parliament.  The  whole  of  my 
observations  in  this  letter  are  grounded  upon 
iheir  bills  of  last  year — which  Lord  John  Rus- 
sell slated  his  intention  of  re-introducing  at 
the  beginning  of  this  session.  If  they  have 
any  new  plans,  they  ought  to  have  published 
them  three  months  ago — and  to  have  given  to 
the  clergy  an  ample  opportunity  of  consider- 
ing them :  but  this  they  take  the  greatest  care 
never  to  do.  The  policy  of  the  government 
and  of  the  commissioners  is  to  hurry  their 
bills  through  with  such  rapidity,  that  very  little 
time  is  given  to  those  who  suffer  by  them  for 
consideration  and  remonstrance,  and  we  must 
be  prepared  for  the  worst  beforehand.  You 
are  cashiered  and  confiscated  before  you  can 
look  about  you — if  you  leave  home  for  six 
weeks,  in  these  times,  you  find  a  commissioner 
in  possession  of  your  house  and  oflice. 

A  report  has  reached  my  ears,  that  though 
all  other  cathedrals  are  to  retain  patronage 
exactly  equal  to  their  reduced  numbers,  a 
separate  measure  of  justice  is  to  be  used  for 
St.  Paul's ;  that  our  numbers  are  to  be  aug- 
mented by  a  fifth ;  and  our  patronage  reduced 
by  a  third;  and  this  immediately  on  the  passing 
of  the  bill.  That  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  for 
instance,  is  to  receive  his  augmentation  of 
patronage  only  in  proportion  as  the  prebend- 
aries die  off,  and  the  prebendaries  themselves 
will,  as  long  as  they  live,  remain  in  the  same 
proportional  state  as  to  patronage ;  and  that 
when  they  are  reduced  to  four  (their  stationary 
number),  they  will  retain  one-third  of  all  the 
patronage  the  twelve  now  possess.  Whether 
this  is  wise  or  not,  is  a  separate  question,  but 
at  least  it  is  just;  the  four  who  remain  cannot 
with  any  colour  of  justice  complain  that  they 
do  not  retain  all  the  patronage  which  was 
divided  among  twelve;  but  at  St.  Paul's  not 
only  are  our  numbers  to  be  augmented  by  a 
fifth,  but  the  patronage  of  fifteen  of  our  best 
livings  is  to  be  instantly  conferred  upon  the 
Bishop  of  London.  This  little  episode  of  plunder 
involves  three  separate  acts  of  gross  injustice : 
in  the  first  place,  if  only  our  numbers  had  been 
augmented  by  a  fifth  (in  itself  a  mere  bonus 
to  commissioners),  our  patronage  would  have 
been  reduced  one-fifth  in  value.  Secondly, 
one-third  of  the  preferment  is  to  be  taken 
away  immediately,  and  these  two  added  to- 
gether make  eight-fifteenths,  or  more  than 
one-half  of  our  whole  patronage.  So  that, 
when  all  the  cathedrals  are  reduced  to  their 
reformed  numbers,  each  cathedral  will  enjoy 
precisely  the  same  proportion  of  patronage  as 
it  now  does,  and  each  member  of  every  other 
cathedral  will  have  precisely  the  same  means 
of  promoting  men  of  merit  or  men  of  his  own 
fjsmily,  as  is  now  possessed ;  while  less  than 
half  of  these  advantages  will  remain  to  St. 
Paul's.  Thirdly,  if  the  Bishop  of  London 
were  to  wait  (as  all  the  other  bishops  by  this 
arrangement  must  wait)  till  the  present  patrons 
die  ofl',  the  injustice  would  be  to  the  future 
body;  but  by  this  scheme,  every  present  in- 
••umbent  of  St.  Paul's  is  instantly  deprived  of 


eight-fifteenths  of  his  patronage ;  while  every 
other  member  of  every  other  cathedral  (as  far 
as  patronage  is  concerned)  remains  precisely 
in  the  same  state  in  which  he  was  before. 
Why  this  blow  is  levelled  against  St.  Paul's  I 
cannot  conceive;  still  less  can  I  imagine  why 
the  Bishop  of  London  is  not  to  wait,  as  all 
other  bishops  are  forced  to  wait,  for  the  death 
of  the  present  patrons.  There  is  a  reason, 
indeed,  for  not  waiting,  by  which  (had  I  to  do 
with  a  person  of  less  elevated  character  than 
the  Bishop  of  London)  I  would  endeavour  to 
explain  this  precipitate  seizure  of  patronage — 
and  that  is,  that  the  livings  assigned  to  him  in 
this  remarkable  scheme  are  all  very  valuable, 
and  the  incumbents  all  very  old.  But  I  shall 
pass  over  this  scheme  as  a  mere  supposition, 
invented  to  bring  the  commission  into  disre- 
pute, a  scheme  to  which  it  is  utterly  impos- 
sible the  commissioners  should  ever  affix  their 
names. 

I  should  have  thought,  if  the  love  of  what 
is  just  had  not  excited  the  commissioner  bish- 
ops, that  the  ridicule  of  men  voting  such  com- 
fortable things  to  themselves  as  the  prebendal 
patronage  would  have  alarmed  them  ;  but  they 
want  to  sacrifice  with  other  men's  hecatombs, 
and  to  enjoy,  at  the  same  time,  the  character 
of  great  disinterestedness,  and  the  luxury  of  un- 
just spoliation.  It  was  thought  necessary  to 
make  a  fund;  and  the  prebends  in  the  gift  of 
the  bishops*  were  appropriated  to  that  purpose. 
The  bishops  who  consented  to  this  have  then 
made  a  great  sacrifice — true,  but  they  have 
taken  more  out  of  our  pockets  than  they  have 
disbursed  from  their  own  ;  where  then  is  the 
sacrifice]  They  must  either  give  hack  the 
patronage  or  the  martyrdom,  if  they  choose  to 
be  martyrs — which  I  hope  they  will  do — let 
them  give  us  back  our  patronage  :  if  they  pre- 
fer the  patronage,  they  must  not  talk  of  being 
martyrs — they  cannot  eff'ect  this  double  sensu- 
ality, and  combine  the  sweet  flavour  of  rapine 
with  the  aromatic  odour  of  sanctity. 

We  are  told,  if  you  agitate  these  questions 
among  yourselves,  you  will  have  the  democratic 
Philistines  come  down  upon  you,  and  sweep 
you  all  away  together.  13e  it  so ;  I  am  quite 
ready  to  be  swept  away  when  the  time  comes. 
Every  body  has  his  favourite  death ;  some  de- 
light in  apoplex)',  and  others  prefer  marasmus. 
I  would  infinitely  rather  be  crushed  by  demo- 
crats, than,  under  the  plea  of  the  public  good, 
be  mildly  and  blandly  absorbed  by  bishops. 

I  met  the  other  day,  in  an  old  Dutch  chroni- 
cle, with  a  passage  so  apposite  to  this  subject, 
that  though  it  is  somewhat  too  light  for  the  oc- 
casion, I  cannot  abstain  from  quoting  it.  There 
was  a  great  meeting  of  all  the  clergy  at  Dor- 
drecht, and  the  chronicler  thus  describes  it, 
which  I  give  in  the  language  of  the  transla- 
tion : — "  And  there  was  great  store  of  bishops 
in  the  town,  in  their  robes  goodly  to  behold, 

*  The  bishops  have,  however,  secured  for  themselves 
all  the  livings  which  were  in  the  separate  irifts  of  pre- 
bendaries and  deans,  and  they  have  received  from  the 
crown  a  very  large  contribution  of  valuable  patronage; 
why  or  wherefore,  is  known  only  to  the  unfathomable 
wisdom  of  ministers.  The  glory  of  marlyrdom  can  be 
confined  only  at  best  to  the  bishops  of  the  old  cathedrals, 
for  there  are  scarcely  any  separate  prebends  in  the  new 
cathedrals. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


397 


and  all  the  great  men  of  the  state  were  there, 
and  folks  poured  in  in  boats  on  the  Meuse,  the 
Merve,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Linge,  coming  from 
the  Isle  of  Beverlandt,  and  Isselmond,  and  from 
all  quarters  in  the  Bailiwick  of  Dort ;  Armi- 
nians  and  Gomarists,  with  the  friends  of  John 
Barneveldt  and  of  Hugh  Grote.  And  before 
my  lords  the  bishops,  Simon  of  Gloucester,  who 
was  a  bishop  in  those  parts,  disputed  with 
Vorstius,  and  Leoline  the  Monk,  and  many 
texts  of  Scripture  were  bandied  to  and  fro; 
and  when  this  was  done,  and  many  proposi- 
tions made,  and  it  waxed  towards  twelve  of 
the  clock,  my  lords  the  bishops  prepared  to 
set  them  down  to  a  fair  repast,  in  which  was 
great  store  of  good  things — and  among  the  rest 
a  roasted  peacock,  having,  in  lieu  of  a  tail,  the 
arms  and  banners  of  the  archbishop,  which 
was  a  goodly  sight  to  all  who  favoured  the 
church — and  then  the  archbishop  would  say  a 
grace,  as  was  seemly  to  do,  he  being  a  very  holy 
man  ;  but  ere  he  had  finished,  a  great  mob  of 
townspeople  and  folks  from  the  country,  who 
were  gathered  under  the  window,  cried  out. 
Bread!  bread!  for  there  was  a  great  famine, 
and  wheat  had  risen  to  three  times  the  ordinary 
price  of  the  sleich  ;*  and  when  they  had  done 
crying  Bread!  bread!  they  called  out  No  bish- 
ops ! — and  began  to  cast  up  stones  at  the  win- 
dows. Whereat  my  lords  the  bishops  were  in 
a  great  fright,  and  cast  their  dinner  out  of  the 
window  to  appease  the  mob,  and  so  the  men  of 
that  town  were  well  pleased,  and  did  devour 
the  meats  with  great  appetite ;  and  then  you 
might  have  seen  my  lords  standing  with  emp- 
ty plates,  and  looking  wistfully  at  each  other, 
till  Simon  of  Gloucester,  he  who  disputed  with 
Leoline  the  Monk,  stood  up  among  them  and 
said,  '  Good  my  lords,  it  is  your  pleasure  to  stand 
here  fasting,  and  that  those  who  count  lower  in  the 
church  than  you  do  should  feast  and  fluster  ?  Let  us 
order  to  us  the  dinner  of  the  deans  and  canotis,  which 
is  making  ready  for  them  in  the  chamber  below.' 
And  this  speech  of  Simon  of  Gloucester  pleased 
the  bishops  much ;  and  so  they  sent  for  the 
host,  one  William  of  Ypres,  and  told  him  it 
was  for  the  public  good,  and  he,  much  fearing 
the  bishops,  brought  them  the  dinner  of  the 
deans  and  canons ;  and  so  the  deans  and  ca- 
nons went  away  without  dinner,  and  were 
pelted  by  the  men  of  the  town,  because  they 
had  not  put  any  meat  out  of  the  window  like 
the  bishops;  and  when  the  count  came  to  hear 
of  it,  he  said  it  was  a  pleasant  conceit,  and 
that  the  bishops  were  right  cunning  men,  and  had 
dins.'d  the  canons  well." 

When  I  talk  of  sacrifices,  I  mean  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  bishop  commissioners,  for  we  are 
given  to  understand  that  the  great  mass  of 
bishops  were  never  consulted  at  all  about  these 
proceedings;  that  they  are  contrai'y  to  every 
thing  which  consultations  at  Lambeth,  previ- 
ous to  the  commission,  had  led  them  to  expect ; 
and  that  they  are  totally  disapproved  of  by 
them.  The  voluntary  sacrifice,  then  (for  it  is 
no  sacrifice,  if  it  is  not  voluntary),  is  in  the 
bishop  commissioners  only ;  and  besides  the 
indemnification    which   they    have   voted    to 


♦  A.  measure  in  the  Bailiwick  of  Dort,  containing  two 
gallons  one  pint  English  dry  measure 


themselves  out  of  the  patronage  of  the  cathe- 
drals, they  will  have  all  that  never-ending  pa- 
tronage, which  is  to  proceed  from  the  working 
of  the  commission,  and  the  endowments  be- 
stowed upon  different  livings.  So  much  for 
episcopal  sacrifices ! 

And  who  does  not  see  the  end  and  meaning 
of  all  this  ?  The  lay  commissioners,  who  are 
members  of  the  government,  cannot  and  will 
not  attend — the  Archbishops  of  York  and  Can- 
terbury are  quiet  and  amiable  men,  going  fast 
down  in  the  vale  of  life — some  of  the  members 
of  the  commission  are  expletives — some  must 
be  absent  in  their  dioceses — the  Bishop  of 
London  is  passionately  fond  of  labour,  has 
certainly  no  aversion  to  power,  is  of  quick 
temper,  great  ability,  thoroughly  versant  in 
ecclesiastical  law,  and  always  in  London.  He 
will  become  the  commission,  and  when  the 
church  of  England  is  mentioned,  it  will  only 
mean  Charles  James,  of  London,  who  will  enjoy 
a  greater  power  than  has  ever  been  possessed 
by  any  churchman  since  the  days  of  Laud,  and 
will  become  the  Church  of  England  here  upon 
earth.  As  for  the  commission  itself,  there  is 
scarcely  any  power  which  is  not  given  to  it. 
They  may  call  for  every  paper  in  the  world, 
and  every  human  creature  who  possesses  it; 
and  do  what  they  like  to  one  or  the  other.  It 
is  hopeless  to  contend  with  such  a  body ;  and 
most  painful  to  think  that  it  has  been  esta- 
blished under  a  whig  government.*  A  com- 
mission of  tory  churchmen,  established  for 
such  purposes,  should  have  been  framed  with 
the  utmost  jealousy,  and  with  the  most  cautious 
circumscription  of  its  powers,  and  with  the 
most  earnest  wish  for  its  extinction  when  the 
purposes  of  its  creation  were  answered.  The 
government  have  done  every  thing  in  their 
power  to  make  it  vexatious,  omnipotent,  and 
everlasting.  This  immense  power,  flung  into 
the  hands  of  an  individual,  is  one  of  the  many 
foolish  consequences  which  proceed  from  the 
centralization  of  the  bill,  and  the  unwillingness 
to  employ  the  local  knowledge  of  the  bishops 
in  the  process  of  annexing  dignified  to  paro- 
chial preferment. 

There  is  a  third  bill  concocted  by  the  com- 
mission-bishops, in  which  the  great  principle 
of  increasing  the  power  of  the  bench  has  cer- 
tainly not  been  lost  sight  of. ,  a 

brother  clergyman,  falls  ill  suddenly  in  the 
country,  and  he  begs  his  clerical  neighbour  to 
do  duty  for  him  in  the  afternoon,  thinking  it 
better  that  there  should  be  single  service  in 
two  churches,  than  two  services  in  one,  and 
none  in  the  other.  The  clergyman  who  ac- 
cedes to  this  request,  is  liable  to  a  penalty  of  5/. 
There  is  an  harshness  and  ill  nature  in  this — 
a  gross  ignorance  of  the  state  of  the  poorer 
clergy — an  hard-heartedness  produced  by  the 
long  enjoyment  of  wealth  and  power,  which 
makes  it  quite  intolerable.  I  speak  of  it  as  it 
stands  in  the  bill  of  last  year.-|- 

If  a  clergyman  has  a  living  of  4001.  per  aji- 
num,  and  a  population  of  two  thousand  per- 


*  I  am  speaking  here  of  the  permanent  commission  es- 
tablished by  act  of  Parliament  in  1835.  The  commission 
for  reporting  had  come  to  an  end  six  months  before  tki» 
letter  was  written. 

I  This  is  also  given  up. 

2L 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


sons,  the  bishop  can  compel  him  to  keep  a 
curate,  to  whom  he  can  allot  any  salary  which 
he  may  allot  to  any  other  curate  ;  in  other 
words,  he  may  take  away  half  the  income  of 
the  clergyman,  and  instantly  ruin  him — and 
this  without  any  complaint  from  the  vestry ; 
with  every  testimonial  of  the  most  perfect  satis- 
faction of  the  parish  in  the  labours  of  a  minis- 
ter, who  may,  perhaps,  be  dedicating  his  whole 
life  to  their  improvement.  I  think  I  remember 
that  the  Bishop  of  London  once  attempted  this 
before  he  was  a^  commissioner,  and  was  de- 
feated. I  had  no  manner  of  doubt  that  it  would 
speedily  become  the  law,  after  the  commission 
had  begun  to  operate.  The  Bishop  of  London 
is  said  to  have  declared,  after  this  trial,  that  if 
il  was  not  law  it  should  soon  be  law  .;*  and  laiv, 
you  will  see,  it  will  become.  In  fact  he  can 
slip  into  any  ecclesiastical  act  of  Parliament 
any  thing  he  pleases.  There  is  nobody  to 
heed  or  contradict  him  ;  provided  the  power  of 
bishops  is  extended  by  it;  no  bishop  is  so  un- 
genteel  as  to  oppose  the  act  of  his  right  re- 
verend brother;  and  there  are  not  many  men 
who  have  knowledge,  eloquence,  or  force  of  cha- 
racter to  stand  up  against  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, and,  above  all,  of  industry  to  watch  him. 
The  ministry,  and  the  lay  lords,  and  the  House 
of  Commons,  care  nothing  about  the  matter; 
and  the  clergy  themselves,  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  ignorance  as  to  what  is  passing  in 
the  world,  find  their  chains  heavier  and  heavier, 
without  knowing  who  or  what  has  produced 
the  additional  incumbrance.  A  good  honest 
whig  minister  should  have  two  or  three  stout- 
hearted parish  priests  in  his  train  to  watch  the 
bishop's  bills,  and  to  see  that  they  were  con- 
structed on  other  principles  than  that  bishops 
can  do  no  wrong,  and  cannot  have  too  much  poiver. 
The  whigs  do  nothing  of  this,  and  yet  they 
complain  that  they  are  hated  by  the  clergy, 
and  that  in  all  elections  the  clergy  are  their 
bitterest  enemies.  Suppose  they  were  to  try 
a  little  justice,  a  little  notice,  and  a  little  pro- 
tection. It  would  take  more  time  than  quiz- 
zing, and  contempt,  but  it  might  do  some  good. 

The  bishop  puts  a  great  number  of  questions 
to  his  clergy,  which  they  are  to  be  compelled, 
by  this  new  law  of  the  commission,  to  answer, 
under  a  penalty;  and  if  they  do  answer  them, 
they  incur,  perhaps,  a  still  heavier  penalty. 
"  Have  you  had  two  services  in  your  church 
all  the  J  ear  ]" — "  I  decline  to  answer." — "  Then 
I  fine  you  201." — "I  have  only  had  one  ser- 
vice."— "  Then  I  fine  you  250/."  In  what  other 
profession  are  men  placed  between  this  double 
fire  of  penalties,  and  compelled  to  criminate 
themselves  1  It  has  been  disused  in  England, 
I  believe,  ever  since  the  time  of  Laud  and  the 
Star  Chamber.f 

By  the  same  bill,  as  it  first  emanated  from 
the  commission,  a  bishop  could  compel  a 
clergyman  to  expend  three  years'  income  upon 
a  house  in  which  he  had  resided,  perhaps,  fifty 
years,  and  in  which  he  had  brought  up  a  large 

*  The  Bishop  of  London  denies  that  he  ever  said  this  ; 
but  the  Bishop  of  London  affects  short  sharp  sayinps, 
seasoned,  I  am  afraid,  sometimes  with  a  little  indiscre- 
tion ;  and  these  sayings  are  not  necessarily  forgotten  be- 
cause he  forgets  them. 

+  This  attempt  upon  the  happiness  and  independence 
of  the  clergy  has  been  abandoned. 


family.  With  great  difliculty,  some  slight  mo- 
dification of  this  enormous  power  was  obtained, 
and  it  was  a  little  improved  in  the  amended 
bill.*  In  the  same  way  an  attempt  was  made 
to  try  delinquent  clergymen,  by  a  jury  of  cler- 
gymen, nominated  by  the  bishop,  but  this  was 
too  bad,  and  was  not  endured  for  an  instant; 
still  it  showed  the  same  love  of  power  and  the 
same  principle  of  impcccabiUty,  for  the  bill  is 
expressly  confined  to  all  suits  and  complaints 
against  persons  below  the  dignity  and  degree  of 
bishops.  The  truth  is,  that  there  are  very  few 
men  in  either  House  of  Parliament  (ministers, 
or  any  one  else),  who  ever  think  of  the  happi- 
ness and  comfort  of  the  working  clergy,  or  be- 
stow one  thought  upon  guarding  them  from 
the  increased  and  increasing  power  of  their 
encroaching  masters.  What  is  called  taking 
care  of  the  church  is  taking  care  of  the  bish- 
ops; and  all  bills  for  the  management  of  the 
clergy  are  left  to  the  concoction  of  men  who 
very  naturally  believe  they  are  improving  the 
church  when  they  are  increasing  their  own 
power.  There  are  many  bishops  too  generous, 
too  humane,  and  too  Christian,  to  oppress  a 
poor  clergyman  ;  but  I  have  seen  (I  am  sorry 
to  say)  many  grievous  instances  of  partiality, 
rudeness,  and  oppression.-j-  I  have  seen  clergy- 
men treated  by  them  with  a  violence  and  con- 
tempt which  the  lowest  servant  in  the  bishop's 
establishment  would  not  have  endured  for  a 
single  moment ;  and  if  there  is  a  helpless, 
friendless,  wretched  being  in  the  community, 
it  is  a  poor  clergyman  in  the  country  with  a 
large  family.  If  there  is  an  object  of  compas- 
sion, he  is  one.  If  there  is  any  occasion  in 
life  where  a  great  man  should  lay  aside  his 
office,  and  put  on  those  kind  looks,  and  use 
those  kind  words  which  raise  the  humble  from 
the  dust,  these  are  the  occasions  when  those 
best  parts  of  the  Christian  character  ought  to 
be  displayed. 

I  would  instance  the  unlimited  power  which 
a  bishop  possesses  over  a  curate,  as  a  very 
unfair  degree  of  power  for  any  man  to  possess. 
Take  the  following  dialogue  which  represents 
a  real  event. 

Bishop. — Sir,  I  understand  you  frequent  the 
meetings  of  the  Bible  Society. 

Curate. — Yes,  my  lord,  I  do. 

Bishop. — Sir,  I  tell  you  plainly,  if  you  con- 
tinue to  do  so,  I  shall  silence  you  from  preach- 
ing in  my  diocese. 

Curate. — My  lord,  I  am  very  sorry  to  incur 
your  indignation,  but  I  frequent  that  society 


*  I  perceive  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  borrows 
money  for  the  improvement  of  his  palace,  and  pays  the 
principal  off  in  forty  years.  This  is  quite  as  soon  as  a 
debt  incurred  for  such  public  purposes  ought  to  be  paid 
off,  and  the  archbishop  has  done  rightly  to  take  that  pe- 
riod. In  process  of  time  I  think  it  very  likely  that  this 
indulgence  will  be  extended  to  country  clergymen,  who 
are  compelled  to  pay  off  the  debts  for  buildings  (which 
they  are  compelled  to  undertake)  in  twenty  years;  and 
by  the  new  bill,  not  yet  passed,  this  indulgence  is  e.xtend- 
ed  to  thirty  years.  Why  poor  clergymen  have  been 
compelled  for  the  last  five  years  to  pay  off  the  incum- 
brances at  the  rate  of  one-twentieth  per  annum,  and  are 
now  compelled  to  pay  them  off,  or  will,  when  the  bill 
passes,  be  so  compelled,  at  the  rate  of  one-thirtieth  per 
annum,  when  the  archbishop  lakes  forty  years  to  do  the 
same  thing,  and  has  made  that  bargain  in  the  year  1831, 
I  really  cannot  tell.  A  clergyman  who  does  not  reside, 
is  forced  to  pay  off  his  building  debt  in  ten  years. 

t  What  bishops  like  best  in  their  clergy  is  a  dropping- 
down  deadness  of  manner. 


WORKS  OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


399 


upon  principle,  because  I  think  it  eminently 
serviceable  to  the  cause  of  the  Gospel. 

Bishop. — Sir,  I  do  not  enter  into  your  reasons, 
but  tell  you  plainly,  if  you  continue  to  go  there 
you  shall  be  silenced. 

The  young  man  did  go,  and  was  silenced — 
and  as  bishops  have  always  a  great  deal  of 
clever  machinery  at  work  of  testimonials  and 
bene-decessits,  and  always  a  lawyer  at  their 
elbow,  under  the  name  of  a  secretary,  a  curate 
excluded  from  one  diocese  is  excluded  from 
all.  His  remedy  is  an  appeal  to  the  archbishop 
from  the  bishop ;  his  worldly  goods,  however, 
amount  to  ten  pounds ;  he  never  was  in  Lon- 
don ;  he  dreads  such  a  tribunal  as  an  arch- 
bishop— he  thinks,  perhaps,  in  time,  the  bishop 
may  be  softened — if  he  is  compelled  to  restore 
him,  the  enmity  will  be  immortal.  It  would 
be  just  as  rational  to  give  to  a  frog  or  a  rabbit, 
upon  which  the  physician  is  about  to  experi- 
ment, an  appeal  to  the  Zoological  Society,  as 
to  give  to  a  country  curate  an  appeal  to  the 
archbishop  against  his  purple  oppressor. 

The  errors  of  the  bill  are  a  public  concern — 
the  injustice  of  the  bill  is  a  private  concern. 
Give  us  our  patronage  for  life.*  Treat  the 
cathedrals  all  alike,  with  the  same  measure  of 
justice.  Don't  divide  livings  in  the  patronage 
of  present  incumbents  without  their  consent — 
or  do  the  same  with  all  livings.  If  these  points 
are  attended  to  in  the  forthcoming  bill,  all  com- 
plaint of  unfairness  and  injustice  ivill  he  at  an  end. 
I  shall  still  think,  that  the  commissioners  have 
been  very  rash  and  indiscreet,  that  they  have 
evinced  a  contempt  for  existing  institutions, 
and  a  spirit  of  destruction  which  will  be 
copied  to  the  life  hereafter,  by  commissioners 
of  a  very  different  description.  Bishops  live 
in  high  places  with  high  people,  or  with  little 
people  who  depend  upon  them.  They  walk 
delicately,  like  Agag.  They  hear  only  one 
sort  of  conversation,  and  avoid  bold,  reckless 
men,  as  a  lady  veils  herself  from  rough  breezes. 
I  am  half  inclined  to  think,  sometimes,  that 
the  bishop-commissioners  really  think  that 
they  are  finally  settling  the  church ;  that  the 
House  of  Lords  will  be  open  to  the  bench  for 
ages ;  and  that  many  archbishops  in  succes- 
sion will  enjoy  their  fifteen  thousand  pounds  a 
year  in  Lambeth.  I  wish  I  could  do  for  the 
bishop-commissioners  what  his  mother  did  for 
.^neas,  in  the  last  days  of  Troy: — 

"  Omnem  qute  nunc  obducta  tiienti 
Mortales  hebetat  visus  tibi,  et  humida  circum 
Caligat,  nubeni  eripiam. 
Apparent  dirae  facies,"  &c.  &c. 

It  is  ominous  for  liberty,  when  Sydney  and 
Russell  cannot  agree ;  but  when  Lord  John 
Russell,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  said,  that 
we  showed  no  disposition  to  make  any  sacri- 
fices for  the  good  of  the  church,  I  took  the 
liberty  to  remind  that  excellent  person  that  he 
must  first  of  all  prove  it  to  be  for  the  good  of 
the  church  that  our  patronage  should  be  taken 
away  by  the  bishops,  and  then  he  might  find 
fault  with  us  for  not  consenting  to  the  sacrifice. 

I  have  little  or  no  personal  nor  pecuniary 
interest  in  these  things,  and  have  made  all 
possible  exertion  (as  two  or  three  persons  in 


♦  This  has  now  been  given  to  us. 


the  power  well  know)  that  they  should  not 
come  before  the  public.  I  have  no  son  nor 
son-in-law  in  the  church,  for  whom  I  want  any 
patronage.  If  I  were  young  enough  to  survive 
any  incumbent  of  St.  Paul's,  my  own  prefer- 
ment is  too  agreeably  circumstanced  to  make 
it  at  all  probable  I  should  avail  myself  of  the 
opportunity.  I  am  a  sincere  advocate  for 
church  reform;  but  I  think  it  very  possible, 
and  even  very  easy,  to  have  removed  all  odium 
from  the  establishment  in  a  much  less  violent 
and  revolutionary  manner,  without  committing 
or  attempting  such  flagrant  acts  of  injustice, 
and  without  leaving  behind  an  odious  court  of 
inquisition,  which  will  inevitably  fall  into  the 
hands  of  a  single  individual,  and  will  be  an 
eternal  source  of  vexation,  jealousy,  and 
change.  I  give  sincere  credit  to  the  commis- 
sioners for  good  intentions — how  can  such 
men  have  intended  any  thing  but  good  1  And 
I  firmly  believe  that  they  are  hardly  conscious 
of  the  extraordinary  predilection  they  have 
shown  for  bishops  in  all  their  proceedings  ;  it 
is  like  those  errors  in  tradesmen's  bills  of 
which  the  retail  arithmetician  is  really  uncon- 
scious, but  which,  somehow  or  another,  always 
happen  to  be  in  his  own  favour.  Such  men 
as  the  commissioners  do  not  say  this  patronage 
belongs  justly  to  the  cathedrals,  and  we  will 
take  it  away  unjustly  for  ourselves  ;  but,  after 
the  manner  of  human  nature,  a  thousand  weak 
reasons  prevail,  which  would  have  no  effect, 
if  self-interest  were  not  concerned ;  they  are 
practising  a  deception  on  themselves,  and  sin- 
cerely believe  they  are  doing  right.  When  I 
talk  of  spoil  and  plunder,  I  do  not  speak  of  the 
intention,  but  of  the  effect,  and  the  precedent. 

Still  the  commissioners  are  on  the  eve  of 
entailing  an  immense  evil  upon  the  country, 
and  unfortunately,  they  have  gone  so  far,  that 
it  is  necessary  they  should  ruin  the  cathedrals, 
to  preserve  their  character  for  consistency. 
They  themselves  have  been  frightened  a  great 
deal  too  much  by  the  mob;  have  overlooked 
the  chances  in  their  favour  produced  by  delay ; 
have  been  afraid  of  being  suspected  (as  tories) 
of  not  doing  enough ;  and  have  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  hurried  on  by  the  constitutional 
impetuosity  of  one  man,  who  cannot  be  brought 
to  believe  that  wisdom  often  consists  in  leav- 
ing alone,  standing  still  and  doing  nothing. 
From  the  joint  operation  of  all  these  causes, 
all  the  cathedrals  of  England  will,  in  a  few 
weeks,  be  knocked  about  our  ears.  You,  Mr. 
Archdeacon  Singleton,  will  sit  like  Caius 
Marius  on  the  ruins,  and  we  shall  lose  for  ever 
the  wisest  scheme  for  securing  a  well-educated 
clergy  upon  the  most  economical  terms,  and 
for  preventing  that  low  fanaticism  which  is 
the  greatest  curse  upon  human  happiness,  and 
the  greatest  enemy  of  true  religion.  We  shall 
have  all  the  evils  of  an  establishment,  and 
none  of  its  good. 

You  tell  me  I  shall  be  laughed  at  as  a  rich 
and  overgrown  churchman;  be  it  so.  I  have 
been  laughed  at  a  hundred  times  in  my  life, 
and  care  little  or  nothing  about  it.  If  I  am 
well  provided  for  now — I  have  had  my  full 
share  of  the  blanks  in  the  lottery  as  the  prizes. 
Till  thirty  years  of  age  I  never  received  a 
farthing  from  the  church ;  then  50/.  per  annim 


400 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


for  two  years — then  nothing  for  ten  years — 
then  500/.  per  annum,  increased  for  two  or 
three  years  to  800/.,  till,  in  my  grand  climac- 
teric, I  was  made  canon  of  St.  Paul's  ;  and 
before  that  period,  I  had  built  a  parsonage- 
house  with  farm  offices  for  a  large  farm,  which 
cost  me  4,000/.,  and  had  reclaimed  another 
from  ruins  at  the  expense  of  2,000/.  A  lawyer, 
or  a  physician  in  good  practice,  would  smile 
at  this  picture  of  great  ecclesiastical  wealth, 
and  yet  I  am  considered  as  a  perfect  monster 
of  ecclesiastical  prosperity. 

I  should  be  very  sorry  to  give  offence  to  the 
dignified  ecclesiastics  who  are  in  the  commis- 
sion ;  I  hope  they  will  allow  for  the  provoca- 
tion, if  I  have  been  a  little  too  warm  in  the 
defence  of  St.  Paul's,  which  I  have  taken  a 
solemn  oath  to  defend.  I  was  at  school  and 
college  with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury; 
fifty-three  years  ago  he  knocked  me  down  with 
the  chess-board  for  check-mating  him — and 
now  he  is  attempting  to  take  away  my  patron- 
age. I  believe  these  are  the  only  two  acts 
of  violence  he  ever  committed  in  his  life  :  the 
interval  has  been  one  of  gentleness,  kindness, 
and  the  most  amiable  and  high-principled 
courtesy  to  his  clergy.  For  the  Archbishop 
of  York,  I  feel  an  affectionate  respect — the 
result  of  that  invariable  kindness  I  have  re- 
ceived from  him :  and  who  can  see  the  Bishop 
of  London  without  admiring  his  superior  ta- 
lents— being  pleased  with  his  society,  without 
admitting  that,  upon  the  whole*  the" public  is 
benefited  by  his  ungovernable  passion  for 
business ;  and  without  receiving  the  constant 
workings  of  a  really  good  heart,  as  an  atone- 
ment for  the  occasional  excesses  of  an  impe- 
tuous disposition  ?  I  am  quite  sure  if  the  tables 
had  been  turned,  and  if  it  had  been  his  lot,  as 
a  canon,  to  fight  against  the  encroachments  of 
bishops,  that  he  would  have  made  as  stout  a 
defence  as  I  have  done — the  only  difference  is 
that  he  would  have  done  it  with  much  greater 
talent. 

As  for  my  friends  the  whigs,  I  neither  wish 
to  offend  them  nor  any  body  else.  I  consider 
myself  to  be  as  good  a  whig  as  any  amongst 
them.  I  was  a  whig  before  many  of  them 
were  born — and  while  some  of  them  were 
tories  and  waverers.  I  have  always  turned 
out  to  fight  their  battles,  and  when  I  saw  no 
other  clergyman  turn  out  but  myself— and  this 
in  times  before  liberality  was  well  recompensed, 

*  I  ha  ve  heard  that  the  Bishop  of  London  employs  eight 
hours  per  day  in  the  government  of  his  diocese— in  which 
no  part  of  Asia,  Africa,  or  America  is  included.  The 
world  is,  I  believe,  talking  one  day  with  another,  go- 
verned in  about  a  third  of  that  time.  J 


and  therefore  in  fashion,  when  the  smallest 
appearance  of  it  seemed  to  condemn  a  church- 
man to  the  grossest  of  obloquy,  and  the  most 
hopeless  poverty.  It  may  suit  the  purpose  of 
the  ministers  to  flatter  the  bench ;  it  does  not 
suit  mine.  I  do  not  choose  in  my  old  age  to 
be  tossed  as  a  prey  to  the  bishops  ;  I  have  not 
deserved  this  of  my  whig  friends.  I  know 
very  well  there  can  be  no  justice  for  deans  and 
chapters,  and  that  the  momentary  lords  of  the 
earth  will  receive  our  statement  with  derision 
and  persiflage — the  great  principle  which  is 
now  called  in  for  the  government  of  mankind. 
Nobody  admires  the  general  conduct  of  the 
whig  administration  more  than  I  do.  They 
have  conferred,  in  their  domestic  policy,  the 
most  striking  benefits  on  the  country.  To 
say  that  there  is  no  risk  in  what  they  have 
done  is  mere  nonsense — there  is  great  risk; 
and  all  honest  men  must  balance  to  counteract 
it — holding  back  as  firmly  down  hill  as  they 
pulled  vigorously  up  hill.  Still,  great  as  the 
risk  is,  it  was  worth  while  to  incur  it  in  the 
poor-law  bill,  in  the  tithe  bill,  in  the  corpora- 
tion bill,  and  in  the  circumscription  of  the 
Irish  Protestant  Church.  In  all  these  matters, 
the  whig  ministry,  after  the  heat  of  party  is 
over,  and  when  Joseph  Hume  and  Wilson 
Croker*  are  powdered  into  the  dust  of  death, 
will  gain  great  and  deserved  fame.  In  the 
question  of  the  church  commission  they  have 
behaved  with  the  grossest  injustice;  delighted 
to  see  this  temporary  delirium  of  archbishops 
and  bishops,  scarcely  believing  their  eyes, 
and  carefully  suppressing  their  laughter,  when 
they  saw  these  eminent  conservatives  laying 
about  them  with  the  fury  of  Mr.  Tyler  or  Mr. 
Straw;  they  have  taken  the  greatest  care  not 
to  disturb  them,  and  to  give  them  no  offence: 
"  Do  as  you  like,  my  lords,  with  the  chapters 
and  the  parochial  clergy;  you  will  find  some 
pleasing  morsels  in  the  ruins  of  the  cathe- 
drals. Keep  for  yourselves  any  thing  you 
like — whatever  is  agreeable  to  you  cannot  be 
unpleasant  to  us."  In  the  mean  time,  the  old 
friends  of,  and  the  old  sufferers  for,  liberty,  do 
not  understand  this  new  meanness,  and  are 
not  a  little  astonished  to  find  their  leaders 
prostrate  on  their  knees  before  the  lords  of  the 
church,  and  to  receive  no  other  answer  from 
them  than  that,  if  they  are  disturbed  in  their 
adulation,  they  will  immediately  resign  ! 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir,  with  sincere  good 
will  and  respect,  yours, 

Stdnet  Smith. 


*  I  meant  no  harm  by  the  comparison,  but  I  have  made 
two  bitter  enemies  by  it. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


401 


SECOND  LETTER  TO  AUCHDEACON  SINGLETON. 


Mt  dear  Sir, 

It  is  a  long  time  since  you  heard  from  me, 
and  in  the  mean  time  the  poor  Church  of  Eng- 
land has  been  trembling,  from  the  bishop  who 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  to  the  curate  who  rideth 
upon  the  hackney  horse.  I  began  writing  on 
the  subject  to  avoid  bursting  from  indignation ; 
and,  as  it  is  not  my  habit  to  recede,  I  will  go 
on  till  the  Church  of  England  is  either  up  or 
down — semianimous  oa  its  back,  or  vigorous 
on  its  legs. 

Two  or  three  persons  have  said  to  me — 
"  Why,  after  writing  an  entertaining  and  suc- 
cessful letter  to  Archdeacon  Singleton,  do  you 
venture  upon  another,  in  which  you  may  pro- 
bably fail,  and  be  weak  or  stupid  1"  All  this 
I  utterly  despise ;  I  write  upon  these  matters 
not  to  be  entertaining,  but  because  the  subjects 
are  very  important,  and  because  I  have  strong 
opinions  upon  them.  If  what  I  write  is  liked, 
so  much  the  better ;  but  liked  or  not  liked,  sold 
or  not  sold,  Wilson  Crockered  or  not  Wilson 
Crockered,  I  will  write.  If  you  ask  me  who 
excites  me,  I  answer  you,  it  is  that  judge  who 
stirs  good  thoughts  in  honest  hearts — under 
whose  warrant  I  impeach  the  wrong,  and  by 
whose  help  I  hope  to  chastise  it. 

There  are,  in  most  cathedrals,  two  sorts  of 
prebendaries — the  one  resident,  the  other  non- 
resident. It  is  proposed  by  the  church  com- 
mission to  abolish  all  the  prebendaries  of  the 
latter  and  many  of  the  former  class  ;  and  it  is 
the  prebendaries  of  the  fonuer  class,  the  resi- 
dent prebendaries,  whom  I  wish  to  save. 

The  non-resident  prebendaries  never  come 
near  the  cathedral ;  they  are  just  like  so  many 
country  gentlemen ;  the  diiference  is,  that  their 
appointments  are  elective,  not  hereditary. 
They  have  houses,  manors,  lands,  and  every 
appendage  of  territorial  wealth  and  import- 
ance. Their  value  is  very  different.  I  have 
one,  Neasdon,  near  WiJlesdon,  which  consists 
of  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land,  worth  a  few 
shillings  per  annum,  but  animated  by  the 
burden  of  repairing  a  bridge,  which  some- 
times costs  the  unfortunate  prebendary  fifty 
or  sixty  pounds.  There  are  other  non-resi- 
dent prebendaries,  however,  of  great  value ; 
and  one,  I  believe,  which  would  be  worth,  if 
the  years  or  lives  were  run  out,  from  40,000/. 
to  60,000/.  per  annum. 

Not  only  do  these  prebendaries  do  nothing, 
and  are  never  seen,  but  the  existence  of  the 
preferment  is  hardly  known ;  and  the  abolition 
of  the  preferment,  therefore,  would  not  in  any 
degree  lessen  the  temptation  to  enter  into  the 
church,  while  the  mass  of  these  preferments 
would  make  an  iiTiportant  fund  for  the  im- 
provement of  small  livings.  The  residentiary 
prebendaries,  on  the  contrary,  perform  all  the 
services  of  the  cathedral  church  ;  their  exist- 
51 


ence  is  known,  their  preferment  coveted,  and 
to  get  a  stall,  and  to  be  preceded  by  men  with 
silver  rods,  is  the  bait  which  the  ambitious 
squire  is  perpetually  holding  out  to  his  second 
son.  What  prebendary  is  next  to  come  into 
residence,  is  as  important  a  topic  to  the  cathe- 
dral town,  and  ten  miles  around  it,  as  what 
the  evening  or  morning  star  may  be  to  the  as- 
tronomer. I  will  venture  to  say,  there  is  not 
a  man  of  good  humour,  sense,  and  worth, 
within  ten  miles  of  Worcester,  who  does  not 
hail  the  rising  of  Archdeacon  Singleton  in  the 
horizon  as  one  of  the  most  agreeable  events 
of  the  year.  If  such  sort  of  preferments  are 
extinguished,  a  very  seiious  evil  (as  I  have 
often  said  before)  is  done  to  the  church — the 
service  becomes  unpopular,  further  spoliation 
is  dreaded,  the  whole  system  is  considered  to 
be  altered  and  degraded,  capital  is  withdrawn 
from  the  church,  and  no  one  enters  into  the 
profession  but  the  sons  of  farmers  and  little 
tradesmen,  who  would  be  footmen  if  they  were 
not  vicars — or  figure  on  the  coach-box  if  they 
were  not  lecturing  from  the  pulpit. 

But  what  a  practical  rebuke  to  the  commis- 
sioners, after  all  their  plans  and  consultations 
and  carvings  of  cathedral  preferment,  to  leave 
it  integral,  and  untouched !  It  is  some  com- 
fort, however,  to  me,  to  think  that  the  persons 
of  all  others  to  whom  this  preservation  of  ca- 
thedral property  would  give  the  greatest  plea- 
sure, are  the  ecclesiastical  commissioners 
themselves.  Can  any  one  believe,  that  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  or  the  Bishop  of 
London,  really  wishes  for  the  confiscation  of 
any  cathedral  property,  or  that  they  were 
driven  to  it  by  any  thing  but  fear,  mingled, 
perhaps,  with  a  little  vanity  of  playing  the  part 
of  great  reformers  1  They  cannot,  of  course, 
say  for  themselves  what  I  say  for  them;  but 
of  what  is  really  passing  in  the  ecclesiastical 
minds  of  these  great  personages,  I  have  no 
more  doubt  than  I  have  of  what  passes  in  the 
mind  of  the  prisoner  when  the  prosecutor  re- 
commends and  relents,  and  the  judge  says  he 
shall  attend  to  the  recommendation. 

What  harm  does  a  prebend  do,  in  a  politico- 
economical  point  of  view  1  The  alienation  of 
the  property  for  three  lives,  or  twenty-one 
years,  and  the  almost  certainty  that  the  tenant 
has  of  renewing,  give  him  sufficient  interest 
in  the  soil  for  all  purposes  of  cultivation,*  and 
a  long  series  of  elected  clergymen  is  rather 


*  The  church,  it  has  been  urged,  do  not  plant — they  do 
not  extend  their  woods;  but  atmost  all  cathedrals  pos- 
sess woods,  and  regularly  plant  a  succession,  so  as  to 
keep  them  up.  A  single  evenin?of  dice  and  hazard  doea 
not  doom  their  woods  to  sudden  destruction  ;  a  life 
tenant  does  not  cut  down  all  the  timber  to  make  the 
most  of  his  estate  ;  the  woods  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  aro 
managed  upon  a  fixed  and  settled  plan,  and  considerinc 
the  sudden  prodigalities  of  laymen,  I  should  not  be  afrait) 
of  a  comparison. 

21.2 


402 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


more  likely  to  produce  valuable  members  of 
the  community  than  a  long  series  of  begotten 
squires.  Take,  for  instance,  the  cathedral  of 
Bristol,  the  whole  estates  of  which  are  about 
equal  to  keeping  a  pack  of  fox-hounds.  If  this 
had  been  in  the  hands  of  a  country  gentleman ; 
instead  of  precentor,  succentor,  dean,  and 
canons,  and  sexton,  5'ou  would  have  had 
huntsman,  whipper-in,  dog-feeders,  and  stop- 
pers of  earths ;  the  old  squire  full  of  foolish 
opinions,  and  fermented  liquids,  and  a  young 
gentleman  of  gloves,  waistcoats  and  panta- 
loons :  and  how  many  generations  might  it  be 
before  the  fortuitous  concourse  of  noodles 
would  produce  such  a  man  as  Professor  Lee, 
one  of  the  prebendaries  of  Bristol,  and  by  far 
the  most  eminent  oriental  scholar  in  Europe  ? 
The  same  argument  might  be  applied  to  every 
cathedral  in  England.  How  many  hundred 
coveys  of  squires  would  it  take  to  supply  as 
much  knowledge  as  is  condensed  in  the  heads 
of  Dr.  Copplestone  or  Mr.  Taite,  of  St.  Paul's  1 
and  what  a  strange  thing  it  is  that  such  a  man 
as  Lord  John  Russell,  the  whig  leader,  should 
be  so  squirrel-minded  as  to  wish  for  a  move- 
ment without  object  or  end !  Saving  there  can 
be  none,  for  it  is  merely  taking  from  one  ec- 
clesiastic to  give  it  to  another ;  public  clamour, 
to  which  the  best  men  must  sometimes  yield, 
does  not  require  it:  and  so  far  from  doing  any 
good,  it  would  be  a  source  of  infinite  mischief 
to  the  establishment. 

If  you  were  to  gather  a  parliament  of  curates 
on  the  hottest  Sunday  in  the  year,  after  all  the 
services,  sermons,  burials,  and  baptisms  of  the 
day  were  over,  and  to  oifer  them  such  increase 
of  salary  as  would  be  produced  by  the  confis- 
cation of  the  cathedral  property,  I  am  con- 
vinced they  would  reject  the  measure,  and 
prefer  splendid  hope,  and  the  expectation  of 
good  fortune  in  advanced  life,  to  the  trifling 
improvement  of  poverty  which  such  a  fund 
could  afford.  Charles  James,  of  London,  was 
a  curate ;  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  was  a 
curate;  almost  every  rose-and-shovel  man  has 
been  a  curate  in  his  time.  Al!  curates  hope 
lo  draw  great  prizes. 

I  am  surprised  it  does  not  strike  the  moun- 
taineers how  very  much  the  great  emoluments 
of  the  church  are  flung  open  to  the  lowest 
ranks  of  the  community.  Butchers,  bakers, 
publicans,  schoolmasters,  are  perpetually 
seeing  their  children  elevated  to  the  mitre. 
Let  a  i-espectable  baker  drive  through  the  city 
from  the  west  end  of  the  town,  and  let  him 
cast  an  eye  on  the  battlements  of  Northumber- 
land House,  has  his  little  muffin-faced  son  the 
smallest  chance  of  getting  in  among  the  Per- 
■<ues,  enjoying  a  share  of  their  luxury  and 
splendour,  and  of  chasing  the  deer  with  hound 
and  horn  upon  the  Cheviot  Hills'?  But  let 
him  drive  his  alum-steeped  loaves  a  little 
farther,  till  he  reaches  St.  Paul's  church5'^ard, 
and  ail  his  thoughts  are  changed  when  he  sees 
that  beautiful  fabric ;  it  is  not  impossible  that 
his  little  penny  roll  may  be  introduced  into 
that  splendid  oven.  Young  Crumpet  is  sent 
<o  school — takes  to  his  books — spends  the 
best  5-ears  of  his  life,  as  all  eminent  English- 
men do,  in  making  Latin  verses — knows  that 
the  crum  m  crura-pet  is  long,  and  the  pet  short 


— goes  to  the  University — gets  a  prize  for  an 
Essay  on  the  Dispersion  of  the  Jews — takes 
orders — becomes  a  bishop's  chaplain — has  a 
young  nobleman  for  his  pupil — publishes  an 
useless  classic,  and  a  serious  call  to  the  un- 
converted— and  then  goes  through  the  Elysian 
translations  of  prebendary,  dean,  prelate,  and 
the  long  train  of  purple,  profit,  and  power. 

It  will  not  do  to  leave  only  four  persons  in 
each  cathedral,  upon  the  supposition  that  such 
a  number  will  be  sufficient  for  all  the  men  of 
real  merit  who  ought  to  enjoy  such  prefer- 
ment; we  ought  to  have  a  steady  confidence 
that  the  men  of  real  merit  will  always  bear  a 
small  proportion  to  the  whole  number;  and 
that  in  proportion  as  the  whole  number  is  les- 
sened, the  number  of  men  of  merit  provided 
for  will  be  lessened  also.  If  it  were  quite  cer- 
tain that  ninety  persons  would  be  selected,  the 
most  remarkable  for  conduct,  piety,  and  learn- 
ing, ninety  offices  might  be  sufficient;  but  out 
of  these  ninety  are  to  be  taken  tutors  to  dukes 
and  marquises,  paid  in  this  way  by  the  public; 
bishop's  chaplains,  running  tame  about  the 
palace;  elegant  clergymen,  of  small  under- 
standing, who  have  made  themselves  accept- 
able in  the  drawing-rooms  of  the  mitre  1 
Billingsgate  controversialists,  who  have  tossed 
and  gored  an  Unitarian.  So  that  there  remain 
but  a  few  rewards  for  men  of  real  merit — yet 
these  rewards  do  infinite  good;  and  in  this 
mixed,  checkered  way,  human  afiairs  are  con- 
ducted. 

No  man  at  the  beginning  of  the  reform  could 
tell  to  what  excesses  the  new  power  conferred 
upon  the  multitude  would  carry  them  ;  it  was 
not  safe  for  a  clergyman  to  appear  in  the 
streets.  I  bought  a  blue  coat,  and  did  not 
despair  in  time  of  looking  like  a  layman.  All 
this  is  passed  over.  Men  are  returned  to  their 
senses  upon  the  subject  of  the  church,  and  I 
utterly  deny  that  there  is  any  public  feeling 
whatever  which  calls  for  the  destruction  of  the 
resident  prebends.  Lord  John  Russell  has 
pruned  the  two  luxuriant  bishoprics,  and  has 
abolished  pluralities :  he  has  made  a  very 
material  alteration  in  the  state  of  the  church : 
not  enough  to  please  Joseph  Hume,  and  the 
tribunes  of  the  people,  but  enough  to  satisfy 
every  i;easonable  and  moderate  man,  and, 
therefore,  enough  to  satisfy  himself.  What 
another  generation  may  choose  to  do,  is 
another  question  :  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that  enough  has  been  done  for  the  present. 

Viscount  Melbourne  declared  himself  quite 
satisfied  with  the  church  as  it  is ;  but  if  the 
public  had  any  desire  to  alter  it,  they  might  do 
as  they  pleased.  He  might  have  said  the 
same  thing  of  the  monarchy,  or  of  any  other 
of  our  institutions ;  and  there  is  in  the  declara- 
tion a  permissiveness  and  good  humour  which, 
in  public  men,  have  seldom  been  exceeded. 
Carelessness,  however,  is  but  a  poor  imitation 
of  genius,  and  the  formation  of  a  wise  and 
well-reflected  plan  of  reform  conduces  more  to 
the  lasting  fame  of  a  minister  than  that  affected 
contempt  of  duty  which  every  man  sees  to  be 
mere  vanity,  and  a  vanity  of  no  very  high 
description. 

But,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  our  viscount 
is  somewhat  of  an  impostor.     Every  thing 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


403 


about  hini  seems  to  betoken  careless  desola- 
tion: any  one  would  suppose  from  his  man- 
ner that  he  was  playing  at  chuck-farthing 
with  human  happiness ;  that  he  was  always 
on  the  heel  of  pastime ;  that  he  would  giggle 
away  the  great  charter,  and  decide  by  the 
method  of  tee-totum  whether  my  lords  the 
bishops  should  or  should  not  retain  their  seats 
in  the  House  of  Lords.  All  this  is  the  mere 
vanity  of  surprising,  and  making  us  believe 
that  he  can  play  with  kingdoms  as  other  men 
can  with  nine-pins.  Instead  of  this  lofty  nebulo, 
this  miracle  of  moral  and  intellectual  felicities, 
he  is  nothing  more  than  a  sensible,  honest 
man,  who  means  to  do  his  duty  to  the  sove- 
reign and  to  the  country:  instead  of  being  the 
ignorant  man  he  pretends  to  be,  before  he 
meets  the  deputation  of  tallow-chandlers  in  the 
morning,  he  sits  up  half  the  night  talking  with 
Thomas  Young  about  melting  and  skimming, 
and  then,  though  he  has  acquired  knowledge 
enough  to  work  otT  a  whole  vat  of  primeLeices- 
ter  tallow,  he  pretends  next  morning  not  to 
know  the  difference  between  a  dip  and  a 
mould.  In  the  same  way,  when  he  has  been 
employed  in  reading  acts  of  Parliament,  he 
would  persuade  you  that  he  has  been  reading 
Cleghorn  om  the  Beatitudes,  or  Pickler  on  the  Nine 
Dijfirult  Points.  Neither  can  I  allow  to  this 
minister  (however  he  may  be  irritated  by  the 
denial)  the  exti-eme  merit  of  indifference  to  the 
consequences  of  his  measures.  I  believe  him 
to  be  conscientiously  alive  to  the  good  or  evil 
that  he  is  doing,  and  that  his  caution  has  more 
than  once  arrested  the  gigantic  projects  of  the 
Lycurgus  of  the  Lower  House.  I  am  sorry  to 
hurt  any  man's  feelings,  and  to  brush  away 
the  magnificent  fabric  of  levity  and  gaiety  he 
has  reared ;  but  I  accuse  our  minister  of 
honesty  and  diligence;  I  deny  that  he  is  care- 
less or  rash :  he  is  nothing  more  than  a  man 
of  good  understanding,  and  good  principle, 
disguised  in  the  eternal  and  somewhat  weari- 
some affectation  of  a  political  roue. 

One  of  the  most  foolish  circumstances  at- 
tending this  destruction  of  cathedral  property, 
is  the  great  sacrifice  of  the  patronage  of  the 
crown  ;  the  crown  gives  up  eight  prebends  of 
Westminster,  two  at  Worcester,  1,500/.  per 
annum  at  St.  Paul's,  two  prebends  at  Bristol, 
and  a  great  deal  of  other  preferment  all  over 
the  kingdom;  and  this  at  a  moment  when  such 
extraordinary  power  has  been  suddenly  con- 
ferred upon  the  people,  and  when  every  atom 
of  power  and  patronage  ought  to  be  husbanded 
for  the  crown.  A  prebend  of  Westminster  for 
my  second  son  would  soften  the  Catos  of 
Cornhill,  and  lull  the  Gracchi  of  the  metropo- 
litan boroughs.  Lives  there  a  man  so  absurd 
as  to  suppose  that  government  can  be  carried 
on  without  those  gentle  allurements?  You 
may  as  well  attempt  to  poultice  off  the  humps 
of  a  camel's  back,  as  to  cure  mankind  of  these 
little  corruptions. 

I  am  terribly  alarmed  by  a  committee  of 
cathedrals  now  sitting  in  London,  and  plan- 
ning a  petition  to  the  legislature  to  be  heard 
by  counsel.  They  will  take  such  high  ground, 
and  talk  a  language  so  utterly  at  variance  with 
the  feelings  of  the  age  about  church  pro- 
perty, that  I  am  much  afraid  they  will  do  more 


harm  than  good.  In  the  time  of  Lord  George 
Gordon's  riots,  the  Guards  said  they  did  not 
care  for  the  mob,  if  the  gentlemen  volunteers 
behind  would  be  so  good  as  not  to  hold  their 
muskets  in  such  a  dangerous  manner.  I  don't 
care  for  popular  clamour,  and  think  it  might 
now  be  defied;  but  I  confess  the  gentlemen 
volunteers  alarm  me.  They  have,  unfortunately, 
too,  collected  their  addresses,  and  published 
them  in  a  single  volume  ! ! ! 

I  should  like  to  know  how  many  of  our  in- 
stitutions at  this  moment,  besides  the  cathe- 
drals, are  under  notice  of  destruction.  I  will, 
before  I  finish  my  letter,  endeavour  to  procure 
a  list ;  in  the  mean  time  I  will  give  you  the 
bill  of  fare  with  which  the  last  session  opened, 
and  I  think  that  of  1838  will  not  be  less  copious. 
But  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1837,  when  I 
addressed  my  first  letter  to  you,  this  was  the 
state  of  our  intended  changes : — The  law  of 
copyright  was  to  be  recreated  by  Serjeant 
Taifourd;  church  rates  abolished  by  Lord  John 
Russell,  and  imprisonment  for  debt  by  the  at- 
torney-general ;  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
kindly  undertook  to  destroy  all  the  cathedrals, 
and  Mr.  Grote  was  to  arrange  our  voting  by 
ballot;  the  septennial  act  was  to  be  repealed 
by  Mr.  Williams,  corn  laws  abolished  by  Mr. 
Clay,  and  the  House  of  Lords  reformed  by  Mr. 
Ward;  Mr.  Hume  remodelled  county  rates, 
Mr.  Ewart  put  an  end  to  primogeniture,  and 
Mr.  Tooke  took  away  the  exclusive  privileges 
of  Dublin,  Oxford,  and  Cambridge ;  Thomas 
Duncombe  was  to  put  an  end  to  the  proxies  of 
the  lords,  and  Serjeant  Prime  to  turn  the  uni« 
versifies  topsy-turvy.  Well  may  it  be  said 
that 

"  Man  never  continueth  in  one  stay." 

See  how  men  accustom  themselves  to  large 
and  perilous  changes.  Ten  years  ago,  if  a 
cassock  or  a  hassock  had  been  taken  from  the 
establishment,  the  current  of  human  affairs 
would  have  been  stopped  till  restitution  had 
been  made.  In  a  fortnight's  time.  Lord  John 
Russejl  is  to  take  possession  of,  and  to  re-parti- 
tion all  the  cathedrals  in  England ;  and  what 
a  preltide  for  the  young  queen's  coronation ! 
what  a  medal  for  the  august  ceremony  ! — the 
fallen  Gothic  buiJdings  on  one  side  of  the  gold, 
the  young  Protestant  queen  on  the  other : — 
"  Victoria  Ecclesise  Victrix." 

And  then,  when  she  is  full  of  noble  devices,  and 
of  all  sorts  enchantingly  beloved,  and  amid  the 
solemn  swell  of  music,  when  her  heart  beats 
happily,  and  her  eyes  look  majesty,  she  turns 
them  on  the  degraded  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
and  shudders  to  see  she  is  stalking  to  the  throne 
of  her  Protestant  ancestors  ov^er  the  broken 
altars  of  God. 

Now,  remember,  I  hate  to  overstate  my  case. 
I  do  not  say  that  the  destruction  of  cathedrals 
will  put  an  end  to  railroads  :  I  believe  that  good 
mustard  and  cress,  sown  after  Lord  John's  bill 
is  passed,  will,  if  duly  watered,  continue  to 
grow.  I  do  not  say  that  the  country  has  no 
right,  after  the  death  of  individual  incumbents, 
to  do  what  they  propose  to  do  ; — I  merely  say 
that  it  is  inexpedient,  uncalled  for,  and  mis- 
chievous— that  the  lower  clergy,  for  whose 
sake  it  is  proposed  to  be  done,  do  pot  desirw 


404 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


it — that  the  bishop  commissioners,  who  pro- 
posed it,  would  be  heartily  glad  if  it  was  put 
an  end  to — that  it  will  lower  the  character  of 
those  who  enter  into  the  church,  and  accustom 
the  English  people  to  large  and  dangerous  con- 
fiscations :  and  I  would  not  have  gentlemen  of 
the  money-bags,  and  of  wheat  and  bean  land, 
forget  that  the  church  means  many  other  things 
than  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  a  discourse  of 
five-and-twenty  minutes'  duration  on  the  Sab- 
bath. It  means  a  check  to  the  conceited  rash- 
ness of  experimental  reasoners — an  adhesion 
to  old  moral  landmarks — an  attachment  to  the 
happiness  we  have  gained  from  tried  institu- 
tions, greater  than  the  expectation  of  that 
which  is  promised  by  novelty  and  change. 
The  lou'l  cry  of  ten  thousand  teachers  of  jus- 
tice and  worship,  that  cry  which  masters  the 
Borgias  and  Catilines  of  the  world,  and  guards 
from  devastation  the  best  works  of  God — 
Magna  testantiir  voce  per  orbem 
Discite  justitiam  inoniti  et  non  temnere  divos. 

In  spite  of  his  uplifted  chess-board,  I  cannot 
let   my  old   school-fellow,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  off,  without  harping  a  little  upon 
his  oath,  which  he  has  taken  to  preserve  the 
rights  and  property  of  the  church  of  Canter- 
bury :  I  am  quite  sure  so  truly  good  a  man,  as 
from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I  believe  him  to 
be,  has  some  line  of  argument  by  which  he  de- 
fends himself;  but  till  I  know  it,  I  cannot  of 
course  say  I  am  convinced  by  it.     The  com- 
mon defence  for  breaking  oaths  is,  that  they 
are  contracts  made  with  another  party,  which 
the  Creator   is   called   to   witness,  and   from 
which   the  swearer  is  absolved,  if  those  for 
whom  the  oath  is  taken  choose  to  release  him 
from  his  obligation.     With  whom,  then,  is  the 
contract  made  by  the  archbishop  1     Is  it  with 
the  community  at  large  1     If  so,  nothing  but 
an  act  of  Parliament  (as  the  community  at 
large  have  no  other  organ)  could  absolve  him 
from  his  oath ;  but  three  years  before  any  act 
is   passed,  he   puts   his   name  to  a  plan   for 
taking  away  two-thirds  of  the  property  of  the 
church  of  Canterbury.     If  the  contract  is  not 
made  with  the  community  at  large,  but  with 
the  church  of  Canterbury,  every  member  of  it 
is  in  decided  hostility  to  his  scheme.     O'Con- 
nell  takes  an  oath  that  he  will  not  injure  nor 
destroy  the  Protestant  church;  but  in  promot- 
ing the  destruction  of  some  of  the  Irish  bish- 
oprics, he  may  plead   that  he   is  sacrificing 
a  part  to  preserve  the  whole,  and  benefiting, 
not  injuring,  the  Protestant  establishment.   But 
the  archbishop  does  not  swear  to  a  general 
truth,  where  the  principle  may  be  preserved, 
though  there  is  an  apparent  deviation  from  the 
words ;  but  he  swears  to  a  very  narrow  and 
limited  oath,  that  he  will  not  alienate  the  pos- 
sessions of  the  church  of  Canterbury.  A  friend 
of  mine  has  suggested  to  me  that  his  grace  has, 
perhaps,  forgotten  the  oath  ;  but  this  cannot  be, 
for  the  first  Protestant  in  Europe  of  course 
makes  a  memorandum  in  his  pocket-book  of 
all  the  oaths  he  takes  to  do,  or  to  abstain.    The 
oath,  however,  may  be  less  present  to  the  arch- 
bishop's memory,   from   the    fact  of  his  not 
having  taken  the  oath  in  person,  but  by  the 
ncdium  of  a  gentleman  sent  down  by  the  coach 
;o  fake  it  for  him — a  practice  which,  though  I 


believe  it  to  have  been  long  established  in  the 
church,  surprised  me,  I  confess,  not  a  little. 
A  proxy  to  vote,  if  you  please — a  proxy  to  con- 
sent to  arrangementsof  estates,  if  wanted;  but 
a  proxy  sent  down  in  the  Canterbury  fly,  to 
take  the  Creator  to  witness  that  the  archbishop, 
detained  in  town  by  business  or  pleasure,  will 
never  violate  that  foundation  of  piety  over 
which  he  presides — all  this  seems  to  me  an  act 
of  the  most  extraordinary  indolence  ever  re- 
corded in  history.  If  an  ecclesiastic,  not  a 
bishop,  may  express  any  opinion  on  the  reforms 
of  the  church,  I  recommend  that  archbishops 
and  bishops  should  take  no  more  oaths  by 
proxy ;  but  as  they  do  not  wait  upon  the  sove- 
reign or  the  prime  minister,  or  even  any  of 
the  cabinet,  by  proxy,  that  they  should  also 
perform  all  religious  acts  in  their  own  person. 
This  practice  would  have  been  abolished  in 
Lord  John's  first  bill,  if  other  grades  of  church- 
men as  well  as  bishops  had  been  made  com- 
missioners.    But  the  motto  was — 

"  Peace  to  the  palaces— war  to  the  manses." 

I  have  been  informed,  though  I  will  not  an- 
swer for  the  accuracy  of  the  information,  that 
this  vicarious  oath  is  likely  to  produce  a  scene 
which  would  have  puzzled  the  Dudor  Dubi- 
tantkim.  The  attorney  who  took  the  oath  for 
the  archbishop,  is,  they  say,  seized  with  reli- 
gious horrors  at  the  approaching  confiscation 
of  Canterbury  property,  and  has  in  vain  ten- 
dered back  his  6s.  8d.  for  taking  the  oath.  The 
archbishop  refuses  to  accept  it ;  and  feeling 
himself  light  and  disencumbered,  wisely  keeps 
the  saddle  upon  the  back  of  the  writhing  and 
agonized  scrivener.  I  have  talked  it  over  with 
several  clergymen,  and  the  general  opinion  is, 
that  the  scrivener  will  suffer. 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  a  great  opportu- 
nity opens  itself  for  improving  the  discipline 
of  the  church,  by  means  of  those  chapters 
which  Lord  John  Russell*  is  so  anxious  to  de- 
stroy; divide  the  diocese  among  the  member.^ 
of  the  chapter,  and  make  them  responsible  for 
the  superintendence  and  inspection  of  the 
clergy  in  their  various  divisions  under  the  su- 
preme control  of  the  bishop ;  by  a  few  addi- 
tions they  might  be  made  the  bishops'  council 
for  the  trial  of  delinquent  clergymen.  They 
might  be  made  a  kind  of  college  for  the  gene- 
ral care  of  education  in  the  diocese,  and  ap- 


*  I  only  mention  Lord  John  Russell's  name  so  often, 
because  the  management  of  the  church  measures  de- 
volves upon  him.  He  is,  beyond  all  comparison,  the 
ablest  man  in  the  whole  administration,  and  to  such  a 
deeree  is  he  superior,  that  the  government  could  not 
exist  a  moment  without  him.  If  the  foreign  secretary 
were  to  retire,  we  should  no  longer  be  nibbling  ourselves 
into  disgrace  on  the  coast  of  Spain.  If  the  amiable  Lord 
Glenelgvvere  to  leave  us,  we  should  feel  secure  in  our 
colonial  possessions.  If  Mr.  Spring  Rice  were  to  go  into 
holyorders,  great  would  be  the  joy  of  the  three  per  cents. 
A  decent,  good-looking  head  of  the  government  might 
easily  enough  be  fr)und  in  lieu  of  Viscount  Melbourne  ; 
but  in  five  minutes  after  the  departure  of  Lord  John,  the 
whole  whig  government  would  he  dissolved  into  sparks 
of  liberality  and  splinters  of  reform.  There  are  si.x  re- 
markable men,  who,  in  different  methods  and  in  different 
degrees,  are  now  affecting  the  interests  of  this  coun- 
try—the Duke  of  Wellington,  Lord  John  Russell,  Lord 
Brougham,  Lord  Lyndhurst,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  O'Con- 
nell.  Greater  powers  than  all  these  are  the  phlegm  of 
the  English  people— the  great  mass  of  good  sense  and 
intelligence  diffused  among  them — and  the  number  of 
those  who  have  something  to  lose,  and  have  not  the 
slightest  intention  of  losing  it. 


■  WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


405 


plied  to  a  thousand  useful  purposes,  which 
would  have  occurred  to  the  commissioners,  if 
they  had  not  been  so  dreadfully  frightened, 
and  to  the  government,  if  their  object  had  been, 
not  to  please  the  dissenters,  but  to  impi-ove  the 
church. 

The  Bishop  of  Lincoln  has  lately  published 
a  pamphlet  on  the  church  question.  His  lord- 
ship is  certainly  not  a  man  full  of  felicities 
and  facilities,  imitating  none,  and  inimitable 
of  any;  nor  does  he  work  with  infinite  agita- 
tion of  wit.  His  creation  has  blood  without 
head,  bones  without  marrow,  eyes  without 
speculation.  He  has  the  art  of  saying  nothing 
in  many  words  beyond  any  man  that  ever 
existed ;  and  when  he  seems  to  have  made  a 
proposition,  he  is  so  dreadfully  frightened  at 
it,  that  he  proceeds  as  quickly  as  possible,  in 
the  ensuing  sentence,  to  disconnect  the  subject 
and  the  predicate,  and  to  avert  the  dangers  he 
has  incurred : — but  as  he  is  a  bishop,  and  will 
be  therefore  more  read  than  I  am,  I  cannot 
pass  him  over.  His  lordship  tells  us,  that  it 
was  at  one  time  under  consideration  of  the 
commissioners  whether  they  should  not  tax 
all  benefices  above  a  certain  value,  in  order  to 
raise  a  fund  for  the  improvement  of  smaller 
livings;  and  his  lordship  adds,  with  the  great- 
est innocence,  that  the  considerations  which 
principally  weighed  with  the  commissioners 
in  inducing  them  not  to  adopt  the  plan  of  taxa- 
tion, was  that  they  understood  the  clergy  in 
general  to  be  decidedly  averse  to  it ;  so  that 
the  plan  of  the  commission  was,  that  the 
greater  benefices  should  pay  to  the  little,  while 
the  bishops  themselves — the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  with  his  15,000/.  a  year,  and  the 
Bishop  of  London  with  his  10,000?.  a  j^ear — 
were  not  to  subscribe  a  single  farthing  for  that 
purpose.  Why  does  John,  Bishop  of  Lincoln, 
mention  these  distressing  schemes  of  the  com- 
mission, which  we  are  certain  would  have 
been  met  with  a  general  yell  of  indignation 
from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  another? 
Surely  it  must  have  occurred  to  this  excellent 
prelate  that  the  bishops  would  have  been  com- 
pelled, by  mere  shame,  to  have  contributed  to 
the  fund  which  they  were  about  to  put  upon 
the  backs  of  the  more  opulent  parochial  clergy; 
surely  a  moment's  reflection  must  have  taught 
them  that  the  safer  method  by  far  was  to  con- 
fiscate cathedral  property. 

The  idea  of  abandoning  this  taxation,  be- 
cause it  was  displeasing  to  the  clergy  at  large, 
is  not  unentertaining  as  applied  to  a  commis- 
sion who  treated  the  clergy  with  the  greatest 
contempt,  and  did  not  even  notice  the  com- 
munications from  cathedral  bodies  upon  the 
subject  of  the  most  serious  and  extensive 
confiscations.* 


*  Upon  this  subject  I  think  it  right  to  introduce  the 
following  letters,  the  first  of  which  was  published  Jan. 
23,  133S  :— 

TO  TflE  EDITOR  OF  THE  TIMES. 

"  Sir,— I  feel  it  to  be  consistent  with  my  duty,  as  secre- 
tary to  the  church  commissioners,  to  notice  a  statement 
emanating  from  a  quarter  which  would  seem  to  irive  it 
authenticity — that,  of  seven  chapter  memorials  addressed 
to  the  board,  the  receipt  of  one  was  only  acknowledged. 

"It  is  strictly  within  my  province  to  acknowledse 
communications  made  to  tlie  commissioners  as  a  body, 
cither  directly  or  through  me ;   and  it  is  part  of  their 


"  The  plan  of  taxation,  therefore,"  says  the 
bishop,  "  being  abandoned,  it  was  evident  that 
the  funds  for  the  augmentation  of  poor  livings, 
and  for  the  supply  of  the  spiritual  wants  of 
populous  districts,  must  be  drawn  from  the 
episcopal  and  cathedral  revenues ;  that  is, 
from  the  revenues  from  Avhich  the  legislature 
seems  to  have  a  peculiar  right  to  draw  the 
funds  for  the  general  supply  of  the  religious 
wants  of  the  people  ;  because  they  arise  from 
benefices,  of  which  the  patronage  is  either 
actually  in  the  crown,  or  is  derivative  from  the 
crown.  In  the  case  of  the  episcopal  revenues, 
the  commissioners  had  already  carried  the 
principle  of  redistribution  as  far  as  they 
thought  that  it  could,  with  due  allowance  for 
the  various  demands  upon  the  incomes  of  the 
bishops,  be  carried.  The  only  remaining 
source,  therefore,  was  to  be  found  in  the 
cathedral  revenues;  and  the  commissioners 
proceeded,  in  the  execution  of  the  duties  pre- 
scribed to  them,  to  consider  in  what  manner 


s:eneral  instructions  to  me  that  1  should  do  so  in  all 
cases. 

"  To  whatever  extent,  therefore,  the  statement  may  be 
true,  or  wliatever  may  be  its  value,  it  is  clear  that  it 
cannot  attach  to  the  commissioners,  but  that  I  alone  am 
responsible. 

"In  the  execution  of  my  office,  I  have  endeavoured, 
in  the  midst  of  my  other  duties,  to  conduct  an  extensive 
correspondence  in  accordance  to  what  I  knew  to  be  the 
feelings  and  wishes  of  the  commissioners,  and  to  treat 
every  party  in  communication  with  them  with  attention 
and  respect. 

"If,  at  some  period  of  more  than  usual  pressure,  any 
accidental  omission  may  have  occurred,  or  may  hereafter 
occur,  involving  an  appearance  of  discourtesy,  it  is  for 
me  to  offer,  as  I  now  do,  explanation  and  apology. 
"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  C.  K.  Murray. 

"  IVliitekall  Place,  Jan.  21." 

TO  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  TIMES. 

"  Sir, — A  more  indiscreet  and  extraordinary  communi- 
cation than  that  which  appears  in  your  own  paper  of  the 
2;fd  instant,  signed  by  Mr.  C.  K.  Murray,  I  never  read. 
'Jipparet  damus  ititus.'  It  is  now  clear  how  the  commis- 
sion has  been  worked.  Where  communications  from  the 
oldest  ecclesiastical  bodies,  upon  the  most  important  of 
all  subjects  to  them  and  to  the  kingdom,  were  received 
by  the  greatest  prelates  and  noblemen  of  the  land,  acting 
under'the  king's  commission,  I  should  have  thought  that 
answers  suitable  to  the  occasion  would,  in  each  case, 
have  been  dictated  by  the  commission  ;  that  such  an- 
swers would  have  been  entered  on  the  minutes,  and 
read  on  the  board-day  next  ensuing. 

"Is  Mr.  C.  K.  Murray  quite  sure  that  this,  which  is 
done  at  all  boards  on  the  most  trifling  subjects,  was  not 
done  at  his  board,  in  the  most  awful  confiscation  ever 
known  in  England?  Is  he  certain  that  spoliation  was  in 
no  instance  sweetened  by  civility,  and  injustice  never 
vanished  by  forms  1  Were  all  the  decencies  and  proprie- 
ties, which  ought  to  regulate  the  intercourse  of  such 
great  bodies,  left  without  a  single  inquiry  from  the  com- 
missioner, to  a  gentleman  who  seems  to  have  been  seized 
with  six  distinct  fits  of  oblivion  on  six  separate  occasions, 
any  one  of  which  required  all  that  attention  to  decorum 
and  that  accuracy  of  memory  for  which  secretaries  are 
selected  and  paid  ■? 

"According  to  Mr.  C.  K.  Murray's  account,  the  only 
order  he  received  from  the  board  was,  '  If  any  preben- 
dary calls,  or  any  cathedral  writes,  desiring  not  to  be 
destroyed,  just  say  the  communication  has  *'een  re- 
ceived;' and  even  this,  Mr  Murray  tells  us,  he  nas  not 
done,  and  that  no  one  of  the  king's  conmiissioners — 
archbishops,  bishops,  marquises,  earls — ever  asked  him 
whether  he  had  done  it  or  nnt— though  any  one  of  these 
great  people  would  have  swooned  away  at  the  idea  of 
not  answering  the  most  trifling  communication  from  any 
other  of  these  great  people. 

"  Whatever  "else  these  commissioners  do,  they  had 
better  not  bring  their  secretary  forward  again.  They 
may  feel  wind-bound  by  public  opinion, 'but  they  must 
choose,  as  a  sacrifice,  a  better  Iphigenia  than  Mr.  C.  K. 
Murray. 

"Sydney  Smith  " 


406 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


those  reTenues  might  be  rendered  conducive 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  established  church." 

This  is  very  good  episcopal  reasoning ;  but 
is  it  true  ]  The  bishops  and  commissioners 
•wanted  a  fund  to  endow  small  livings;  they 
did  not  touch  a  farthing  of  their  own  incomes, 
only  distributed  them  a  little  more  equally; 
and  proceeded  lustily  at  once  to  confiscate 
cathedral  property.  But  why  was  it  neces- 
sary, if  the  fund  for  small  livings  was  such  a 
paramount  consideration,  that  the  future  arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  should  be  left  with  two 
palaces,  and  15,000Z.  per  annum?  Why  is 
every  future  bishop  of  London  to  have  a 
palace  in  Fulham,  a  house  in  St.  James's 
Square,  and  10,000/.  a-yearl  Could  not  all 
the  episcopal  functions  be  carried  on  well  and 
effectually  with  the  half  of  these  incomes  1 
Is  it  necessary  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury should  give  feasts  to  aristocratic  London; 
and  that  the  domestics  of  the  prelacy  should 
stand  with  swords  and  bag-wigs  round  pig, 
and  turkey,  and  venison,  to  defend,  as  it  were, 
the  orthodox  gastronome  from  the  fierce  Uni- 
tarian, the  fell  Baptist,  and  all  the  famished 
children  of  dissent?  I  don't  object  to  all  this; 
because  I  am  sure  that  the  method  of  prizes 
and  blanks  is  the  best  method  of  supporting 
a  church,  which  must  be  considered  as  very 
slenderly  endowed,  if  the  whole  were  equally 
divided  among  the  parishes  ;  but  if  my  opinion 
were  different — if  I  thought  the  important  im- 
provement was  to  equalize  preferment  in  the 
English  church — that  such  a  measure  was  not 
the  one  thing  foolish,  but  the  one  thing  need- 
ful— I  should  take  care,  as  a  mitred  commis- 
sioner, to  reduce  my  own  species  of  preferment 
to  the  narrowest  limits,  before  I  proceeded  to 
confiscate  the  property  of  any  other  grade  of 
the  church.  I  could  not,  as  a  conscientious 
man,  leave  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  with 
15,000/.  a-year,  and  make  a  fund  by  annihilat- 
ing residentiaries  at  Bristol  of  500/.  This 
comes  of  calling  a  meeting  of  one  species  of 
cattle  only.  The  horned  cattle  say, — "  If  you 
want  any  meat,  kill  the  sheep ;  don't  meddle 
with  us,  there  is  no  beef  to  spare."  They  said 
this,  however,  to  the  lion;  and  the  cunning 
animal,  after  he  had  gained  all  the  information 
necessary  for  the  destruction  of  the  muttons, 
and  learned  how  well  and  widely  they  pastured, 
and  how  they  could  be  most  convenientl}' 
eaten  up,  turns  round  and  informs  the  cattle, 
who  took  him  for  their  best  and  tenderest 
friend,  that  he  means  to  eat  them  up  also. 
Frequently  did  Lord  John  meet  the  destroying 
bishops ;  much  did  he  commend  their  daily 
heaps  of  ruins ;  sweetly  did  they  smile  on 
each  other,  and  much  charming  talk  was  there 
of  meteorology  and  catarrh,  and  the  particular 
cathedral  they  were  pulling  down  at  each 
period;*  till  one  fine  day,  the  home  secretary, 
with  a  voice  more  bland,  and  a  look  more 
ardently  afiectionate,  than  that  which  the 
masculine  mouse  bestows  on  his  nibbling 
female,  informed  them  that  the  government 
meant  to  take  all  the  church  property  into 
their  own  hands,  to  pay  the  rates  out  of  it,  and 


*  "What  cathedral  are  we  pulling  down  to-day i" 
was  the  standing  question  at  the  commission. 


deliver  the  residue  to  the  rightful  possessors. 
Such  an  effect,  they  say,  was  never  before 
produced  by  a  coup  de  theatre.  The  commission 
was  separated  in  an  instant:  London  clinched 
his  fist ;  Canterbury  was  hurried  out  by  his 
chaplains,  and  put  into  a  warm  bed ;  a  solemn 
vacancy  spread  itself  over  the  face  of  Glouces- 
ter; Lincoln  was  taken  out  in  strong  hys- 
terics.— What  a  noble  scene  Serjeant  Talfourd 
would  have  made  of  this !  Why  are  such 
talents  wasted  on  Ion  and  the  Athenian  Captive? 

But,  after  all,  what  a  proposition !  "  You 
don't  make  the  most  of  your  money:  I  will 
take  your  property  into  my  hands,  and  see  if 
I  cannot  squeeze  a  penny  out  of  it:  you  shall 
be  regularly  paid  all  you  now  receive,  only  if 
any  thing  more  can  be  made  of  it,  that  we  will 
put  into  our  own  pockets." — "Just  pull  off 
your  neck-cloth,  and  lay  your  head  under  the 
guillotine,  and  I  will  promise  not  to  do  you  an)' 
harm :  just  get  ready  for  confiscation  ;  give  up 
the  management  of  all  your  property ;  make 
us  the  ostensible  managers  of  every  thing; 
let  us  be  informed  of  the  most  minute  value 
of  all,  and  depend  upon  it,  we  will  never  injure 
you  to  the  extent  of  a  single  farthing." — "  Let 
me  get  my  arms  about  you,"  says  the  bear ;  "  I 
have  not  the  smallest  intention  of  squeezin^r 
you." — "Trust  your  finger  in  my  mouth,"  says 
the  mastiff;  "I  will  not  fetch  blood." 

Where  is  this  to  end?  If  government  are 
to  take  into  their  own  hands  all  property  which 
is  not  managed  with  the  greatest  sharpness 
and  accuracy,  they  may  squeeze  l-8th  per 
cent,  out  of  the  Turkey  Companj' ;  Spring  Rice 
would  become  director  of  the  Hydro-imper- 
vious Association,  and  clear  a  few  hundreds 
for  the  treasury.  The  British  Roasted  Apple 
Society  is  notoriously  mismanaged,  and  Lord 
John  and  Brother  Lister,  by  a  careful  selection 
of  fruit,  and  a  judicious  management  of  fuel, 
would  soon  get  it  up  to  par. 

I  think,  however,  I  have  heard  at  the  Politi- 
cal Economy  Club,  where  I  have  sometimes 
had  the  honour  of  being  a  guest,  that  no  trades 
should  be  carried  on  by  governments.  That 
they  have  enough  to  do  of  their  own,  without 
undertaking  other  persons'  business.  If  any 
savings  in  the  mode  of  managing  ecclesiasti- 
cal leases  could  be  made,  great  deduction  from 
these  savings  must  be  allowed  for  the  jobbing 
and  Gaspillage  of  general  boards,  and  all  the 
old  servants  of  the  church,  displaced  by  this 
measure,  must  receive  compensation. 

The  whig  government,  they  will  be  vexed  to 
hear,  would  find  a  great  deal  of  patronage 
forced  upon  them  by  this  measure.  Their  fa- 
vourite human  animal,  the  barrister  of  six 
years'  standing,  would  be  called  into  action. — 
The  whole  earth  is,  in  fact,  in  commission,  and 
the  human  race,  saved  from  the  flood,  are  de- 
livered over  to  barristers  of  six  years'  stand- 
ing. The  07n(,s  prohandi  now  lies  upon  any  man 
who  says  he  is  not  a  commissioner;  the  only 
doubt  on  seeing  a  new  man  among  the  whigs 
is,  not  whether  he  is  a  commissioner  or  not, 
but  whether  it  is  tithes,  poor-laws,  boundaries 
of  boroughs,  church  leases,  charities,  or  any 
of  the  thousand  human  concerns  which  are 
now  worked  by  commissioners,  to  the  infinite 
comfort  and  satisfaction  of  mankind,  who  seem 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


407 


in  these  days  to  have  found  out  the  real  secret 
of  life — the  one  thing  wanting  to  sublunary 
happiness — the  gi'eat  principle  of  commission, 
and  six  years'  barristration. 

Then,  if  there  is  a  better  method  of  working 
ecclesiastical  estates — if  any  thing  can  be 
gained  for  the  church — why  is  not  the  church 
to  have  it  1  why  is  it  not  applied  to  church 
purposes  1  what  right  has  the  state  to  seize  it  ? 
If  I  give  you  an  estate,  I  give  it  you  not  only 
in  its  present  state,  but  I  give  to  you  all  the 
improvements  which  can  be  made  upon  it — 
all  that  mechanical,  botanical,,  and  chemical 
knowledge  may  do  hereafter  for  its  improve- 
ment— all  the  ameliorations  which  care  and 
experience  can  suggest,  in  setting,  improving, 
and  collecting  your  rents.  Can  there  be  such 
miserable  equivocation  as  to  say — I  leave  you 
your  property,  but  I  do  not  leave  to  you  all  the 
improvements  which  your  own  wisdom,  or  the 
wisdom  of  your  fellow-creatures,  will  enable 
you  to  make  of  your  property  1  How  utterly 
unworthy  of  a  whig  government  is  such  a  dis- 
tinction as  this ! 

Suppose  the  same  sort  of  plan  had  been 
adopted  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  the 
legislature  had  said, — You  shall  enjoy  all  you 
now  have,  but  every  farthing  of  improved 
revenue,  after  this  period,  shall  go  into  the 
pocket  of  the  state — it  would  have  been  im- 
possible by  this  time  that  the  church  could 
have  existed  at  all:  and  why  may  not  such  a 
measure  be  as  fatal  hereafter  to  the  existence 
of  a  church,  as  it  would  have  been  to  the  pre- 
sent generation,  if  it  had  been  brought  forward 
at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  1 

There  is  some  safety  in  dignity.  A  church 
is  in  danger  when  it  is  degraded.  It  costs 
mankind  much  less  to  destroy  it  when  an  in- 
stitution is  associated  with  mean,  and  not  with 
elevated  ideas.  I  should  like  to  see  the  subject 
in  the  hands  of  H.  B.  I  would  entitle  the 
print — 

"The  Bishops'  Saturday  Night;  or,  Lord  John 
Russell  at  the  Pay-Table." 

The  bishops  should  be  standing  before  the 
pay-table,  and  receiving  their  weekly  allow- 
ance ;  Lord  John  and  Spring  Rice  counting, 
ringing,  and  biting  the  sovereigns,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Exeter  insisting  that  the  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer  has  given  him  one  which 
was  not  weight.  Viscount  Melbourne,  in  high 
chuckle,  should  be  standing,  with  his  hat  on, 
and  his  back  to  the  fire,  delighted  with  the  con- 
test; and  the  deans  and  canons  should  be  in 
the  back-ground,  waiting  till  their  turn  came, 
and  the  bishops  were  paid ;  and  among  them 
a  canon,  of  large  composition,  urging  them  on 
not  to  give  way  too  much  to  the  bench.  Per- 
haps I  should  add  the  president  of  the  board 
of  trade,  recommending  the  truck  principle  to 
the  bishops,  and  offering  to  pay  them  in  has- 
socks, cassocks,  aprons,  shovel-hats,  sermon- 
cases,  and  such  like  ecclesiastical  gear. 

But  the  madness  and  folly  of  such  a  measure 
are  in  the  revolutionary  feeling  which  it  ex- 
cites. A  government  taking  into  its  hands 
such  an  immense  value  of  property!  What  a 
lesson  of  violence  and  change  to  the  mass  of 
mankind !     Do  you  want  to  accustom  English- 


men to  lose  all  confidence  in  the  permanence 
of  their  institutions — to  inure  them  to  great 
acts  of  plunder — and  to  draw  forth  all  the 
latent  villanies  of  human  nature  1  The  whig 
leaders  ai'e  honest  men,  and  cannot  mean  this, 
but  these  foolish  and  inconsistent  measures  are 
the  horn-book  and  infantile  lessons  of  revolu- 
tion ;  and  remember,  it  requires  no  great  time 
to  teach  mankind  to  rob  and  murder  on  a  great 
scale. 

I  am  astonished  that  these  ministers  neglect 
the  common  precaution  of  a  foolometer,*  with 
which  no  public  man  should  be  unprovided ;  I 
mean,  the  acquaintance  and  society  of  three  or 
four  regular  British  fools  as  a  test  of  public 
opinion.  Every  cabinet  minister  should  judge 
of  all  his  measures  by  his  foolometer,  as  a  na- 
vigator crowds  or  shortens  sail  by  the  baro- 
meter in  his  cabin.  I  have  a  very  valuable  in- 
strument of  that  kind  myself,  which  I  have 
used  for  many  years;  and  I  would  be  bound  to 
predict,  with  the  utmost  nicety,  by  the  help  of 
this  machine,  the  precise  etfect  which  any 
measure  would  produce  upon  public  opinion. 
Certainly,  I  never  saw  any  thing  so  decided  as 
the  effects  produced  upon  my  machine  by  the 
rate  bill.  No  man  who  had  been  accustomed 
in  the  smallest  degree  to  handle  philosophical 
instruments  could  have  doubted  of  the  storm 
which  was  coming  on,  or  of  the  thoroughly 
un-English  scheme  in  which  the  ministry  had 
so  rashly  engaged  themselves. 

I  think,  also,  that  it  is  a  very  sound  argu- 
ment against  this  measure  of  church  rates, 
that  estates  have  been  bought  liable  to  these 
payments,  and  that  they  have  been  deducted 
from  the  purchase-money.  And  what,  also, 
if  a  dissenter  were  a  republican  as  well  as  a 
dissenter — a  case  which  has  sometimes  hap- 
pened; and  what  if  our  anti-monarchical  dis- 
senter were  to  object  to  the  expenses  of  kingly 
government  1  Are  his  scruples  to  be  respected, 
and  his  taxes  diminished,  and  the  queen's 
privy  purse  to  be  subjected  and  exposed  to  the 
intervening  and  economical  squeeze  of  govern- 
ment-commissioners 1 

But  these  lucubrations  upon  church  rates 
are  an  episode  ;  I  must  go  back  to  John,  Bishop 
of  Lincoln.  All  other  cathedrals  are  fixed  at 
four  prebendaries ;  St.  Paul's  and  Lincoln, 
having  only  three,  are  increased  to  the  regula- 
tion pattern  of  four.  I  call  this  useless  and 
childish.  The  Bishop  of  Lincoln  says,  there 
were  more  residentiaries  before  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  but  if  for  three  hundred  years  three  resi- 
dentiaries have  been  found  to  be  sufficient, 
what  a  strangely  feeble  excuse  it  is  for  adding 
another,  and  diverting  3000/.  per  annum  from 
the  small  living  fund,  to  say,  that  there  were 
more  residentiaries  three  hundred  years  ago. 

Must  every  thing  be  good  and  right  that  is 


♦  Mr.  Fox  very  often  used  to  say,  "  I  wonder  what 
Lord  B.  will  think  of  this."  Lord  B.  h.ippened  to  be  a 
very  stupid  person,  and  the  curiosity  of  Mr.  Fox's  friends 
was  naturally  excited  to  know  why  he  attached  such 
importance  to  the  opinion  of  such  an  ordinary  common- 
place person.  "His  opinion,"  said  Mr.  Fox,  "is  of  much 
more  importance  than  you  are  aware  of  He  is  an  exact 
representative  of  all  commnn-place  English  prejudices, 
and  what  Lord  B.  thinks  of  any  measure,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  English  people  will  think  of  it. "  It  would  be  a 
good  thing  if  every  cabinet  of  philosophers  had  a  Lord  B. 
among  them. 


408 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


done  by  bishops  1  Is  there  one  rule  of  right 
for  them,  and  another  for  the  rest  of  the  world] 
Now  here  are  two  commissioners,  whose  ex- 
press object  is  to  constitute,  out  of  the  large 
emoluments  of  the  dignitaries,  a  fund  for  the 
poorer  parochial  clergy ;  and  in  the  very  heat 
and  fervour  of  confiscation,  they  build  up  two 
new  places,  utterly  useless  and  uncalled  for, 
take  3000Z.  from  the  charity  fund  to  pay  them, 
and  they  give  patronage  of  these  places  to  them- 
selves. Is  there  a  single  epithet  in  the  lan- 
guage of  invective  which  would  not  have  been 
levelled  at  lay  commissioners  who  had  at- 
tempted the  same  thing "?  If  it  is  necessary  to 
do  so  much  for  archdeacons,  why  might  not 
one  of  the  three  residentaries  be  archdeacon 
in  virtue  of  his  prebend  1  If  government  make 
bishops,  they  may  surely  be  trusted  to  make 
archdeacons.  I  am  very  willing  to  ascribe 
good  motives  to  these  commissioners,  who  are 
really  worthy  and  very  sensible  men,  but  I  am 
perfectly  astonished  that  they  were  not  deterred 
from  such  a  measure  by  appearances,  and 
by  the  motives  which,  whether  rightly  or 
wrongly,  would  be  imputed  to  them.  In  not 
acting  so  as  to  be  suspected,  the  Bishop  of 
London  should  resemble  Csesar's  wife.  In 
other  respects,  this  excellent  prelate  would  not 
have  exactly  suited  for  the  partner  of  that  great 
and  self-willed  man  ;  and  an  idea  strikes  me, 
that  it  is  not  impossible  he  might  have  been  in 
the  senate-house  instead  of  Csesar. 

Lord  John  Russell  gives  himself  great  credit 
for  not  having  confiscated  church  property, 
but  merely  remodelled  and  redivided  it.  I  ac- 
cuse him  not  of  plunder,  but  I  accuse  him  of 
taking  the  Church  of  England,  rolling  it  about 
as  a  cook  does  a  piece  of  dough,  with  a  rolling 
pin,  cutting  a  hundred  different  shapes  with  all 
the  plastic  fertility  of  a  confectioner,  and 
■without  the  most  distant  suspicion  that  he  can 
ever  be  wrong,  or  ever  be  mistaken :  with 
a  certainty  that  he  can  anticipate  the  conse- 
quences of  every  possible  change  in  human 
affairs.    There  is  not  a  better  man  in  Eng- 


land than  Lord  John  Russell ;  but  his  fail- 
ure is,  that  he  is  utterly  ignorant  of  all  moral 
fear;  there  is  nothing  he  would  not  undertake. 
I  believe  he  would  perform  the  operation  for 
the  stone — build  St.  Peter's — or  assume  (with 
or  without  ten  minutes'  notice)  the  command 
of  the  Channel  fleet;  and  no  one  would  disco- 
ver by  his  manner  that  the  patient  had  died — 
the  church  tumbled  down — and  the  Channel 
fleet  been  knocked  to  atoms.  I  believe  his 
motives  are  always  pure,  and  his  measures 
often  able ;  but  they  are  endless,  and  never 
done  with  that  pedetentous  pace  and  pedeten- 
tous  mind  in  which  it  behoves  the  wise  and 
virtuous  improver  to  walk.  He  alarms  the 
wise  liberals ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  sleep 
soundly  while  he  has  the  command  of  the 
watch.* 

Do  not  say,  my  dear  Lord  John,  that  I  am  too 
severe  upon  you.  A  thousand  years  have  scarce 
sufficed  to  make  our  blessed  England  what  it 
is;  an  hour  may  lay  it  in  the  dust;  and  can 
you,  with  all  your  talents,  renovate  its  shattered 
splendour — can  you  recall  back  its  virtues- 
can  you  vanquish  time  and  fate  1  But,  alas! 
you  want  to  shake  the  world,  and  to  be  the 
thunderer  of  the  scene  ! 

Now  what  is  the  end  of  what  I  have  written? 
Why  every  body  was  in  a  great  fright;  and  a 
number  of  bishops,  huddled  together,  and  talk- 
ing of  their  great  sacrifices,  began  to  destroy 
other  people's  property,  and  to  take  other  peo- 
ple's patronage  :  and  all  the  fright  is  over  now ; 
and  all  the  bishops  are  very  sorry  for  what 
they  have  done,  and  regret  extremely  the  de- 
struction of  the  cathedral  dignitaries,  but  don't 
know  how  to  get  out  of  the  foolish  scrape.  The 
whig  ministry  persevere  to  please  Joseph  and 
his  brethren,  and  the  destroyers  ;  and  the  good 
sense  of  the  matter  is  to  fling  out  the  dean  and 
chapter  bill,  as  it  now  stands,  and  to  bring  in 
another  next  year — making  a  fund  out  of  all 
the  non-resident  prebends,  annexing  some  of 
the  others,  and  adopting  many  of  the  enact- 
ments contained  in  the  present  hill. 


THIRD  LETTER  TO  ARCHDEACON  SINGLETON. 


Mr  BEAR  Sin, 

I  HOPE  this  is  the  last  letter  you  will  receive 
from  me  on  church  matters.  I  am  tired  of  the 
subject ;  so  are  you ;  so  is  every  body.  In 
spite  of  many  bishops'  charges,  I  am  unbroken  ; 
and  remain  entirely  of  the  same  opinion  as  I 
was  two  or  three  years  since — that  the  muti- 
lation of  deans  and  chapters  is  a  rash,  foolish, 
and  imprudent  measure. 

I  do  not  think  the  charge  of  the  Bishop  of 
London  successful,  in  combating  those  argu- 
ments which  have  been  used  against  the  im- 
pending dean  and  chapter  bill ;  but  it  is  quiet, 
gentleman-like,  temperate,  and  written  in   a 


manner  which  entirely  becomes  the  high  office 
and  character  which  he  bears. 

I  agree  with  him  in  saying  that  the  plurality 
and  residence  bill  is,  upon  the  whole,  a  very 
good  bill ; — nobody,  however,  knows  better 
than  the  Bishop  of  London  the  various  changes 
it  has  undergone,  and  the  improvements  it  has 
received.  I  could  point  out  fourteen  or  fifteen 
very  material  alterations  for  the  better,  since 
it  came  out  of  the  hands  of  the  commission, 
and  all  bearing  materially  upon  the  happiness  and 

*  Another  peculiarity  of  the  RusspIIs  is,  that  they  ne- 
ver alter  their  opinions  :  they  are  an  excellent  race,  but 
they  n>ust  be  trepanned  before  they  can  be  convinced. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


409 


comfort  of  the  parochial  clergy.  T  will  mention 
only  a  few : — the  bill,  as  originally  introduced, 
gave  the  bishop  a  power,  when  he  considered 
the  duties  of  the  parish  to  be  improperly  per- 
formed, to  suspend  the  clergyman  and  appoint 
a  curate  with  a  salary.  Some  impious  per- 
sons thought  it  not  impossible  that  occasionally 
such  a  power  might  be  maliciously  and  vin- 
dictively exercised,  and  that  some  check  to  it 
should  be  admitted  into  the  bill ;  accordingly, 
under  the  existing  act,  an  ecclesiastical  jury 
is  to  be  summoned,  and  into  that  jury  the  de- 
fendant clergyman  may  introduce  a  friend  of 
his  own. 

If  a  clergyman,  from  illness  or  any  other 
overwhelming  necessity,  was  prevented  from 
having  two  services,  he  was  exposed  to  an 
information  and  penalty.  In  answering  the 
bishop,  he  was  subjected  to  two  opposite  sets 
of  penalties — the  one  for  saying  yes ;  the  other 
for  saying  «o.-  he  was  amenable  to  the  need- 
less and  impertinent  scrutiny  of  a  rural  dean 
before  he  was  exposed  to  the  scrutiny  of  the 
bishop.  Curates  might  be  forced  upon  him 
by  subscribing  parishioners,  and  the  certainty 
of  a  schism  established  in  the  parish  ;  a  curate 
might  have  been  forced  upon  present  incum- 
bents by  the  bishop  without  any  complaint 
made  ;  upon  men  who  took,  or,  perhaps,  bought 
their  livings  under  very  different  laws;  all 
these  acts  of  injustice  are  done  away  with,  but 
it  is  not  to  the  credit  of  the  framers  of  the  bill 
that  they  were  ever  admitted,  and  they  com- 
pletely justify  the  opposition  with  which  the 
bill  was  received  by  me  and  by  others.  I  add, 
however,  with  great  pleasure,  that  when  these 
and  other  objections  were  rhade,  they  were 
heard  with  candour,  and  promised  to  be  reme- 
died by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the 
Bishop  of  London  and  Lord  John  Russell. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  power  to  issue  a  com- 
mission to  inquire  into  the  well-being  of  any 
parish :  a  vindictive  and  malicious  bishop 
might,  it  is  true,  convert  this,  which  was  in- 
tended for  the  protection,  to  the  oppression  of 
the  clergy — afraid  to  dispossess  a  clergyman 
of  his  own  authority,  he  might  attempt  to  do 
the  same  thing  under  the  cover  of  a  jury  of 
his  ecclesiastical  creatures.  But  I  can  hardly 
conceive  such  baseness  in  the  prelate,  or  such 
infamous  subserviency  in  the  agents.  An 
honest  and  respectable  bishop  will  remember 
that  the  very  issue  of  such  a  commission  is  a 
serious  slur  upon  the  character  of  a  clergyman; 
he  will  do  all  he  can  to  prevent  it  by  private 
monition  and  remonstrance;  and  if  driven  to 
such  an  act  of  poAver,  he  will,  of  course,  state 
to  the  accused  clergyman  the  subjects  of  ac- 
cusation, the  names  of  his  accusers,  and  give 
him  ample  time  for  his  defence.  If,  upon 
anonymous  accusation,  he  subjects  a  clergy- 
man to  such  an  investigation,  or  refuses  to 
him  any  advantage  which  the  law  gives  to 
every  accused  person,  he  is  an  infamous,  de- 
graded, and  scandalous  tyrant :  but  I  cannot 
believe  there  is  such  a  man  to  be  found  upon 
the  bench. 

There  is  in  this  new  bill  a  very  humane 
clause,  (though  not  introduced  by  the  commis- 
sion), enabling  the  widow  of  the  deceased 
clergyman  to  retain  possession  of  the  parson- 
52 


age-house  for  two  months  after  the  death  of 
the  incumbent.  It  ought,  in  fairness,  to  be 
extended  to  the  heirs,  executors,  and  adminis- 
trators of  the  incumbent.  It  is  a  great  hard- 
ship that  a  family  settled  in  a  parish  for  fifty 
years,  perhaps,  should  be  torn  up  by  the  roots 
in  eight  or  ten  days ;  and  the  interval  of  two 
months,  allowing  time  for  repairs,  might  put 
to  rest  many  questions  of  dilapidation. 

To  the  bishop's  power  of  intruding  a  curate, 
without  any  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  parish 
that  the  duty  has  been  inadequately  performed, 
I  retain  the  same  objections  as  before.  It  is 
a  power  which,  without  this  condition,  will  be 
unfairly  and  partially  exercised.  The  first 
object  I  admit  is  not  the  provision  of  the 
clergymai>,  but  the  care  of  the  parish  ;  but  one 
way  of  taking  care  of  parishes  is  to  take  care 
that  clergymen  are  not  treated  with  tyranny, 
partiality,  and  injustice  ;  and  the  best  way  of 
effecting  this  is  to  remember  that  their  supe- 
riors have  the  same  human  passions  as  other 
people,  and  not  to  trust  them  with  a  power 
which  may  be  so  grossly  abused,  and  which 
(incredible  as  the  Bishop  of  London  may 
deem  it)  has  been,  in  some  instances,  grossly 
abused. 

I  cannot  imagine  what  the  bishop  means  by 
saying,  that  the  members  of  cathedrals  do  not, 
in  virtue  of  their  office,  bear  any  part  in  the 
parochial  instruction  of  the  people.  This  is  a 
fine  deceitful  word,  the  word  parochial,  and 
eminently  calculated  to  coax  the  public.  If 
he  means  simply  that  cathedrals  do  not  belong 
to  parishes,  that  St.  Paul's  is  not  the  parish 
church  of  Upper  Puddicomb,  and  that  the 
vicar  of  St.  Fiddlefrid  does  not  ofiiciate  in 
Westminster  Abbey :  all  this  is  true  enough, 
but  do  they  not  in  the  most  material  points 
instruct  the  people  precisely  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  parochial  clergy  1  Are  not  prayers 
and  sermons  the  most  important  means  of 
spiritual  instruction"?  And  are  there  not 
eighteen  or  twenty  services  in  every  cathedral 
for  one  which  is  heard  in  parish  churches'? 
I  have  very  often  counted  in  the  afternoon  of 
week  days  in  St.  Paul's  150  people,  and  on 
Sundays  it  is  full  to  suffocation.  Is  all  this  to 
go  for  nothing  7  and  what  right  has  the  Bishop 
of  London  to  suppose  that  there  is  not  as  much 
real  piety  in  cathedrals,  as  in  the  most  road- 
less, postless,  melancholy,  sequestered  hamlet 
preached  to  by  the  most  provincial,  seques- 
tered, bucolic  clergyman  in  the  queen's  domi- 
nions ? 

A  number  of  little  children,  it  is  true,  do  not 
repeat  a  catechism  of  which  they  do  not  com- 
prehend a  word ;  but  it  is  rather  rapid  and 
wholesale  to  say,  that  the  parochial  clergy  an; 
spiritual  instructors  of  the  people,  and  that  thtj 
cathedral  clergy  are  only  so  in  a  ver}' restrict- 
ed sense.  I  say  that  in  the  most  material 
points  and  acts  of  instruction,  they  are  much 
more  laborious  and  incessant  than  any  paro- 
chial clergy.  It  might  really  be  supposed, 
from  the  Bishop  of  London's  reasoning,  that 
some  other  methods  of  instruction  took  place 
in  cathedrals  than  prayers  and  sermons  can 
affcrd;  that  lectures  were  read  on  chemistry, 
or  essons  given  on  dancing;  or  that  it  was  a 
Me-'hanics'  Institute,  or  a  vast  receptacle  for 
2M 


410 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


hexameter  and  pentameter  boys.  His  own 
most  respectable  chaplain,  who  is  often  there 
as  a  member  of  the  body,  will  tell  him  that  the 
prayers  are  strictly  adhered  to,  according  to 
the  rubric,  with  the  difference  only  that  the 
service  i§  beautifully  chanted  instead  of  being 
badly  read ;  that  instead  of  the  atrocious  bawl- 
ing of  parish  churches,  the  anthems  are  sung 
with  great  taste  and  feeling :  and  if  the  preach- 
ing is  not  good,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  Bishop  of 
London,  who  has  the  whole  range  of  London 
preachers  from  whom  to  make  his  selection. 
The  real  fact  is,  that,  instead  of  being  some- 
thing materially  different  from  the  parochial 
clergy,  as  the  commissioners  wish  to  make 
them,  the  cathedral  clergy  are  fellow-labourers 
with  the  parochial  clergy,  outworking  them 
ten  to  one ;  but  the  commission  having  pro- 
vided snugly  for  the  bishops,  have,  by  the  merest 
accident  in  the  world,  entangled  themselves  in 
tiiis  quarrel  with  cathedrals. 

"  Had  the  question,"  says  the  bishop,  "  been 
proposed  to  the  religious  part  of  the  commu- 
nity, whether,  if  no  other  means  were  to  be 
found,  the  effective  cure  of  souls  should  be 
provided  for  by  the  total  suppression  of  those 
ecclesiastical  corporations  which  have  no 
cure  of  souls,  nor  bear  any  part  in  the  paro- 
chial labours  of  the  clergy ;  that  question,  I 
verily  believe,  would  have  been  carried  in  the 
affirmative  by  an  immense  majority  of  suf- 
frages." But  suppose  no  other  means  could  be 
found  for  the  effectiv^e  cure  of  souls  than  the 
suppression  of  bishops,  does  the  Bishop  of 
London  imagine  that  the  majority  of  suffrages 
would  have  been  less  immense  1  How  idle 
to  put  such  cases. 

A  pious  man  leaves  a  large  sum  of  money 
in  Catholic  times  for  some  purposes  which 
are  superstitious,  and  for  others,  such  as 
preaching  and  reading  prayers,  which  are  ap- 
plicable to  all  times ;  the  superstitious  usages 
are  abolished,  the  pious  usages  remain :  now 
the  bishop  must  admit,  if  you  take  half  or  any 
part  of  this  money  from  clergymen  to  whom  it 
was  given,  and  divide  it  for  similar  purposes 
among  clergy  to  whom  it  was  not  given,  you 
deviate  materially  from  the  intentions  of  the 
founder.  These  foundations  are  made  in  loco; 
in  many  of  them  the  locus  was,  perhaps,  the 
original  cause  of  the  gift.  A  man  who  founds 
an  almshouse  at  Edmonton  does  not  mean 
that  the  poor  of  Tottenham  should  avail  them- 
selves of  it;  and  if  he  could  have  anticipated 
such  a  consequence,  he  would  not  have  en- 
dowed any  almshouse  at  all.  Such  is  the 
respect  for  property,  that  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, when  it  becomes  impracticable  to  carry 
the  will  of  the  donor  into  execution,  always 
attend  to  the  cy  pres,  and  apply  the  charitable 
fund  to  a  purpose  as  germane  as  possible  to 
the  intention  of  the  founder;  but  here,  when 
men  of  Lincoln  have  left  to  Lincoln  cathedral, 
and  men  of  Hereford  to  Hereford,  the  com- 
missioners seize  it  all,  melt  it  into  a  common 
mass,  and  disperse  it  over  the  kingdom. 
Surely  the  Bishop  of  London  cannot  contend 
that  this  is  not  a  greater  deviation  from  the 
will  of  the  founder  than  if  the  same  people, 
remaining  in  the  same  place,  receiving  all  the 
founder  gave  them,  and  doing  all  things  not 


forbidden  by  the  law,  which  the  founder  order- 
ed, were  to  do  something  more  than  the  founder 
ordered,  were  to  become  the  guardians  of 
education,  the  counsel  to  the  bishop,  and  the 
curators  of  the  diocese  in  his  old  age  and 
decay. 

The  public  are  greater  robbers  and  plunder- 
ers than  anyone  in  the  public ;  look  at  the  whole 
transaction  ;  it  is  a  mixture  of  meanness  and 
violence.  The  country  choose  to  have  an 
established  religion,  and  a  resident  parochial 
clergy,  but  they  do  not  choose  to  build  houses 
for  their  parochial  clergy,  or  to  pay  them  in 
many  instances  more  than  a  butler  or  a  coach- 
man receives.  How  is  this  deficiency  to  be 
supplied  ■?  The  heads  of  the  church  propose 
to  this  public  to  seize  upon  estates  which 
never  belonged  to  the  public,  and  which  were 
left  for  another  purpose ;  and  by  the  seizure 
of  these  estates  to  save  that  which  ought  to 
come  out  of  the  public  purse. 

Suppose  Parliament  were  to  seize  upon  alL 
the  almshouses  in  England,  and  apply  them 
to  the  diminution  of  the  poor-rate,  what  a  num- 
ber of  ingenious  arguments  might  be  pressed 
into  the  service  of  this  robbery :  "  Can  any 
thing  be  more  revolting  than  that  the  poor  of 
Northumberland  should  be  starving  while  the 
poor  of  the  suburban  hamlets  are  dividing  the 
benefactions  of  the  pious  deadi  'We  tvant 
for  these  purposes  all  that  we  can  obtain  from 
whatever  sources  derived.'"  I  do  not  deny  the 
right  of  parliament  to  do  this,  or  any  thing 
else ;  but  I  deny  that  it  would  be  expedient, 
because  I  think  it  better  to  make  any  sacrifices, 
and  to  endure  any  evil,  than  to  gratify  this  ra- 
pacious spirit  of  plunder  and  confiscatioa. 
Suppose  these  commissioner  prelates  firm 
and  unmoved,  when  we  were  all  alarmed,  had 
told  the  public  that  the  parochial  clergy  were 
badly  provided  for,  and  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  that  public  to  provide  a  proper  support 
for  their  ministers  ; — suppose  the  commission- 
ers, instead  of  leading  them  on  to  confisca- 
tions, had  warned  their  fellow  subjects  against 
the  base  economy,  and  the  perilous  injustice 
of  seizing  on  that  which  was  not  their  own ; — 
suppose  they  had  called  for  water  and  washed 
their  hands,  and  said,  "  We  call  you  all  to  wit- 
ness that  we  are  innocent  of  this  great  ruin ;" 
— does  the  Bishop  of  London  imagine  that 
the  prelates  who  made  such  a  stand  would 
have  gone  down,  to  posterity  less  respected 
and  less  revered  than  those  men  upon  whose 
tombs  it  must  (after  all  the  enumerations  of 
their  virtues)  be  written,  that  under  their  au- 
spices and  by  their  counsels  the  destruction  of  the 
English  church  began  ?  Pity  that  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  had  not  retained  those  feelings, 
when,  at  the  first  meeting  of  bishops,  the 
Bishop  of  London  proposed  this  holy  innovation 
upon  cathedrals,  and  the  head  of  our  church 
declared,  with  vehemence  and  indignation, 
that  nothing  in  the  earth  would  induce  him  to 
consent  to  it. 

Si  mens  non  Iseva  fuisset, 
Trojaque  nunc  stares,  Priamique  arx  alta  manereg. 

"But,"  says  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London, 
"you  admit  the  principle  of  confiscation  by 
proposing  the  confiscation  and  partition  of 
prebends  in  the  possession  of  non-residents." 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


41 1 


I  am  thinking  of  something  else,  and  I  see  all 
of  a  sudden  a  great  blaze  of  light ;  I  behold  a 
great  number  of  gentlemen  in  short  aprons, 
neat  purple  coats,  and  gold  buckles,  rushing 
about  with  torches  in  their  hands,  calling  each 
other  "  my  lord,"  and  setting  fire  to  all  the 
rooms  in  the  house,  and  the  people  below  de- 
lighted with  the  combustion ;  finding  it  impos- 
sible to  turn  them  from  their  purpose,  and 
finding  that  they  are  all  what  they  are,  by  di- 
vine permission ;  I  endeavour  to  direct  their 
holy  innovations  into  another  channel;  and  I 
say  to  them,  "  my  lords,  had  not  you  better  set 
fire  to  the  out  of  door  ofiices,  to  the  barns  and 
stables,  and  spare  this  fine  library  and  this 
noble  drawing-i'oom  1  Yonder  are  several 
cow-houses  of  which  no  use  is  made ;  pray 
direct  your  fury  against  them,  and  leave  this 
beautiful  and  venerable  mansion  as  you  found 
it."  If  I  address  the  divinely  permitted  in 
this  manner,  has  the  Bishop  of  London  any 
right  to  call  me  a  brother  incendiary? 

Our  holy  innovator,  the  Bishop  of  London, 
has  drawn  a  very  affecting  picture  of  sheep 
having  no  shepherd,  and  of  millions  who  have 
no  spiritual  food.;  our  wants,  he  says,  are  most 
imperious ;  even  if  we  were  to  tax  large 
livings,  we  must  still  have  the  money  of  the 
cathedrals:  no  plea  will  exempt  you,  nothing 
can  Slop  us,  for  the  formation  of  benefices, 
and  the  endowment  of  new  ones.  We  want 
(and  he  prints  it  in  italics)  for  these  purposes 
"  all  that  ive  can  obtain  from  whatever  sources  de- 
rived." I  never  remember  to  have  been  more 
alarmed  in  my  life  than  by  this  passage.  I 
said  to  myself,  the  necessities  of  the  church 
have  got  such  complete  hold  of  the  imagina- 
tion of  this  energetic  prelate,  who  is  so  capti- 
vated by  the  holiness  of  his  innovations,  that 
all  grades  and  orders  of  the  church  and  all 
present  and  future  interests  will  be  sacrificed 
to  it.  I  immediately  rushed  to  the  acts  of  Par- 
liament, which  I  always  have  under  my  pil- 
low, to  see  at  once  the  worst  of  what  had  hap- 
pened. I  found  present  revenues  of  the 
bishops  all  safe  ;  that  is  some  comfort,  I  said 
to  myself;  Canterbury,  24,000L  or  25,000/.  per 
annum;  London,  18,000?.  or  20,000/.  I  began 
to  feel  some  comfort :  "  things  are  not  so  bad ; 
the  bishops  do  not  mean  to  sacrifice  to  sheep 
and  slicpherds'  money  their  present  revenues  ; 
the  Bishop  of  London  is  less  violent  and  head- 
strong than  I  thought  he  would  be."  I  looked 
a  little  further,  and  found  that  15,000/.  per  an- 
num is  allotted  to  the  future  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  10,000/.  to  the  Bishop  of  London, 
8000/.  to  Durham,  and  8000/.  each  to  Winches- 
ter and  Ely.  "Nothing  of  sheep  and  shepherd 
in  all  this,"  I  exclaimed,  and  felt  still  more 
comforted.  It  was  not  till  after  the  bishops 
were  taken  care  of,  and  the  revenues  of  the 
cathedrals  came  into  full  view,  that  I  saw  the 
perfect  development  of  the  sheep  and  shepherd 
principle,  the  deep  and  heartfelt  compassion 
for  spiritual  labourers,  and  that  inward  groan- 
ing for  the  destitute  state  of  the  church,  and 
that  firm  purpose,  printed  in  italics,  of  taking 
for  the^e  purposes  all  that  coidd  he  obtained  from 
whativcr  source  derived ;  and  even  in  this  deli- 
cious rummage  of  cathedral  property,  where 
all  the   fine  church  feelines  of  the  bishop's 


heart  could  be  indulged  without  costing  the 
poor  sufferer  a  penny,  stalls  for  archdeacons 
in  Lincoln  and  St.  Paul's  are,  to  the  amount 
of  2000/.  per  annum,  taken  from  the  sheep  and 
shepherd  fund,  and  the  patronage  of  them  di- 
vided between  two  commissioners,  the  Bishop 
of  London,  and  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  instead 
of  being  paid  to  additional  labourers  in  the  vine- 
yard. 

Has  there  been  any  difficulty,  I  would  ask, 
in  procuring  archdeacons  upon  the  very  mode- 
rate pay  they  now  receive  ?  Can  any  clergy- 
man be  more  thoroughly  respectable  than  the 
present  archdeacons  in  the  see  of  London "? 
but  men  bearing  such  an  office  in  the  church, 
it  may  be  said,  should  be  highly  paid,  and 
archbishops,  who  could  very  well  keep  up 
their  dignity  upon  7000/.  per  annum,  are  to  be 
allowed  15,000/.  I  make  no  objection  to  all 
this ;  but  then  what  becomes  of  all  these 
heart-rending  phrases  of  sheep  and  shepherd,  and 
drooping  vi^ieyards,  and  flocks  without  spiritual  con- 
solation? The  bishop's  argument  is,  that  the 
superfluous  must  give  way  to  the  necessary; 
but  in  fighting,  the  bishop  should  take  great 
care  that  his  cannons  are  not  seized,  and 
turned  against  himself.  He  hag  awarded  to. 
the  bishops  of  England  a  superfluity  as  great 
as  that  which  he  intends  to  take  from  the 
cathedrals  ;  and  then,  when  he  legislates  for  an 
order  to  which  he  does  not  belong,  begins  to 
remember  the  distresses  of  the  lower  clergy, 
paints  them  with  all  the  colours  of  impassioned 
eloquence,  and  informs  the  cathedral  institu- 
tions that  he  must  have  every  farthing  he  can 
lay  his  hand  upon.  Is  not  this  as  if  one,  affected 
powerfully  by  a  charity  sermon,  were  to  put 
his  hands  into  another  man's  pocket,  and  cast, 
from  what  he  had  extracted,  a  liberal  contri- 
bution into  the  plate  1 

I  beg  not  to  be  mistaken ;  I  am  very  far 
from  considering  the  Bishop  of  London  as  a 
sordid  and  interested  person ;  but  this  is  a 
complete  instance  of  how  the  best  of  men  de- 
ceive themselves,  where  their  interests  are 
concerned.  I  have  no  doubt  the  bishop  firmly 
imagined  he  was  doing  his  duty ;  but  there 
should  have  been  men  of  all  grades  in  the 
commission,  some  one  to  say  a  word  for  cathe- 
drals and  against  bishops. 

The  bishop  says  "  his  antagonists  have  al- 
lowed three  canons  to  be  sufficient  for  St. 
Paul's,  and,  therefore,  four  must  be  sufKcient 
for  other  cathedrals."  Sufficient  to  read  the 
prayers  and  preach  the  sermons,  certainly,  and 
so  would  one  be ;  but  not  sufficient  to  excite, 
by  the  hope  of  increased  rank  and  wealth, 
eleven  thousand  pai'ochial  clergy. 

The  most  important  and  cogent  arguments 
against  the  dean  and  chapter  confiscations  are 
passed  over  in  silence  in  the  bishop's  charge. 
This,  in  reasoning,  is  always  the  wisest  and 
most  convenient  plan,  and  which  all  young 
bishops  should  imitate  after  the  manner  of  this 
wary  polemic.  I  object  to  the  confiscation  be- 
cause it  will  throtv  a  great  deal  more  of  capital  out 
of  the  parochial  church  than  it  ivill  bring  into  it. 
i  am  very  sorry  to  comfe  forward  with  so 
homely  an  argument,  which  shocks  so  many 
clergymen,  and  particularly  those  with  the 
largest  incomes,  and  the  best  bishoprics ;  but 


412 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


the  truth  is,  the  greater  number  of  clergymen 
go  into  the  church  in  order  that  they  may  de- 
rive a  comfortable  income  fro^n  the  church. 
Such  men  intend  to  do  their  duty,  and  they  do 
it ;  but  the  duty  is,  however,  not  the  motive, 
but  the  adjunct.  If  I  was  writing  in  gala  and 
parade,  I  would  not  hold  this  language;  but 
we  are  in  earnest,  and  on  business ;  and  as 
very  rash  and  hasty  changes  are  founded  upon 
contrary  suppositions  of  the  pure  disinterested- 
ness and  perfect  inattention  to  temporals  in 
the  clergy,  we  must  get  down  at  once  to  the 
solid  rock  without  heeding  how  we  disturb  the 
turf  and  the  flowers  above.  The  parochial 
clergy  maintain  their  present  decent  appear- 
ance quite  as  much  by  their  own  capital  as 
by  the  income  they  derive  from  the  church. 
I  will  now  state  the  income  and  capital  of 
seven  clergymen,  taken  promiscuously  in  this 
neighbourhood : — No.  1.  Living  200/.,  capital 
12,000/.;  No.  2.  Living  800/.,  capital  15,000/.; 
No.  3.  Living  500/.,  capital  12,000/. ;  No.  4.  Liv- 
ing 150/.,  capital  10,000/.;  No.  5.  Living  800/., 
capital  12,000/.;  No.  6.  Living  150/.,  capital 
1000/.;  No.  7.  Living  600/.,  capital  16,000/.  I 
have  diligently  inquired  into  the  circumstances 
of  seven  Unitarian  and  Wesleyan  ministers, 
and  I  question  much  if  the  whole  seven  could 
make  up  6000/.  between  them;  and  the  zeal 
of  enthusiasm  of  this  last  division  is  certainly 
not  inferior  to  that  of  the  former.  Now  here 
is  a  capital  of  72,000/.  carried  into  the  church, 
which  the  confiscations  of  the  commissioners 
would  force  out  of  it,  by  taking  away  the  good 
things  which  were  the  temptation  to  its  intro- 
duction. So  that,  by  the  old  plan  of  paying 
by  lottery,  instead  of  giving  a  proper  compe- 
tence to  each,  not  only  do  you  obtain  a  paro- 
chial clergy  upon  much  cheaper  terms ;  but, 
from  the  gambling  propensities  of  human  na- 
ture, and  the  irresistible  tendency  to  hope  that 
they  shall  gain  the  great  prizes,  you  tempt  men 
into  your  service  who  keep  up  their  credit  and 
yours,  not  by  your  allowance,  but  by  their  own 
capital;  and  to  destroy  this  wise  and  well- 
working  arrangement,  a  great  number  of 
bishops,  marquises,  and  .John  Russells,  are 
huddled  into  a  chamber,  and,  after  proposing  a 
scheme  which  will  turn  the  English  church 
into  a  collection  of  consecrated  beggars,  we 
are  informed  by  the  Bishop  of  London  that  it 
is  an  holy  iniuwation. 

I  have  no  manner  of  doubt,  that  the  imme- 
diate effect  of  passing  the  dean  and  chapter 
bill  will  be,  that  a  great  number  of  fathers  and 
uncles,  judging,  and  properly  judging,  that  the 
church  is  a  very  altered  and  deterioriated  pro- 
fession, will  turn  the  industry  and  capital  of 
their  eUiH^s  into  another  channel.  My  friend, 
Robert  Eden,  says  "  this  is  of  the  earth  earthy:" 
be  it  so;  I  cannot  help  it,  I  paint  mankind  as 
I  find  them,  and  am  not  answerable  for  their 
defects.  When  an  argument,  taken  from  real 
life,  and  the  actual  condition  of  the  world,  is 
brought  among  the  shadowy  discussions  of 
ecclesiastics,  it  always  occasions  terror  and 
dismay;  it  is  like'^neas  stepping  into  Cha- 
ron's boat,  which  carried  only  ghosts  and 
spirits. 

Gemuit  sub  pondere  cymba 


The  whole  plan  of  the  Bishop  of  London 
is  a  ptochogony — a  generation  of  beggars.  He 
purposes,  out  of  the  spoils  of  the  cathedral,  to 
create  a  thousand  livings,  and  to  give  to  the 
thousand  clergymen  130/.  per  annum  each ;  a 
Christian  bishop  proposing,  in  cold  blood,  to 
create  a  thousand  livings  of  130/.  per  annum 
each ; — to  call  into  existence  a  thousand  of  the 
most  unhappy  men  on  the  face  of  the  earth, — 
the  sons  of  the  poor,  without  hope,  without  the 
assistance  of  private  fortune,  chained  to  the 
soil,  ashamed  to  live  with  their  inferiors,  unfit 
for  the  society  of  the  better  classes,  and  drag- 
ging about  the  English  curse  of  poverty,  with- 
out the  smallest  hope  that  they  can  ever  shake 
it  off.  At  present,  such  livings  are  filled  by 
young  men  who  have  better  hopes — who  have 
reason  to  expect  good  property — who  look  for- 
ward to  a  college  or  a  family  living — who  are 
the  sons  of  men  of  some  substance,  and  hope 
so  to  pass  on  to  something  better — who  exist 
under  the  delusion  of  being  hereafter  deans 
and  prebendaries — who  are  paid  once  by 
money,  and  three  times  by  hope.  Will  the 
Bishop  of  London  promise  to  the  progeny  of 
any  of  these  thousand  victims  of  the  holy  vi^ 
novation  that,  if  they  behave  well,  one  of  them 
shall  have  his  butler's  place ;  another  take  care 
of  the  cedars  and  hyssops  of  his  garden  1 
Will  he  take  their  daughters  for  his  nursery- 
maids 1  and  may  some  of  the  sons  of  these 
"  labourers  of  the  vineyard"  hope  one  day  to 
ride  the  leaders  from  St.  James's  to  Fulham  1 
Here  is  hope — here  is  room  for  ambition — a 
field  for  genius,  and  a  ray  of  amelioration ! 
If  these  beautiful  feelings  of  compassion  are 
throbbing  under  the  cassock  of  the  bishop,  he 
ought,  in  common  justice  to  himself,  to  make 
them  known. 

If  it  were  a  scheme  for  giving  ease  and  in- 
dependence to  any  large  bodies  of  clergymen, 
it  might  be  listened  to;  but  the  revenues  of 
the  English  church  are  such  as  to  render  this 
wholly  and  entirely  out  of  the  question.  If 
you  place  a  man  in  a  village  in  the  country, 
require  that  he  should  be  of  good  manners  and 
well  educated ;  that  his  habits  and  appearance 
should  be  above  those  of  the  farmers  to  whom 
he  preaches,  if  he  has  nothing  else  to  expect 
(as  would  be  the  case  in  a  church  of  equal 
division) ;  and  if,  upon  his  village  income,  he 
is  to  support  a  wife  and  educate  a  family, 
without  any  power  of  making  himself  known 
in  a  remote  and  solitary  situation,  such  a  per- 
son ought  to  receive  500/.  per  annum,  and  be 
furnished  with  a  house.  There  are  about 
10,700  parishes  in  England  and  Wales,  whose 
average  income  is  285/.  per  annum.  Now,  to 
provide  these  incumbents  with  decent  houses, 
to  keep  them  in  repair,  and  to  raise  the  income 
of  the  inciimbent  to  500/.  per  annum,  would 
require  (if  all  the  incomes  of  the  bishops,  deans 
and  chapters  of  separate  dignitaries,  of  sine- 
cure rectories,  were  confiscated,  and  if  the 
excess  of  all  the  livings  in  England  above 
500/.  per  annum  were  added  to  them,)  a  sum 
of  two  millions  and  a  half  in  addition  to  the 
present  income  of  the  whole  chvirch ;  and  no 
power  on  earth  could  persuade  the  present 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain  to  grant  a  single 
shilling  for  that  purpose.     Now,  is  it  possible 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


413 


to  pay  such  a  church  upon  any  other  principle 
than  that  of  unequal  division  1  The  proposed 
pillage  of  the  cathedral  and  college  churches 
(omitting  all  consideration  of  the  separate  estate 
of  dignitaries)  would  amount,  divided  among  all 
the  benefices  in  England,  to  about  51. 12s.  6^d.  per 
man :  and  this,  which  would  not  stop  an  hiatus 
in  a  cassock,  and  would  drive  out  of  the  paro- 
chial church  ten  times  as  much  as  it  brought 
into  it,  is  the  panacea  for  pauperism  recom- 
mended by  her  majesty's  commissioners. 

But  if  this  plan  were  to  drive  men  of  capital 
out  of  the  church,  and  to  pauperize  the  English 
clergy,  where  would  the  harm  be  1  Could  not 
all  the  duties  of  religion  be  performed  as  well 
by  poor  clergymen  as  by  men  of  good  sub- 
stance ■?  My  great  and  serious  apprehension 
is,  that  such  would  not  be  the  case.  There 
would  be  the  greatest  risk  that  your  clergy 
would  be  fanatical,  and  ignorant;  that  their 
habits  would  be  low  and  mean,  and  that  they 
would  be  despised. 

Then  a  picture  is  drawn  of  a  clergyman 
with  130/.  per  annum,  who  combines  all  moral, 
physical,  and  intellectual  advantages,  a  learned 
man,  dedicating  himself  intensely  to  the  care 
of  his  parish — of  charming  manners  and  dig- 
nified deportment — six  feet  two  inches  high, 
beautifully  proportioned,  with  a  magnificent 
countenance,  expressive  of  all  the  cardinal 
virtues  and  the  Ten  Commandments, — and  it  is 
asked,  with  an  air  of  triumph,  if  such  a  man 
as  this  will  fall  into  contempt  on  account  of 
his  poverty]  But  substitute  for  him  an  ave- 
rage, ordinary,  uninteresting  minister;  obese, 
dumpy,  neither  ill-natured  nor  good-natured; 
neither  learned  nor  ignorant,  striding  over  the 
stiles  to  church,  with  a  second-rate  wife — dusty 
and  deliquescent — and  four  parochial  children, 
full  of  catechism  and  bread  and  butter;  or  let 
him  be  seen  in  one  of  those  Shem-Ham-and- 
Japhet  buggies — made  on  Mount  Ararat  soon 
after  the  subsidence  of  the  \vaters,  driving  in  the 
High  Street  of  Edmonton  ;* — among  all  his  pe- 
cuniary, saponaceous,  oleaginous  parishioners. 
Can  any  man  of  common  sense  say  that  all 
these  outward  circumstances  of  the  ministers 
of  religion  have  no  bearing  on  religion  itself? 

I  ask  the  Bishop  of  London,  a  man  of  honour 
and  conscience  as  he  is,  if  he  thinks  five  years 
will  elapse  before  a  second  attack  is  made  upon 
deans  and  chapters'?  Does  he  think,  after 
reformers  have  tasted  the  flesh  of  the  church, 
that  they  will  put  up  with  any  other  diet  ?  Does 
he  forget  that  deans  and  chapters  are  but 
mock  turtle — that  more  delicious  delicacies  re- 
main behind?  Five  years  hence  he  will  at- 
tempt to  make  a  stand,  and  he  will  be  laughed 
at  and  eaten  up.  In  this  very  charge  the 
bishop  accuses  the  laj''  commissioners  of  an- 
other intended  attack  upon  the  property  of  the 
church,  contrary  to  the  clearest  and  most  ex- 
plicit stipulations  (as  he  says)  with  the  heads 
of  the  establishment. 

Much  is  said  of  the  conduct  of  the  commis- 
sioners, but  that  is  of  the  least  possible  conse- 
quence.   They  may  have  acted  for  the  best, 

*  A.  parish  which  the  Bishop  of  London  has  the  E;reatfist 
dosire  to  divide  into  little  bits  ;  but  which  appears  qviite  as 
fit  to  pipsprva  its  integrity  as  St.  James's,  St.  George's, 
or  Ken.-ington,  all  in  the  patronage  of  the  bishop. 


according  to  the  then  existing  circumstances; 
they  may  seriously  have  intended  to  do  their 
duty  to  the  contrary ;  and  I  am  far  from  saying 
or  thinking  they  did  not ;  but  without  the  least 
reference  to  the  commissioners,  the  question 
is,  Is  it  Avise  to  pass  this  bill,  and  to  justify 
such  an  open  and  tremendous  sacrifice  of 
church  property?  Does  public  opinion  now 
call  for  any  such  measure  ?  is  it  a  wise  distri- 
bution of  the  funds  of  an  ill-paid  church  ?  and 
will  it  not  force  more  capital  out  of  the  paro- 
chial part  of  the  church  than  it  brings  into  it? 
If  the  bill  is  bad,  it  is  surely  not  to  pass  out  of 
compliment  to  the  feelings  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  If  the  project  is  hasty,  it  is 
not  to  be  adopted  to  gratify  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don. The  mischief  to  the  church  is  surely  a 
greater  evil  than  the  stultification  of  the  com- 
missioners, &c.  If  the  physician  has  pre- 
scribed hastily,  is  the  medicine  to  be  taken  to 
the  death  or  disease  of  the  patient?  If  the 
judge  has  condemned  improperly,  is  the  crimi- 
nal to  be  hung,  that  the  wisdom  of  the  magis- 
trate may  not  be  impugned?* 

But  why  are  the  commissioners  to  be  stulti- 
fied by  the  rejection  of  the  measure  ?  The 
measure  may  have  been  very  good  when  it 
was  recommended,  and  very  objectionable  now. 
I  thought,  and  many  men  thought,  that  the 
church  was  going  to  pieces — that  the  affections 
of  the  common  people  were  lost  to  the  esta- 
blishment; and  that  large  sacrifices  must  be 
instantly  made,  to  avert  the  eflfects  of  this  tem- 
porary madness ;  but  those  days  are  gone  by 
— and  with  them  ought  to  be  put  aside  mea- 
sures, which  might  have  been  wise  in  those 
days,  but  are  wise  no  longer. 

After  all,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and 
the  Bishop  of  London  are  good  and  placable 
men;  and  will  ere  long  forget  and  forgive  the 
successful  efforts  of  their  enemies  in  defeating 
this  mis-ecclesiastic  law. 

Suppose  the  commission  were  now  begin- 
ning to  sit  for  the  first  time,  will  any  man 
living  say  that  they  would  make  such  reports 
as  they  have  made  ?  and  that  they  would  seri- 
ously propose  such  a  tremendous  revolution 
in  church  property  ?  And  if  they  would  not, 
the  inference  is  irresistible,  that,  to  consult  the 
feelings  of  two  or  three  churchmen,  we  are 
complimenting  away  the  safety  of  the  church. 
Milton  asked  where  the  nymphs  were  when 
Lycidas  perished?  I  ask  where  the  bishops 
are  when  the  remorseless  deep  is  closing  over 
the  head  of  their  beloved  establishment  ?f 

You  must  have  read  an  attack  upon  me  by 
the  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  says  that  I  have  not  been  appointtid 
to  my  situation  as  canon  of  St.  Paul's  for  ray 
piety  and  learning,  but  because  I  am  a  scofler 
and  a  jester.  Is  not  this  rather  strong  for  a 
bishop,  and  does  it  not  appear  to  you,  Mr. 
Archdeacon,  as  rather  too  close  an  imitation 
of  that  language  which  is  used  in  the  apostolic 


*  "After  the  trouble  the  commissioners  have  taken 
(says  Sir  Robert),  after  the  obloquy  they  have  incurred," 
&c."&c.  &c. 

+  What  is  the  use  of  publishing  separate  charges,  aa 

the  Bishops  of  Winchester,  O.xford,  and  Rochester  have 

done  1     Why  do  not  the  dissentient  bishops  form  into  a 

firm  phalanx  to  save  the  church  and  fiing  out  the  bill  t 

2  M  2 


414 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


occupation  of  trafficking  in  fish  1  Whether  I 
have  been  appointed  for  my  piety  or  not,  must 
depend  upon  what  this  poor  man  means  by 
piety.  He  means  by  that  word,  of  course,  a 
defence  of  all  the  t}'rannical  and  oppressive 
abuses  of  the  church  which  have  been  swept 
away  within  the  last  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
of  my  life  ;  the  corporation  and  test  acts ;  the 
penal  laws  against  the  Catholics ;  the  com- 
pulsory marriages  of  dissenters,  and  all  those 
disabling  and  disqualifying  laws  which  were 
the  disgrace  of  our  church,  and  which  he  has 
always  looked  up  to  as  the  consummation  of 
human  wisdom.  If  piety  consisted  in  the  de- 
fence of  these — if  it  was  impious  to  struggle 
for  their  abrogation,  I  have,  indeed,  led  an 
ungodly  life. 

There  is  nothing  pompous  gentlemen  are  so 
much  afraid  of  as  a  little  humour.  It  is  like 
the  objection  of  certain  cephalic  animalcula; 
to  the  use  of  small-tooth  combs, — "  Finger  and 
thumb,  precipitate  powder,  or  any  thing  else 
you  please ;  but  for  Heaven's  sake  no  small- 
tooth  combs  !"  After  all,  I  believe,  Bishop 
Monk  has  been  the  cause  of  much  more 
laughter  than  ever  I  have  been ;  I  cannot  ac- 
count for  it,  but  I  never  see  him  enter  a  room 
without  exciting  a  smile  on  every  countenance 
within  it. 

Dr.  Monk  is  furious  at  my  attacking  the 
heads  of  the  church;  but  how  can  I  help  if? 
If  the  heads  of  the  church  are  at  the  head  of 
the  mob ;  if  I  find  the  best  of  men  doing  that 
which  has  in  all  times  drawn  upon  the  worst 
enemies  of  the  human  race  the  bitterest  curses 
of  history,  am  I  to  stop  because  the  motives 
of  these  men  are  pure,  and  their  lives  blame- 
less 1  I  wish  I  could  find  a  blot  in  their  lives, 
or  a  vice  in  their  motives.  The  whole  power 
of  the  motion  is  in  the  character  of  the  movers  : 
feeble  friends,  false  friends,  and  foolish  friends, 
all  cease  to  look  upon  the  measure,  and  say. 
Would  such  a  measure  have  been  recom- 
mended by  such  men  as  the  prelates  of  Can- 
terbury and  London,  if  it  were  not  for  the 
public  advantage  1  And  in  this  way,  the  great 
good  of  a  religious  establishment,  now  ren- 
dered moderate  and  compatible  with  all  men's 
liberties  and  rights,  is  sacrificed  to  names ; 
and  the  church  destroyed  from  good  breeding 
and  etiquette !  the  real  truth  is,  that  Canter- 
bury and  London  have  been  frightened — they 
have  overlooked  the  effect  of  time  and  delay — 
they  have  been  betrayed  into  a  fearful  and 
ruinous  mistake.  Painful  as  it  is  to  teach  men 
who  ought  to  teach  us,  the  legislature  ought, 
while  there  is  yet  time,  to  awake  and  read 
them  this  lesson. 

It  is  dangerous  for  a  prelate  to  write ;  and 
whoever  does  it  ought  to  be  a  very  wise  one. 
He  has  speculated  why  I  was  made  a  canon 
of  St.  Paul's.  Suppose  I  were  to  follow  his 
example,  and,  going  through  the  bench  of 
bishops,  were  to  ask  for  what  reason  each  man 
had  been  made  a  bishop ;  suppose  I  were  to 
go  into  the  county  of  Gloucester,  &c.  &c. 
&c.!!!! 

I  was  afraid  the  bishop  would  attribute  my 
promotion  to  the  Edinburgh  Review  ;  but  upon 
the  subject  of  promotion  by  reviews,  he  pre- 
serves an  impenetrable  silence.     If  my  excel- 


lent patron  Earl  Grey  had  any  reasons  of  this 
kind,  he  may  at  least  be  sure  that  the  reviews 
commonly  attributed  to  me  were  really  written 
by  me.  I  should  have  considered  myself  as 
the  lowest  of  created  beings  to  have  disguised 
myself  in  another  man's  wit,  and  to  have 
received  a  reward  to  which  I  was  not  en- 
titled.* 

I  presume  that  what  has  drawn  upon  me  the 
indignation  of  this  prelate,  is  the  observations 
I  have  from  time  to  time  made  on  the  conduct 
of  the  commissioners  ;  of  which  he  positively 
asserts  himself  to  have  been  a  member;  but 
whether  he  was,  or  was  not  a  member,  I 
utterl}'^  acquit  him  of  all  possible  blame,  and 
of  every  species  of  imputation  which  may 
attach  to  the  conduct  of  the  commissioner.  In 
using  that  word,  I  have  always  meant  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, and  Lord  John  Russell ;  and  have,  honestly 
speaking,  given  no  more  heed  to  the  Bishop 
of  Gloucester  than  if  he  had  been  sitting  in  a 
commission  of  Bonzes  in  the  court  of  Pekin. 

To  read,  however,  his  lordship  a  lesson  of 
good  manners,  I  had  prepared  for  him  a  chas- 
tisement which  would  have  been  echoed  from 
the  Seagrave,  who  banqueteth  in  the  castle,  to 
the  idiot  who  spitteth  over  the  bridge  at  Glou- 
cester; but  the  following  appeal  stnick  my 
eye,  and  stopped  my  pen  : — "  Since  that  time, 
my  inadequate  qualifications  have  sustained 
an  appalling  diminution,  by  the  affection  of 
my  eyes,  which  have  impaired  my  vision,  and 
the  progress  of  which  threatens  to  consign  me 
to  darkness  ;  I  beg  the  benefit  of  your  prayers 
to  the  Father  of  all  mercies,  that  he  will  restore 
me  to  better  use  of  the  visual  organs,  to  be 
employed  on  his  service ;  or  that  he  will  in- 
wardly illumine  the  intellectual  vision,  with  a 
particle  of  that  divine  ray,  which  his  Holy 
Spirit  can  alone  impart." 

It  might  have  been  better  taste,  perhaps,  if 
a  mitred  invalid,  in  describing  his  bodily  in- 
firmities before  a  church  full  of  clergymen, 
whose  prayers  he  asked,  had  been  a  little 
more  sparing  in  the  abuse  of  his  enemies  ;  but 
a  good  deal  must  be  forgiven  to  the  sick.  I 
wish  that  every  Christian  was  as  well  aware 
as  this  poor  bishop  of  what  he  needed  from 
divine  assistance ;  and  in  the  supplication  for 
the  restoration  of  his  sight  and  the  improve- 
ment of  his  understanding,  I  must  fervently 
and  cordially  join. 

I  was  much  amused  with  what  old  Her- 
mannf  says  of  the  Bishop  of  London's  ^schy- 
lus.  "  We  find,"  he  says,  "a  great  arbitrariness 
of  proceeding,  and  much  boldness  of  innovation, 
guided  by  no  sure  principle;"  here  it  is  :  qualis  ab 
incepto.  He  begins  with  ^schylus,  and  ends 
with  the  Church  of  England  ;  begins  with  pro- 
fane, and  ends  with  holy  innovations — scratch- 


*  I  understand  that  the  bishop  bursts  into  tears  every 
now  and  then,  and  says  that  I  have  set  him  the  name  of 
Simon,  and  that  all  the  bishops  now  call  him  Simon. 
Simon  of  Gloucester,  however,  after  all,  is  a  real  writer, 
and  how  could  I  know  that  Dr.  Monk's  name  was  Si- 
mon? When  tutor  in  Lord  Corrinjrton's  family,  he  was 
called  by  the  endearing,  though  .somewhat  unmajestic 
name  of  J)ick ;  and  if!  had  Ihought  about  his  name  at 
all,  I  should  have  called  him  Richard  of  Gloucester. 

+  Uober  die  behandlung  der  Griechischen  Dicbter  bei 
den  Englandern,  Von  Gottfried  Hermann.  Wieinar 
Jahrbucher,  vol.  liv.  1831. 


WOKKS  OP  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


415 


ing  out  old  readings  which  every  commentator 
had  sanctioned,  abolishing  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nities which  every  reformer  had  spared; 
thrusting  an  anapest  into  a  verse  which  will 
not  bear  it;  and  intruding  a  canon  into  a 
cathedral  which  does  not  want  it;  and  this  is 
the  prelate  by  whom  the  proposed  reform  of 
the  church  has  been  principally  planned,  and 
to  whose  practical  wisdom  the  legislature  is 
called  upon  to  defer.  The  Bishop  of  London 
is  a  man  of  very  great  ability,  humane,  pla- 
cable, generous,  munificent,  very  agreeable, 
but  not  to  be  trusted  with  great  interests  where 
calmness  and  judgment  are  required;  unfor- 
tunately, my  old  and  amiable  school-fellow,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  has  melted  away 
before  him,  and  sacrificed  that  wisdom  on 
which  we  all  founded  our  security. 
Much  writing  and  much  talking  are  very 


tiresome ;  and,  above  all,  they  are  so  to  men 
who,  living  in  the  world,  arrive  at  those  rapid 
and  just  conclusions  which  are  only  to  be 
made  by  living  in  the  world.  This  bill  passed, 
every  man  of  sense  acquainted  with  human 
aflfairs  must  see,  that,  as  far  as  the  church  is 
concerned,  the  thing  is  at  an  end.  From  Lord 
John  Russell,  the  present  improver  of  the 
church,  we  shall  descend  to  Hume,  from  Hume 
to  Roebuck,  and  after  Roebuck  we  shall  re- 
ceive our  last  improvements  from  Dr.  Wade  : 
plunder  will  follow  after  plunder,  degradation 
after  degradation.  The  church  is  gone,  and 
what  remains  is  not  life,  but  sickness,  spasm, 
and  struggle. 

Whatever  happens,  I  am  not  to  blame;  I 
have  fought  my  fight. — Farewell. 

Stdnet  Smith. 


Aid 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDISEY  SMITH. 


LETTEH 


CHARACTER  OF  SIR  JAMES  MACKINTOSH. 


Mr  DEAR  SiK, 

You  ask  for  some  of  your  late  father's  letters : 
I  am  sorry  to  say  I  have  none  to  send  you. 
Upon  principle,  I  keep  no  letters  except  those 
on  business.  I  have  not  a  single  letter  from 
him,  nor  from  any  human  being  in  my  posses- 
sion. 

The  impression  which  the  great  talents  and 
amiable  qualities  of  your  father  made  upon  me, 
will  remain  as  long  as  I  remain.  When  I  turn 
from  living  spectacles  of  stupidity,  ignorance, 
and  malice,  and  wish  to  think  better  of  the 
world — I  remember  my  great  and  benevolent 
friend  Mackintosh. 

The  first  points  of  character  which  every 
body  noticed  in  him  were  the  total  absence  of 
envy,  hatred,  malice,  and  uncharitableness. 
He  could  not  hate — he  did  not  know  how  to  set 
about  it.  The  gall-bladder  was  omitted  in  his 
composition,  and  if  he  could  have  been  per- 
suaded into  any  scheme  of  revenging  himself 
upon  an  enemy,  I  am  sure  (unless  he  had  been 
narrowly  watched)  it  would  have  ended  in  pro- 
claiming the  good  qualities,  and  promoting  the 
interests  of  his  adversary.  Truth  had  so  much 
more  power  over  him  than  anger,  that  (what- 
ever might  be  the  provocation)  he  could  not 
misrepresent,  nor  exaggerate.  In  questions 
of  passion  and  party,  he  stated  facts  as  they 
were,  and  reasoned  fairly  upon  them,  placing 
his  happiness  and  pride  in  equitable  discrimi- 
nation. Very  fond  of  talking,  he  heard  patient- 
ly, and,  not  averse  to  intellectual  display,  did 
not  forget  that  others  might  have  the  same  in- 
clination as  himself. 

Till  subdued  by  age  and  illness,  his  conver- 
sation was  more  brilliant  and  instructive  than 
that  of  any  human  being  I  ever  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  acquainted  with.  His  memory 
(vast  and  prodigious  as  it  was)  he  so  managed 
as  to  make  it  a  source  of  pleasure  and  instruc- 
tion, rather  than  that  dreadful  engine  of  colloqui- 
al oppression  into  which  it  is  sometimes  erected. 
He  remembered  things,  words,  thoughts,  dates, 
and  every  thing  that  was  wanted.  His  lan- 
guage was  beautiful,  and  might  have  gone  from 
the  fireside  to  the  press  ;  but  though  his  ideas 
were  always  clothed  in  beautiful  language,  the 
clothes  were  sometimes  too  big  for  the  body, 
and  common  thoughts  were  dressed  in  better 
and  larger  apparel  than  they  deserved.  He 
certainly  had  this  fault,  but  it  was  not  one  of 
frequent  commission. 

He  had  a  method  of  putting  things  so  mildly 
and  interrogatively,  that  he  always  procured 
the  readiest  reception  for  his  opinions.  Ad- 
dicted to  reasoning  in  the  company  of  able  men, 
he  had  two  valuable  habits,  which  are  rarely 


met  with  in  great  reasoners — he  never  broke  ia 
upon  his  opponent,  and  always  avoided  strong 
and  vehement  assertions.  His  reasoning  com- 
monly carried  conviction,  for  he  was  cautious 
in  his  positions,  accurate  in  his  deductions, 
aimed  only  at  truth.  The  ingenious  side  was 
commonly  taken  by  some  one  else;  the  inter- 
ests of  truth  were  protected  by  Mackintosh. 

His  good-nature  and  candour  betrayed  him 
into  a  morbid  habit  of  eulogizing  every  body — • 
a  habit  which  destroyed  the  value  of  commen- 
dations, that  might  have  been  to  the  young  (if 
more  sparingly  distributed)  a  reward  of  virtue 
and  a  motive  to  exertion.  Occasionally  he  took 
fits  of  an  opposite  nature ;  and  I  have  seen  him 
abating  and  dissolving  pompous  gentlemen 
with  the  most  successful  ridicule.  He  certainly 
had  a  good  deal  of  humour ;  and  I  remember, 
amongst  many  other  examples  of  it,  that  he  kept 
us  for  two  or  three  hours  in  a  roar  of  laughter, 
at  a  dinner-party  at  his  own  house,  playing 
upon  the  simplicity  of  a  Scotch  cousin,  who 
had  mistaken  me  fcr  my  gallant  synonym,  the 
hero  of  Acre.  I  never  saw  a  more  perfect 
comedy,  nor  heard  ridicule  so  long  and  so  well 
sustained.  Sir  James  had  not  only  humour, 
but  he  had  wit  also  ;  at  least,  new  and  sudden 
relations  of  ideas  flashed  across  his  mind  in 
reasoning,  and  produced  the  same  eflfect  as  wit, 
and  would  have  been  called  wit,  if  a  sense  of 
their  utility  and  importance  had  not  often  over- 
powered the  admiration  of  novelty,  and  entitled 
them  to  the  higher  name  of  wisdom.  Then  the 
great  thoughts  and  fine  sayings  of  the  great 
men  of  all  ages  were  intimately  present  to  his 
recollection,  and  came  out  dazzling  and  delight- 
ing in  his  conversation.  Justness  of  thinking 
was  a  strong  feature  in  his  understanding;  he 
had  a  head  in  which  nonsense  and  error  could 
hardly  vegetate  :  it  was  a  soil  utterly  unfit  for 
them.  If  his  display  in  conversation  had  been 
only  in  maintaining  splendid  paradoxes,  he 
would  soon  have  wearied  those  he  lived  with  ; 
but  no  man  could  live  long  and  intimately  with 
your  father  without  finding  that  he  was  gaining 
upon  doubt,  correcting  error,  enlarging  the 
boundaries,  and  strengthening  the  foundations 
of  truth.  It  was  worth  while  to  listen  to  a 
master,  whom  not  himself,  but  nature  had  ap- 
pointed to  the  office,  and  who  taught  what  it 
was  not  easy  to  forget,  by  methods  which  it 
was  not  easy  to  resist. 

Curran,  the  master  of  the  rolls,  said  to  Mr, 
Grattan,  "  You  would  be  the  greatest  man  of 
your  age,  Grattan,  if  you  would  buy  a  few  yards 
of  red  tape,  and  tie  up  your  bills  and  papers." 
This  was  the  fault  or  misfortune  of  your  excel- 
lent father;  he  never  knew  the  use  of  red  tape. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


417 


and  was  utterly  unfit  for  the  common  business 
of  life.  That  a  guinea  represented  a  quantity 
of  shillings,  and  that  it  would  barter  for  a  quan- 
tity of  cloth,  he  was  well  aware ;  but  the  accu- 
rate number  of  the  baser  coin,  or  the  just  mea- 
surement of  the  manufactured  article,  to  which 
he  was  entitled  for  his  gold,  he  could  never 
learn,  and  it  was  impossible  to  teach  him. 
Hence  his  life  was  often  an  example  of  the  an- 
cient and  melancholy  struggle  of  genius,  with 
the  difficulties  of  existence. 

I  have  often  heard  Sir  James  Mackintosh 
say  of  himself,  that  he  was  born  to  be  the  pro- 
fessor of  an  university.  Happy,  and  for  ages 
celebrated,  would  have  been  the  university, 
which  had  so  possessed  him,  but  in  this  view  he 
was  unjust  to  himself.  Still,  however,  his  style 
of  speaking  in  Parliament  was  certainly  more 
academic  than  forensic ;  it  was  not  sufficiently 
short  and  quick  for  a  busy  and  impatient  as- 
sembly. He  often  spoke  over  the  heads  of  his 
hearers — was  too  much  in  advance  of  feeling 
for  their  sympathies,  and  of  reasoning  for  their 
comprehension.  He  began  too  much  at  the 
beginning,  and  went  too  much  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  question,  making  rather  a  lecture  or 
a  dissertation  than  a  speech.  His  voice  was 
bad  and  nasal ;  and  though  nobody  was  in  re- 
ality more  sincere,  he  seemed  not  only  not  to 
feel,  but  hardly  to  think  what  he  was  saying. 

Your  father  had  very  little  science,  and  no 
great  knowledge  of  physics.  His  notions  of 
his  early  pursuit — the  study  of  medicine — were 
imperfect  and  antiquated,  and  he  was  but  an 
indifferent  classical  scholar,  for  the  Greek  lan- 
guage has  never  crossed  the  Tweed  in  any  great 
force.  In  history  the  whole  stream  of  time  was 
open  before  him ;  he  had  looked  into  every 
moral  and  metaphysical  question  from  Plato  to 
Paley,  and  had  waded  through  morasses  of  in- 
ternational law,  where  the  step  of  no  living 
man  could  follow  him.  Political  economy  is 
of  modern  invention ;  I  am  old  enough  to  recol- 
lect when  every  judge  on  the  bench  (Lord  El- 
don  and  Serjeant  Runnington  excepted,)  in  their 
charges  to  the  grand  juries,  attributed  the  then 
high  prices  of  corn  to  the  scandalous  combina- 
tion of  farmers.  Sir  James  knew  what  is  com- 
monly agreed  upon  by  political  economists, 
without  taking  much  pleasure  in  the  science, 
and  with  a  disposition  to  blame  the  very  specu- 
lative and  metaphysical  disquisitions  into  which 
it  has  wandered,  but  with  a  full  conviction  also 
(which  many  able  men  of  his  standing  are 
without)  of  the  immense  importance  of  the  sci- 
ence to  the  welfare  of  society. 

I  think  (though,  perhaps,  some  of  his  friends 
may  not  agree  with  me  in  this  opinion)  that  he 
was  an  acute  judge  of  character,  and  of  the 
good  as  well  as  evil  in  character.  He  was,  in 
truth,  with  the  appearance  of  distraction  and  of 
one  occupied  with  other  things,  a  very  minute 
observer  of  human  nature ;  and  I  have  seen  him 
analyze,  to  the  very  springs  of  the  heart,  men 
who  had  not  the  most  distant  suspicion  of  the 
sharpness  of  his  vision,  nor  a  belief  that  he  could 
read  any  thing  but  books. 

Sufficient  justice  has  not  been  done  to  his  po- 
litical integrity.   He  was  not  rich,  was  from  the 
northern  part  of  the  island,  possessed  great  fa- 
cility of  temper,  and  had  therefore  every  excuse 
53 


for  political  lubricity,  which  that  vice  (more 
common  in  those  days  than  I  hope  it  will  ever 
be  again)  could  possibly  require.  Invited  by 
every  party,  upon  his  arrival  from  India,  he  re- 
mained steadfast  to  his  old  friends  the  whigs, 
whose  admission  to  office,  or  enjoyment  of  po- 
litical power,  would  at  that  period  have  been 
considered  as  the  most  visionary  of  all  human 
speculations ;  yet,  during  his  lifetime,  every 
body  seemed  more  ready  to  have  forgiven  the  ter- 
giversation of  which  he  was  not  guilty,  than  to 
admire  the  actual  firmness  he  had  displayed. 
With  all  this  he  never  made  the  slightest  effiarts 
to  advance  his  interests  with  his  political 
friends,  never  mentioned  his  sacrifices  nor  his 
services,  expressed  no  resentment  at  neglect, 
and  was  therefore  pushed  into  such  situations  as 
fall  to  the  lot  of  the  feeble  and  delicate  in  a  crowd. 
A  high  merit  in  Sir  James  Mackintosh  was 
his  real  and  unaffected  philanthropy.  He  did 
not  make  the  improvement  of  the  great  mass 
of  mankind  an  engine  of  popularity,  and  a  step- 
ping stone  to  power,  but  he  had  a  genuine  love 
of  human  happiness.  Whatever  might  assuage 
the  angry  passions,  and  arrange  the  conflicting 
interests  of  nations;  whatever  could  promote 
peace,  increase  knowledge,  extend  commerce, 
diminish  crime, and  encourage  industry;  what- 
ever could  exalt  human  character,  and  could 
enlarge  human  understanding;  struck  at  once 
at  the  heart  of  your  father,  and  roused  all  his 
faculties.  I  have  seen  him  in  a  moment  when 
this  spirit  came  upon  him — like  a  great  ship 
of  war — cut  his  cable,  and  spread  his  enormous 
canvass,  and  launch  into  a  wide  sea  of  reason- 
ing eloquence. 

But  though  easily  warmed  by  great  schemes 
of  benevolence  and  human  improvement,  his 
manner  was  cold  to  individuals.  There  was 
an  apparent  want  of  heartiness  and  cordiality. 
It  seemed  as  if  he  had  more  affection  for  the 
species  than  for  the  ingredients  of  which  it  was 
composed.  He  was  in  reality  very  hospitable, 
and  so  fond  of  company,  that  he  was  hardly 
happy  out  of  it;  but  he  did  not  receive  his  friends 
with  that  honest  joy  which  warms  more  than 
dinner  or  wine. 

This  is  the  good  and  evil  of  your  father 
which  comes  uppermost.  If  he  had  been  arro- 
gant and  grasping ;  if  he  had  been  faithless  and 
false;  if  he  had  always  been  eager  to  strangle 
infant  genius  in  its  cradle  ;  always  ready  to  be- 
tray and  to  blacken  those  with  whom  he  sat  at 
meat ;  he  would  have  passed  many  men,  who, 
in  the  course  of  his  long  life,  have  passed  him  ; 
but,  without  selling  his  soul  for  pottage,  if  he 
only  had  had  a  little  more  prudence  for  the  pro- 
motion of  his  interests,  and  more  of  angry  pas- 
sions for  the  punishment  of  those  detractors 
who  envied  his  fame  and  presumed  upon  his 
sweetness;  if  he  had  been  more  aware  of  his 
powers,  and  of  that  space  which  nature  intended 
him  to  occupy:  he  would  have  acted  a  great 
part  in  life,  and  remained  a  character  in  his- 
tory. As  it  is,  he  has  left,  in  many  of  the  bes; 
men  in  England,  and  of  the  continent,  the  deep- 
est admiration  of  his  talents,  his  wisdom,  his 
knowledge  and  his  benevolence. 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir, 

Very  truly  yours, 

SYDNEY  SMITH. 


418 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITir. 


A  LETTER 


LORD    JOHN   RUSSELL. 


My  Lonn, 

Though,  upon  the  whole,  your  residence  and 
plurality  bill  is  a  good  bill,  and  although  I  think 
it  (thanks  to  your  kind  attention  to  the  sugges- 
tions of  various  clergymen)  a  much  better  bill 
than  that  of  last  year,  there  are  still  some 
important  defects  in  it,  which  deserve  amend- 
ment and  correction. 

Page  13,  See.  31. — It  would  seem,  from  this 
section,  that  the  repairs  are  to  depend  upon  the 
will  of  the  bishop,  and  not  upon  the  present  law 
of  the  land.  A  bishop  enters  into  the  house 
of  a  non-resident  clergyman,  and  finds  it  neither 
papered,  nor  painted — he  orders  these  decora- 
tive repairs.  In  the  mean  time  the  court  of 
Queen's  Bench  have  decided  that  substantial 
repairs,  only,  and  not  decorative  repairs,  can 
be  recovered  by  an  incumbent  from  his  prede- 
cessor ;  the  following  words  should  be  added ; — 
'  Provided,  always,  that  no  other  repairs  shall  be 
required  by  the  bishop,  than  such  as  any  incum- 
bent could  recover  as  dilapidations  from  the 
person  preceding  him  in  the  said  benefice. 

Page  19,  Sec.  42. — Incumbents  are  to  answer 
questions  transmitted  by  the  bishop,  and  these 
are  to  be  countersigned  by  the  rural  dean. — 
This  is  another  vexation  to  the  numerous  cata- 
logue of  vexations  entailed  upon  the  rural 
clergy.  Is  every  man  to  go  before  the  rural 
dean,  twenty  or  thirty  miles  off,  perhaps  1  Is 
he  to  go  through  a  cross  examination  by  the 
rural  dean,  as  to  the  minute  circumstance  of 
twenty  or  thirty  questions,  to  enter  into  reason- 
ings upon  them,  and  to  produce  witnesses  1 
This  is  a  most  degrading  and  vexatious  enact- 
■ment,  if  all  this  is  intended;  but  if  the  rural 
'dean  is  to  believe  the  assertion  of  every  clergy- 
man upon  his  Avord  only,  why  may  not  the 
"bishop  do  so :  and  what  is  gained  by  the  enact- 
Tnenf?  But  the  commissioners  seem  to  have 
■been  a  set  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  who  met 
once  a-w«ek,  to  see  how  they  could  harass  the 
-working  clergy,  and  how  they  could  make 
«very  thing  smooth  and  pleasing  to  the  bishops. 
The  clause  for  holding  two  livings,  at  the  in- 
terval of  ten  miles,  is  perfectly  ridiculous.  If 
yt)u  are  to  abolish  pluralities,  do  it  at  once,  or 
leave  a  man  only  in  possession  of  such  bene- 
fices as  he  can  serve  himself ;  and  then  the  dis- 
tance should  be  two  miles,  and  not  a  yard  more. 
But  common  justice  requires  that  there 
should  be  exceptions  to  your  rules.  For  two 
hundred  years  pluralities  within  certain  distan- 
ces have  been  allowed;  acting  under  the  faith 
of  these  laws,  livings  have  been  bought  and  be- 
queathed to  clergymen,  tenable  with  other  pre- 
ferments in  their  possession — upon  faith  in 
these  laws,  men  and  women  have  married — 
educated  their  children — laid  down  a  certain 


plan  of  life,  and  adopted  a  certain  rale  of  ex- 
pense, and  ruin  comes  upon  them  in  a  moment 
from  this  thoughtless  inattention  to  existing 
interests.  I  know  a  man  whose  father  dedicated 
all  he  had  saved  in  a  long  life  of  retail  trade,  to 
purchase  the  next  presentation  to  a  living  of 
800/.  per  annum,  tenable  under  the  old  law,  with 
another  of  5001.  given  to  the  son  by  his  college. 
The  whole  of  this  clergyman's  life  and  pros- 
pects (and  he  has  an  immense  family  of  chil- 
dren) are  cut  to  pieces  by  your  bill.  It  is  a 
wrong  thing,  you  will  say,  to  hold  two  livings  ; 
I  think  it  is,  but  why  did  not  you,  the  legisla- 
ture, find  this  out  fifty  years  ago  ?  Why  did 
you  entice  this  man  into  the  purchase  of  plu- 
ralities, by  a  venerable  laxity  of  two  hundred 
years,  and  then  clap  him  into  gaol  from  the  new 
virtue  of  yesterday  1  Such  reforms  as  these 
make  wisdom  and  carefulness  useless,  and  turn 
human  life  into  a  mere  scramble. 

Page  32,  Sec.  69. — There  are  the  strongest 
possible  objections  to  this  clause.  The  living 
is  410/.  per  annum,  the  population  above  2000 
— perhaps,  as  is  often  the  case,  one  third  of 
them  dissenters.  A  clergyman  does  his  duty 
in  the  most  exemplary  manner — dedicates  his 
life  to  his  parish,  from  whence  he  derives  his 
whole  support — there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a 
complaint  against  him.  The  bishop  has,  by  this 
clause,  acquired  a  right  of  thrusting  a  curate 
upon  the  rector  at  the  expense  of  a  fifth  part 
of  his  whole  fortune.  This,  I  think,  an  abomi- 
nable piece  of  tyranny ;  and  it  will  turn  out 
to  be  an  inexhaustible  source  of  favouritism 
and  malice.  In  the  bishop's  bill  I  have  in  vain 
looked  for  a  similar  clause, — "That  if  the 
population  is  above  800,000,  and  the  income 
amounts  to  10,000/.,  an  assistant  to  the  bishop 
may  be  appointed  by  the  commissioners,  and  a 
salary  of  2000/.  per  annum  allotted  to  him." 
This  would  have  been  honest  and  manly,  to 
have  begun  with  the  great  people. 

But  mere  tyranny  and  episcopal  malice  are 
not  the  only  evils  of  this  clause,  nor  the 
greatest  evils.  Everybody  knows  the  extreme 
activity  of  that  part  of  the  English  church  which 
is  denominated  evangelical,  and  their  industry 
in  bringing  over  every  body  to  their  habits  of 
thinking  and  acting;  now  see  what  will  hap- 
pen from  the  following  clause:  "  And  when- 
ever the  population  of  any  benefice  shall 
amount  to  2000,  and  it  shall  be  made  appear  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  bishop,  that  a  stipend  can 
be  provided  for  the  payment  of  a  curate,  by 
voluntary  contribution  or  otherwise,  without 
charge  to  the  incumbent,  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
the  bishop  to  require  the  spiritual  person,  hold- 
ing the  same,  to  nominate  a  fit  person  to  be 
licensed  as  such  curate,  whatever  may  be  the 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH, 


419 


annual  value  of  such  benefice  ;  and  if,  in  either 
of  the  said  cases,  a  fit  person  shall  not  be  nomi- 
nated to  the  bishop  within  two  months  after  his 
requisition  for  that  purpose  shall  have  been  de- 
livered to  the  incumbent,  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
the  bishop  to  appoint  and  license  a  curate."  A 
clause  worthy  of  the  Vicar  of  Wrexhill  himself. 
Now  what  will  happen  1  The  bishop  is  a  Calvi- 
nistic  bishop  ;  wife,  children,  chaplains,  Calvin- 
ized  up  to  the  teeth.  The  serious  people  of  the 
parish  meet  together,  and  agree  to  give  an  hun- 
dred pounds  per  annum,  if  Mr.  Wilkinson  is  ap- 
pointed. It  requires  very  little  knowledge  of 
human  nature  to  predict,  that  at  the  expiration 
of  two  months  Mr.  Wilkinson  will  be  the  man; 
and  then  the  whole  parish  is  torn  to  pieces  with 
jealousies,  quarrels,  and  comparisons  between 
the  rector  and  the  delightful  Wilkinson.  The 
same  scene  is  acted  (mutatis  mutandis),  where 
the  bishop  sets  his  face  against  Calvinistic  prin- 
ciples. The  absurdity  consists  in  suffering  the 
appointment  of  a  curate  by  private  subscrip- 
tion ;  in  other  words,  one  clergyman  in  a  parish 
by  nomination,  the  other  by  election ;  and,  in  this 
way,  religion  is  brought  into  contempt  by  their 
jealousies  and  quarrels.  Little  do  you  know, 
my  dear  lord,  of  the  state  of  that  country  you 
govern,  if  you  suppose  this  will  not  happen.  I 
have  now  a  diocese  in  my  eye,  where,  I  am  posi- 
tively certain,  that  in  less  than  six  months  after 
the  passing  of  this  bill,  there  will  not  be  a  sin- 
gle parish  of  2000  persons,  in  which  you  will 
not  find  a  subscription  curate,  of  evangelical 
habits,  canting  and  crowing  over  the  regular 
and  established  clergyman  of  the  parish. 

In  th*  draft  of  the  fifth  report,  upon  which,  I 
presume  your  dean  and  chapter  bill  is  to  be 
founded,  I  see  the  rights  of  patronage  are  to  be 
conceded  to  present  incumbents.  This  is  very 
high  and  honourable  conduct  in  the  commis- 
sioners, and  such  as  deserves  the  warmest 
thanks  of  the  clergy;  it  is  always  difficult  to  re- 
tract, much  more  difficult  to  retract  to  inferiors ; 
but  it  is  very  virtuous  to  do  so  when  there 
can  be  no  motive  for  it  but  a  love  of  justice. 

Your  whole  bill  is  to  be  one  of  retrenchment, 
and  amputation;  why  add  fresh  canons  to  St. 
Paul's  and  Lincoln  !  Nobody  wants  them ; 
the  cathedrals  go  on  perfectly  well  without  them; 
they  take  away  each  of  them  1500?.  or  1600/. 
per  annum,  from  the  fund  for  the  improvement 
of  small  livings  ;  they  give,  to  be  sure,  a  consi- 
derable piece  of  patronage  to  the  Bishops  of 
London  and  Lincoln,  who  are  commissioners, 
and  they  preserve  a  childish  and  pattern-like 
uniformity  in  cathedrals.  But  the  first  of  these 
motives  is  corrupt,  and  the  last  silly :  and,  there- 
fore, they  cannot  be  your  motives. 

You  cannot  plead  the  recommendation  of  the 
commission  for  the  creation  of  these  new 
canons,  for  you  have  flung  the  commission 
overboai'd  ;  and  the  reformers  of  the  church  are 
no  longer  archbishops  and  bishops,  but  Lord 
John  Russell — not  those  persons  to  whom  the 
crown  has  entrusted  the  task,  but  Lord  Martin 
Luther,  bred  and  born  in  our  own  island,  and 
nourished  by  the  Woburn  spoils  and  confisca- 
tions of  the  church.  The  church  is  not  with- 
out friends,  but  those  friends  have  said  there 
can  be  no  danger  of  measures  which  are  sanc- 
uoned  by  the  highest  prelates  of  the  church  ; 


but  you  have  chased  away  the  bearers,  and 
taken  the  ark  into  your  own  possession.  Do 
not  forget,  however,  if  you  have  deviated  from 
the  plan  of  your  brother  commissioners,  that 
you  have  given  to  them  a  perfect  right  to  op- 
pose you. 

This  unfair  and  wasteful  creation  of  new 
canons,  produces  a  great  and  scandalous  injus- 
tice to  St.  Paul's  and  Lincoln,  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  their  patronage.  The  old  members  of 
all  other  cathedrals  will  enjoy  the  benefit  of 
survivorship,  till  they  subside  into  the  magic 
number  of  four  ;  up  to  that  point,  then,  every 
fresh  death  will  add  to  the  patronage  of  the  re- 
maining old  members  ;  but  in  the  churches  of 
Lincoln  and  St.  Paul's,  the  old  members  will 
immediately  have  one-fifth  of  their  patronage 
taken  away  by  the  creation  of  a  fifth  canon  to 
share  it.  This  injustice  and  partiality  are  so 
monstrous,  that  the  two  prelates  in  question, 
will  see  that  it  is  necessary  to  their  own  cha- 
racter to  apply  a  remedy.  Nothing  is  more 
easy  than  to  do  so.  Let  the  bishop's  canon  have 
no  share  in  the  distribution  of  the  patronage,  till 
after  the  death  of  all  those  who  were  residentia- 
ries  at  the  passing  of  the  bill. 

Your  dean  and  chapter  bill  will,  I  am  afraid, 
cut  down  the  great  preferments  of  the  church 
too  much. 

Take  for  your  fund  only  the  non-resident 
prebends,  and  leave  the  number  of  resident 
prebends  as  they  are,  annexing  some  of  them 
to  poor  livings  with  large  populations.  I  am 
sure  this  is  all  (besides  the  abolition  of  plurali- 
ties), which  ought  to  be  done,  and  all  that  would 
be  done,  if  the  commissioners  were  to  begin  de 
novo  from  this  period,  when  bishops  have  reco- 
vered from  their  fright,  dissenters  shrunk  into 
their. just  dimensions,  and  the  foolish  and 
exaggerated  expectations  from  reform  have 
vanished  away.  The  great  prizes  of  the  church 
induce  men  to  carry,  and  fathers  and  uncles  to 
send  into  the  church  considerable  capitals,  and 
in  this  way,  enable  the  clergy  to  associate  with 
gentlemen,  and  to  command  that  respect  which, 
in  all  countries,  and  above  all  in  this,  depends 
so  much  on  appearances.  Your  bill,  abolishing 
pluralities,  and  taking  away,  at  the  same  time, 
so  many  dignities,  leaves  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land so  destitute  of  great  prizes,  that,  as  far  as 
mere  emolument  has  any  influence,  it  will  be 
better  to  dispense  cheese  and  butter  in  small 
quantities  to  the  public,  than  to  enter  into  the 
church. 

There  are  admirable  men,  whose  honest  and 
beautiful  zeal  carries  them  into  the  church 
without  a  moment's  thought  of  its  emoluments. 
Such  a  man,  combining  the  manners  of  a  gen- 
tleman with  the  acquirements  of  a  scholar, 
and  the  zeal  of  an  apostle,  would  overawe  mer- 
cantile grossness,  and  extort  respect  from  inso- 
lent opulence ;  but  I  am  talking  of  average 
vicars,  mixed  natures,  and  eleven  thousand 
parish  priests.  If  you  divide  the  great  emolu- 
ments of  the  church  into  little  portions,  such 
as  butlers  and  head  game-keepers  receive,  j^ou 
very  soon  degrade  materially  the  style  and  cha 
racter  of  the  English  clergy.  If  I  were  dictator 
of  the  church,  as  Lord  Durham  is  to  be  of 
Canada,  I  would  preserve  the  resident,  and  abo- 
lish, for  the  purposes  of  a  fund,  the  non-resident 


420 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


prebends.  This  is  the  principal  and  most  im- 
portant alteration  in  your  dean  and  chapter  bill, 
which  it  is  not  too  late  to  make,  and  for  which 
every  temperate  and  rational  man  ought  to 
strive. 

You  will,  of  course,  consider  me  as  a  defender 
of  abuses,  I  have  all  my  life  been  just  the  con- 
trary, and  I  remember,  with  pleasure,  thirty 
years  ago,  old  Lord  Stowell  saying  to  me,  "  Mr. 
Smith,  you  would  have  been  a  much  richer  man 
if  you  had  joined  us."  I  like,  my  dear  lord,  the 
road  you  are  travelling,  but  I  don't  like  the  pace 
you  are  driving  ;  too  similar  to  that  of  the  son 
of  Nimshi.  I  always  feel  inclined  to  cry  out, 
Gently,  John,  gently  down  hill.  Put  on  the  drag. 
We  shall  be  over  if  you  go  so  quick — you'll  do 
us  a  mischief. 

Remember,  as  a  philosopher,  that  the  Church 
of  England  now  is  a  very  different  institution 
from  what  it  was  twenty  years  ago.  It  then  op- 
pressed every  sect ;  they  are  now  all  free — all 
exempt  from  the  tyranny  of  an  establishment ; 
and  the  only  real  cause  of  complaint  for  dissen- 
ters is,  that  they  can  no  longer  find  a  grievance 
and  enjoy  the  distinction  of  being  persecuted. 
I  have  always  tried  to  reduce  them  to  this  state, 
and  I  do  not  pity  them. 

You  have  expressed  your  intention  of  going 
beyond  the  fifth  report,  and  limiting  deans  to 
2000/.  per  annum,  and  canons  to  1000/.  This 
is,  I  presume,  in  conformity  with  the  treatment 
of  the  bishops,  who  are  limited  to  from  4500/.,  to 
5000/.  per  annum;  and  it  wears  a  fine  appear- 
ance of  impartial  justice ;  but  for  the  dean  and 
canon  the  sum  is  a  maximum — in  bishops  it  is  a 
maximum  and  minimum  too;  a  bishop  cannot 
have  less  than  4500/.,  a  canon  may  have  as  little 
as  the  poverty  of  his  church  dooms  him  to,  but 
he  cannot  have  more  than  1000/. ;  but  there  may 
be  canonries  of  500/.,  or  600/.,  or  700/.  per  annum, 
and  a  few  only  of  1000/.;  many  deaneries  of 
from  1000/.  to  1500/.  per  annum;  and  only  a 
very  few  above  2000/.  If  you  mean  to  make 
the  world  believe  that  you  are  legislating  for 
men  without  votes,  as  benevolently  as  you  did 
for  those  who  have  votes  in  Parliament,  you 
should  make  Up  the  allowance  of  every  canon 
to  1000/.,  and  every  dean  to  2000/.  per  annum, 
or  leave  them  to  the  present  lottery  of  blanks  and 
prizes.  Besides,  too,  do  I  not  recollect  some 
remarkable  instances,  in  your  bishop's  act,  of 
deviation  from  this  rigid  standard  of  episcopal 
wealth  1  Are  not  the  archbishops  to  have  the 
enormous  sums  of  15,000/.  and  12,000/.  per  an- 
num 1  is  not  the  Bishop  of  London  to  have 
10,000/.  per  annum  1  Are  not  all  these  three 
prelates  commissioners  1  And  is  not  the  rea- 
son alleged  for  the  enormous  income  of  the 
Bishop  of  London,  that  everything  is  so  expen- 
sive in  the  metropolis'?  Do  not  the  deans  of 
St.  Paul's  and  Westminster,  then,  live  in  Lon- 
don alsol  And  can  the  Bishop  of  London  sit 
in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  not  urge 


for  those  dignitaries  the  same  reasons  which 
were  so  successful  in  securing  such  ample 
emoluments  for  his  own  see  1  My  old  friend, 
the  Bishop  of  Durham,  has  8000/.  per  annum  se- 
cured to  him.  I  am  heartily  glad  of  it ;  what  pos- 
sible reason  can  there  be  for  giving  him  more 
than  other  bishops,  and  not  giving  the  Dean  of 
Durham  more  than  other  deans  T  that  is,  of  leav- 
ing to  him  one  half  of  his  present  income.  It  is 
impossible  this  can  be  a  clap-trap  for  Joseph 
Hume,  or  a  set-off  against  the  disasters  of  Cana- 
da ;  you  are  too  honest  and  elevated  for  this.  I 
cannot  comprehend  what  is  meant  by  such 
gross  partiality  and  injustice. 

Why  are  the  economists  so  eagerly  in  the 
field  1  The  public  do  not  contribute  one  half- 
penny to  the  support  of  deans  and  chapters;  it 
is  not  proposed  by  any  one  to  confiscate  the 
revenues  of  the  church ;  the  whole  is  a  question 
of  distribution,  in  what  way  the  revenues  of  the 
church  can  be  best  administered  for  the  public 
good.  But  whatever  may  bethe  respective 
shares  of  Peter  or  Paul,  the  public  will  never  be 
richer  or  poorer  by  one  shilling.  . 

When  your  dean  and  chapter  bill  is  printed, 
I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  again. 
The  clergy  naturally  look  with  the  greatest 
anxiety  to  these  two  bills ;  they  think  that  you 
will  avail  yourself  of  this  opportunity  to  punish 
them  for  their  opposition  to  your  government 
in  the  last  elections.  They  are  afraid  that  your 
object  is  not  so  much  to  do  good  as  to  gratify 
your  vanity,  by  obtaining  the  character  of  a 
great  reformer,  and  that  (now  the  bishops  are 
provided  for)  you  will  varnish  over  your  politi- 
cal mistakes  by  increased  severity  against  the 
church,  or,  apparently  struggling  for  their  good, 
see  with  inexpressible  delight  the  clergy  deli- 
vered over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  radicals. 
These  are  the  terrors  of  the  clergy.  I  judge  you 
with  a  very  different  judgment.  You  are  a  re- 
ligious man,  not  unfriendly  tcJ  the  church  ;  and 
but  for  that  most  foolish  and  fatal  error  of  the 
church  rates  (into  which  you  were  led  by  a  man 
who  knows  no  more  of  England  than  of  Meso- 
potamia), I  believe  you  would  have  gone  on 
well  with  the  church  to  the  last.  There  is  a 
genius  in  action,  as  well  as  diction  ;  and  be- 
cause you  see  political  evils  clearly,  and  attack 
them  bravely,  and  cure  them  wisely,  you  are  a 
man  of  real  genius,  and  are  most  deservedly 
looked  up  to  as  the  leader  of  the  whig  party  in 
this  kingdom.  I  wish,  I  must  confess,  you 
were  rather  less  afraid  of  Joseph  and  Daniel ; 
but  God  has  given  you  a  fine  understanding, 
and  a  fine  character ;  and  I  have  so  much  con- 
fidence in  your  spirit  and  honour,  that  I  am  sure 
you  would  rather  abandon  your  bills  altogether, 
than  suffer  the  enemies  of  the  church  to  convert 
them  into  an  engine  of  spoil  and  oppression. 
I  am,  &c. 

SYDNEY  SMITH. 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


4SI 


SERMON 


DUTIES  OF  THE   QUEEN, 


Daniel,  it.  31. 


"  OH    KING,  THY   KINGDOM   IS   DEPARTED   FBOH   THEE." 


I  DO  not  think  I  am  getting  out  of  the  fair 
line  of  duty  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  if,  at 
the  beginning  of  a  new  reign,  I  take  a  short 
review  of  the  moral  and  religious  state  of  the 
country;  and  to  point  out  what  those  topics 
are  which  deserve  the  most  serious  considera- 
tion of  a  wise  and  a  Christian  people. 

The  death  of  a  king  is  always  an  awful  les- 
son to  mankind ;  and  it  produces  a  more 
solemn  pause,  and  creates  more  profound  re- 
flection than  the  best  lessons  of  the  best  teach- 
ers. 

From  the  throne  to  the  tomb — wealth,  splen- 
dour, flattery,  all  gone !  The  look  of  favour — 
the  voice  of  power,  no  more; — the  deserted 
palace — the  wretched  monarch  on  his  funeral 
bier — the  mourners  ready — the  dismal  march 
of  death  prepared.  Who  are  we,  and  what  are 
we  ?  and  for  what  has  God  made  us '?  and  why 
are  we  doomed  to  this  frail  and  unquiet  exist- 
ence 1  Who  does  not  feel  all  this  ?  in  whose 
heart  does  it  not  provoke  appeal  to  and  depend- 
ence on  God  ■?  before  whose  eyes  does  it  not 
bring  the  folly  and  nothingness  of  all  things 
human  1 

But  a  good  king  must  not  go  to  his  grave 
without  that  reverence  from  the  people  which 
his  virtues  deserved.  And  I  will  state  to  you 
what  those  virtues  were,  state  it  to  you  honestly 
and  fairly ;  for  I  should  heartily  despise  my- 
self, if  from  this  chair  of  truth  I  would  utter 
one  word  of  panegyric  of  the  great  men  of  the 
earth,  which  I  could  not  aver  before  ihe  throne 
of  God. 

The  late  monarch,  whose  loss  we  have  to 
deplore,  was  sincere  and  honest  in  his  political 
relations ;  he  put  his  trust  really  where  he  put 
his  trust  ostensibly — and  did  not  attempt  to  un- 
dermine, by  secret  means,  those  to  whom  he 
trusted  publicly  the  conduct  of  affairs;  and  I 
must  beg  to  remind  you  that  no  vice  and  no 
virtue  are  indifferent  in  a  monarch ;  human 
beings  are  very  imitative  ;  there  is  a  fashion  in 
the  higher  qualities  of  our  minds,  as  there  is 
in  the  lesser  considerations  of  life.  It  is  by  no 
means  indifferent  to  the  morals  of  the  people 
at  large,  whether  a  tricking  perfidious  king  is 
placed  on  the  throne  of  these  realms,  or  whether 
the  sceptre  is  swayed  by  one  of  plain  and 
manly  character,  walking  ever  in  a  straight 
line,  on  the  firm  ground  of  truth,  under  the 
searching  eye  of  God. 


The  late  king  was  of  a  sweet  and  Christian 
disposition ;  he  did  not  treasure  up  little  ani- 
mosities, and  indulge  in  vindictive  feelings ;  he 
had  no  enemies  but  the  enemies  of  the  coun- 
try ;  he  did  not  make  the  memory  of  a  king  a 
fountain  of  wrath;  the  feelings  of  the  indivi- 
dual (where  they  required  any  control)  were  in 
perfect  subjection  to  the  just  conception  he  had 
formed  of  his  high  duties ;  and  every  one  near 
him  found  it  was  a  government  of  principle, 
and  not  of  temper;  not  of  caprice,  not  of  ma- 
lice couching  in  high  places,  and  watching  an 
opportunity  of  springing  on  its  victim. 

Our  late  monarch  had  the  good  nature  of 
Christianity;  he  loved  the  happiness  of  all  the 
individuals  about  him,  and  never  lost  an  op- 
portunity of  promoting  it ;  and  where  the  heart 
is  good,  and  the  mind  active,  and  the  means 
ample,  this  makes  a  luminous  and  beautiful 
life,  which  gladdens  the  nations,  and  leads 
them,  and  turns  men  to  the  exercise  of  virtue, 
and  the  great  work  of  salvation. 

We  may  honestly  say  of  our  late  sovereign 
that  he  loved  his  country,  and  was  sensibly- 
alive  to  its  glory  and  its  happiness.  When  he 
entered  into  his  palaces  he  did  not  say,  "All 
this  is  niy  birthright;  I  am  entitled  to  it — it  is 
my  due — how  can  I  gain  more  splendour]  how 
can  I  increase  all  the  pleasures  of  the  senses  1" 
but  he  looked  upon  it  all  as  a  memorial  that 
he  was  to  repay  by  example,  by  attention,  and 
by  watchfulness  over  the  public  interests,  the 
affectionate  and  lavish  expenditure  of  his  sub- 
jects ;  and  this  was  not  a  decision  of  reason, 
but  a  feeling,  which  hurried  him  away.  When- 
ever it  was  pointed  out  to  him  that  England 
could  be  made  more  rich,  or  more  happy,  or 
rise  higher  in  the  scale  of  nations,  or  be  better 
guided  in  the  straight  path  of  the  Christian 
faith,  on  all  such  occasions  he  rose  above  him- 
self; there  was  a  warmth,  and  a  truth,  and  an 
honesty,  which  it  was  impossible  to  mistake; 
the  gates  of  his  heart  were  flung  open,  and  that 
heart  throbbed  and  beat  for  the  land  which  his 
ancestors  had  rescued  from  slavery,  and  go- 
verned with  justice  : — but  he  is  gone — and  let 
fools  praise  conquerors,  and  say  the  great  JNa- 
poleon  pulled  down  this  kingdom  and  destroyed 
that  army,  we  will  thank  God  for  a  king  who 
has  derived  his  quiet  glory  from  the  peace  of 
his  realm,  and  who  has  founded  his  own  hap- 
piness upon  the  happiness  of  his  people, 
2N 


422 


WORKS  OF  THE  KEY.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


But  the  world  passes  on,  and  a  new  order  of 
things  arises.  Let  us  take  a  short  view  of  those 
duties  which  devolve  upon  the  young  queen, 
whom  Providence  has  placed  over  us — what 
ideas  she  ought  to  form  of  her  duties — and  on 
what  points  she  should  endeavour  to  place  the 
glories  of  her  reign. 

First  and  foremost,  I  think,  the  new  queen 
should  bend  her  mind  to  the  very  serious  con- 
sideration of  educating  the  people.  Of  the 
importance  of  this,  I  think  no  reasonable  doubt 
can  exist;  it  does  not,  in  its  effects,  keep  pace 
with  the  exaggerated  expectations  of  its  inju- 
dicious advocates,  but  it  presents  the  best 
chance  of  national  improvement. 

Reading  and  writing  are  mere  increase  of 
power.  They  may  be  turned,  I  admit,  to  a 
good,  or  a  bad  purpose  ;  but  for  several  years 
of  his  life  the  child  is  in  your  hands,  and  you 
may  give  to  that  power  what  bias  you  please : 
thou  shalt  not  kill — thou  shall  not  steal — thou 
shalt  not  bear  false  witness ; — by  how  many 
fables,  by  how  much  poetry,  by  how  many 
beautiful  aids  of  imagination,  may  not  the  fine 
morality  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  be  engraven 
on  the  minds  of  the  young  1  I  believe  the  arm 
of  the  assassin  may  be  often  stayed  by  the  les- 
sons of  his  early  life.  When  I  see  the  village 
school,  and  the  tattered  scholars,  and  the  aged 
master  or  mistress  teaching  the  mechanical  art 
of  reading  or  writing,  and  thinking  that  they 
are  teaching  that  alone,  I  feel  that  the  aged  in- 
structor is  protecting  life,  insuring  property, 
fencing  the  altar,  guarding  the  throne,  giving 
space  and  liberty  to  all  the  fine  powers  of  man, 
and  lifting  him  up  to  his  own  place  in  the  order 
of  creation. 

There  are,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  many  countries 
in  Europe,  which  have  taken  the  lead  of  Eng- 
land in  the  great  business  of  education,  and  it 
is  a  thoroughly  commendable,  and  legitimate 
object  of  ambition  in  a  sovereign  to  overtake 
them.  The  names  too,  of  malefactors,  and  the 
nature  of  their  crimes  are  subjected  to  the  sove- 
reign ; — how  is  it  possible  that  a  sovereign,  with 
the  fine  feelings  of  youth,  and  with  all  the  gentle- 
ness of  her  sex,  should  not  ask  herself,  whether 
the  human  being  whom  she  dooms  to  death,  or 
at  least  does  not  rescue  from  death,  has  been 
properly  warned  in  early  youth  of  the  horrors 
of  that  crime  for  which  his  life  is  forfeited? 
"Did  he  ever  receive  any  education  at  all] — 
— did  a  father  and  mother  watch  over  him  ? — 
was  he  brought  to  places  of  worship  ? — was  the 
Word  of  God  explained  to  him  1 — was  the  book 
of  knowledge  opened  to  him  1  — Or  am  I,  the 
fountain  of  mercy,  the  nursing-mother  of  my 
people,  to  send  a  forsaken  wretch  from  the 
streets  to  the  scaffold,  and  to  prevent,  by  un- 
principled cruelty,  the  evils  of  unprincipled  ne- 
glect 1" 

Many  of  the  objections  found  against  the 
general  education  of  the  people  are  utterly  un- 
tenable; where  all  are  educated,  education  can- 
not be  a  source  of  distinction  and  a  subject  for 
pride.  The  great  source  of  labour  is  want; 
and  as  long  as  the  necessities  of  life  call  for 
labour — labour  is  sure  to  be  supplied.  All 
these  fears  are  foolish  and  imaginary  ;  the  great 
use  and  the  great  importance  of  education  pro- 
perly conducted  arc,  that  it  creates  a  great  bias 


in  favour  of  virtue  and  religion,  at  a  period  of 
life  when  the  mind  is  open  to  all  the  impres- 
sions which  superior  wisdom  may  choose  to 
affix  upon  it ;  the  sum  and  mass  of  these  ten- 
dencies and  inclinations  make  a  good  and  vir- 
tuous people,  and  draw  down  upon  us  the  bless- 
ing and  protection  of  Almighty  God. 

A  second  great  object  which  I  hope  will  be 
impressed  upon  the  mind  of  this  royal  lady  is, 
a  rooted  horror  of  war — an  earnest  and  pas- 
sionate desire  to  keep  her  people  in  a  state  of 
profound  peace.  The  greatest  curse  which  can 
be  entailed  upon  mankind  is  a  state  of  war. 
All  the  atrocious  crimes  committed  in  years  of 
peace — all  that  is  spent  in  peace  by  the  secret 
corruptions,  or  by  the  thoughtless  extravagance 
of  nations,  are  mere  trifles  compared  with  the 
gigantic  evils  which  stalk  over  the  world  in  a 
state  of  war.  God  is  forgotten  in  war — every 
principle  of  Christian  charity  trampled  upon — 
human  labour  destroyed — human  industry  ex- 
tinguished;— you  see  the  son  and  the  husband 
and  the  brother  dying  miserably  in  distant  lands 
— you  see  the  waste  of  human  affections — you 
see  the  breaking  of  human  hearts — you  hear 
the  shrieks  of  widows  and  children  after  the 
battle — and  you  walk  over  the  mangled  bodies 
of  the  wounded  calling  for  death.  I  would  say 
to  that  royal  child,  worship  God,  by  loving 
peace — it  is  not  your  humanity  to  pity  a  beggar 
by  giving  him  food  or  raiment — 1  can  do  that; 
that  is  the  charity  of  the  humble,  and  the  un- 
known— widen  you  your  heart  for  the  more  ex- 
panded miseries  of  mankind — pity  the  mothers 
of  the  peasantry  who  see  their  sons  torn  away 
from  their  families — pity  your  poor  subjects 
crowded  into  hospitals,  and  calling  in  their  last 
breath  upon  their  distant  country  and  their 
young  queen — pity  the  stupid,  frantic  folly  of 
human  beings  who  are  always  ready  to  tear 
each  other  to  pieces,  and  to  deluge  the  earth 
with  each  other's  blood ;  this  is  J'our  extended 
humanity — and  this  the  great  field  of  your  com- 
passion. Extinguish  in  your  heart  the  fiendish 
love  of  military  glory,  from  which  your  sex 
does  not  necessarily  exempt  you,  and  to  which 
the  wickedness  of  flatterers  may  urge  you.  Say 
upon  your  death-bed,  "I  have  made  few  orphans 
in  my  reign — I  have  made  few  widows — my 
object  has  been  peace.  I  have  used  all  the 
weight  of  my  character,  and  all  the  power  of  my 
situation,  to  check  the  irascible  passions  of 
mankind,  and  to  turn  them  to  the  arts  of  honest 
industry:  this  has  been  the  Christianity  of  my 
throne,  and  this  the  Gospel  of  my  sceptre  ;  in 
this  way  I  have  strove  to  worship  my  Redeemer 
and  my  Judge." 

I  would  add  (if  any  addition  were  wanted  as 
a  part  of  the  lesson  to  youthful  royalty),  the 
utter  folly  of  all  wars  of  ambition,  where  the 
object  sought  for — if  attained  at  all — is  com- 
monly attained  at  manifold  its  real  value,  and 
often  wrested,  after  short  enjoyment,  from  its 
possessor,  by  the  combined  indignation  and  just 
vengeance  of  the  other  nations  of  the  world.  It 
is  all  misery,  and  folly,  and  impiety,  and  cru- 
elty. The  atrocities,  and  horrors,  and  disgusts 
of  war,  have  never  been  half  enough  insisted 
upon  by  the  teachers  of  the  people;  but  the 
worst  of  evils  and  the  greatest  of  follies,  have 
been  varnished  over  with  specious  names,  and 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


423 


the  gigantic  robbers  and  murderers  of  the  world 
have  been  holden  up,  for  their  imitation,  to  the 
weak  eyes  of  youth.  May  honest  counsellors 
keep  this  poison  from  the  mind  of  the  young 
queen.  May  she  love  what  God  bids,  and  do 
what  makes  men  happy ! 

I  hope  the  queen  will  love  the  national  church, 
and  protect  it;  but  it  must  be  impressed  upon 
her  mind,  that  every  sect  of  Christians  have  as 
perfect  a  right  to  the  free  exercise  of  their  wor- 
ship as  the  church  itself — that  there  must  be  no 
invasion  of  the  privileges  of  other  sects,  and  no 
contemptuous  disrespect  of  their  feelings — that 
the  altar  is  the  very  ark  and  citadel  of  freedom. 

Some  persons  represent  old  age  as  miserable, 
because  it  brings  with  it  the  pains  and  infirmi- 
ties of  the  body ;  but  what  gratification  to  the 
mind  may  not  old  age  bring  with  it  in  this 
country  of  wise  and  rational  improvement  ]  I 
have  lived  to  see  the  immense  improvements 
of  the  Church  of  England;  all  its  powers  of 
persecution  destroyed — its  monopoly  of  civil 
offices  expunged  from  the  book  of  the  law,  and 
all  its  unjust  and  exclusive  immunities  leveled 
to  the  ground.  The  Church  of  England  is  now 
a  rational  object  of  love  and  admiration — it  is 
perfectly  compatible  with  civil  freedom — it  is  an 
institution  for  worshipping  God,  and  not  a  cover 
for  gratifying  secular  insolence,  and  minister- 
ing to  secular  ambition.  It  will  be  the  duly  of 
those  to  whom  the  sacred  trust  of  instructing 
our  youthful  queen  is  entrusted,  to  lead  her  at- 
tention to  these  great  improvements  in  our  reli- 
gious establishments  ;  and  to  show  to  her  how 
possible,  and  how  wise  it  is,  to  render  the  solid 
advantages  of  a  national  church  compatible 
with  the  civil  rights  of  those  who  cannot  assent 
to  its  doctrines. 

Then  again,  our  youthful  ruler  must  be  very 
slow  to  believe  all  the  exaggerated  and  violent 
abuse  which  religious  sects  indulge  in  against 
each  other.  She  will  find,  for  instance,  that  the 
Catholics,  the  great  object  of  our  horror  and 
aversion,  have  (mistaken  as  they  are)  a  great 
deal  more  to  say  in  defence  of  their  tenets  than 
those  imagine  who  indulge  more  in  the  luxury 
of  invective  than  in  the  labour  of  inquiry — 
she  will  find  in  that  sect,  men  as  enlightened, 
talents  as  splendid,  and  probity  as  firm,  as  in 
our  own  church ;  and  she  will  soon  learn  to  ap- 
preciate, at  its  just  value,  that  exaggerated 
hatred  of  sects  which  paints  the  Catholic  faith 
(the  religion  of  two-thirds  of  Europe)  as  utterly 
incompatible  with  the  safety,  peace  and  order 
of  the  world. 

It  will  be  a  sad  vexation  to  all  loyal  hearts 
and  to  all  rationally  pious  minds,  if  our  sove- 
reign should  fall  into  the  common  error  of  mis- 
taken fanaticism  for  religion:  and  in  this  way 
fling  an  air  of  discredit  upon  real  devotion.  It 
is,  I  am  afraid,  unquestionably  the  fault  of  the 
age;  her  youth  and  her  sex  do  not  make  it 
more  improbable,  and  the  warmest  efforts  of 
that  description  of  persons  will  not  be  wanting 
to  gain  over  a  convert  so  illustrious,  and  so 
important.  Should  this  take  place,  the  conse- 
quences will  be  serious  and  distressing — the 
land  will  be  inundated  with  hypocrisy — absurd- 
ity will  be  heaped  upon  absurdity  —  there  will 
be  a  race  of  folly  and  extravagance  for  royal 
iavour,  and  he  who  is  farthest  removed  from 


reason  will  make  the  nearest  approach  to  dis- 
tinction ;  and  then  follow  the  usual  conse- 
quences ;  a  weariness  and  disgust  of  religion 
itself,  and  the  foundation  laid  for  an  age  of  im- 
piety and  infidelity.  Those,  then,  to  whom 
these  matters  are  delegated,  will  watch  care- 
fully over  every  sign  of  this  excess,  and  guard 
from  the  mischievous  intemperance  of  enthu- 
siasm those  feelings  and  that  understanding, 
the  healthy  state  of  which  bears  so  strongly 
and  intimately  upon  the  happiness  of  a  whole 
people. 

Though  I  deprecate  the  bad  effects  of  fanati- 
cism, I  earnestly  pray  that  our  young  sovereign 
may  evince  herself  to  be  a  person  of  deep  re- 
ligious feeling:  what  other  cure  has  she  for  all 
the  arrogance  and  vanity  which  her  exalted 
position  must  engender"?  for  all  the  flattery  and 
falsehood  with  which  she  must  be  surrounded! 
for  all  the  soul-corrupting  homage  with  which 
she  is  met  at  every  moment  of  her  existence  1 
what  other  cure  than  to  cast  herself  down  in 
darkness  and  solitude  before  God — to  say  that 
she  is  dust  and  ashes — and  to  call  down  the 
pity  of  the  Almighty  upon  her  difficult  and 
dangerous  life  1  Tiiis  is  the  antidote  of  kings 
against  the  slavery  and  the  baseness  which 
surround  them — they  should  think  often  of 
death — and  the  folly  and  nothingness  of  the 
world,  and  they  should  humble  their  souls  be- 
fore the  Master  of  masters,  and  the  King  of 
kings ;  praying  to  Heaven  for  wisdom  and 
calm  reflection,  and  for  that  spirit  of  Christian 
gentleness  which  exalts  command  into  an  pm- 
pire  of  justice,  and  turns  obedience  into  a  ser- 
vice of  love. 

A  wise  man  struggling  with  adversity  is  said 
by  some  heathen  writer  to  be  a  spectacle  on 
which  the  gods  might  look  down  with  pleasure 
— but  where  is  there  a  finer  moral  and  religious 
picture,  or  one  more  deserving  of  divine  fa- 
vour, than  that  of  which,  perhaps,  we  are  now 
beginning  to  enjoy  the  blessed  reality  1 

A  young  queen,  at  that  period  of  life  which 
is  commonly  given  up  to  frivolous  amusement, 
sees  at  once  the  great  principles  by  which  she 
should  be  guided,  and  steps  at  once  into  the 
great  duties  of  her  station.  The  importance 
of  educating  the  lower  orders  of  the  people  is 
never  absent  from  her  mind;  she  takes  up  this 
principle  at  the  beginning  of  her  life,  and  in 
all  the  change  of  servants,  and  in  all  the  strug- 
gle of  parties,  looks  to  it  as  a  source  of  per- 
manent improvement.  A  great  object  of  her 
affections  is  the  preservation  of  peace;  she 
regards  a  state  of  war  as  the  greatest  of  all 
human  evils,  thinks  that  the  lust  of  conquest 
is  not  a  glory  but  a  bad  crime ;  despises  the 
folly  and  miscalculations  of  war,  and  is  will- 
ing to  sacrifice  every  thing  to  peace,  but  the 
clear  honour  of  her  land. 

The  patriot  queen,  whom  I  am  painting,  re- 
verences the  national  church — frequents  its 
worship,  and  regulates  her  faith  by  its  precepts ; 
but  she  withstands  the  encroachments,  and 
keeps  down  the  ambition  natural  to  establish- 
ments, and,  by  rendering  the  privileges  of  the 
church  compatible  with  the  civil  freedom  of  all 
sects,  confers  strength  upon,  and  adds  duration 
to,  that  wise  and  magnificent  institution.  And 
then   this  youthful   monarch,  profoundly  but 


424 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


wisely  religious,  disdaining  hypocrisy,  and  far 
above  the  childish  follies  of  false  piety,  casts 
herself  upon  God,  and  seeks  from  the  Gospel 
of  his  blessed  Son  a  path  for  her  steps  and  a 
comfort  for  her  soul.  Here  is  a  picture  which 
warms  every  English  heart,  and  would  bring 
all  this  congregation  upon  their  bended  knees 
before  Almighty  God  to  pray  it  may  be  realized. 
What  limits  to  the  glory  and  happiness  of  our 
native  land,  if  the  Creator  should  in  his  mercy 
have  placed  in  the  heart  of  this  royal  woman 
the  rudiments  of  wisdom  and  mercy ;  and  if, ) 


giving  them  time  to  expand,  and  to  bless  our 
children's  children  with  her  goodness,  He 
should  grant  to  her  a  long  sojourning  upon 
earth,  and  leave  her  to  reign  over  us  till  she  is 
well  stricken  in  years?  What  glory!  what 
happiness!  what  joy!  what  bounty  of  God  ! 
I  of  course  can  only  expect  to  see  the  begin- 
ning of  such  a  splendid  period;  but  when  I  do 
see  it,  I  shall  exclaim  with  the  Psalmist, — 
"Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  ia 
peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation." 


THE  LAWYER  THAT  TEMPTED  CHEIST. 


A  SERMON  PREACHED  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  CHURCH  AT  ST.  PETER,  YORK,  BEFORE  THE 
HON.  SIR  JOHN  BAYLEY,  KNT.,  ONE  OF  HIS  MAJESTy's  JUSTICES  OF  THE  COURT  OF 
king's  BENCH,  AND  THE  HON.  SIR  JOHN  HULLOCK,  KNT.,  ONE  OF  HIS  MAJESTY's 
BARONS  OF  THE  COURT  OF  EXCHEQUER. AUG.  1,  1834. 

Ldke  X.  25. 


"And,  behold,  a  certain  lawyer  stood  up,  and  tempted  him,  saying.  Master,  what  shall  I  do  to  inherit 

eternal  life?" 


This  lawyer,  who  is  thus  represented  to  have 
tempted  our  blessed  Saviour,  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  very  much  in  earnest  in  the  ques- 
tion which  he  asked  :  his  object  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  the  acquisition  of  religious 
knowledge,  but  the  display  of  human  talent. 
He  did  not  say  to  himself,  I  will  now  draw  near 
to  this  august  being;  I  will  inform  myself  from 
the  fountain  of  truth,  and  from  the  very  lips  of 
Christ;  I  will  learn  a  lesson  of  salvation  ;  but 
it  occurred  to  him,  that  in  such  a  gathering  to- 
gether of  the  Jews,  in  such  a  moment  of  public 
agitation,  the  opportunity  of  display  was  not  to 
be  neglected :  full  of  that  internal  confidence 
which  men  of  talents  so  ready,  and  so  exercised, 
are  sometimes  apt  to  feel,  he  approaches  our 
Saviour  with  all  the  apparent  modesty  of  inter- 
rogation, and,  saluting  him  with  the  appellation 
of  Master,  prepares,  with  all  professional  acute- 
ness,  for  his  humiliation  and  defeat. 

Talking  humanly,  and  we  must  talk  humanly, 
for  our  Saviour  was  then  acting  an  human  part, 
the  experiment  ended  as  all  must  wish  an  ex- 
periment to  end,  where  levity  and  bad  faith  are 
on  one  side,  and  piety,  simplicity,  and  goodness 
on  the  other :  the  objector  was  silenced,  and  one 
of  the  brightest  lessons  of  the  Gospel  elicited, 
for  the  eternal  improvement  of  mankind. 

Still,  though  we  wish  the  motive  for  the 
question  had  been  better,  we  must  not  forget 
the  question,  and  we  must  not  forget  who  asked 
the  question,  and  we  must  not  forget  who  an- 
swered it,  and  what  that  answer  was.  The 
question  was  the  wisest  and  best  that  ever 
came  from  the  mouth  of  man  ;  the  man  who 
asked  it  was  the  very  person  who  ought  to 
have  asked  it;  a  man  overwhelmed,  probably, 


with  the  intrigues,  the  bustle,  and  business  of 
life,  and,  therefore,  most  likely  to  forget  the  in- 
terests of  another  world  :  the  answerer  was  our 
blessed  Saviour,  through  whose  mediation,  you, 
and  I,  and  all  of  us,  hope  to  live  again  ;  and  the 
answer,  remember,  was  plain  and  practical : 
not  flowery,  not  metaphysical,  not  doctrinal ; 
but  it  said  to  the  man  of  the  law,  if  you  wish 
to  live  eternally,  do  your  duty  to  God  and  man ; 
live  in  this  world  as  you  ought  to  live;  make 
yourself  fit  for  eternity;  and  then,  and  thea 
only,  God  will  grant  to  you  eternal  life. 

There  are,  probabl)',  in  this  church,  many 
persons  of  the  profession  of  the  law,  who  have 
often  asked  before,  with  better  faith  than  their 
brother,  and  who  do  now  ask  this  great  question, 
"What  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?"  I  shall, 
therefore,  direct  to  them  some  observations  on 
the  particular  duties  they  owe  to  society,  be- 
cause I  think  it  suitable  to  this  particular  sea- 
son, because  it  is  of  much  more  importance  to 
tell  men  how  they  are  to  be  Christians  in  detail, 
than  to  exhort  them  to  be  Christians  general- 
ly;  because  it  is  of  the  highest  utility  to  avail 
ourselves  of  these  occasions,  to  show  to  classes 
of  mankind  what  those  virtues  are  which  they 
have  more  frequent  and  valuable  opportunities 
of  practising,  and  what  those  faults  and  vices 
are  to  which  they  are  more  particularly  exposed. 

It  falls  to  the  lot  of  those  who  are  engaged  in 
the  active  and  arduous  profession  of  the  law, 
to  pass  their  lives  in  great  cities,  amidst  severe 
and  incessant  occupation,  requiring  all  the  fa- 
culties, and  calling  forth,  from  time  to  time, 
many  of  the  strongest  passions  of  our  nature. 
In  the  midst  of  all  this,  rivals  are  to  be  watched, 
superiors   are    to    be  cultivated,   connections 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


425 


cherished;  some  portion  of  life  must  be  given 
to  society,  and  some  little  to  relaxation  and 
amusement.  When,  then,  is  the  question  to  be 
asked,  "What  shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?" 
what  leisure  for  the  altar,  what  time  for  God  ? 
I  appeal  to  the  experience  of  men  engaged  in 
this  profession,  whether  religious  feelings  and 
religious  practices  are  not,  without  any  specu- 
lative disbelief,  perpetually  sacrificed  to  the 
business  of  the  world.  Are  not  the  habits  of 
devotion  gradually  displaced  by  other  habits  of 
solicitude,  hurry,  and  care,  totally  incompatible 
with  habits  of  devotion  1  Is  not  the  taste  for 
devotion  lessened  ?  Is  not  the  time  for  devo- 
tion abridged  1  Are  you  not  more  and  more 
conquered  against  your  warnings  and  against 
your  will,  not,  perhaps,  without  pain  and  com- 
punction, by  the  mammon  of  life  1  and  what  is 
the  cure  for  this  great  evil  to  which  your  pro- 
fession exposes  you  1  The  cure  is,  to  keep  a 
sacred  place  in  your  heart,  where  Almighty 
God  is  enshrined,  and  where  nothing  human 
can  enter  ;  to  say  to  the  world,  "  Thus  far  shalt 
thou  go,  and  no  farther ;"  to  remember  you  are  a 
lawyer,  without  forgetting  you  are  a  Christian  ; 
to  wish  for  no  more  wealth  than  ought  to  be 
possessed  by  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ;  to  covet  no  more  honour  than  is  suit- 
able to  a  child  of  God;  boldly  and  bravely  to 
set  yourself  limits,  and  to  show  to  others  you 
have  limits,  and  that  no  professional  eagerness 
and  no  professional  activity  shall  ever  induce 
you  to  infringe  upon  the  rules  and  practices  of 
religion  :  remember  the  text ;  put  the  great  ques- 
tion really,  which  the  tempter  of  Christ  only  pre- 
tended to  put.  In  the  midst  of  your  highest 
success,  in  the  most  perfect  gratification  of 
your  vanity,  in  the  most  ample  increase  of  your 
wealth,  fall  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  say, 
"  Master,  whatshall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  1" 
The  genuine  and  unaffected  piety  of  a  lawyer 
is,  in  one  respect,  of  great  advantage  to  the 
general  interests  of  religion  ;  inasmuch  as  to 
the  highest  member  of  that  profession  a  great 
share  of  church  patronage  is  entrusted,  and  to 
him  we  are  accustomed  to  look  up  in  the  sen- 
ate, for  the  defence  of  our  venerable  establish- 
ment; and  great  and  momentous  would  be  the 
loss  to  this  nation,  if  any  one,  called  to  so  high 
and  honourable  an  office,  were  found  deficient 
in  this  ancient,  pious,  and  useful  zeal  for  the 
established  church.  In  talking  to  men  of  your 
active  lives  and  habits,  it  is  not  possible  to  an- 
ticipate the  splendid  and  exalted  stations  for 
which  any  one  of  you  may  be  destined.  Fifty 
years  ago,  the  person  at  the  head  of  his  pro- 
fession, the  greatest  lawyer  now  in  England, 
perhaps  in  the  world,  stood  in  this  church,  on 
such  occasions  as  the  present,  as  obscure,  as 
unknown,  and  as  much  doubting  of  his  future 
prospects,  as  the  humblest  individual  of  the 
profession  here  present.  If  Providence  reserve 
such  honours  for  any  one  who  may  now  chance 
to  hear  me,  let  him  remember  that  there  is  re- 
quired at  his  hands  a  zeal  for  the  established 
church,  but  a  zeal  tempered  by  discretion,  com- 
patible with  Christian  charity,  and  tolerant  of 
Christian  freedom.  All  human  establishments 
are  liable  to  err,  and  are  capable  of  improve- 
ment :  to  act  as  if  you  denied  this,  to  perpetuate 
any  infringement  upon  the  freedom  of  other 
54 


sects,  however  vexatious  that  infringement,  and 
however  safe  its  removal,  is  not  to  defend  au 
establishment,  but  to  expose  it  to  unmerited 
obloquy  and  reproach.  Never  think  it  neces- 
sary to  be  weak  and  childish  in  the  highest 
concerns  of  life  ;  the  career  of  the  law  opens 
to  you  many  great  and  glorious  opportunities 
of  promoting  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  of  doing 
good  to  your  fellow-creatures  ;  there  is  no  situ- 
ation of  that  profession  in  which  you  can  be 
more  great  and  more  glorious  than  when,  in 
the  fulness  of  years,  and  the  fulness  of  honours, 
you  are  found  defending  that  church  which 
first  taught  you  to  distinguish  between  good 
and  evil,  and  breathed  into  you  the  elements  of 
religious  life  ;  but  when  you  defend  that  church, 
defend  it  with  enlarged  wisdom,  and  with  the 
spirit  of  magnanimity ;  praise  its  great  excel- 
lencies ;  do  not  perpetuate  its  little  defects  ;  be  its 
liberal  defender,  be  its  wise  patron,  be  its  real 
friend.  If  you  can  be  great  and  bold  in  human 
affairs,  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  be  narrow 
and  timid  in  spiritual  concerns  ;  bind  yourself 
up  with  the  real  and  important  interests  of  the 
church,  and  hold  yourself  accountable  to  God 
for  its  safety;  but  yield  up  trifles  to  the  altered 
state  of  the  world.  Fear  no  change  which  les- 
sens the  enemies  of  that  establishment,  fear  no 
change  which  increases  the  activity  of  that  es- 
tablishment, fear  no  change  which  draws  down 
upon  it  the  more  abundant  prayers  and  bless- 
ings of  the  human  race. 

Justice  is  found,  experimentally,  to  be  most 
effectually  promoted  by  the  opposite  efforts  of 
practised  and  ingenious  men,  presenting  to  the 
selection  of  an  impartial  judge  the  best  argu- 
ments for  the  establishment  and  explanation  of 
truth.  It  becomes,  then,  under  such  an  arrange- 
ment, the  decided  duty  of  an  advocate  to  use  all 
the  arguments  in  his  power  to  defend  the  cause 
he  has  adopted,  and  to  leave  the  effects  of  those 
arguments  to  the  judgment  of  others.  How- 
ever useful  this  practice  maybe  for  the  promo- 
tion of  public  justice,  it  is  not  without  danger 
to  the  individual  whose  practice  it  becomes.  It 
is  apt  to  produce  a  profligate  indifference  to 
truth  in  higher  occasions  of  life,  where  truth 
cannot,  for  a  moment,  be  trifled  with,  much  less 
callously  trampled  on,  much  less  suddenly  and 
totally  yielded  up  to  the  basest  of  human  mo- 
tives. It  is  astonishing  what  unworthy  and  in- 
adequate notions  men  are  apt  to  form  of  the 
Christian  faith.  Christianity  does  not  insist 
upon  duties  to  an  individual,  and  forget  the  du- 
ties which  are  owing  to  the  great  mass  of  indi- 
viduals, which  we  call  our  country  ;  it  does  not 
teach  you  how  to  benefit  your  neighbour,  and 
leave  you  to  inflict  the  most  serious  injuries 
upon  all  whose  interest  is  bound  up  with  you 
in  the  same  land  :  I  need  not  say  to  this  con- 
gregation that  there  is  a  wrong  and  a  right  in 
public  affairs,  as  there  is  a  wrong  and  a  right 
in  private  affairs.  I  need  not  prove  that  in  any 
vote,  in  any  line  of  conduct  which  affects  the 
public  interest,  every  Christian  is  bound,  most 
solemnly  and  most  religiously,  to  follow  the 
dictates  of  his  conscience.  Let  it  be  for,  let  it 
be  against,  let  it  please,  let  it  displease,  no 
matter  with  whom  it  sides,  or  what  it  thwarts, 
it  is  a  solemn  duty,  on  such  occasions,  to  act 
from  the  pure  dictates  of  conscience,  and  to  be 
21*8 


426 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV,   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


as  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  great  mass  of 
your  fellow-creatures,  as  you  would  be  to  the 
interests  of  any  individual  of  that  mass.  Why, 
then,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  these  observations, 
can  that  man  be  pure  and  innocent  before  God, 
can  he  be  quite  harmless  and  respectable  before 
men,  who,  in  mature  age,  at  a  moment's  notice, 
sacrifices  to  wealth  and  power  all  the  fixed  and 
firm  opinions  of  his  life  ;  who  puts  his  moral 
principles  to  sale,  and  barters  his  dignity  and 
his  soul  for  the  baubles  of  the  world  1  If  these 
temptations  come  across  you,  then  remember 
the  memorable  words  of  the  text,  "What  shall 
I  do  to  inherit  eternal  lifel"  not  this — don't  do 
this;  it  is  no  title  to  eternity  to  suffer  deserved 
shame  among  men  ;  endure  any  thing  rather 
than  the  loss  of  character,  cling  to  character 
as  your  best  possession,  do  not  envy  men  who 
pass  you  in  life,  only  because  they  are  under 
less  moral  and  religious  restraint  than  yourself. 
Your  object  is  not  fame,  but  honourable  fame  ; 
your  object  is  not  wealth,  but  wealth  worthily 
obtained;  your  object  is  not  power,  but  power 
gained  fairly  and  exercised  virtuously.  Long- 
suftering  is  a  great  and  important  lesson  in 
human  life;  in  no  part  of  human  life  is  it  moi-e 
necessary  than  in  your  arduous  profession. 
The  greatest  men  it  has  produced  have  been,  at 
some  period  of  their  professional  lives  ready 
to  faint  at  the  long  and  apparently  fruitless 
journey ;  and  if  you  look  at  those  lives,  you 
will  find  they  have  been  supported  by  a  con- 
fidence (under  God)  in  the  general  effects  of 
character  and  industry.  They  have  vi^ithstood 
the  allurement  of  pleasure,  which  is  the  first 
and  most  common  cause  of  failure;  they  have 
disdained  the  little  arts  and  meannesses  which 
carry  base  men  a  certain  way,  and  no  further  ; 
Ihey  have  sternly  rejected,  also,  the  sudden 
means  of  growing  basely  rich  and  dishonoura- 
bly great,  with  which  every  man  is  at  one  time 
or  another  sure  to  be  assailed;  and  then  they 
have  broken  out  into  light  and  glory  at  the  last, 
exhibiting  to  mankind  the  splendid  spectacle  of 
great  talents  long  exercised  by  difficulties,  and 
high  principles  never  tainted  with  guilt. 

After  all,  remember  that  your  profession  is 
a  lottery,  in  which  you  may  lose  as  well  as  win  ; 
and  you  must  take  it  as  a  lottery,  in  which, 
after  every  effort  of  your  own,  it  is  impossible 
to  command  success ;  for  this  you  are  not  ac- 
countable, but  you  are  accountable  for  your 
purity:  you  are  accountable  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  your  character.  It  is  not  in  every  man's 
power  to  say,  I  will  be  a  great  and  successful 
lawyer,  but  it  is  in  every  man's  power  to  say, 
that  he  will  (with  God's  assistance)  be  a  good 
Christian,  and  an  honest  man.  Whatever  is 
moral  and  religious  is  in  your  own  power. 
If  fortune  deserts  you,  do  not  desert  yourself; 
do  not  undervalue  inward  consolation ;  con- 
nect God  with  your  labour  ;  remember  you  are 
Christ's  servant ;  be  seeking  always  for  the  in- 
heritance of  immortal  life. 

I  must  urge  you  by  another  motive,  and 
bind  you  by  another  obligation,  against  the 
sacrifice  of  public  principle.  A  proud  man, 
when  he  has  obtained  the  reward,  and  accepted 
the  wages  of  baseness,  enters  into  a  severe  ac- 
count with  himself,  and  feels  clearly  that  he  has 


suffered  degradation ;  he  may  hide  it  by  in- 
creased zeal  and  violence,  or  varnish  it  over 
by  simulated  gaiety ;  he  may  silence  the  world, 
but  he  cannot  always  silence  himself.  If  this 
is  only  a  beginning,  and  you  mean,  hence- 
forward, to  trample  all  principle  under  foot, 
that  is  another  thing ;  but  a  man  of  fine  parts 
and  nice  feelings  is  trjdng  a  very  dangerous 
experiment  with  his  happiness,  who  means  to 
preserve  his  general  character,  and  indulge  in 
one  act  of  baseness.  Such  a  man  is  not  made 
to  endure  scorn  and  self-reproach  ;  it  is  far 
from  being  certain  that  he  will  be  satisfied  with 
that  unscriptural  bargain  in  which  he  has 
gained  the  honours  of  the  world,  and  lost  the 
purity  of  his  soul. 

It  is  impossible  in  the  profession  of  the  law 
but  that  many  opportunities  must  occur  for  the 
exertion  of  charity  and  benevolence.  I  do  not 
mean  the  charity  of  money,  but  the  charity  of 
time,  labour  and  attention ;  the  protection  of 
those  whose  resources  are  feeble,  and  the  in- 
formation of  those  whose  knowledge  is  small. 
In  the  hands  of  bad  men,  the  law  is  sometimes 
an  artifice  to  mislead,  and  sometimes  an  engine 
to  oppress.  In  your  hands  it  may  be,  from 
time  to  time,  a  buckler  to  shield,  and  a  sanctua- 
ry to  save;  you  may  lift  up  oppressed  humility, 
listen  patiently  to  the  injuries  of  the  wretched, 
vindicate  their  just  claims,  maintain  their  fair 
rights,  and  show,  that  in  the  hurry  of  business 
and  the  struggles  of  ambition,  you  have  not 
forgotten  the  duties  of  a  Christian,  and  the 
feelings  of  a  man.  It  is  in  your  power,  above 
all  other  Christians,  to  combine  the  wisdom  of 
the  serpent  with  the  innocence  of  the  dove, 
and  to  fulfil,  with  greater  acuteness  and  more 
perfect  effect  than  other  men  can  pretend  to, 
the  love,  the  lessons  and  the  law  of  Christ. 

I  should  caution  the  younger  part  of  this 
profession  (who  are  commonly  selected  for  it 
on  account  of  their  superior  tatents)  to  culti- 
vate a  little  more  diffidence  of  their  own  pow- 
ers, and  a  little  less  contempt  for  received 
opinions,  than  is  commonly  exhibited  at  the 
beginning  of  their  career  ;  mistrust  of  this  na- 
ture teaches  moderation  in  the  formation  of 
opinions,  and  prevents  the  painful  necessity 
of  inconsistency  and  recantation  in  future  life. 
It  is  not  possible  that  the  ablest  young  men,  at 
the  beginning  of  their  intellectual  existence, 
can  anticipate  all  those  reasons,  and  dive  into 
all  those  motives,  which  induce  mankind  to 
act  as  they  do  act,  and  make  the  world  such  as 
we  find  it  to  be  ;  and  though  there  is,  doubt- 
less, much  to  alter,  and  much  to  improve  in 
human  affairs,  yet  you  will  find  mankind  not 
quite  so  wrong  as,  in  the  first  ardour  of  youth, 
you  supposed  them  to  be;  and  you  will  find,  as 
you  advance  in  life,  many  new  Hghts  to  open 
upon  you,  which  nothing  but  advancing  in  life 
could  ever  enable  you  to  observe.  I  sa.y  this, not 
to  check  originality  and  vigour  of  mind,  which 
are  the  best  chattels  and  possessions  of  the 
world,  but  to  check  thai  eagerness  which  ar- 
rives at  conclusions  without  sufficient  pre- 
mises ;  to  prevent  that  violence  which  is  not  un- 
commonly atoned  for  in  after-life  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  all  principle  and  all  opinions  ;  to  lessen 
that   contempt  which  prevents  a  young  man 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


427 


from  improving  his  own  understanding,  by 
making  a  proper  and  prudent  use  of  the  un- 
derstandings of  his  fellow-creatures. 

Thereis anotherunchristian  faultwhich must 
be  guarded  against  in  the  profession  of  the 
law,  and  that  is,  misanthropy,  an  exaggerated 
opinion  of  the  faults  and  follies -of  mankind. 
It  is  naturally  the  worst  part  of  mankind  who 
are  seen  in  courts  of  justice,  and  with  whom 
the  professors  of  the  law  are  most  conversant. 
The  perpetual  recurrence  of  crime  and  guilt 
insensibly  connects  itself  with  the  recollections 
of  the  human  race :  mankind  are  always 
painted  in  the  attitude  of  suffering  and  in- 
flicting. It  seems  as  if  men  were  bound  to- 
gether by  the  relations  of  fraud  and  crime ; 
but  laws  are  not  made  for  the  quiet,  the  good, 
and  the  just ;  you  see  and  know  little  of  them 
in  your  profession,  and,  therefore  you  forget 
them ;  you  see  the  oppressor,  and  you  let  loose 
your  eloquence  against  him ;  but  you  do  not 
see  the  man  of  silent  charity,  who  is  always 
seeking  out  objects  of  compassion  :  the  faith- 
ful guardian  does  not  come  into  a  court  of  jus- 
tice, nor  the  good  wife,  nor  the  just  servant, 
nor  the  dutiful  son ;  you  punish  the  robbers 
who  ill-treated  the  wayfaring  man,  but  you 
know  nothing  of  the  good  Samaritan  who  bound 
up  his  wounds.  The  lawyer  who  tempted  his 
Master,  had  heard,  perhaps,  of  the  sins  of  the 
woman  at  the  feast,  without  knowing  that  she 
had  poured  her  store  of  precious  ointment  on 
the  feet  of  Jesus. 

Upon  those  who  are  engaged  in  studying  the 
laws  of  their  country,  devolves  the  honourable 
and  Christian  task  of  defending  the  accused ; 
a  sacred  duty  never  to  be  yielded  up,  never  to 
be  influenced  by  any  vehemence,  nor  intensity 
of  public  opinion.  In  these  times  of  profound 
peace,  and  unexampled  prosperity,  there  is 
little  danger  in  executing  this  duty,  and  little 
temptation  to  violate  it ;  but  human  affairs 
change  like  the  clouds  of  heaven  ;  another  year 
may  find  us,  or  may  leave  us,  in  all  the  perils 
and  bitterness  of  internal  dissension,  and  upon 
one  of  you  may  devolve  the  defence  of  some 
accused  person,  the  object  of  men's  hopes  and 
fears,  the  single  point  on  which  the  eyes  of  a 
whole  people  are  bent.  These  are  the  occa- 
sions which  try  a  man's  inward  heart,  and  se- 
parate the  dross  of  human  nature  from  the 
gold  of  human  nature.  On  these  occasions, 
never  mind  being  mixed  up  for  a  moment  with 
the  criminal  and  the  crime ;  fling  yourself 
back  upon  great  principles,  fling  yourself  back 
upon  God;  yield  not  one  atom  to  violence, 
suffer  not  the  slightest  encroachments  of  in- 
justice, retire  not  one  step  before  the  frowns 
of  power,  tremble  not,  for  a  single  instant,  at 
the  dread  of  misrepresentation.  The  great 
interests  of  mankind  are  placed  in  your  hands  ; 
it  is  not  so  much  the  individual  you  are  defend- 
ing ;  it  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  conse- 
quence whether  this  or  that  is  proved  to  be  a 
crime,  but  on  such  occasions,  you  are  often 
called  upon  to  defend  the  occupation  of  a  de- 
fender, to  take  care  that  the  sacred  rights  be- 
longing to  that  character  are  not  destroyed,  that 
that  best  privilege  of  your  profession,  which  so 
much  secures  our  regard,  and  so  much  re- 
dounds to  your  credit,  is  never  soothed  by  flat- 


tery, never  corrupted  by  favour,  never  chilled 
by  fear.  You  may  practise  this  wickedness 
secretly,  as  you  may  any  other  wickedness  ; 
you  may  suppress  a  topic  of  defence,  or  soften 
an  attack  upon  opponents,  or  weaken  your 
own  argument,  and  sacrifice  the  man  who  has 
put  his  trust  in  you,  rather  than  provoke  the 
powerful  by  the  triumphant  establishment  of 
unwelcome  innocence  ;  but  if  you  do  this,  you 
are  a  guilty  man  before  God.  It  is  better  to 
keep  within  the  pale  of  honour,  it  is  better  to 
be  pure  in  Christ,  and  to  feel  that  you  are  pure 
in  Christ;  and  if  the  praises  of  mankind  are 
sweet,  if  it  is  ever  allowable  to  a  Christian  to 
breathe  the  incense  of  popular  favour,  and  to 
say  it  is  grateful,  and  good,  it  is  when  the 
honest,  temperate,  unyielding  advocate,  who 
has  protected  innocence  from  the  grasp  of 
power,  is  followed  from  the  hall  of  judgment 
by  the  prayers  and  blessings  of  a  grateful 
people. 

These  are  the  Christian  excellencies  which 
the  members  of  the  profession  of  the  law  have, 
above  all,  an  opportunity  of  cultivating;  this 
is  your  tribute  to  the  happiness  of  your  fellow- 
creatures,  and  these  your  preparations  for 
eternal  life.  Do  not  lose  God  in  the  fervour 
and  business  of  the  world ;  remember  that  the 
churches  of  Christ  are  more  solemn  and  more 
sacred  than  your  tribunals;  bend  not  before 
the  judges  of  the  king,  and  forget  the  Judge  of 
judges  ;  search  not  other  men's  hearts  without 
heeding  that  your  own  hearts  will  be  searched ; 
be  innocent  in  the  midst  of  subtilty ;  do  not 
carry  the  lawful  arts  of  your  profession  beyond 
your  profession ;  but  when  the  robe  of  the 
advocate  is  laid  aside,  so  live  that  no  man 
shall  dare  to  suppose  yo\ir  opinions  venal,  or 
that  your  talents  and  energy  may  be  bought  for 
a  price ;  do  not  heap  scorn  and  contempt  upon 
your  declining  years,  by  precipitate  ardour  for 
success  in  your  profession ;  but  set  out  with  a 
firm  determination  to  be  unknown,  rather  than 
ill-known ;  and  to  rise  honestly  if  you  rise  at 
all.  Let  the  world  see  that  you  have  risen, 
because  the  natural  probity  of  your  heart  leads 
you  to  truth ;  because  the  precision  and  extent 
of  your  legal  knowledge  enable  you  to  find  the 
right  way  of  doing  the  right  thing;  because  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  legal  art  and  legal  form 
is,  in  your  hands,  not  an  instrument  of  chi- 
canery, but  the  plainest,  easiest  and  shortest 
way  to  the  end  of  strife.  Impress  upon  your- 
selves the  importance  of  your  profession ;  con- 
sider that  some  of  the  greatest  and  most  im- 
portant interests  of  the  world  are  committed  to 
your  care  ;  that  you  are  our  protectors  against 
the  encroachments  of  power  ;  that  you  are  the 
preservers  of  freedom,  the  defenders  of  weak- 
ness, the  unravellers  of  cunning,  the  investi- 
gators of  artifice,  the  humblers  of  pride  and 
the  scourges  of  oppression;  when  you  are 
silent,  the  sword  leaps  from  its  scabbard,  and 
nations  are  given  up  to  the  madness  of  eternal 
strife.  In  all  the  civil  difiiculties  of  life,  men 
depend  upon  your  exercised  faculties,  and  your 
spotless  integrity;  and  they  require  of  you  an 
elevation  above  all  that  is  mean,  and  a  spirit 
which  will  never  yield  when  it  ought  not  tu 
yield.  As  long  as  your  profession  retains  its 
character  for  learning,. the  rights  of  mankind 


428 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


will  be  well  arranged ;  as  long  as  it  retains  its 
character  for  virtuous  boldness,  those  rights 
will  be  well  defended;  as  long  as  it  preserves 
itself  pure  and  incorruptible  on  other  occasions 
not  connected  with  your  professions,  those 
talents  will  never  be  used  to  the  public  injury 
which  were  intended  and  nurtured  for  the  pub- 
lic good.     I  hope  you  will  weigh  these  obser- 


vations, and  apply  them  to  the  business  of  the 
ensuing  week,  and  beyond  that,  in  the  common 
occupations  of  your  professions ;  always  bear- 
ing in  your  minds  the  emphatic  words  of  the 
tex;t,  and  often  in  the  hurry  of  your  busy,  active 
lives,  honestly,  humbly,  heartily  exclaiming  to 
the  Son  of  God,  "  Master,  what  shall  I  do  to 
inherit  eternal  life  1" 


THE  JUDGE  THAT  SMITES  CONTRARY  TO  THE  LAW. 


A  SERMON  PREACHED  IN  THE  CATHEDRAL  CHURCH  OP  SAINT  PETER,  YORK,  BEFORE 
THE  HON.  SIR  JOHN  BAYLEY,  KNT.,  AND  THE  HON.  SIR  GEORGE  SOWLEY  HOLROYD, 
KNT.,   JUSTICES    OF    THE    COURT    OF    KINg's    BENCH,    MARCH    28,  1824. 


Acts  xxiii.  3. 

"  Sittest  thou  here  to  judge  me  after  the  law,  and  commandest  thou  me  to  be  smitten,  contrary  to  the  lawf 


With  these  bold  words  St.  Paul  repressed 
the  unjust  violence  of  that  ruler  who  would 
have  silenced  his  arguments  and  extinguished 
his  zeal  for  the  Christian  faith.  Knowing  well 
the  misfortunes  which  awaited  him,  prepared 
for  deep  and  various  calamity,  not  ignorant  of 
the  violence  of  the  Jewish  multitude,  not  un- 
used to  suffer,  not  unwilling  to  die,  he  had  not 
prepared  himself  for  the  monstrous  spectacle 
of  perverted  justice  ;  but  loosing  that  spirit  to 
whose  fire  and  firmness  we  owe  the  very  exist- 
ence of  the  Christian  faith,  he  burst  into  that 
bold  rebuke  which  brought  back  the  extrava- 
gance of  power  under  the  control  of  law,  and 
branded  it  with  the  feelings  of  shame  :  "  Sittest 
thou  here  to  judge  me  after  the  law,  and  com- 
mandest thou  me  to  be  smitten,  contrary  to  the 
law!" 

I  would  observe  that,  in  the  Gospels,  and  the 
various  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  the  words 
of  our  Saviour  and  of  St.  Paul,  when  they 
contain  any  opinion,  are  always  to  be  looked 
upon  as  lessons  of  wisdom  to  us,  however  in- 
cidentally they  may  have  been  delivered,  and 
however  shortly  they  may  have  been  expressed. 
As  their  words  were  to  be  recorded  by  inspired 
writers,  and  to  go  down  to  future  ages,  nothing 
can  have  been  said  without  reflection  and  de- 
sign. Nothing  is  to  be  lost,  every  thing  is  to 
be  studied :  a  great  moral  lesson  is  often  con- 
veyed in  a  few  words.  Read  slowly,  think 
deeply,  let  every  word  enter  into  your  soul,  for 
it  was  intended  for  your  soul. 

I  take  these  Avords  of  St.  Paul  as  a  con- 
demnation of  that  man  who  smites  contrary  to 
the  law;  as  a  praise  of  that  man  who  judges 
according  to  the  law  ;  as  a  religious  tlieme 
upon  the  importance  of  human  justice  to  the 
happiness  of  mankind ;  and,  if  it  be  that  theme, 
it  is  appropriate  to  this  place,  and  to  the  so- 
lemn public  duties  of  the  past  and  the  ensuing 
week,  over  which  some  here  present  will  pre- 


side, at  which  many  here  present  will  assist, 
and  which  almost  all  here  presentwill  witness. 

I  will  discuss,  then,  the  importance  of  judg- 
ing, according  to  the  law,  or,  in  other  words, 
of  the  due  administration  of  justice  upon  the 
character  and  happiness  of  nations.  And  in 
so  doing,  I  will  begin  with  stating  a  few  of 
those  circumstances  which  may  mislead  even 
good  and  conscientious  men,  and  subject  them 
to  the  unchristian  sin  of  smiting  contrary  to 
the  law.  I  will  state  how  that  justice  is  puri- 
fied and  perfected  by  which  the  happiness  and 
character  of  nations  are  affected  to  a  good 
purpose. 

I  do  this  with  less  fear  of  being  misunder- 
stood, because  I  am  speaking  before  two  great 
magistrates,  who  have  lived  much  among  us ; 
and  whom — because  they  have  lived  much 
among  us — we  have  all  learned  to  respect  and 
regard,  and  to  whom  no  man  fears  to  consider 
himself  as  accountable,  because  all  men  see 
that  they,  in  the  administration  of  their  high 
office,  consider  themselves  as  deeply  and  daily 
accountable  to  God. 

And  let  no  man  say,  "Why  teach  such 
things  1  do  you  think  they  must  not  have  oc- 
curred to  those  to  whom  they  are  a  concern  1" 
I  answer  to  this,  that  no  man  preaches  novel- 
ties and  discoveries  ;  the  object  of  preaching 
is,  constantly  to  remind  mankind  of  what  man- 
kind are  constantly  forgetting;  not  to  supply 
the  defects  of  human  intelligence,  but  to  fortify 
the  feebleness  of  human  resolutions,  to  recall 
mankind  from  the  by-paths  where  they  turn, 
into  that  broad  path  of  salvation  which  all 
know,  but  few  tread.  These  plain  lessons  the 
humblest  ministers  of  the  Gospel  may  teach, 
if  they  are  honest,  and  the  most  powerful 
Christians  will  ponder,  if  they  are  wise.  No 
man,  whether  he  bear  the  sword  of  the  law,  or 
whether  he  bear  that  sceptre  which  the  sword 
of  the  law  cannot  reach,  can  answer  for  his 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


429 


own  heart  to-morrow,  and  can  say  to  the  teach- 
er,— "  Thou  warnest  me,  thou  teachest  me,  in 
vain." 

A  Christian  judge,  in  a  free  land,  should, 
with  the  most  scrupulous  exactness,  guard  him- 
self from  the  influence  of  those  party  feelings, 
upon  which,  perhaps,  the  preservation  of  poli- 
tical liberty  depends,  but  by  which  the  belter 
reason  of  individuals  is  often  blinded  and  the 
tranquillity  of  the  public  disturbed.  I  am  not 
talking  of  the  ostentatious  display  of  such  feel- 
ings ;  I  am  hardly  talking  of  any  gratification 
of  which  the  individual  himself  is  conscious, 
but  I  am  raising  up  a  wise  and  useful  jealousy 
of  the  encroachment  of  those  feelings,  which, 
when  they  do  encroach,  lessen  the  value  of  the 
most  valuable,  and  lower  the  importance  of  the 
most  important  men  in  the  country.  I  admit  it 
to  be  extremely  difficult  to  live  amidst  the  agi- 
tations, contests,  and  discussions  of  a  free  peo- 
ple, and  to  remain  in  that  state  of  cool,  pas- 
sionless, Christian  candour  which  society 
expect  from  their  great  magistrates;  but  it  is 
the  pledge  that  magistrate  has  given,  it  is  the 
life  he  has  taken  up,  it  is  the  class  of  qualities 
which  he  has  promised  us,  and  for  which  he 
has  rendered  himself  responsible ;  it  is  the 
same  fault  in  him  which  want  of  courage 
would  be  in  some  men,  and  want  of  moral  re- 
gularity in  others.  It  runs  counter  to  those 
very  purposes,  and  sins  against  those  utilities 
for  which  the  very  office  was  created  ;  without 
these  qualities,  he  who  ought  to  be  cool,  is 
heated ;  he  who  ought  to  be  neutral,  is  partial ; 
the  ermine  of  justice  is  spotted;  the  balance  of 
justice  is  unpoised;  the  fillet  of  justice  is  torn 
off;  and  he  who  sits  to  judge  after  the  law, 
smites  contrary  to  the  law. 

And  if  the  preservation  of  calmness  amidst 
the  strong  feelings  by  which  a  judge  is  sur- 
rounded be  ditficult,  is  it  not  also  honourable  1 
and  would  it  be  honourable  if  it  were  not  diffi- 
cult ■?  Why  do  men  quit  their  homes,  and  give 
up  their  common  occupations,  and  repair  to 
the  tribunal  of  justice  1  Why  this  bustle  and 
business,  why  this  decoration  and  display,  and 
why  are  we  all  eager  to  pay  our  homage  to  the 
dispensers  of  justice  1  Because  we  all  feel 
that  there  must  be,  somewhere  or  other,  a  check 
to  human  passions;  because  we  all  know  the 
immense  value  and  importance  of  men  in  whose 
placid  equity  and  mediating  wisdom  we  can 
trust  in  the  worst  of  times  ;  because  we  cannot 
cherish  too  strongly  and  express  too  plainly 
that  reverence  we  feel  for  men  who  can  rise 
up  in  the  ship  of  the  state,  and  rebuke  the 
storms  of  the  mind,  and  bid  its  angry  passions 
be  still. 

A  Christian  judge,  in  a  free  land,  should  not 
only  keep  his  mind  clear  from  the  violence  of 
party  feelings,  but  he  should  be  very  careful  to 
preserve  his  independence,  by  seeking  no  pro- 
motion, and  asking  no  favours  from  those  who 
govern  ;  or  at  least,  to  be  (which  is  an  experi- 
ment not  without  danger  to  his  salvation)  so 
thoroughly  confident  of  his  motives  and  his 
conduct,  that  he  is  certain  the  hope  of  favour 
to  come,  or  gratitude  for  favour  past,  will  never 
cause  him  to  swerve  from  the  strict  line  of  duty. 
It  is  often  the  lot  of  a  judge  to  be  placed,  not 
only  between  the  accuser  and  the  accused,  not 


only  between  the  complainant  and  him  against 
whom  it  is  complained,  but  between  the  govern- 
ors and  the  governed,  between  the  people  and 
those  whose  lawful  commands  the  people  are 
bound  to  obey.  In  these  sort  of  contests  it  un- 
fortunately happens  that  the  rulers  are  some- 
times as  angry  as  the  ruled ;  the  whole  eyes 
of  a  nation  are  fixed  upon  one  man,  and  upon 
his  character  and  conduct  the  stability  and 
happiness  of  the  times  seem  to  depend.  The 
best  and  firmest  magistrates  cannot  tell  how 
they  may  act  under  such  circumstances,  but 
every  man  may  prepare  himself  for  acting 
well  under  such  circumstances,  by  cherishing 
that  quiet  feeling  of  independence,  which  re- 
moves one  temptation  to  act  ill.  Every  man 
may  avoid  putting  himself  in  a  situation  where 
his  hopes  of  advantage  are  on  one  side,  and 
his  sense  of  duty  on  the  other;  such  a  temp- 
tation may  be  withstood,  but  it  is  better  it  should 
not  be  encountered.  Far  better  that  feeling 
which  says,  "  I  have  vowed  a  vow  before  God ; 
I  have  put  on  the  robe  of  justice  ;  farewell  ava- 
rice, farewell  ambition;  pass  me  who  will, 
slight  me  who  will,  I  live  henceforward  only 
for  the  great  duties  of  life  ;  my  business  is  on 
earth,  my  hope  and  my  reward  are  in  God." 

He  who  takes  the  office  of  a  judge,  as  it  now 
exists  in  this  country,  takes  in  his  hands  a 
splendid  gem,  good  and  glorious,  perfect  and 
pure.  Shall  he  give  it  up  mutilated,  shall  he 
mar  it,  shall  he  darken  it,  shall  it  emit  no  light, 
shall  it  be  valued  at  no  price,  shall  it  excite  no 
wonder  1  Shall  he  find  it  a  diamond,  shall  he 
leave  it  a  stone  1  What  shall  we  say  to  the 
man  who  would  wilfully  destroy  with  fire  the 
magnificent  temple  of  God,  in  which  I  am  now 
preaching  1  Far  worse  is  he  who  ruins  the 
moral  edifices  of  the  world,  which  time  and 
toil,  and  many  prayers  to  God,  and  many  suf- 
ferings of  men,  have  reared ;  who  puts  out  the 
light  of  the  times  in  which  he  lives,  and  leaves 
us  to  wander  amid  the  darkness  of  corruption 
and  the  desolation  of  sin.  There  may  be,  there 
probably  is,  in  this  church,  some  young  man 
who'may  hereafter  fill  the  office  of  an  English 
judge,  when  the  greater  part  of  those  who  hear 
me  are  dead,  and  mingled  with  the  dust  of  the 
grave.  Let  him  remember  my  words,  and  let 
them  form  and  fashion  his  spirit;  he  cannot 
tell  in  what  dangerous  and  awful  times  he  may 
be  placed  ;  but  as  a  mariner  looks  to  his  com- 
pass in  the  calm,  and  looks  to  his  compass  in 
the  storm,  and  never  keeps  his  eyes  ofThis  com- 
pass, so,  in  every  vicissitude  of  a  judicial  life, 
deciding  for  the  people,  deciding  against  the 
people,  protecting  the  just  rights  of  kings,  or 
restraining  their  unlawful  ambition,  let  him 
ever  cling  to  that  pure,  exalted  and  Christian 
independence  which  towers  over  the  little  mo- 
tives of  life  ;  which  no  hope  of  favour  can  influ- 
ence, which  no  eff'ort  of  power  can  coniiol. 

A  Christian  judge  in  a  free  country  should 
respect,  on  every  occasion,  those  popular  in- 
stitutions of  justice  which  were  intended  for 
his  control,  and  for  our  security ;  to  see  hum- 
ble men  collected  accidentally  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood, treated  with  tenderness  and  cour- 
tesy by  supreme  magistrates  of  deep  learning 
and  practised  understanding,  from  whose 
views  they  are,  perhaps,  at  that  moment  dif- 


430 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


fering  and  whose  directions  they  do  not  choose 
to  follow ;  to  see  at  such  times  every  disposi- 
tion to  warmth  restrained,  and  every  tendency 
to  contemptuous  feeling  kept  back ;  to  witness 
this  submission  of  the  great  and  wise,  not 
when  it  is  extorted  by  necessity,  but  when  it 
is  practised  with  willingness  and  grace,  is  a 
spectacle  which  is  very  grateful  to  English- 
men, which  no  other  country  sees,  which, 
above  all  things,  shows  that  a  judge  has  a 
pure,  gentle,  and  Christian  heart,  and  that  he 
never  wishes  to  smite  contrary  to  the  law. 

May  I  add  the  great  importance  in  a  judge 
of  courtesy  to  all  men,  and  that  he  should,  on 
all  occasions,  abstain  from  unnecessary  bit- 
terness and  asperity  of  speech.  A  judge  al- 
ways speaks  with  impunity,  and  always  speaks 
with  effect.  His  words  should  be  M^eighed, 
because  they  entail  no  evil  upon  himself,  and 
much  evil  upon  others.  The  language  of  pas- 
sion, the  language  of  sarcasm,  the  language 
of  satire,  is  not,  on  such  occasions.  Christian 
language ;  it  is  not  the  language  of  a  judge. 
There  is  a  propriety  of  rebuke  and  condemna- 
tion, the  justice  of  which  is  felt  even  by  him 
who  suffers  under  it;  but  when  magistrates, 
under  the  mask  of  law,  aim  at  the  offender 
more  than  the  offence,  and  are  more  studious 
of  inflicting  pain  than  repressing  error  or 
crime,  the  ofRce  suffers  as  much  as  the  judge ; 
the  respect  for  justice  is  lessened;  and  the 
school  of  pure  reason  becomes  the  hated  thea- 
tre of  mischievous  passion. 

A  Christian  judge  who  means  to  be  just, 
must  not  fear  to  smite  according  to  the  law ; 
he  must  remember  that  he  beareth  not  the 
sword  in  vain.  Under  his  protection  we  live, 
under  his  protection  we  acquire,  under  his 
protection  we  enjoy.  Without  him,  no  man 
would  defend  his  character,  no  man  would 
preserve  his  substance ;  proper  pride,  just 
gains,  valuable  exertions,  all  depend  upon  his 
firm  wisdom.  If  he  shrink  from  the  severe 
duties  of  his  office,  he  saps  the  foimdation  of 
social  life,  betrays  the  highest  interests  of  the 
world,  and  sits  not  to  judge  according  to  the  law. 

The  topics  of  mercy  are  the  smallness  of 
the  offence — the  infrequency  of  the  offence ; 
the  temptations  to  the  culprit,  the  moral  weak- 
ness of  the  culprit,  the  severity  of  the  law,  the 
error  of  the  law,  the  different  state  of  society, 
the  altered  state  of  feeling,  and,  above  all, 
the  distressing  doubt  whether  a  human  being 
in  the  lowest  abyss  of  poverty  and  ignorance 
has  not  done  injustice  to  himself,  and  is  not 
perishing  away  from  the  want  of  knowledge, 
the  want  of  fortune,  and  the  want  of  friends. 
All  magistrates  feel  these  things  in  the  early 
exercise  of  their  judicial  power,  but  the 
Christian  judge  always  feels  them,  is  always 
tender  when  he  is  going  to  shed  human  blood ; 
retires  from  the  business  of  men,  communes 
with  his  own  heart,  ponders  on  the  work  of 
■death,  and  prays  to  that  Saviour  who  redeemed 
him,  that  he  may  not  shed  the  blood  of  man  in 
vain. 

These,  then,  are  those  favilts  which  expose 
a  man  to  the  danger  of  smiting  contrary  to 
the  law;  a  judge  must  be  clear  from  the  spirit 
of  party,  independent  of  all  favour,  well  in- 
clined to  the  popular  institutions  of  his  coun- 


try; firm  in  applying  the  rule,  merciful  in 
making  the  exception ;  patient,  guarded  in  his 
speech,  gentle  and  courteous  to  all.  Add  his 
learning,  his  labour,  his  experience,  his  pro- 
bity, his  practised  and  acute  faculties,  and  this 
man  is  the  light  of  the  world,  who  adorns  hu- 
man life,  and  gives  security  to  that  life  which 
he  adorns. 

Now  we  see  the  consequence  of  that  state 
of  justice  which  this  character  implies,  and 
the  explanation  of  all  that  deserved  honour  we 
confer  on  the  preservation  of  such  a  charac- 
ter, and  all  the  wise  jealousy  we  feel  at 
the  slightest  injury  or  deterioration  it  may 
experience. 

The  most  obvious  and  important  use  of  this 
perfect  justice  is,  that  it  makes  nations  safe : 
under  common  circumstances,  the  institutions 
of  justice  seem  to  have  little  or  no  bearing 
upon  the  safety  and  security  of  a  country,  but 
in  periods  of  real  danger,  when  a  nation,  sur- 
rounded by  foreign  enemies,  contends  not  for 
the  boundaries  of  empire,  but  for  the  very  be- 
ing and  existence  of  empire,  then  it  is  that 
the  advantages  of  just  institutions  are  disco- 
vered. Every  man  feels  that  he  has  a  country, 
that  he  has  something  Avorth  preserving,  and 
worth  contending  for.  Instances  are  remem- 
bered where  the  weak  prevailed  over  the 
strong;  one  man  recalls  to  mind  when  a  just 
and  upright  judge  protected  him  from  unlaw- 
ful violence,  gave  him  back  his  vineyard,  re- 
buked his  oppressor,  restored  him  to  his  rights- 
published,  condemned,  and  rectified  the  wrong. 
This  is  what  is  called  country.  Equal  rights 
to  unequal  possessions,  equal  justice  to  the 
rich  and  poor;  this  is  what  men  come  out  to 
fight  for,  and  to  defend.  Such  a  country  has 
no  legal  injuries  to  remember,  no  legal  mur- 
ders to  revenge,  no  legal  robbery  to  redress ; 
it  is  strong  in  its  justice ;  it  is  then  that  the 
use  and  object  of  all  this  assemblage  of  gen- 
tlemen and  arrangement  of  juries,  and  the  de- 
served veneration  in  which  we  hold  the  cha- 
racter of  English  judges,  are  understood  in 
all  their  bearings,  and  in  their  fullest  effects  : 
men  die  for  such  things — they  cannot  be  sub- 
dued by  foreign  force  where  such  just  prac- 
tices prevail.  The  sword  of  ambition  is 
shivered  to  pieces  against  such  a  bulwark. 
Nations  fall  where  judges  are  unjust,  because 
there  is  nothing  which  the  multitude  think 
worth  defending ;  but  nations  do  not  fall  which 
are  treated  as  we  are  treated,  but  they  rise  as 
we  have  risen,  and  they  shine  as  we  have 
shone,  and  die  as  we  have  died,  too  much  used 
to  justice,  and  too  much  used  to  freedom,  to 
care  for  that  life  which  is  not  just  and  free. 
I  call  you  all  to  witness  if  there  is  any  exag- 
gerated picture  in  this ;  the  sword  is  just 
sheathed,  the  flag  is  just  furled,  the  last  sound 
of  the  trumpet  has  just  died  away.  You  all 
remember  what  a  spectacle  this  country  ex- 
hibited: one  heart,  one  voice — one  weapon, 
one  purpose.  And  why  1  Because  this  coun- 
try is  a  country  of  the  law ;  because  the  judge 
is  a  judge  for  the  peasant  as  well  as  for  the 
palace ;  because  every  man's  happiness  is 
guarded  by  fixed  rules  from  tyranny  and  ca- 
price. This  town,  this  week,  the  business  of 
the  few  next  days,  would  explain  to  any  en- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


431 


lightened  European  why  other  nations  did  fall 
in  the  storms  of  the  world,  and  why  we  did 
not  fall.  The  Christian  patience  you  may 
witness,  the  impartiality  of  the  judgment-seat, 
the  disrespect  of  persons,  the  disregard  of 
consequences.  These  attributes  of  justice  do 
not  end  with  arranging  your  conflicting  rights, 
and  mine  ;  they  give  strength  to  the  English 
people,  duration  to  the  English  name ;  they 
turn  the  animal  courage  of  this  people  into 
moral  and  religious  courage,  and  present  to 
the  lowest  of  mankind  plain  reasons  and  strong 
motives  why  they  should  resist  aggression 
from  without,  and  bend  themselves  a  living 
rampart  round  the  land  of  their  birth. 

There  is  another  reason  why  every  wise 
man  is  so  scrupulously  jealous  of  the  charac- 
ter of  English  justice.  It  puts  an  end  to  civil 
dissension.  What  other  countries  obtain  by 
bloody  wars,  is  here  obtained  by  the  decisions 
of  our  own  tribunals ;  unchristian  passions 
are  laid  to  rest  by  these  tribunals ;  brothers 
are  brothers  again ;  the  Gospel  resumes  its 
empire,  and  because  all  confide  in  the  pre- 
siding magistrate,  and  because  a  few  plain 
men  are  allowed  to  decide  upon  their  own 
conscientious  impression  of  facts,  civil  dis- 
cord, years  of  convulsion,  endless  crimes  are 
spared;  the  storm  is  laid,  and  those  who  came 
in  clamouring  for  revenge,  go  back  together 
iu  peace  from  the  hall  of  judgment  to  the  loom 
and  the  plough,  to  the  senate  and  the  church. 

The  whole  tone  and  tenour  of  public  morals 
are  affected  by  the  state  of  supreme  justice; 
it  extinguishes  revenge,  it  communicates  a 
spirit  of  purity  and  uprightness  to  inferior 
magistrates  ;  it  makes  the  great  good,  by  taking 
away  impunity;  it  banishes  fraud,  obliquity, 
and  solicitation,  and  teaches  men  that  the  law 
is  their  right.  Trath  is  its  handmaid,  freedom 
is  its  child,  peace  is  its  companion ;  safety 
walks  in  its  steps,  victory  follows  in  its  train  : 
it  is  the  brightest  emanation  of  the  Gospel ;  it 
is  the  greatest  attribute  of  God  ;  it  is  that  cen- 
tre round  which  human  motives  and  passions 
turn  :  and  justice,  sitting  on  high,  sees  genius 


and  power,  and  wealth  and  birth,  revolving 
round  her  throne  ;  and  teaches  their  paths,  and 
marks  out  their  orbits,  and  warns  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  rules  with  a  strong  arm,  and  carries 
order  and  discipline  into  a  world,  which,  but 
for  her,  would  only  be  a  wild  waste  of  pas- 
sions. Look  what  we  are,  and  what  just  laws 
have  done  for  us  : — a  land  of  piety  and  charity; 
— a  land  of  churches  and  hospitals  and  altars ; 
— a  nation  of  good  Samaritans ; — a  people  of 
universal  compassion.  All  lands,  all  seas, 
have  heard  we  are  brave.  We  have  just 
sheathed  that  sword  which  defended  the  world; 
we  have  just  laid  down  that  buckler  which 
covered  the  nations  of  the  earth.  God  blesses 
the  soil  with  fertility;  English  looms  labour 
for  every  climate.  AH  the  waters  of  the  globe 
are  covered  with  English  ships.  We  are 
softened  by  fine  arts,  civilized  by  humane 
literature,  instructed  by  deep  science ;  and 
every  people,  as  they  break  their  feudal  chains, 
look  to  the  founders  and  fathers  of  freedom 
for  examples  which  may  animate,  and  rules 
which  may  guide.  If  ever  a  nation  was  happy 
— if  ever  a  nation  was  visibly  blessed  by  God 
— if  ever  a  nation  was  honoured  abroad,  and 
left  at  home  under  a  government  (which  we 
can  now  conscientiously  call  a  liberal  govern- 
ment) to  the  full  career  of  talent,  industry, 
and  vigour,  we  are  at  this  moment  that  people 
— and  this  is  our  happy  lot. — First,  the  Gospel 
has  done  it,  and  then  justice  has  done  it;  and 
he  who  thinks  it  his  duty  to  labour  that  this 
happy  condition  of  existence  may  remain, 
must  guard  the  piety  of  these  times,  and  he 
must  watch  over  the  spirit  of  justice  which 
exists  in  these  times.  First  he  must  take  care 
that  the  altars  of  God  are  not  polluted,  that 
the  Christian  faith  is  retained  in  purity  and  in 
perfection ;  and  then  turning  to  human  afirairs, 
let  him  strive  for  spotless,  incorruptible  jus- 
tice ; — praising,  honouring,  and  loving  thf  just 
judge,  and  abhorring,  as  the  worst  enefiiy  of 
mankind,  him  who  is  placed  there  to  *'  judge 
after  the  law,  and  who  smiteb  conlrurj  to  the 
law'." 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


A  LETTEE  TO   THE  ELECTOES, 


THE  CATHOLIC  QUESTION. 


Why  is  not  a  Catholic  to  be  believed  on  his 
oathi 

What  says  the  law  of  the  land  to  this  extra- 
vagant piece  of  injustice  1  It  is  no  challenge 
against  a  juryman  to  say  he  is  a  Catholic ;  he 
sits  in  judgment  upon  your  life  and  your  pro- 
perty. Did  any  man  ever  hear  it  said  that 
such  or  such  a  person  was  put  to  death,  or  that 
he  lost  his  property,  because  a  Catholic  was 
among  the  jurymen'!  Is  the  question  ever 
put"!  Does  it  ever  enter  into  the  mind  of  the 
attorney  or  the  counsellor  to  inquire  of  the 
faith  of  the  jury  1  If  a  man  sell  a  horse,  or  a 
house,  or  a  field,  does  he  ask  if  the  purchaser 
is  a  Catholic  1  Appeal  to  your  own  experi- 
ence, and  try  by  that  fairest  of  all  tests,  the 
justice  of  this  enormous  charge. 

We  are  in  treaty  with  many  of  the  powers 
of  Europe,  because  we  believe  in  the  good 
faith  of  Catholics.  Two-thirds  of  Europe  are, 
in  fact,  Catholics  ;  are  they  all  perjured  1  For 
the  first  fourteen  centuries  all  the  Christian 
world  were  Catholics  ;  did  they  live  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  perjury  1  I  am  sure  these  objec- 
tions against  the  Catholics  are  often  made  by 
very  serious  and  honest  men,  but  I  much 
doubt  if  Voltaire  has  advanced  any  thing 
against  the  Christian  religion  so  horrible,  as 
to  say  that  two-thirds  of  those  who  profess  it 
are  unfit  for  all  the  purposes  of  civil  life ;  for 
who  is  fit  to  live  in  society  who  does  not 
respect  oaths  ]  But  if  this  imputation  be  true, 
what  folly  to  agitate  such  questions  as  the 
civil  emancipation  of  the  Catholics.  If  they 
are  always  ready  to  support  falsehood  by  an 
appeal  to  God,  why  are  they  suffered  to  breathe 
the  air  of  England,  or  to  drink  of  the  waters 
of  England  1  Why  are  they  not  driven  into 
the  howling  wilderness  1  But  now  they  pos- 
sess, and  bequeath,  and  witness,  and  decide 
civil  rights  ;  and  save  life  as  physicians,  and 
defend  property  as  lawyers,  and  judge  property 
as  jurymen ;  and  you  pass  laws,  enabling  them 
to  command  all  your  fleets  and  armies,*  and 
then  you  turn  round  upon  the  very  man  whom 
you  have  made  the  master  of  the  European 
seas,  and  the  arbiter  of  nations,  and  tell  him 
he  is  not  to  be  believed  on  his  oath. 

I  have  lived  a  little  in  the  world,  but  I  never 
happened  to  hear  a  single  Catholic  even  sus- 
pected of  getting  into  office  by  violating  his 
oath ;  the  oath  which  they  are  accused  of 
violating  is  an  insuperable  barrier  to  them 
all.    Is  there  a  more  disgraceful  spectacle  in 


*  There  is  no  law  to  prevent  a  Catholic  from  having 
the  command  of  a  British  fleet  or  a  British  army. 


the  world  than  that  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk 
hovering  round  the  House  of  Lords  in  the 
execution  of  his  office,  which  he  cannot  enter 
as  a  peer  of  the  realm  1  disgraceful  to  the 
bigotry  and  injustice  of  his  country,  to  his  own 
sense  of  duty,  honourable  in  the  extreme ;  he 
is  the  leader  of  a  band  of  ancient  and  high- 
principled  gentlemen,  who  submit  patiently  to 
obscurity  and  privation,  rather  than  do  vio- 
lence to  their  conscience.  In  all  the  fury  of 
party,  I  never  heard  the  name  of  a  single 
Catholic  mentioned,  who  was  suspected  of 
having  gained,  or  aimed  at,  any  political  ad- 
vantage, by  violating  his  oath.  I  have  never 
heard  so  bitter  a  slander  supported  by  the 
slightest  proof.  Every  man  in  the  circle  of 
his  acquaintance  has  met  with  Catholics,  and 
lived  with  them  probably  as  companions.  If 
this  immoral  lubricity  were  their  characteristic, 
it  would  surely  be  perceived  in  common  life. 
Every  man's  experience  would  corroborate 
the  imputation;  but  I  can  honestly  say  that 
some  of  the  best  and  most  excellent  men  I 
have  ever  met  with  have  been  Catholics  ;  per- 
fectly alive  to  the  evil  and  inconvenience  of 
their  situation,  but  thinking  themselves  bound 
by  the  law  of  God  and  the  law  of  honour,  not 
to  avoid  persecution  by  falsehood  and  apos- 
tasy. But  why  (as  has  been  asked  ten  thou- 
sand times  before)  do  you  lay  such  a  stress 
upon  these  oaths  of  exclusion,  if  the  Catholics 
do  not  respect  oaths "?  You  compel  me,  a 
Catholic,  to  make  a  declaration  against  tran- 
substantiation,  for  what  purpose  but  to  keep 
me  out  of  Parliament  1  Why,  then,  I  respect 
oaths  and  declarations,  or  else  I  should  perjure 
myself,  and  get  into  Parliament;  and  if  I  do 
not  respect  oaths,  of  what  use  is  it  to  enact 
them  in  order  to  keep  me  out  1  A  farmer  has 
some  sheep,  which  he  chooses  to  keep  from  a 
certain  field,  and  to  effect  this  object,  he  builds 
a  wall :  there  are  two  objections  to  his  pro- 
ceeding ;  the  first  is,  that  it  is  for  the  good  of 
the  farm  that  the  sheep  should  come  into  the 
field  ;  and  so  the  wall  is  not  only  useless,  but 
pernicious.  The  second  is,  that  he  himself 
thoroughly  believes  at  the  time  of  building  the 
wall,  that  all  the  sheep  are  in  the  constant 
habit  of  leaping  over  such  walls.  His  first 
intention  with  respect  to  the  sheep  is  absurd, 
his  means  more  absurd,  and  his  error  is 
perfect  in  all  its  parts.  He  tries  to  do  that 
which,  if  he  succeeds,  will  be  very  foolish,  and 
tries  to  do  it  by  means  which  he  himself,  at 
the  time  of  using  them,  admits  to  be  inade- 
quate to  the  purpose;  but  I  hope  this  objection 


WORKS    OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


433 


to  the  oaths  of  Catholics  is  disappearing;  I 
believe  neither  Lord  Liverpool  nor  Mr.  Peel 
(a  very  candid  and  honourable  man),  nor  the 
archbishops  (who  are  both  gentlemen),  nor 
Lord  Eldon,  nor  Lord  Stowell  (whose  Protest- 
antism nobody  calls  in  question),  would  make 
such  a  charge.  It  is  confined  to  provincial 
violence,  and  to  the  politicians  of  the  second 
table.  I  remember  hearing  the  Catholics  from 
the  hustings  of  an  election  accused  of  disre- 
garding oaths,  and  within  an  hour  from  that 
time,  I  saw  five  Catholic  voters  rejected,  be- 
cause they  would  not  take  the  oath  of  supre- 
macy; and  these  were  not  men  of  rank  who 
tendered  themselves,  but  ordinary  tradesmen. 
The  accusation  was  received  with  loud  huz- 
zas ;  the  poor  Catholics  retired  unobserved 
and  in  silence.  No  one  praised  the  conscien- 
tious feelings  of  the  constituents  ;  no  one 
rebuked  the  calumny  of  the  candidate.  This 
is  precisely  the  way  in  which  the  Catholics 
are  treated ;  the  very  same  man  who  encou- 
rages among  his  partisans  the  doctrine  that 
Catholics  are  not  to  be  believed  upon  their 
oaths,  directs  his  agents  upon  the  hustings  to 
be  very  watchful  that  all  Catholics  should  be 
prevented  from  voting,  by  tendering  to  them 
the  oath  of  supremacy,  which  he  is  certain  not 
one  of  them  will  take.  If  this  is  not  calumny 
and  injustice,  I  know  not  what  human  conduct 
can  deserve  the  name. 

If  you  believe  the  oath  of  a  Catholic,  see 
what  he  will  swear,  and  what  he  will  not 
swear;  read  the  oaths  he  already  takes,  and 
say  whether,  in  common  candour  or  in  com- 
mon sense,  you  can  require  more  security 
than  he  oSers  you.  Before  the  year  1793,  the 
Catholic  was  subject  to  many  more  vexatious 
laws  than  he  now  is;  in  that  year  an  act 
passed  in  his  favour,  but  before  the  Catholic 
could  exempt  himself  from  his  ancient  pains 
and  penalties,  it  was  necessary  to  take  an 
oath.  This  oath  was,  I  believe,  drawn  up  by 
Dr.  Duigenan,  the  bitter  and  implacable  enemy 
of  the  sect;  and  it  is  so  important  an  oath,  so 
little  known  and  read  in  England,  that  I  can- 
not, in  spite  of  my  wish  to  be  brief,  abstain 
from  quoting  it.  I  deny  your  right  to  call  no 
Popery,  till  you  are  master  of  its  contents. 

"I  do  swear,  that  I  do  abjure,  condemn,  and 
detest,  as  unchristian  and  impious,  the  prin- 
ciple, that  it  is  lawful  to  murder,  destroy,  or 
any  ways  injure,  any  person  whatsoever,  for 
or  under  the  pretext  of  being  a  heretic ;  and  I 
do  declare  solemnly,  before  God,  that  I  believe 
no  act,  in  itself  unjust,  immoral,  or  wicked, 
can  ever  be  justified  or  excused  by  or  under 
pretence  or  colour,  that  it  was  done  either  for 
the  good  of  the  church,  or  in  obedience  to  any 
ecclesiastical  power  whatsoever.  I  also  de- 
clare that  it  is  not  an  article  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  neither  am  I  thereby  required  to  believe 
or  profess,  that  the  pope  is  infallible;  or  that 
I  am  bound  to  obey  any  order,  in  its  own  na- 
ture immoral,  though  the  pope,  or  any  ecclesi- 
astical power,  should  issue  or  direct  such 
order;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  hold  that  it 
would  be  sinful  in  me  to  pay  any  respect  or 
obedience  thereto.  I  further  declare,  that  I  do 
not  believe  that  any  sin  whatsoever  committed 
by  me,  can  be  forgiven  at  the  mere  will  of  any 
55 


pope  or  any  priest,  or  of  any  persons  whatso- 
ever; but  that  sincere  sorrow  for  past  sins,  a 
firm  and  sincere  resolution  to  avoid  future 
guilt,  and  to  atone  to  God,  are  previous  and 
indispensable  requisites  to  establish  a  well- 
founded  expectation  of  forgiveness  ;  and  that 
any  person  who  receives  absolution,  without 
these  previous  requisites,  so  far  from  obtaining 
thereby  any  remission  of  his  sins,  incurs  the 
additional  guilt  of  violating  a  sacrament;  and 
I  do  swear,  that  I  will  defend,  to  the  utmost  of 
my  power,  the  settlement  and  arrangement  of 
property  in  this  country,  as  established  by  the 
laws  now  in  being. — I  do  hereby  disclaim, 
disavow,  and  solemnly  abjure  any  intention  to 
subvert  the  present  church  establishment,  for 
the  purpose  of  substituting  a  Catholic  esta- 
blishment in  its  stead;  and  I  do  solemnly 
swear,  that  I  will  not  exercise  any  privilege  to 
which  I  am  or  may  become  entitled,  to  disturb 
and  weaken  the  Protestant  religion,  and  Pro- 
testant government  in  this  kingdom.  So  help 
me  God." 

This  oath  is  taken  by  every  Catholic  in 
Ireland,  and  a  similar  oath,  allowing  for  the 
difference  of  circumstances  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, is  taken  in  England. 

It  appears  from  the  evidence  taken  before 
the  two  houses  and  lately  printed,  that  if 
Catholic  emancipation  were  carried,  there 
would  be  little  or  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
from  the  pope  an  agreement,  that  the  nomina- 
tion of  the  Irish  Catholic  bishops  should  be 
made  at  home  constitutionally  by  the  Catho- 
lics, as  it  is  now  in  fact,*  and  in  practice,  and 
that  the  Irish  prelates  would  go  a  great  way, 
in  arranging  a  system  of  general  education, 
if  the  spirit  of  proselytism,  which  now  ren- 
ders such  a  union  impossible,  were  laid  aside. 
This  great  measure  carried,  the  Irish  Catholics 
would  give  up  all  their  endowments  abroad, 
if  they  receive  for  them  an  equivalent  at 
home ;  for  now  Irish  priests  are  fast  resorting 
to  the  continent  for  education,  allured  by  the 
endowments  which  the  French  government 
are  cuhningl}^  restoring  and  augmenting.  The 
intercourse  with  the  see  of  Rome  might  and 
would,  after  Catholic  emancipation,  be  so 
managed,  that  it  should  be  open,  upon  grave 
occasions,  or,  if  thought  proper,  on  every 
occasion,  to  the  inspection  of  commissioners. 
There  is  no  security  compatible  with  the  safety 
of  their  faith,  which  the  Catholics  are  not  will- 
ing to  give.  But  what  is  Catholic  emancipa- 
tion as  far  as  England  is  concerned]  not  an 
equal  right  to  office  with  the  member  of  the 
Church  of  England,  but  a  participation  in  the 
same  pains  and  penalties  as  those,  to  which 
the  Protestant  dissenter  is  subjected  by  the 
corporation  and  test  acts.  If  the  utility  of 
these  last-mentioned  laws  is  to  be  measured 
by  the  horror  and  perturbation  their  repeal 
would  excite,  they  are  laws  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  the  defence  of  the  English  Church ; 
but  if  it  be  of  importance  to  the  church  that 
pains  and  penalties  should  be  thus  kept  sus- 
pended over  men's  heads,  then  these  bills  ar« 

*  The  Catholic  bishops,  since  the  death  of  the  Pretender, 
are  recommended  either  by  the  chapters  or  the  parochial 
clersy,  to  tlie  pope;  and  there  is  no  instance  of  hi« 
deviating  from  their  choice. 

2  0 


434 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


an  effectual  security  against  Catholics  as  well 
as  Protestants ;  and  the  manacles  so  much 
confided  in  are  not  taken  off,  but  loosened,  and 
the  prayer  of  a  Catholic  is  this : — "  I  cannot 
now  become  an  alderman  without  perjury.  I 
pray  of  you  to  improve  my  condition  so  far, 
that  if  I  become  an  alderman  I  may  be  only 
exposed  to  a  penalty  of  500/."  There  are  two 
common  errors  upon  the  subject  of  Catholic 
emancipation ;  the  one,  that  the  emancipated 
Catholic  is  to  be  put  on  a  better  footing  than  the 
Protestant  dissenter,  whereas  he  will  be  put 
precisely  on  the  same  footing;  the  other,  that  he 
is  to  be  admitted  to  civil  offices,  without  any 
guard,  exception,  or  reserve ;  whereas,  in  the 
various  bills  which  have  been  from  time  to 
time  brought  forward,  the  legal  wit  of  man 
has  been  exhausted  to  provide  against  every 
surmise,  suspicion,  and  whisper  of  the  most 
remote  danger  to  the  Protestant  church. 

The  Catholic  question  is  not  an  English 
question,  but  an  Irish  one ;  or  rather  it  is  no 
otherwise  an  English  question  than  as  it  is  an 
Irish  one.  As  for  the  handful  of  Catholics 
that  are  in  England,  no  one,  I  presume,  can 
be  so  extravagant  as  to  cont?nd,  if  they  were 
the  only  Catholics  we  had  to  do  with,  that  it 
would  be  of  the  slightest  possible  consequence 
to  what  offices  of  the  state  they  were  admitted. 
It  would  be  quite  as  necessary  to  exclude  the 
Sandemanians,  who  are  sixteen  in  number, 
or  to  make  a  test  act  against  the  followers  of 
Joanna  Southcote,  who  amount  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  persons.  A  little  chalk  on  the  wall, 
and  a  profound  ignorance  of  the  subject,  soon 
raise  a  cry  of  no  Popery;  but  I  question  if  the 
danger  of  admitting  five  popish  peers  and  two 
commoners  to  the  benefits  of  the  constitution 
could  raise  a  mob  in  any  market-town  in  Eng- 
land. Whatever  good  may  accrue  to  England 
from  the  emancipati(m,  or  evil  may  befall  this 
country  for  withholding  emancipation,  will 
reach  us  only  through  the  medium  of  Ireland. 

I  beg  to  remind  you,  that  in  talking  of  the 
Catholic  religion,  you  must  talk  of  the  Catholic 
religion  as  it  is  carried  on  in  Ireland  ;  you  have 
nothing  to  do  with  Spain,  or  France,  or  Italy  : 
the  religion  you  are  to  examine  is  the  Irish 
Catholic  religion.  You  are  not  to  consider 
what  it  was,  but  what  it  is ;  not  what  individu- 
als profess,  but  what  is  generally  professed; 
not  what  individuals  do,  but  what  is  generally 
practised.  I  constantly  see,  in  advertisements 
from  county  meetings,  all  these  species  of 
monstrous  injustice  played  off  against  the 
Catholics.  The  Inquisition  exists  in  Spain 
and  Portugal,  therefore  I  confound  place,  and 
vote  against  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  where  it 
never  did  exist,  nor  was  purposed  to  be  insti- 
tuted.* There  have  been  many  cruel  persecu- 
tions of  Protestants  by  Catholic  governments ; 
and,  therefore,  I  will  confound  time  and  place, 
and  vote  against  the  Irish,  who  live  centuries 
after  these  persecutions,  and  in  a  totally  differ- 
ent country.  Doctor  this,  or  Doctor  that,  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  has  written  a  very  violent 


.  *  While  Mary  was  burning  Protestants  in  England, 
not  a  single  Protestant  was  executed  in  Ireland  :  and 
yet  the  terrors  of  that  reign  are,  at  this  moment,  one 
of  the  most  operative  causes  of  the  exclusion  of  Irish 
Catholics. 


and  absurd  pamphlet;  therefore  I  will  confound 
persons,  and  vote  against  the  whole  Irish 
Catholic  church,  which  has  neither  sanctioned 
nor  expressed  any  such  opinions.  I  will  con- 
tinue the  incapacities  of  men  of  this  age,  be- 
cause some  men,  in  distant  ages,  deserved  ill 
of  other  men  in  distant  ages.  They  shall  ex- 
piate the  crimes  committed,  before  they  were 
born,  in  a  land  they  never  saw,  by  individuals 
they  never  heard  of.  I  will  charge  them  with 
every  act  of  folly  which  they  have  never  sanc- 
tioned and  cannot  control.  I  will  sacrifice 
space,  time,  and  identity,  to  my  zeal  for  the 
Protestant  Church.  Now,  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  violence,  consider,  for  a  moment,  how  you 
are  imposed  upon  by  words,  and  what  a  serious 
violation  of  the  rights  of  your  fellow-creatures 
you  are  committing.  Mr.  Murphy  lives  in 
Limerick,  and  Mr.  Murphy  and  his  son  ar.e 
subjected  to  a  thousand  inconveniences  and 
disadvantages  because  they  are  Catholics. 
Murphy  is  a  wealthy,  honourable,  excellent 
man ;  he  ought  to  be  in  the  corporation ;  he 
cannot  get  in  because  he  is  a  Catholic.  His 
son  ought  to  be  king's  counsel  for  his  talents, 
and  his  standing  at  the  bar ;  he  is  prevented 
from  reaching  this  dignity  because  he  is  a 
Catholic.  Why,  what  reasons  do  you  hear  for 
all  this  1  Because  Queen  Mary,  three  hundred 
years  before  the  natal  day  of  Mr.  Murphy, 
murdered  Protestants  in  Smithfield ;  because 
Louis  XIV.  dragooned  his  Protestant  subjects, 
when  the  predecessor  of  Murphy's  predecessor 
was  not  in  being;  because  men  are  confined 
in  prison  in  Madrid,  twelve  degrees  more  south 
than  Murphy  has  ever  been  in  his  life;  all 
ages,  all  climates,  are  ransacked  to  perpetuate 
the  slavery  of  Murphy,  the  ill-fated  victim  of 
political  anachronisms. 

Suppose  a  barrister,  in  defending  a  prisoner, 
were  to  say  to  the  judge,  "  My  lord,  I  humbly 
submit  to  your  lordship  that  this  indictment 
against  the  prisoner  cannot  stand  good  in  law; 
and  as  the  safety  of  a  fellow-creature  is  con- 
cerned, I  request  your  lordship's  patient  atten- 
tion to  my  objections.  In  the  first  place,  the 
indictment  does  not  pretend  that  the  prisoner 
at  the  bar  is  himself  guilty  of  the  offence,  but 
that  some  persons  of  the  same  religious  sect 
as  himself  are  so ;  in  whose  crime  he  cannot 
(I  submit),  by  any  possibility,  be  implicated, 
as  these  criminal  persons  lived  three  hundred 
years  before  the  prisoner  was  born.  In  the 
next  place,  my  lord,  the  venue  of  several  crimes 
imputed  to  the  prisoner  is  laid  in  countries  to 
which  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court  does  not 
extend ;  in  France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  where 
also  the  prisoner  has  never  been ;  and  as  to 
the  argument  used  by  my  learned  brother,  that 
it  is  only  want  of  power,  and  not  want  of  will, 
and  that  the  prisoner  would  commit  the  crime 
//■  he  could;  I  humbly  submit,  that  the  custom 
of  England  has  been  to  wait  for  the  overt  act 
before  pain  and  penalty  are  inflicted,  and  that 
your  lordship  would  pass  a  most  doleful  assize, 
if  punishment  depended  upon  evil  volition; 
if  men  were  subjected  to  legal  incapacities 
froin  the  mere  suspicion  that  they  u-ould  do 
harm  if  they  could ;  and  if  it  were  admitted  to 
be  sufficient  proof  of  this  suspicion,  that  men 
,  of  this  faith  in  distant  ages,  different  countries, 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY   SMITH. 


435 


and  under  different  circumstances,  had  planned 
evil,  and  when  occasion  offered,  done  it." 

When  are  mercy  and  justice,  in  fact,  ever  to 
return  upon  the  earth,  if  the  sins  of  the  elders 
are  to  be  for  ever  visited  on  these  who  are  not 
even  their  children  1  Should  the  first  act  of 
liberated  Greece  be  to  recommence  the  Trojan 
warl  Are  the  French  never  to  forget  the  Si- 
cilian vespers  ;  or  the  Americans  the  long  war 
waged  against  their  liberties'?  Is  any  rule 
wise,  which  may  set  the  Irish  to  recollect  what 
they  have  suffered  1 

The  real  danger  is  this — that  you  have  four 
Irish  Catholics  for  one  Irish  Protestant.  That 
is  the  matter  of  fact,  which  none  of  us  can 
help.  Is  it  better  policy  to  make  friends,  ra- 
ther than  enemies,  of  this  immense  population  1 
I  allow  there  is  danger  to  the  Protestant  Church, 
but  much  more  danger,  I  am  sure  there  is,  in  re- 
sisting than  admitting  the  claims  of  the  Catho- 
lics. If  I  might  indulge  in  visions  of  glory, 
and  imagine  myself  an  Irish  dean  or  bishop, 
with  an  immense  ecclesiastical  income ;  if  the 
justice  or  injustice  of  the  case  were  entirely 
indifferent  to  me,  and  my  only  object  were  to 
live  at  ease  in  my  possessions,  thei-e  is  no  mea- 
sure  for  which  I  should  be  so  anxious  as  that  of 
Catholic  emancipation.  The  Catholics  are  now 
extremely  angry  and  discontented  at  being  shut 
out  from  so  many  offices  and  honours ;  the  in- 
capacities to  which  they  are  subjected  thwart 
them  in  all  their  pursuits ;  they  feel  they  are  a 
degraded  caste.  The  Protestant  feels  he  is  a 
privileged  caste,  and  not  only  the  Protestant 
gentleman  feels  this,  but  every  Protestant  ser- 
vant feels  it,  and  takes  care  that  his  Catholic 
felloAv-servant  shall  perceive  it.  The  difference 
between  the  two  religions  is  an  eternal  source 
of  enmity,  ill-will,  and  hatred,  and  the  Catho- 
lic remains  in  a  stale  of  permanent  disaffec- 
tion to  the  government  under  which  he  lives. 
I  repeat  that  if  I  were  a  member  of  the  Irish 
church,  I  should  be  afraid  of  this  position  of 
affairs.  I  should  fear  it  in  peace,  on  account 
of  riot  and  insurrection,  and  in  war  on  account 
of  rebellion.  I  should  think  that  my  greatest 
security  consisted  in  removing  all  just  cause 
of  complaint  from  the  Catholic  society,  in  en- 
dearing them  to  the  English  constitution,  by 
making  them  feel,  as  soon  as  possible,  that 
they  shared  in  its  blessings.  I  should  really 
think  my  tithes  and  my  glebe,  upon  such  a 
plan,  worth  twenty  years'  purchase  more  than 
under  the  present  system.  Suppose  the  Catho- 
lic layman  were  to  think  it  an  evil,  that  his 
own  church  should  be  less  splendidly  endowed 
than  that  of  the  Protestant  Church,  whose 
population  is  so  inferior;  yet  if  he  were  free 
himself,  and  had  nothing  to  complain  of,  he 
would  not  rush  into  rebellion  and  insurrection, 
merely  to  augment  the  income  of  his  priest. 
At  present  you  bind  the  laity  and  clergy  in  one 
common  feeling  of  injustice  ;  each  feels  for 
himself,  and  talks  of  the  injuries  of  the  other. 
The  obvious  consequence  of  Catholic  emanci- 
pation would  be  to  separate  their  interests. 
But  another  important  consequence  of  Catho- 
lic emancipation  would  be  to  improve  the  con- 
dition of  the  clergy.  Their  chapels  would  be 
put  in  order,  their  incomes  increased,  and  we 
should  hear  nothing   more   of   the   Catholic 


Church.  If  this  measure  were  carried  in 
March,  I  believe  by  the  January  following,  the 
whole  question  would  be  as  completely  forgot- 
ten as  the  sweating  sickness,  and  that  nine 
Doctor  Doyles,  at  the  rate  of  thirty  years  to  a 
Doyle,  would  pass  away  one  after  the  other, 
before  any  human  being  heard  another  sylla- 
ble on  the  subject.  All  men  gradually  yield  to 
the  comforts  of  a  good  income.  Give  the  Irish 
archbishop  1200/.  per  annum  ;  the  bishop  800Z., 
the  priest  200?.,  the  coadjutor  100/.,  per  annum, 
and  the  cathedral  of  Dublin  is  almost  as  safe 
as  the  Cathedral  of  York.*  This  is  the  real 
secret  of  putting  an  end  to  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion;  there  is  no  other;  but,  remember,  I  am 
speaking  of  provision  for  the  Catholic  clergy 
after  emancipation,  not  before.  There  is  not 
an  Irish  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Rome  who 
would  touch  one  penny  of  the  public  money 
before  the  laity  were  restored  to  civil  rights, 
and  why  not  pay  the  Catholic  clergy  as  well 
as  the  Presbyterian  clergy  1  Ever  since  the 
year  1803,  the  Presbyterian  clergy  in  the  North 
of  Ireland  have  been  paid  by  the  government, 
and  the  grant  is  annually  brought  forward  in 
Parliament ;  and  not  only  are  the  Presbyterians 
paid,  but  one  or  two  other  species  of  Protest- 
ant dissenters.  The  consequence  has  been 
loyalty  and  peace.  This  way  of  appeasing 
dissenters  you  may  call  expensive,  but  is  there 
no  expense  in  injustice  1  You  have  at  this 
moment  an  army  of  20,000  men  in  Ireland, 
horse,  foot,  and  artillery,  at  an  annual  expense 
of  a  million  and  a  half  of  money;  about  one- 
third  of  this  sum  woald  be  the  expense  of  the 
allowance  to  the  Catholic  clergy ;  and  this 
army  is  so  necessary,  that  the  government  dare 
not  at  this  moment  remove  a  single  regiment 
from  Ireland.  Abolish  these  absurd  and  dis- 
graceful distinctions,  and  a  few  troops  of  horse 
to  help  the  constables  on  fair  days  will  be  more 
than  sufficient  for  the  catholic  limb  of  the  empire. 
Now  for  a  very  few  of  the  shameful  misre- 
presentations circulated  respecting  the  Irish 
Catholics,  for  I  repeat  again  that  we  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  Spanish  or  Italian,  but  with 
Irish  Catholics;  it  is  not  true  that  the  Irish 
Catholics  refuse  to  circulate  the  Bible  in  Eng- 
lish ;  on  the  contrary,  they  have  in  Ireland 
circulated  several  editions  of  the  Scriptures 
in  English.  In  the  last  year,  the  Catholic  pre- 
lates prepared  and  put  forth  a  stereotype  edi- 
tion of  the  Bible,  of  a  small  print  and  low 
price,  to  insure  its  general  circulation.  They 
circulate  the  Bible  with  their  own  notes,  and 
how,  as  Catholics,  can  they  act  otherwise  1 
Are  not  our  prelates  and  Bartlett's  buildings 
acting  in  the  same  manner  1  And  must  not 
all   churches,  if  they   are  consistent,   act   La 


*  I  say  almost,  because  I  hate  to  overstate  an  argument, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  there  is  danger  to  a 
church,  to  which  seven  millions  contribute  largely,  and 
in  which  six  millions  disbelieve  :  my  argument  merely  is, 
that  such  a  church  would  be  more  safe  in  proportion  a3 
it  interfered  less  with  the  comforts  and  ease  of  its  natu- 
ral enemies,  and  rendered  their  position  more  desirable 
and  agreeable.  I  tirmly  believe  the  Toleration  Act  to  b»i 
quite  as  conducive  to  the  security  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land as  it  is  to  the  dissenters.  Perfect  toleration  and  the 
abolition  of  every  incapacity  as  a  consequence  of  religious 
opinions,  are  not,  what  is  commonly  caljed,  a  receipt  lot 
innovation,  but  a  receipt  for  the  quiet  and  permanence  of 
every  establishment  which  has  the  real  good  sense  tc 
adopt  it. 


43d 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


the  same  manner  1  The  Bibles  Catholics  quar- 
rel with,  are  Protestant  Bibles  without  notes, 
or  Protestant  Bibles  with  Protestant  notes,  and 
how  can  they  do  otherwise  without  giving  up 
their  religion  1  They  deny,  upon  oath,  that  the 
infallibility  of  the  pope  is  any  necessary  part 
of  the  Catholic  faith.  They,  upon  oath,  de- 
clare that  Catholic  people  are  forbidden  to  wor- 
ship images,  and  saints,  and  relics.  They, 
upon  oath,  abjure  the  temporal  power  of  the 
pope,  or  his  right  to  absolve  any  Catholic  from 
his  oath.  They  renounce,  upon  oath,  all  right 
to  forfeit  lands,  and  covenant,  upon  oath,  not 
to  destroy  or  plot  against  the  Irish  Protestant 
Church.  What  more  can  any  man  want  whom 
any  thing  will  content? 

Some  people  talk  as  if  they  were  quite  teased 
and  worried  by  the  eternal  clamours  of  the  Ca- 
tholics ;  but  if  you  are  eternally  unjust,  can  you 
expect  any  thing  more  than  to  be  eternally 
vexed  by  the  victims  of  your  injustice  1  You 
want  all  the  luxury  of  oppression  without  any 
of  its  inconvenience.  I  should  think  the  Catho- 
lics very  much  to  blame,  if  they  ever  ceased 
to  importune  the  legislature  for  justice,  so  long 
as  they  could  find  one  single  member  of  Par- 
liament who  would  advocate  their  cause. 

The  putting  the  matter  to  rest  by  an  effort 
of  the  county  of  York,  or  by  any  decision  of 
Parliament  against  them,  is  utterly  hopeless. 
Every  year  increases  the  Catholic  population, 
and  the  Catholic  wealth,  and  the  Catholic 
claims,  till  you  are  caught  in  one  of  those  po- 
litical attitudes  to  which  all  countries  are  occa- 
sionally exposed,  in  which  you  are  utterly 
helpless,  and  must  give  way  to  their  claims ; 
and  if  you  do  it  then,  you  will  do  it  badly ;  you 
may  call  it  an  arrangement,  but  arrangements 
made  at  such  times  are  much  like  the  bargains 
between  an  highwayman  and  a  traveller,  a 
pistol  on  one  side,  and  a  purse  on  the  other; 
the  rapid  scramble  of  armed  violence,  and  the 
unqualified  surrender  of  helpless  timidity.  If 
you  think  the  thing  must  be  done  at  sonic  time  or 
another,  do  it  ivhen  you  are  calm  and  powerful,  and 
when,  you  need  not  do  it. 

There  are  a  set  of  high-spirited  men  who 
are  very  much  afraid  of  being  afraid ;  who 
cannot  brook  the  idea  of  doing  any  thing  from 
fear,  and  whose  conversation  is  full  of  fire 
and  sword,  when  any  apprehension  of  resist- 
ance is  alluded  to.  I  have  a  perfect  confi- 
dence in  the  high  and  unyielding  spirit,  and  in 
the  military  courage  of  the  English ;  and  I 
have  no  doubt  but  that  many  of  the  country 
gentlemen,  who  now  call  out  no  Popery,  would 
fearlessly  put  themselves  at  the  head  of  their 
embattled  yeomanry,  to  control  the  Irish  Catho- 
lics. My  objection  to  such  courage  is,  that 
it  would  certainly  be  exercised  unjustly,  and 
probably  exercised  in  vain.  I  should  depre- 
cate any  rising  of  the  Catholics  as  the  most 
grievous  misfortune  which  could  happen  to 
the  empire  and  to  themselves.  They  had  far 
better  endure  all  they  do  endure,  and  a  great 
deal  worse,  than  try  the  experiment.  But  if 
thtj  uo  try  It,  yuii  may  depend  vpon  it,  they  ivill  do 
it  at  their  own  tirnc,  and  not  at  yours.  They  will 
not  select  a  fortnight  in  the  summer,  during  a 
profound  peace,  when  corn  and  money  abound, 
and  when  the  Catholics  of  Europe  are  uncon- 


cerned spectators.  If  you  make  a  resolution 
to  be  unjust,  you  must  make  another  resolu- 
tion to  be  always  strong,  always  vigilant,  and 
always  rich ;  you  must  commit  no  blunders, 
exhibit  no  deficiencies,  and  meet  with  no  mis- 
fortunes ;  you  must  present  a  square  phalanx 
of  impenetrable  strength,  for  keen-eyed  revenge 
is  riding  round  your  ranks  ;  and  if  one  heart 
falters,  or  one  hand  trembles,  you  are  lost. 

You  may  call  all  this  threatening ;  I  am  sure 
I  have  no  such  absurd  intention;  'but  wish 
only,  in  sober  sadness,  to  point  out  what  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  the  inevitable  consequences 
of  the  conduct  we  pursue.  If  danger  be  not 
pointed  out  and  insisted  upon,  how  is  it  to  be 
avoided?  My  firm  belief  is,  that  England 
will  be  compelled  to  grant  ignominiously  what 
she  now  refuses  haughtily.  Remember  what 
happened  respecting  Ireland  in  the  American 
war.  In  1779,  the  Irish,  whose  trade  was  com- 
pletely restricted  by  English  laws,  asked  for 
some  little  relaxation,  some  liberty  to  export 
her  own  products,  and  to  import  the  products 
of  other  countries  ;  their  petition  was  flung  out 
of  the  house  with  the  utmost  disdain,  and  by 
an  immense  majority.  In  April,  1782,  70,000 
Irish  volunteers  were  under  arms,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  170  armed  corps  met  at  Ulster, 
and  the  English  Parliament  (the  Lords  and 
Commons,  both  on  the  same  day  and  with  only 
one  dissentient  voice,  the  ministers  moving  the 
question)  were  compelled,  in  the  most  dis- 
graceful and  precipitate  manner,  to  acknow- 
liedge  the  complete  independence  of  the  Irish 
nation,  and  nothing  but  the  good  sense  and  mode- 
ration of  Graltan  prevented  the  separation  of  thi 
two  crowns. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  province  to  defend  every 
error  of  the  Catholic  Church :  I  believe  it  has 
many  errors,  though  I  am  sure  these  errors 
are  grievously  exaggerated  and  misrepre- 
sented. I  should  think  it  a  vast  accession  to 
the  happiness  of  mankind,  if  every  Catholic 
in  Europe  were  converted  to  the  Protestant 
faith.  The  question  is  not,  whether  there 
shall  be  Catholics,  but  the  question  (as  they 
do  exist  and  you  cannot  get  rid  of  them)  is, 
what  are  you  to  do  with  them  ?  Are  )'ou  to 
make  men  rebels  because  you  cannot  make 
them  Protestants?  and  are  you  to  endanger 
your  state,  because  you  cannot  enlarge  your 
church?  England  is  the  ark  o  liberty:  the 
English  Church  I  believe  to  be  one  of  the 
best  establishments  in  the  world;  but  what  is 
to  become  of  England,  of  its  church,  of  its 
free  institutions,  and  the  beautiful  political 
model  it  holds  out  to  mankind,  if  Ireland 
should  succeed  in  connecting  itself  with  any 
other  European  power  hostile  to  England?  I 
join  in  the  cry  of  no  Popery  as  lustily  as  any 
man  in  the  streets  who  does  not  know  whether 
the  pope  lives  in  Cumberland  or  Westmore- 
land; but  I  know  that  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
down  European  Popery,  and  European  ty- 
ranny, without  the  assistance,  or  with  the  op- 
position of  Ireland.  If  you  give  the  Irish  their 
privileges,  the  spirit  of  the  nation  will  over- 
come the  spirit  of  the  church  ;  they  will  cheer- 
fully serve  you  against  all  enemies,  and  chant 
a  Te  Dcum  for  your  victories  over  all  the  Ca- 
tholic armies  of  Europe.    If  it  be  true,  as  her 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


437 


enemies  say,  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
is  waging  war  all  over  Europe,  against  com- 
mon sense,  against  public  liberty  ;  selling  the 
people  to  the  kings  and  nobles,  and  labouring 
for  the  few  against  the  many;  all  this  is  an 
additional  reason  why  I  would  furiify  England 
and  Protestantism  by  every  concession  to  Ire- 
land :  why  I  should  take  cai'e  that  our  attention 
was  not  distracted,  nor  our  strength  wasted  by 
internal  dissension ;  why  I  would  not  paralyze 
those  arms  which  wield  the  sword  of  justice 
among  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  lift  up  the 
buckler  of  safety.  If  the  Catholic  religion  in 
Ireland  is  an  abuse,  you  must  tolerate  that 
abuse,  to  prevent  its  extension  and  tyranny 
over  the  rest  of  Europe.  If  you  will  take  a 
long  view  instead  of  a  confined  view,  and  look 
generally  to  the  increase  of  human  happiness, 
the  best  check  upon  the  increase  of  Popery,  the  best 
security  for  the  establishment  of  the  Protestant 
Church  is,  that  the  British  empire  shall  be  preserved 
in  a  state  of  the  greatest  strength,  vnion  and  opu- 
lence. My  cry,  then,  is,  no  Popery ;  therefore 
emancipate  the  Catholics,  that  they  may  not 
join  with  foreign  Papists  in  time  of  war. 
Church  for  ever ;  therefore  emancipate  the  Ca- 
tholics, that  they  may  not  help  to  pull  it  down. 
King  foi-  ever ;  therefore  emancipate  the  Catho- 
lics, that  they  may  become  his  loyal  subjects. 
Great  Britain  for  ever;  therefore  emancipate 
the  Catholics,  that  they  may  not  put  an  end  to  its 
perpetuity.  Our  government  is  essentially  Pro- 
testant ;  therefore,  by  emancipating  the  Catho- 
lics, give  up  a  few  circumstances  which  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  essence.  The  Catholics 
arc  disguised  enemies ;  therefore,  by  emancipa- 
tion, turn  them  into  open  friends.  They  have 
a  double  allegiance ;  therefore,  by  emancipation, 
make  their  allegiance  to  their  king  so  grateful, 
that  they  will  never  confound  it  with  the  spirit- 
ual allegiance  to  their  pope.  It  is  very  diffi- 
cult for  electors,  who  are  much  occupied  by 
other  matters,  to  choose  the  right  path  amid 
the  rage  and  fury  of  faction ;  but  I  give  you 
one  mark,  vote  for  a  free  altar ;  give  what  the 
law  compels  you  to  give  to  the  establishment ; 
(that  done,)  no  chains,  no  prisons,  no  bonfires 
for  a  man's  faith;  and,  above  all,  no  modern 
chains  and  prisons  under  the  names  of  dis- 
qualifications and  incapacities,  M^hich  are  only 
the  cruelly  and  tyranny  of  a  more  civilized  age  ; 
civil  offices  open  to  all,  a  Catholic  or  a  Protest- 
ant alderman,  a  Moravian,  or  a  Church  of 
England,  or  a  Wesleyan  justice  ;  no  oppression, 
no  tyranny  in  belief:  a  free  altar,  an  open  road  to 
heaven  ;  no  human  insolence,  no  human  narrowness, 
hallowed  by  the  name  of  God. 

Every  man  in  trade  must  have  experienced 
the  difficulty  of  getting  in  a  bill  from  an  un- 
willing paymaster.  If  you  call  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  gentleman  is  not  up;  if  in  the  middle 
of  the  day,  he  is  out;  if  in  the  evening,  there 
is  company.  If  you  ask  mildly,  you  are  indif- 
ferent to  the  time  of  payment;  if  you  press, 
you  are  impertinent.  No  time  and  no  manner 
can  render  such  a  message  agreeable.  So  it 
is  with  the  poor  Catholics ;  their  message  is 
so  disagreeable,  that  their  time  and  manner : 
can  never  be  right.  "Not  this  session.  Not; 
now;  on  no  account  at  the  present  time;  any 
other  time  than  this.    The  great  mass  of  the  1 


Catholics  are  so  torpid  on  the  subject,  that  the 
question  is  clearly  confined  to  the  ambition  of 
the  few,  or  the  whole  Catholic  population  are 
so  leagued  together,  that  the  object  is  clearly 
to  intimidate  the  mother-country."  In  short, 
the  Catholics  want  justice,  and  we  do  not 
mean  to  be  just,  and  the  most  specious  method 
of  refusal  is,  to  have  it  believed  that  they  are 
refused  fi'om  their  own  folly,  and  not  from  our 
fault. 

What  if  O'Connell  (a  man  certainly  of  ex- 
traordinary talents  and  eloquence)  is  some- 
times violent  and  injudicious  1  What  if 
O'Gorraan  and  O'SuUivan  have  spoken  ill  of 
the  Reformation  1  Is  a  great  stroke  of  national 
policy  to  depend  on  such  childish  considera- 
tions as  these?  If  these  chains  ought  to  re- 
main, could  I  be  induced  to  remove  them  by 
the  chaste  language  and  humble  deportment 
of  him  who  wears  them  1  If  they  ought  to  be 
struck  away,  would  I  continue  them,  because 
my  taste  was  offended  by  the  coarse  insolence 
of  a  goaded  and  injured  captive  1  Would  I 
make  that  great  measure  to  depend  on  the  irri- 
tability of  my  own  feelings,  which  ought  to 
depend  upon  policy  and  justice]  The  more 
violent  and  the  more  absurd  the  conduct  of 
the  Catholics,  the  greater  the  wisdom  of  eman- 
cipation. If  they  were  always  governed 
by  men  of  consummate  prudence  and  mode- 
ration, your  justice  in  refusing  would  be  the 
same,  but  your  danger  would  be  less.  The 
levity  and  irritability  of  the  Irish  character  are 
pressing  reasons  why  all  just  causes  of  pro- 
vocation should  be  taken  away,  and  those  high 
passions  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  empire. 

In  talking  of  the  spirit  of  the  papal  empire, 
it  is  often  argued  that  the  will  remains  the 
same  ;  that  the  pontiff  ivould,  if  he  coidd,  exer- 
cise the  same  influence  in  Euroj)e ;  that  the 
Catholic  Church  would,  if  it  could,  tyrannize 
over  the  rights  and  opinions  of  mankind;  but 
if  the  power  is  taken  away,  what  signifies  the 
will  1  If  the  pope  thunders  in  vain  against 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  of  what  consequence 
is  his  disposition  to  thunder  1  If  mankind  are 
too  "enlightened  and  too  humane  to  submit  to 
the  cruelties  and  hatreds  of  a  Catholic  priest- 
hood ;  if  the  Protestants  of  the  empire  are  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  resist  it,  why  are  we  to  alarm 
ourselves  with  the  barren  volition,  unseconded 
by  the  requisite  power"!  I  hardly  know  in 
what  order  or  description  of  men  I  should 
choose  to  confide,  if  they  coidd  do  as  they  tvould; 
the  best  security  is,  that  the  rest  of  the  world 
will  not  let  them  do  as  they  wish  to  do;  and 
having  satisfied  myself  of  this,  I  am  not  very 
careful  about  the  rest. 

Our  government  is  called  essentially  Protest- 
ant; but  if  it  be  essentially  Protestant  in  the 
imposition  of  taxes,  it  should  be  essentially 
Protestant  in  the  distribution  of  offices.  The 
treasury  is  open  to  all  religions,  Parliament 
only  to  one.  The  tax-gatherer  is  the  most  in- 
dulgent and  liberal  of  human  beings :  he  ex- 
cludes no  creed,  imposes  no  articles ;  but 
counts  Catholic  cash,  pockets  Protestant  pa- 
per; and  is  candidly  and  impartially  oppres- 
sive to  every  description  of  the  Christian 
world.  Can  any  thing  be  more  base  than 
when  you  want  the  blood  or  the  money  of  th* 
2o2 


438 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Catholics,  to  forget  that  they  are  Catholics,  and 
to  remember  only  that  they  are  British  sub- 
jects; and  when  they  ask  for  the  benefits  of 
the  British  constitution,  to  remember  only  that 
they  are  Catholics,  and  to  forget  that  they  are 
British  subjects! 

No  Popery  was  the  cry  of  the  great  English 
Revolution,  because  the  increase  and  prevalence 
of  Popery  in  England  would,  at  that  period, 
have  rendered  this  island  tributary  to  France. 
The  Irish  Catholics  were,  at  that  period, 
broken  to  pieces  by  the  severity  and  military 
execution  of  Cromwell,  and  by  the  penal  laws. 
They  are  since  become  a  great  and  formidable 
people.  The  same  dread  of  foreign  influence 
makes  it  now  necessary  that  they  should  be 
restored  to  political  rights.  Must  the  friends 
of  rational  liberty  join  in  a  clamour  against  the 
Catholics  now,  because,  in  a  very  dilTerent  state 
of  the  world,  they  excited  that  clamour  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  1  I  remember  a  house  near 
Battersea  Bridge  which  caught  fire,  and  there 
was  a  general  cry  of  "  Water,  water!"  Ten 
years  after,  the  'J'hames  rose,  and  the  people 
of  the  house  were  nearly  drowned.  Would  it 
not  have  been  rather  singular  to  have  said  to 
the  inhabitants,  "I  heai'd  you  calling  for  water 
ten  years  ago,  why  don't  you  call  for  it  now  1" 

There  are  some  men  who  think  the  present 
times  so  incapable  of  forming  any  opinions, 
that  they  are  always  looking  back  to  the  wis- 
dom of  our  ancestors.  Now,  as  the  Catholics 
sat  in  the  English  Parliament  to  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  and  in  the  Irish  Parliament,  I  believe, 
till  the  reign  of  King  William,  the  precedents 
are  more  in  their  favour  than  otherwise  ;  and 
to  replace  them  in  the  Parliament  seems  rather 
to  return  to,  than  to  deviate  from  the  practice 
of  our  ancestors. 

If  the  Catholics  are  priest-ridden,  pamper 
the  rider,  and  he  will  not  stick  so  close  ;  don't 
torment  the  animal  ridden,  and  his  violence 
will  be  less  dangerous. 

The  strongest  evidence  against  the  Catho- 
lics is  tliat  of  Colonel  John  Irvine ;  he  puts 
every  thing  against  them  in  the  strongest  light, 
and  Colonel  John  (with  great  actual,  though,  I 
am  sure,  with  no  intentional  exaggeration)  does 
not  pretend  to  say  there  would  be  more  than 
forty-six  members  returned  for  Ireland  who 
were  Catholics  ;  but  how  many  members  are 
there  in  the  House  now  returned  by  Catholics, 
and  compelled,  from  the  fear  of  losing  their 
seats,  to  vote  in  favour  of  every  measure  which 
concerns  the  Catholic  Church  1  The  Catholic 
party,  as  the  colonel  justly  observes,  was  form- 
ed when  you  admitted  them  to  the  elective 
franchise.  The  Catholic  party  are  increasing 
so  much  in  boldness,  that  they  will  soon  require 
of  the  members  they  return,  to  oppose  generally 
any  government  hostile  to  Catholic  emancipa- 
tion, and  they  will  turn  out  those  who  do  not 
comply  with  this  rule.  If  this  is  done,  the 
phalanx  so  much  dreaded  from  emancipation 
is  found  at  once  without  emancipation.  This 
consequence  of  resistance  to  the  Catholic  claims 
is  well  worth  the  attention  of  those  who  make 
use  of  the  cry  of  no  Popery,  as  a  mere  politi- 
cal engine. 

We  are  taunxeu  .cith  our  prophetical  spirit, 
because  it  is  said  by  the  advocates  of  the  Ca- 


tholic question  that  the  thing  must  come  to 
pass;  that  it  is  inevitable  :  our  prophecy,  how- 
ever, is  founded  upon  experience  and  common 
sense,  and  is  nothing  more  than  the  application 
of  the  past  to  the  future.  In  a  few  years'  time, 
when  the  madness  and  wretchedness  of  war 
are  forgotten,  when  the  greater  part  of  those 
who  have  lost  in  war,  legs  and  arms,  health 
and  sons,  have  gone  to  their  graves,  the 
same  scenes  will  be  acted  over  again  in  the 
world.  France,  Spain,  Russia,  and  America, 
will  be  upon  us.  The  Catholics  will  watch 
their  opportunity,  and  soon  settle  the  question 
of  Catholic  emancipation.  To  suppose  that 
any  nation  can  go  on  in  the  midst  of  foreign 
wars,  denying  common  justice  to  seven  mil- 
lions of  men,  in  the  heart  of  the  empire,  awa- 
kened to  their  situation,  and  watching  for  the 
critical  moment  of  redress,  does,  I  confess,  ap- 
pear to  me  to  be  the  height  of  extravagance. 
To  foretell  the  consequence  of  such  causes,  in 
my  humble  apprehension,  demands  no  more  of 
shrewdness  than  to  point  out  the  probable  re- 
sults of  leaving  a  lighted  candle  stuck  up  in  an 
open  barrel  of  gunpowder. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  make  the  mass  of  man- 
kind believe  that  the  state  of  things  is  ever  to 
be  otherwise  than  they  have  been  accustomed 
to  see  it.  I  have  very  often  heard  old  persons 
describe  the  impossibility  of  making  any  one 
believe  that  the  American  colonies  could  ever 
be  separated  from  this  country.  It  was  always 
considered  as  an  idle  dream  of  discontented 
politicians,  good  enough  to  fill  up  the  periods  of  a 
speech,  but  which  no  practical  man,  devoid  of 
the  spirit  of  party,  considered  to  be  within  the 
limits  of  possibility.  There  was  a  period  when 
the  slightest  concession  would  have  satisfied 
the  Americans  ;  but  all  the  world  was  in  heroics ; 
one  set  of  gentlemen  met  at  the  Lamb,  and  ano- 
ther at  the  Lion:  blood  and  treasure  men,  breath- 
ing war,  vengeance,  and  contempt ;  and  in  eight 
years  afterwards,  an  awkward-looking  gentle- 
man in  plain  clothes  walked  up  to  the  drawing- 
room  of  St.  James's, in  the  midstof  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Lion  and  Lamb,  and  w-as  introduced  as 
the  anibussador  from  the  United  States  of  America, 

You  must  forgive  me  if  I  draw  illustrations 
from  common  things — but  in  seeing  swine 
driven,  I  have  often  thought  of  the  Catholic 
question  and  of  the  different  methods  of  govern- 
ing mankind.  The  object,  one  day,  was  to 
drive  some  of  these  animals  along  a  path,  to  a 
field  where  they  had  not  been  before.  The 
man  could  by  no  means  succeed ;  instead  of 
turning  their  faces  to  the  north,  and  proceeding 
quietly  along,  they  made  for  the  east  and  west, 
rushed  back  to  the  south,  and  positively  refused 
to  advance;  a  reinforcement  of  rustics  was 
called  for;  maids,  children,  neighbours,  all 
helped;  a  general  rushing,  screaming,  and 
roaring  ensued ;  but  the  main  object  was  not 
in  the  slightest  degree  advanced  ;  after  a  long 
delay,  we  resolved  (though  an  hour  before  we 
should  have  disdained  such  a  compromise)  to 
have  recourse  to  Catholic  emancipation ;  a 
little  boy  was  sent  before  them  with  a  handful 
of  barley:  a  few  grains  were  scattered  in  the 
path,  and  the  bristly  herd  were  speedily  and 
safely  conducted  to  the  place  of  their  destina- 
tion.   If,  instead  of  putting  Lord  Stowell  out  of 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


439 


breath  with  driving,  compelling  the  Duke  of 
York  to  swear,  and  the  chancellor  to  strike  at 
them  with  the  mace.  Lord  Liverpool  would 
condescend,  in  his  graceful  manner,  to  walk 
before  the  Catholic  doctors  with  a  basket  of 
barley,  what  a  deal  of  ink  and  blood  would  be 
saved  to  mankind. 

Because  the  Catholics  are  intolerant  we  will  be 
intolerant ;  but  did  any  body  ever  hear  before 
that  a  government  is  to  imitate  the  vices  of  its 
subjects  1  If  the  Irish  were  a  rash,  violent, 
and  intemperate  race,  are  they  to  be  treated 
with  rashness,  violence,  and  intemperance  1 
If  they  were  addicted  to  fraud  and  falsehood, 
are  they  to  be  treated  by  those  who  rule  them 
with  fraud  and  falsehood  1  Are  there  to  be 
perpetual  races  in  error  and  vice  between  the 
people  and  the  lords  of  the  people  1  Is  the  su- 
preme power  always  to  find  virtues  among  the 
people ;  never  to  teach  them  by  example,  or 
improve  them  by  laws  and  institutions?  Make 
all  sects  free,  and  let  them  learn  the  value  of 
the  blessing  to  others,  by  their  own  enjoyment 
of  it;  but  if  not,  let  them  learn  it  by  your  vigi- 
lance and  firm  resistance  to  every  thing  intole- 
rant. Toleration  will  then  become  a  habit 
and  a  practice,  ingrafted  upon  the  manners  of 
a  people,  when  they  find  the  law  too  strong  for 
them,  and  that  there  is  no  use  in  being  intole- 
rant. 

It  is  very  true  that  the  Catholics  have  a 
double  allegiance,*  but  it  is  equally  true  that 
their  second  or  spiritual  allegiance  has  nothing 
to  do  with  civil  policy,  and  does  not,  in  the 
most  distant  manner,  interfere  with  their  alle- 
giance to  the  crown.  What  is  meant  by  alle- 
giance to  the  crown,  is,  I  presume,  obedience 
to  acts  of  Parliament,  and  a  resistance  to  those 
who  are  constitutionally  proclaimed  to  be  the 
enemies  of  the  country.  I  have  seen  and  heard 
of  no  instance,  for  this  century  and  a  half  last 
past,  where  the  spiritual  sovereign  has  pre- 
sumed to  meddle  with  the  aff'airs  of  the  tempo- 
ral sovereign.  The  Catholics  deny  him  such 
power  by  the  most  solemn  oaths  which  the  wit 
of  man  can  devise.  In  every  war,  the  army 
and  navy  are  full  of  Catholic  officers  and  sol- 
diers ;  and  if  their  allegiance  in  temporal  mat- 
ters is  unimpeachable  and  unimpeached,  what 
matters  to  whom  they  choose  to  pay  spiritual 
obedience,  and  to  adopt  as  their  guide  in  genu- 
flexion and  psalmody?  Suppose  these  same 
Catholics  were  foolish  enough  to  be  governed 
by  a  set  of  Chinese  moralists  in  their  diet,  this 
would  be  a  third  allegiance  ;  and  if  they  were 
regulated  by  Brahmins  in  their  dress,  this 
would  be  a  fourth  allegiance ;  and  if  they  re- 
ceived the  directions  of  the  Patriarch  of  the 
Greek  Church,  in  educating  their  children,  here 
is  another  allegiance:  and  as  long  as  they 
fought,  and  paid  taxes,  and  kept  clear  of  the 
quarter  sessions  and  assizes,  what  matters 
*  how  many  fanciful  supremacies  and  frivolous 
allegiances  they  choose  to  manufacture  or  ac- 
cumulate for  themselves  1 

A  great  deal  of  time  would  be  spared,  if  gen- 
tlemen, before  they  ordered  their  post-chaises 

*  The  same  double  allegiance  exists  in  every  Catholic 
country  in  Europe.  The  spiritual  head  of  the  country 
amone  French,  Spanish,  and  Austrian  Catholics,  is  the 
pope  ;  llie  political  head,  the  king  or  emperor. 


for  a  no-Popery  meeting,  would  read  the  most 
elementary  defence  of  these  people,  and  inform 
themselves  even  of  the  rudiments  of  the  ques- 
tion. If  the  Catholics  meditate  the  resumptioa 
of  the  Catholic  property,  why  do  they  purchase 
that  which  they  know  (if  the  fondest  object  of 
their  political  life  succeed)  must  be  taken 
away  from  them  ]  Why  is  not  an  attempt 
made  to  purchase  a  quietus  from  the  rebel  who 
is  watching  the  blessed  revolutionary  moment 
for  regaining  his  possessions,  and  revelling  in 
the  unbounded  sensuality  of  mealy  and  waxy 
enjoyments  1  But  after  all,  who  are  the  de- 
scendants of  the  rightful  possessors  1  The 
estate  belonged  to  the  O'Rourkes,  who  were 
hanged,  drawn  and  quartered  in  the  time  of 
Cromwell:  true,  but  before  that,  it  belonged  to 
the  O'Connors,  who  were  hanged,  drawn  and 
quartered  in  the  time  of  Henry  VII.  The 
O'SuUivans  have  a  still  earlier  plea  of  suspen- 
sion, evisceration  and  division.  Who  is  the 
rightful  possessor  of  the  estate  1  We  forget 
that  Catholic  Ireland  has  been  murdered  three 
times  over  by  its  Protestant  masters. 

Mild  and  genteel  people  do  not  like  the  idea 
of  persecution,  and  are  advocates  for  tolera- 
tion ;  but  then  they  think  it  no  act  of  intole- 
rance to  deprive  Catholics  of  political  power. 
The  history  of  all  this  is,  that  all  men  secretly 
like  to  punish  others  for  not  being  of  the  same 
opinion  with  themselves,  and  that  this  sort  of 
privation  is  the  only  species  of  persecution,  of 
which  the  improved  feeling  and  advanced 
cultivation  of  the  age  will  admit.  Fire  and 
fagot,  chains  and  stone  walls,  have  been  cla- 
moured away  ;  nothing  remains  but  to  mortify 
a  man's  pride,  and  to  limit  his  resources,  and 
to  set  a  mark  upon  him,  by  cutting  him  off 
from  his  fair  share  of  political  power.  By 
this  receipt,  insolence  is  gratified,  and  humani- 
ty is  not  shocked.  The  gentlest  Protestant  can 
see,  with  dry  eyes.  Lord  Stourton  excluded 
from  Parliament,  though  he  would  abominate 
the  most  distant  idea  of  personal  cruelty  to  Mr. 
Petre.  This  is  only  to  say  that  he  lives  in  the 
nineteenth,  instead  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  that  he  is  as  intolerant  in  religious  matters 
as  the  state  of  manners  existing  in  his  age  will 
permit.  Is  it  not  the  same  spirit  which  wounds 
the  pride  of  a  fellow-creature  on  account  of  his 
faith,  or  which  casts  his  body  into  the  flames  1 
Are  they  any  thing  else  but  degrees  and  modi- 
fications of  the  same  principle?  The  minds 
of  these  two  men  no  more  difl^er  because 
they  differ  in  their  degrees  of  punishment,  than 
their  bodies  differ,  because  one  wore  a  doublet 
in  the  time  of  Mary,  and  the  other  wears  a  coat 
in  the  reign  of  George.  I  do  not  accuse  them 
of  intentional  cruelty  and  injustice;  I  am  sure 
there  are  very  many  excellent  men  who  would 
be  shocked  if  they  could  conceive  themselves 
to  be  guilty  of  any  thing  like  cruelty;  but  they 
innocently  give  a  wrong  name  to  the  bad  spirit 
which  is  within  them,  and  think  they  are  tole- 
rant, because  they  are  not  as  intolerant  as  they 
could  have  been  in  other  times,  but  cannot 
be  now.  The  true  spirit  is  to  search  after  God 
and  for  another  life  with  lowliness  of  heart;  Id 
fling  down  no  man's  altar,  to  punish  no  man's 
prayer;  to  heap  no  penalties  and  no  pains  on 
those   solemn   supplications   which,  in  divers 


440 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


tongues,  and  in  varied  forms,  and  in  temples 
of  a  thousand  shapes,  but  with  one  deep  sense 
of  human  dependence,  men  pour  forth  to  God. 

It  is  completely  untrue  that  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion is  what  it  was  three  centuries  ago,  or 
that  it  is  unchangeable  and  unchanged.  These 
are  mere  words,  without  the  shadow  of  truth  to 
support  them.  If  the  pope  were  to  address  a 
bull  to  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  excommunicat- 
ing the  Duke  of  York,  and  cutting  him  off  from 
the  succession,  for  his  Protestant  effusion  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  he  would  be  laughed  at  as 
a  lunatic  in  all  the  Catholic  chapels  in  Dublin. 
The  Catholics  would  not  now  burn  Protestants  as 
heretics.  In  many  parts  of  Europe,  Catholics 
and  Protestants  worship  in  one  church — Catho- 
lics at  eleven,  Protestants  at  one;  they  sit  in  the 
same  Parliament,  are  elected  to  the  same  office, 
live  together  without  hatred  or  friction,  under 
equal  laws.  Who  can  see  and  know  these 
things,  and  say  that  the  Catholic  religion  is 
unchangeable  and  unchanged "? 

I  have  often  endeavoured  to  reflect  upon  the 
causes  which,  from  time  to  time,  raised  such 
a  clainour  against  the  Catholics,  and  I  think 
the  following  are  among  the  most  conspicuous  : 

1.  Historical  recollections  of  the  cruelties 
inflicted  upon  the  Protestants. 

2.  Theological  differences. 

3.  A  belief  that  the  Catholics  are  unfriendly 
to  liberty. 

4.  That  their  morality  is  not  good. 

5.  That  they  meditate  the  destruction  of  the 
Protestant  Church. 

6.  An  unprincipled  clamour  by  men  who 
have  no  sort  of  belief  in  the  danger  of  emanci- 
pation, but  who  make  use  of  no  Popery  as  a 
political  engine. 

7.  A  mean  and  selfish  spirit  of  denying  to 
others  the  advantages  we  ourselves  enjoy. 

8.  A  vindictive  spirit  or  love  of  punishing 
others,  who  offend  our  self-love  by  presuming, 
on  important  points,  to  entertain  opinions  op- 
posite to  our  own. 

9.  Stupid  compliance  with  the  opinions  of 
the  majority. 

10.  To  these  I  must,  in  justice  and  candour, 
add,  as  a  tenth  cause,  a  real'  apprehension  on 
the  part  of  honest  and  reasonable  men,  that  it 
is  dangerous  to  grant  farther  concessions  to  the 
Catholics. 

To  these  various  causes  I  shall  make  a  short 
reply,  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  placed 
them. 

1.  Mere  historical  recollections  are  very 
miserable  reasons  for  the  continuation  of 
penal  and  incapacitating  laws,  and  one  side 
has  as  much  to  recollect  as  the  other. 

2.  The  state  has  nothing  to  do  with  questions 
purely  theological. 

3.  It  is  ill  to  say  this  in  a  country  whose 
free  institutions  were  founded  by  Catholics, 
and  it  is  often  said  by  men  who  care  nothing 
about  free  institutions. 

4.  It  is  not  true. 

o.  Make  their  situation  so  comfortable,  that 
it  will  not  be  worth  their  while  to  attempt  an 
enterprise  so  desperate. 

6.  This  is  an  unfair  political  trick,  because 
it  is  too  dangerous ;  it  is  spoiling  the  table  in 
order  to  win  the  game. 


The  7th  and  8th  causes  exercise  a  great 
share  of  influence  in  every  act  of  intolerance. 
The  9th  must,  of  course,  comprehend  the 
greatest  number. 

10.  Of  the  existence  of  such  a  class  of  no 
Poperists  as  this,  it  would  be  the  height  of  in- 
justice to  doubt,  but  I  confess  it  excites  in  me 
a  very  great  degree  of  astonishment. 

Suppose,  after  a  severe  struggle,  you  put  the 
Irish  down,  if  they  are  mad  and  foolish  enough 
to  recur  to  open  violence ;  yet  are  the  retarded 
industry,  and  the  misapplied  energies  of  so 
many  millions  of  men  to  go  for  nothing  1  Is  it 
possible  to  forget  all  the  wealth,  peace  and 
happiness  which  are  to  be  sacrificed  for  twenty 
years  to  come,  to  these  pestilential  and  dis- 
graceful squabbles  1  Is  there  no  horror  in 
looking  forward  to  a  long  period  in  which  men, 
instead  of  ploughing  and  spinning,  will  curse 
and  hate,  and  burn  and  murder  1 

There  seems  to  me  a  sort  of  injustice  and 
impropriety  in  our  deciding  at  all  upon  the 
Catholic  question.  It  should  be  left  to  those 
Irish  Protestants  whose  shutters  are  bullet- 
proof; whose  dinner-table  is  regularly  spread 
with  knife,  fork,  and  cocked  pistol ;  salt  cellar 
and  powder-flask.  Let  the  opinion  of  those 
persons  be  resorted  to,  who  sleep  in  sheet-iron 
night-caps ;  who  have  fought  so  often  and  so 
nobly  before  their  scullery  door,  and  defended 
the  parlour  passage  as  bravely  as  Leonidas  de- 
fended the  pass  of  Thermopylae.  The  Irish 
Protestant  members  see  and  know  the  state  of 
their  own  country.  Let  their  votes  decide* 
the  case.  We  are  quiet  and  at  peace ;  our 
homes  may  be  defended  with  a  feather,  and 
our  doors  fastened  with  a  pin ;  and  as  ignorant 
of  what  armed  and  insulted  Popery  is,  as  we 
are  of  the  state  of  New  Zealand,  we  pretend  to 
regulate  by  our  clamours  the  religious  factions 
of  Ireland. 

It  is  a  very  pleasant  thing  to  trample  upon 
Catholics,  and  it  is  also  a  very  pleasant  thing 
to  have  an  immense  number  of  pheasants  run- 
ning about  your  woods  ;  but  there  come  thirty 
or  forty  poachers  in  the  night,  and  fight  with 
thirty  or  forty  game  preservers ;  some  are 
killed,  some  fractured,  some  scalped,  some 
maimed  for  life.  Poachers  are  caught  up  and 
hanged ;  a  vast  body  of  hatred  and  revenge 
accumulates  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  great 
man ;  and  he  says  "  the  sport  is  not  worth  the 
candle.  The  preservation  of  game  is  a  very 
agreeable  thing,  but  I  will  not  sacrifice  the 
happiness  of  my  life  to  it.  This  amusement, 
like  any  other,  may  be  purchased  too  dearly." 
So  it  is  with  the  Irish  Protestants ;  they  are 
finding  out  that  Catholic  exclusion  may  be 
purchased  too  dearly.  Maimed  cattle,  fired 
ricks,  threatening  letters,  barricadoed  houses, 
to  endure  all  this,  is  to  purchase  superiority  at 
too  dear  a  rate,  and  this  is  the  inevitable  state 
of  two  parties,  the  one  of  whom  are  unwilling 
to  relinquish  their  ancient  monopoly  of  power, 
while  the  other  party  have,  at  length,  disco- 
vered their  strength,  and  are  determined  to  be 
free. 

Gentlemen  (with  the  best  intentions,  I  am 


*  A  great  majority  of  Irish  "nembers  voted  for  Catholic 
emancipation. 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


441 


sure)  meet  together  in  a  county  town,  and 
enter  into  resolutions  that  no  farther  conces- 
sions are  to  be  made  to  the  Catholics ;  but  if 
you  will  not  let  them  into  Parliament,  why  not 
allow  them  to  be  king's  counsel,  or  Serjeants 
at  law  1  Why  are  they  excluded  by  law  from 
some  corporations  in  Ireland,  and  admissible, 
though  not  admitted,  to  others  1  I  think,  before 
such  general  resolutions  of  exclusion  are 
adopted,  and  the  rights  and  happiness  of  so 
many  millions  of  people  disposed  of,  it  would 
be  decent  and  proper  to  obtain  some  tolerable 
information  of  what  the  present  state  of  the 
Irish  Catholics  is,  and  of  the  vast  number  of 
insignificant  offices  from  which  they  are  ex- 
cluded. Keep  them  from  Parliament,  if  you 
think  it  right,  but  do  not,  therefore,  exclude 
them  from  any  thing  else,  to  which  you  think 
Catholics  may  be  fairly  admitted  without 
danger;  and  as  to  their  content  or  discontent, 
there  can  be  no  sort  of  reason  why  discontent 
should  not  be  lessened,  though  it  cannot  be 
removed. 

You  are  shocked  by  the  present  violence  and 
abuse  used  by  the  Irish  Association;  by  whom 
are  they  driven  to  it1  and  whom  are  you  to 
thank  for  it  1  Is  there  a  hope  left  to  them? 
Is  any  term  of  endurance  alluded  to  1  any  scope 
or  boundary  to  their  patience  1  Is  the  minister 
waiting  for  opportunities  1  Have  they  reason 
to  believe  that  they  are  wished  well  to  by  the 
greatest  of  the  great?  Have  they  brighter 
hopes  in  another  reign  7  Is  there  one  clear 
spot  in  the  horizon?  any  thing  that  you  have 
left  to  them,  but  that  disgust,  hatred  and 
despair,  which,  breaking  out  into  wild  elo- 
quence, and  acting  upon  a  wild  people,  are 
preparing  every  day  a  mass  of  treason  and  dis- 
affection, which  may  shake  this  empire  to  its 
very  centre  ?  and  you  may  laugh  at  Daniel 
O'Connell,  and  treat  him  with  contempt,  and 
turn  his  metaphors  into  ridicule ;  but  Daniel 
has,  after  all,  a  great  deal  of  real  and  powerful 
eloquence ;  and  a  strange  sort  of  misgiving 
sometimes  comes  across  me,  that  Daniel  and 
the  doctor  are  not  quite  so  great  fools  as  many 
most  respectable  country  clergymen  believe 
them  to  be. 

You  talk  of  their  abuse  of  the  Reformation, 
but  is  there  any  end  to  the  obloquy  and  abuse 
with  which  the  Catholics  are  upon  every  point, 
and  from  every  quarter,  assailed?  Is  there 
any  one  folly,  vice,  or  crime,  which  the  blind 
fury  of  Protestants  does  not  lavish  upon  them? 
and  do  you  suppose  all  this  is  to  be  heard  in 
silence,  and  without  retaliation  ?  Abuse  as 
much  as  you  please,  if  you  are  going  to  eman- 
cipate, but  if  you  intend  to  do  nothing  for  the 
Catholics  but  to  call  them  names,  you  must 
not  be  put  out  of  temper  if  you  receive  a  few 
ugly  appellations  in  return. 

The  great  object  of  men  who  love  party  bet- 
ter than  truth,  is  to  have  it  believed  that  the 
Catholics  alone  have  been  persecutors;  but 
what  can  be  more  flagrantly  unjust  than  to 
take  our  notions  of  history  only  from  the  con- 
quering and  triumphant  party?  If  you  think 
the  Catholics  have  not  their  Book  of  Martyrs 
as  well  as  the  Protestants,  take  the  following 
enumeration  of  some  of  their  most  learned  and 
careful  writers. 

56 


The  whole  number  of  Catholics  who  have 
suffered  death  in  England  for  the  exercise  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  since  the  Reforma- 
tion : 

Henry  VIIL,  ...  59 

Elizabeth,  -        -         .         204 

James  I.,  ...  25 

Charles  I.,  and    ')  „„ 

Commonwealth,  5         '        ' 
Charles  II.,  ...  8 


Total,  ...        319 

Henry  VIIL,  with  consummate  impartial- 
ity, burnt  three  Protestants  and  hanged  four 
Catholics  for  different  errors  in  religion  on  the 
same  day,  and  the  same  place.  Elizabeth 
burnt  two  Dutch  Anabaptists  for  some  theo- 
logical tenets,  .Tuly  22,  1575,  Fox  the  martyro- 
logist  vainly  pleading  with  the  queen  in  their 
favour.  In  1579,  the  same  Protestant  queen 
cut  off  the  hand  of  Stubbs,  the  author  of  a  tract 
against  popish  connection,  of  Singleton,  the 
printer,  and  Page,  the  disperser  of  the  book. 
Camden  saw  it  done.  Warburton  properly 
says  it  exceeds  in  cruelty  any  thing  done  by 
Charles  I.  On  the  4th  of  June,  Mr.  Elias 
Thacker  and  Mr.  John  Capper,  two  ministers 
of  the  Brownist  persuasion,  were  hanged  at  St. 
Edmundsbury,  for  dispersing  books  against 
the  Common  Prayer.  With  respect  to  the 
great  part  of  the  Catholic  victims,  the  law  was 
fully  and  literally  executed ;  after  being  hanged 
up,  they  were  cut  down  alive,  dismembered, 
ripped  up,  and  their  bowels  burnt  before  their 
faces ;  after  which,  they  were  beheaded  and 
quartered.  The  time  employed  in  this  butch- 
ery was  very  considerable,  and,  in  one  in- 
stance, lasted  more  than  half  an  hour. 

The  uncandid  excuse  for  all  this  is,  that  the 
greater  part  of  these  men  were  put  to  death 
for  political,  not  for  religious  crimes.  That 
is,  a  law  is  first  passed  making  it  high  treason 
for  a  priest  to  exercise  his  function  in  England, 
and  so,  when  he  is  caught  and  burnt,  this  is 
not  religious  persecution,  but  an  offence  against 
the  state.  We  are,  I  hope,  all  too  busy  to  need 
any  "answer  to  such  childish,  uncandid  reason- 
ing as  this. 

The  total  number  of  those  who  suffered  capi- 
tally in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  is  stated  by 
Dodd,  in  his  Church  History,*  to  be  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine;  further  inquiries  made 
their  number  to  be  two  hundred  and  four : 
fifteen  of  these  were  condemned  for  denying 
the  queen's  supremacy ;  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  for  the  exercise  of  priestly  functions ; 
and  the  others  for  being  reconciled  to  the 
Catholic  faith,  or  for  aiding  and  assisting 
priests.  In  this  list,  no  person  is  included  who 
was  executed  for  any  plot,  real  or  imaginary, 
except  eleven,  who  suffered  for  the  pretended 
plot  of  Rheims ;  a  plot,  which  Dr.  Milner  justly 
observes,  was  so  daring  a  forgery,  that  even 
Camden  allows  the  sufferers  to  have  been  po- 

*  The  total  number  of  sufferers  in  the  reisn  of  Queen 
Mary,  varies,  I  believe,  from  200  in  the  Catholic  to  280  in 
the  Protestant  accounts.  I  recommend  all  youn?  men 
who  wish  to  form  some  notion  of  what  answer  the 
Catholics  have  to  make,  to  read  Milner's  "Letters  to  a 
Prebendary,"  and  to  follow  the  line  of  reading  to  which 
his  references  lead.  They  will  then  learn  the  importanco 
of  that  sacred  maxim,  ^udi  alteram  partem. 


442 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


litical  victims.  Besides  these,  mention  is 
made  in  the  same  work  of  ninety  Catholic 
priests,  or  laymen,  who  died  in  prison  in  the 
same  reign.  "About  the  same  time,"  he  says, 
"I  find  fifty  gentlemen  lying  prisoners  in  York 
Castle ;  most  of  them  perished  there,  of  vermin, 
famine,  hunger,  thirst,  dirt,  damp,  fever,  whip- 
ping, and  broken  hearts,  the  inseparable  cir- 
cumstances of  prisons  in  those  days.  These 
were  every  week,  for  a  twelve-month  together, 
dragged  by  main  force  to  hear  the  established 
service  performed  in  the  castle  chapel."  The 
Catholics  were  frequently,  during  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  tortured  in  the  most  dreadful  man- 
ner. In  order  to  extort  answers  from  Father 
Campian,  he  was  laid  on  the  rack,  and  his 
Kmbs  stretched  a  little,  to  show  him,  as  the 
executioner  termed  it,  what  the  rack  was.  He 
persisted  in  his  refusal;  then  for  several  days 
successively,  the  torture  was  increased,  and 
on.  the  last  two  occasions  he  was  so  cruelly 
rent  and  torn,  that  he  expected  to  expire  under 
the  torment.  While  under  the  rack,  he  called 
continually  upon  God.  In  the  reign  of  the 
Protestant  Edward  VI.,  Joan  Knell  was  burnt 
to  death,  and  the  year  after,  George  Parry  Avas 
burnt  also.  In  1575,  two  Protestants,  Peterson 
and  Turwort,  (as  before  stated,)  were  burnt  to 
death  by  Elizabeth.  In  1589,  under  the  same 
queen,  Lewes,  a  Protestant,  was  burnt  to  death 
at  Norwich,  where  Francis  Kett  was  also  burnt 
for  religious  opinions  in  1589,  under  the  same 
great  queen,  who,  in  1591,  hanged  the  Protest- 
ant Hacket  for  heresy,  in  Cheapside,  and  put 
to  death  Greenwood,  Barrow,  and  Penry,  for 
being  Brownists.  Southwell,  a  Catholic,  was 
racked  ten  times  during  the  reign  of  this  sister 
of  bloody  Queen  Mary.  In  1592,  Mrs.  Ward 
was  hanged,  drawn  and  quartered,  for  assisting 
a  Catholic  priest  to  escape  in  a  box.  Mrs. 
Lyne  suffered  the  same  punishment  for  har- 
bouring a  priest;  and  in  1586,  Mrs.  Clitheroe, 
who  was  accused  of  relieving  a  priest,  and  re- 
fused to  plead,  was  pressed  to  death  in  York 
Castle  ;  a  sharp  stone  being  placed  underneath 
her  back. 

Have  not  Protestants  persecuted  both  Catho- 
lics and  their  fellow  Protestants  in  Germany, 
Switzerland, Geneva,  France, Holland,  Sweden, 
and  England  1  Look  to  the  atrocious  punish- 
ment of  Leighton  under  Laud,  for  writing 
against  prelacy;  first,  his  ear  was  cut  off,  then 
his  nose  slit ;  then  the  other  ear  cut  off,  then 
whipped  again.  Look  to  the  horrible  cruelties 
exercised  by  the  Protestant  Episcopalians  on 
the  Scottish  Presbyterians,  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.,  of  whom  8000  are  said  to  have 
perished  in  that  persecution.  Persecutions  of 
Protestants  by  Protestants,  are  amply  detailed 
by  Chandler,  in  his  History  of  Persecution ;  by 
Neale,  in  his  History  of  the  Puritans ;  by  Laing, 
in  his  History  of  Scotland ;  by  Penn,  in  his 
Life  of  Fox;  and  in  Brandt's  History  of  the 
Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries ;  which 
furnishes  many  very  terrible  cases  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  Anabaptists  and  Remonstrants. 
In  1560,  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  decreed,  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  the  establishment  of 
Calvinism,  and  the  punishmentof  death  against 
the  ancient  religion  :  "With  such  indecent  haste 
(says  Robertson)  did  the  very  persons  who  had 


just  escaped  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  proceed  to 
imitate  their  example."  Nothing  can  be  so 
absurd  as  to  suppose,  that  in  barbarous  ages, 
the  excesses  were  all  committed  by  one  religious 
party,  and  none  by  the  other.  The  Huguenots 
of  France  burnt  churches,  and  hung  priests, 
wherever  they  found  them.  Froumenteau,  one 
of  their  own  writers,  confesses,  that  in  the 
single  province  of  Dauphiny,  they  killed  two 
hundred  and  twenty  priests,  and  one  hundred 
and  twelve  friars.  In  the  Low  Countries, 
wherever  Vandemerk  and  Sonoi,  lieutenants 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  carried  their  arms, 
they  uniformly  put  to  death,  and  in  cold  blood, 
all  the  priests  and  religious  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on.  The  Protestant  Servetus  was 
put  to  death  by  the  Protestants  of  Geneva,  for 
denying  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  the 
Protestant  Gentilis  was,  on  the  same  score,  by 
those  of  Berne ;  add  to  these,  Felix  Mans,  Rot- 
man,  and  Barnevald.  Of  Servetus,  Melancthon, 
the  mildest  of  men,  declared  that  he  deserved 
to  have  his  bowels  pulled  out,  and  his  body 
torn  to  pieces.  The  last  fires  of  persecution 
which  were  lighted  in  England,  were  by  Pro- 
testants. Bartholomew  Legate,  an  Arian,  was 
burnt  by  order  of  King  James  in  Smithfield, 
on  the  18th  of  March,  1613;  on  the  11th  of 
April,  in  the  same  3'ear,  Edward  Weightman 
was  burnt  at  Litchfield,  by  order  of  the  Pro- 
testant Bishop  of  Litchfield  and  Coventry ;  and 
this  man  was,  /  believe,  the  last  person  Avho  was 
burnt  in  England  for  heresy.  There  was 
another  condemned  to  the  fire  for  the  same 
heresy,  but  as  pity  was  excited  by  the  con- 
stancy of  these  sufferers,  it  was  thought  better 
to  allow  him  to  linger  on  a  miserable  life  in 
Newgate.  Fuller,  who  wrote  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.,  and  was  a  zealous  Church  of  Eng- 
land man,  speaking  of  the  burnings  in  question, 
says, "  It  may  appear  that  God  was  well  pleased 
with  them." 

There  are,  however,  grievous  faults  on  both 
sides :  and  as  there  are  a  set  of  men,  who,  not 
content  with  retaliating  upon  Protestants,  deny 
the  persecuting  spirit  of  the  Catholics,  I  would 
ask  them  what  they  think  of  the  following  code, 
drawn  up  by  the  French  Catholics  against  the 
French  Protestants,  and  carried  into  execution 
for  one  hundred  years,  and  as  late  as  the  year 
1765,  and  not  repealed  till  17821 

"  Any  Protestant  clergyman  remaining  in 
France  three  days,  without  coming  to  the 
Catholic  worship,  to  be  punished  with  death. 
If  a  Protestant  sends  his  son  to  a  Protestant 
schoolmaster  for  education,  he  is  to  forfeit  250 
livres  a  month,  and  the  schoolmaster  who  re- 
ceives him,  50  livres.  If  they  sent  their  child- 
ren to  any  seminary  abroad,  they  were  to  forfeit 
2000  livres,  and  the  child  so  sent,  became  in- 
capable of  possessing  property  in  France.  To 
celebrate  Protestant  worship,  exposed  the 
clergyman  to  a  fine  of  2800  livres.  The  fine 
to  a  Protestant  for  hearing  it,  was  1300  livres. 
If  any  Protestant  denied  the  authority  of  the 
pope  in  France,  his  goods  were  seized  for  the 
first  offence,  and  he  was  hanged  for  the  second. 
If  any  Common  Prayer-book,  or  book  of  Pro- 
testant worship  be  found  in  the  possession  of 
any  Protestant,  he  shall  forfeit  20  livres  for  the 
first  offence,  40  livres  for  the  second,  and  shall 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


443 


be  imprisoned  at  pleasure  for  the  third.  Any 
person  bringing  from  beyond  sea,  or  selling 
any  Protestant  books  of  worship,  to  forfeit  100 
livres.  Any  magistrates  may  search  Protestant 
houses  for  such  articles.  Any  person,  required 
by  a  magistrate  to  take  an  oath  against  the 
Protestant  religion,  and  refusing,  to  be  com- 
mitted to  prison,  and  if  he  afterwards  refuse 
again,  to  suffer  forfeiture  of  goods.  Any 
person,  sending  any  money  over  sea  to  the 
support  of  a  Protestant  seminary,  to  forfeit  his 
goods,  and  be  imprisoned  at  the  king's  pleasure. 
Any  person  going  over  sea,  for  Protestant  edu- 
cation, to  forfeit  goods  and  lands  for  life.  The 
vessel  to  be  forfeited  which  conveyed  any 
Protestant  woman  or  child  over  sea,  Avithout 
the  king's  license.  Any  person  converting 
another  to  the  Protestant  religion,  to  be  put  to 
death.  Death  to  any  Protestant  priest  to  come 
into  France ;  death  to  the  person  who  receives 
him ;  forfeiture  of  goods  and  imprisonment  to 
send  money  for  the  relief  of  any  Protestant 
clergyman :  large  rewards  for  discovering  a 
Protestant  parson.  Every  Protestant  shall 
cause  his  child,  within  one  month  after  birth, 
to  be  baptized  by  a  Catholic  priest,  under  a 
penalty  of  2000  livres.  Protestants  were  fined 
4000  livres  a-month  for  being  absent  from 
Catholic  worship,  were  disabled  from  holding 
offices  and  employments,  from  keeping  arms 
in  their  houses,  from  maintaining  suits  at  law, 
from  being  guardians,  from  practising  in  law 
or  physic,  and  from  holding  offices,  civil  or 
military.  The)'  were  forbidden  (bravo,  Louis 
XIV.!)  to  travel  more  than  five  miles  from 
home  without  license,  under  pain  of  forfeiting 
all  their  goods,  and  they  might  not  come  to 
court  under  pain  of  2000  livres.  A  married 
Protestant  woman  when  convicted  of  being  of 
that  persuasion  was  liable  to  forfeit  two-thirds 
of  her  jointure ;  she  could  not  be  executrix  to 
her  husband,  nor  have  any  part  of  his  goods  ; 
and  during  her  marriage,  she  might  be  kept  in 
prison,  unless  her  husband  redeemed  her  at 
the  rate  of  200  livres  a-month,  or  the  third  part 
of  his  lands.  Protestants  convicted  of  being 
such,  were,  within  three  months  after  their 
conviction,  either  to  submit,  and  renounce  their 
religion,  or,  if  required  by  four  magistrates,  to 
abjure  the  realm,  and  if  they  did  not  depart,  or 
departing  returned,  were  to  suffer  death.  All 
Protestants  were  required,  under  the  most  tre- 
mendous penalties,  to  swear  that  they  con- 
sidered the  pope  as  the  head  of  the  church.  If 
they  refused  to  take  this  oath,  which  might  be 
tendered  at  pleasure  by  any  two  magistrates, 
they  could  not  act  as  advocates,  procureurs,  or 
notaries  public.  Any  Protestant  taking  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  was  compelled  to  abjure 
the  Protestant  religion  ;  to  declare  his  belief  in 
the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  and  to  take 
the  Roman  Catholic  sacrament  within  six 
months,  under  the  penalty  of  10,000  livres. 
Any  person  professing  the  Protestant  religion, 
and  educated  in  the  same,  was  required,  in  six 
months  after  the  age  of  sixteen,  to  declare  the 
pope  to  be  the  head  of  the  church  ;  to  declare 
his  belief  in  transubstantiation,  and  that  the 
invocation  of  saints  was  according  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Christian  religion  ;  failing  this,  he 
could  not  hold,  possess,  or  inherit  landed  pro- 


perty; his  lands  were  given  to  the  nearest 
Catholic  relation.  Many  taxes  were  doubled 
upon  Protestants.  Protestants  keeping  schools 
were  imprisoned  for  life,  and  all  Protestants 
were  forbidden  to  come  within  ten  miles  of 
Paris  or  Versailles.  If  any  Protestant  had  a 
horse  worth  more  than  100  livres,  any  Catholic 
magistrate  might  take  it  away,  and  search  the 
house  of  the  said  Protestant  for  arms."  Is  not 
this  a  monstrous  code  of  persecution  1  Is  it 
any  wonder,  after  reading  such  a  spirit  of 
tyranny  as  is  here  exhibited,  that  the  tendencies 
of  the  Catholic  religion  should  be  suspected, 
and  that  the  cry  of  no  Popery  should  be  a 
rallying   sign  to   every  Protestant   nation   in 

Europe  1 Forgive,  gentle  reader,  and 

gentle  elector,  the  trilling  deception  I  have 
practised  upon  you.  This  code  is  not  a  code 
made  by  French  Catholics  against  French 
Protestants,  but  by  English  and  Irish  Protest- 
ants against  English  and  Irish  Catholics;  I 
have  given  it  to  you,  for  the  most  part,  as  it  is 
set  forth  in  Burns'  "Justice"  of  1780:  it  was 
acted  upon  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  king's 
reign,  and  Avas  notorious  through  the  whole  of 
Europe,  as  the  most  cruel  and  atrocious  system 
of  persecution  ever  instituted  by  one  religious 
persuasion  against  another.  Of  this  code,  Mr. 
Burke  says,  that "  it  is  a  truly  barbarous  system; 
where  all  the  parts  are  an  outrage  on  the  laws 
of  humanity,  and  the  rights  of  nature ;  it  is  a 
system  of  elaborate  contrivance,  as  well  fitted 
for  the  oppression,  imprisonment,  and  degra- 
dation of  a  people,  and  the  debasement  of 
human  nature  itself,  as  ever  proceeded  from 
the  perverted  ingenuity  of  man."  It  is  in  vain 
to  say  that  these  cruelties  were  laws  of  politi- 
cal safety;  such  has  always  been  the  plea  for 
all  religious  cruelties ;  by  such  arguments  the 
Catholics  defended  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew, and  the  burnings  of  Mary. 

With  such  facts  as  these,  the  ciy  of  persecu- 
tion will  not  do  ;  it  is  unwise  to  make  it, 
because  it  can  be  so  very  easily,  and  so  very 
justly  retorted.  The  business  is,  to  forget  and 
forgive,  to  kiss  and  be  friends,  and  to  say 
nothing  of  what  has  past,  which  is  to  the  credit 
of  neither  party.  There  have  been  atrocious 
cruelties,  and  abominable  acts  of  injustice  on 
both  sides.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  contend 
who  shed  the  most  blood,  or  whether  (as  Dr. 
Sturgess  objects  to  Dr.  Milner)  death  by  fire 
is  worse  than  hanging  or  starving  in  prison 
As  far  as  England  itself  is  concerned,  the 
balance  may  be  better  preserved.  Cruelties 
exercised  upon  the  Irish  go  for  nothing  in 
English  reasoning;  but  if  it  were  not  uncandid 
and  vexatious  to  consider  Irish  persecutions* 
as  part  of  the  case,  I  firmly  believe  there  have 
been  two  Catholics  put  to  death  for  religious 
causes  in  Great  Britain  for  one  Protestant  who 
has  suffered;  not  that  this  proves  much,  be- 
cause the  Catholics  have  enjoyed  the  sovereign 
power  for  so  few  years  between  this  period 


*  Thurloe  writes  to  Henry  Cromwell  to  catch  up  soma 
thousand  Irish  boys,  to  send  to  the  colonies.  Henry 
writes  back  he  has'done  so ;  and  desires  to  know  whether 
his  higlmess  would  choose  as  many  girls  to  be  caueht  up  : 
and  he  adds,  "doubtless  it  is  a  business,  in  which  God 
will  ajipear."  Pimpose  bloodii  Queen  Marti  had  caught 
up  and  transported  three  or  four  thousand  Protestant 
boys  and  girls  from  the  three  ridings  of  Vorkshire  ! :  1 !  1 1 


iU 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


and  the  Reformation,  and  certainly  it  must  be 
allowed  that  they  were  not  inactive,  during 
that  period,  in  the  great  work  of  pious  com- 
bustion. 

It  is,  however,  some  extenuation  of  the 
Catholic  excesses,  that  their  religion  was  the 
religion  of  the  whole  of  Europe,  when  the  in- 
novation began.  They  were  the  ancient  lords 
and  masters  of  faith,  before  men  introduced 
the  practice  of  thinking  for  themselves  in  these 
matters.  The  Protestants  have  less  excuse, 
who  claimed  the  right  of  innovation,  and  then 
turned  round  upon  other  Protestants  who  acted 
upon  the  same  principle,  or  upon  Catholics 
who  remained  as  they  were,  and  visited  them 
with  all  the  cruelties  from  which  they  had 
themselves  so  recently  escaped. 

Both  sides,  as  they  acquired  power,  abused 
it;  and  both  learnt,  from  their  sufferings,  the 
great  secret  of  toleration  and  forbearance.  If 
you  wish  to  do  good  in  the  times  in  which  you 
live,  contribute  your  efforts  to  perfect  this 
grand  work.  I  have  not  the  most  distant  in- 
tention to  interfere  in  local  politics,  but  I 
advise  you  never  to  give  a  vote  to  any  man. 


whose  only  title  for  asking  it  is,  that  he  means 
to  continue  the  punishments,  privations,  and 
incapacities  of  any  human  beings,  merely  be- 
cause they  worship  God  in  the  way  they  think 
best :  the  man  who  asks  for  your  vote  upon 
such  a  plea,  is,  probably,  a  very  weak  man,  who 
believes  in  his  own  bad  reasoning,  or  a  very 
artful  man,  who  is  laughing  at  you  for  your 
credulity :  at  all  events,  he  is  a  man  who, 
knowingly  or  unknowingly,  exposes  his  country 
to  the  greatest  dangers,  and  hands  down  to 
posterity  all  the  foolish  opinions  and  all  the 
bad  passions  which  prevail  in  those  times  in 
which  he  happens  to  live.  Such  a  man  is  so 
far  from  being  that  friend  to  the  church  which 
he  pretends  to  be,  that  he  declares  its  safety 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  franchises  of 
the  people ;  for  what  worse  can  be  said  of  the 
Church  of  England  than  this,  that  wherever  it 
is  judged  necessary  to  give  it  a  legal  establish- 
ment, it  becomes  necessary  to  deprive  the 
body  of  the  people,  if  they  adhere  to  their  old 
opinions,  of  their  liberties,  and  of  all  their  free 
customs,  and  to  reduce  them  to  a  state  of  civil 
servitude  1  Sydney  Smith. 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


44S 


A  SERMON 


RULES  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARITY  BY  WHICH  OUR  OPINIONS 
OF  OTHER  SECTS  SHOULD  BE  FORMED: 

PREACHED 

BEFORE    THE    MAYOR   AND    CORPORATION,  IN    THE    CATHEDRAL    CHURCH    OF    BRISTOL,  ON 
WEDNESDAY,   NOVEMBER   5,  1828. 


I  PUBLISH  this  sermon  (or  rather  allow  others  to  publish  it),  because  many  persons,  who 
know  the  city  of  Bristol  better  than  I  do,  have  earnestly  solicited  me  to  do  so,  and  are  con- 
vinced it  will  do  good.  It  is  not  without  reluctance  (as  far  as  I  myself  am  concerned)  that  I 
send  to  the  press  such  plain  rudiments  of  common  charity  and  common  sense. 

SxDifET  Smith. 
Nov.  8,  1828. 


Col.  III.  12,  13. 
"  Put  on,  as  the  elect  of  God,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mitid,  meekness,  long-suffering,  forbearing  one 

another,  and  forgiving  one  another" 


The  Church  of  England,  in  its  wisdom  and 
piety,  has  very  properly  ordained  that  a  day 
of  thanksgiving  should  be  set  apart,  in  which 
we  may  return  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  the 
mercies  vouchsafed  to  this  nation  in  their 
escape  from  the  dreadful  plot  planned  for  the 
destruction  of  the  sovereign  and  his  Parlia- 
ment,— the  forerunner,  no  doubt,  of  such  san- 
guinary scenes  as  were  suited  to  the  manners 
of  that  age,  and  must  have  proved  the  inevit- 
able consequence  of  such  enormous  wicked- 
ness and  cruelty.  Such  an  escape  is  a  fair 
and  lawful  foundation  for  national  piety.  And 
it  is  a  comely  and  Christian  sight  to  see  the 
magistrates  and  high  authorities  of  the  land 
obedient  to  the  ordinances  of  the  church,  and 
holding  forth  to  their  fellow-subjects  a  wise 
example  of  national  gratitude  and  serious  de- 
votion. This  use  of  this  day  is  deserving  of 
every  commendation.  The  idea  that  Almighty 
God  does  sometimes  exercise  a  special  provi- 
dence for  the  preservation  of  a  whole  people 
is  justified  by  Scripture,  is  not  repugnant  to 
reason,  and  can  produce  nothing  but  feelings 
and  opinions  favourable  to  virtue  and  religion. 

Another  wise  and  lawful  use  of  this  day  is 
an  honest  self-congratulation  that  we  have 
burst  through  those  bands  which  the  Roman 
Catholic  priesthood  would  impose  upon  human 
judgment ;  that  the  Protestant  Church  not  only 
permits,  but  exhorts,  every  man  to  appeal  from 
human  authority  to  the  Scriptures ;  that  it 
makes  of  the  clergy  guides  and  advisers,  not 
masters  and  oracles  ;  that  it  discourages  vain 
and  idle  ceremonies,  unmeaning  observances, 
and  hypocritical  pomp  ;  and  encourages  free- 
dom in  thinking  upon  religion,  and  simplicity 


in  religious  forms.  It  is  impossible  that  any 
candid  man  should  not  observe  the  marked 
superiority  of  the  Protestants  over  the  Catholic 
faith  in  these  particulars;  and  difficult  that 
any  pious  man  should  not  feel  grateful  to 
Almighty  Providence  for  escape  from  danger 
which  would  have  plunged  this  country  afresh 
into  so  many  errors  and  so  many  absurdities. 

I  hope,  in  this  condemnation  of  the  Catholic 
religion  (in  which  I  most  sincerely  join  its 
bitterest  enemies),  I  shall  not  be  so  far  mis- 
taken.as  to  have  it  supposed  that  I  would  con- 
vey the  slightest  approbation  of  any  laws 
which  disqualify  or  incapacitate  any  class  of 
men  from  civil  offices  on  account  of  religious 
opinions.  I  regard  all  such  laws  as  fatal  and 
lamentable  mistakes  in  legislation ;  they  are 
mistakes  of  troubled  times,  and  half-barbarous 
ages.  All  Europe  is  gradually  emerging  from 
their  influence.  This  country  has  lately,  with 
the  entire  consent  of  its  prelates,  made  a  noble 
and  successful  eflbrt,  by  the  abolition  of  some 
of  the  most  obnoxious  laws  of  this  class.  In 
proportion  as  such  example  is  followed,  the 
enemies  of  church  and  state  will  be  diminish- 
ed, and  the  foundation  of  peace,  order,  and 
happiness  be  strengthened.  These  are  my 
opinions,  which  I  mention,  not  to  convert  you, 
but  to  guard  myself  from  misrepresentation. 
It  is  my  duty, — it  is  my  wish, — it  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  day  to  point  out  those  evils  of  the 
Catholic  religion  from  which  we  have  escaped; 
but  I  should  be  to  the  last  degree  concerned, 
if  a  condemnation  of  theological  errors  were 
to  be  construed  into  an  approbation  of  laws 
which  I  cannot  but  consider  as  deeply  marked 
by  a  spirit  of  intolerance.  Therefore,  I  beg 
8P 


446 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


you  to  remember  that  I  record  these  opinions 
not  for  the  purpose  of  converting  any  one  to 
them,  which  would  be  an  abuse  of  the  privi- 
lege of  addressing  you  from  the  pulpit;  not 
that  I  attach  the  slightest  degree  of  importance 
to  them  because  they  are  mine  ;  but  merely  to 
guard  myself  from  misrepresentation  upon  a 
point  on  which  all  men's  passions  are,  at  this 
moment,  so  powerfully  excited. 

I  have  said  that,  at  this  moment,  all  men's 
passions  are  powerfully  excited  on  this  sub- 
ject. If  this  is  true,  it  points  out  to  me  my 
line  of  duty.  I  must  use  my  endeavours  to 
guard  against  the  abuse  of  this  day ;  to  take 
care  that  the  principles  of  sound  reason  are 
not  lost  sight  of;  and  that  such  excitement, 
instead  of  rising  into  dangerous  vehemence, 
is  calmed  into  active  and  useful  investigation 
of  the  subject. 

I  shall,  therefore,  on  the  present  occasion, 
not  investigate  generally  the  duties  of  charity 
and  forbearance.but  of  charity  and  forbearance 
in  religious  matters  ;  of  that  Christian  meek- 
ness and  humility  which  prevent  the  intrusion 
of  bad  passions  into  religious  concerns,  and 
keep  calm  and  pure  the  mind  intent  upon 
eternity.  And  remember,  I  beg  of  you,  that 
the  rules  I  shall  offer  you  for  the  observation 
of  Christian  charity  are  general,  and  of  uni- 
versal application.  What  you  choose  to  do, 
and  which  way  you  incline  upon  any  particu- 
lar question,  are,  and  can  be,  no  concern  of 
mine.  It  would  be  the  height  of  arrogance 
and  presumption  in  me,  or  in  any  other  minis- 
ter of  God's  word,  to  interfere  on  such  points; 
I  only  endeavour  to  teach  that  spirit  of  forbear- 
ance and  charity,  which  (though  it  cannot 
always  prevent  diflerences  upon  religious 
points)  will  ensure  that  these  differences  are 
carried  on  with  Christian  gentleness.  I  have 
endeavoured  to  lay  down  these  rules  for  differ- 
ence with  care  and  moderation  ;  and,  if  you 
will  attend  to  them  patiently,  I  think  you  will 
agree  with  me,  that,  however  the  practice  of 
them  may  be  forgotten,  the  propriety  of  them 
cannot  be  denied. 

It  would  always  be  easier  to  fall  in  with  hu- 
man passions  than  to  resist  them  ;  but  the 
ministers  of  God  must  do  their  duty  through 
evil  report,  and  through  good  report ;  neither 
prevented  nor  excited  by  the  interests  of  the 
present  day.  They  must  teach  those  general 
truths  which  the  Christian  religion  has  com- 
mitted to  their  care,  and  upon  which  the  hap- 
piness and  peace  of  the  Avorld  depend. 

In  pressing  upon  you  the  great  duty  of  reli- 
gious charity,  the  inutility  of  the  opposite  de- 
fect of  religious  violence  first  offers  itself  to, 
and,  indeed,  obtrudes  itself  upon  my  notice. 
The  evil  of  difference  of  opinion  must  exist; 
it  admits  of  no  cure.  The  wildest  visionary 
does  not  now  hope  he  can  bring  his  fellow- 
creatures  to  one  standard  of  faith.  If  history 
has  taught  us  any  one  thing,  it  is  that  man- 
kind, on  such  sort  of  subjects,  will  form  their 
own  opinions.  Therefore,  to  want  charity  in 
religious  matters  is  at  least  useless  ;  it  hardens 
error  and  provokes  recrimination  ;  but  it  does 
not  enlighten  those  whom  we  wish  to  reclaim, 
nor  does  it  extend  doctrines  which  to  us  ap- 
pear so  clear  and   indisputable.     But  to  do  | 


wrong,  and  to  gain  nothing  by  it,  are  surely  to 
add  folly  to  fault,  and  to  proclaim  an  under- 
standing not  led  by  the  rule  of  reason,  as  well 
as  a  disposition  unregulated  by  the  Christian 
faith. 

Religious  charity  requires  that  we  should 
not  judge  any  sect  of  Christians  by  the  repre- 
sentations of  their  enemies  alone,  without 
hearing  and  reading  what  they  have  to  say  in 
their  own  defence  ;  it  requires  only,  of  course, 
to  state  such  a  rule  to  procure  for  it  general 
admission.  No  man  can  pretend  to  say  that 
such  a  rule  is  not  founded  upon  the  plainest 
principles  of  justice — upon  those  plain  princi- 
ples of  justice  which  no  one  thinks  of  violating 
in  the  ordinary  concerns  of  life ;  and  yet  I  fear 
that  rule  is  not  always  very  strictly  adhered  to 
in  religious  animosities.  Religious  hatred  is 
often  founded  on  tradition,  often  on  hearsay, 
often  on  the  misrepresentations  of  notorious 
enemies  ;  without  inquiry,  without  the  slightest 
examination  of  opposite  reasons  and  authori- 
ties, or  consideration  of  that  which  the  accused 
party  has  to  offer  for  defence  or  explanation.  It 
is  impossible,  I  admit,  to  examine  every  thing ; 
many  have  not  talents,  many  have  not  leisure, 
for  such  pursuits ;  many  must  be  contented 
wdth  the  faith  in  which  they  have  been  brought 
up,  and  must  think  it  the  best  modification  of 
the  Christian  faith,  because  they  are  told  it  is 
so.  But  this  imperfect  acquaintance  with  re- 
ligious controversy,  though  not  blameable 
when  it  proceeds  from  want  of  power,  and 
want  of  opportunity,  can  be  no  possible  justi- 
fication of  violent  and  acrimonious  opinions. 
I  would  say  to  the  ignorant  man,  "It  is  not 
your  ignorance  I  blame ;  you  have  had  no 
means,  perhaps,  of  acquiring  knowledge:  the 
circumstances  of  your  life  have  not  led  to  it — 
may  have  prevented  it;  but  then  I  must  tell 
you,  if  you  have  not  had  leisure  to  inquire,  you 
have  no  right  to  accuse.  If  you  are  unacquaint- 
ed with  the  opposite  arguments, — or,  knowing, 
cannot  balance  them,  it  is  not  upon  you  the 
task  devolves  of  exposing  the  errors,  and  im- 
pugning the  opinions  of  other  sects."  If  cha- 
rity is  ever  necessary,  it  is  in  those  who  know 
accurately  neither  the  accusation  nor  the  de- 
fence. If  invective, — if  rooted  antipathy,  in 
religious  opinions,  is  ever  a  breach  of  Chris- 
tian rules,  it  is  so  in  those  who,  not  being  able 
to  become  wise,  are  not  willing  to  become 
charitable  and  modest. 

Any  candid  man,  acquainted  with  religious 
controversy,  will,  I  think,  admit  that  he  has 
frequently,  in  the  course  of  his  studies,  been 
astonished  by  the  force  of  arguments  with 
which  that  cause  has  been  defended,  which  he 
at  first  thought  to  be  incapable  of  any  defence 
at  all.  Some  accusations  he  has  found  to  be 
ixtterly  groundless ;  in  others  the  facts  and 
arguments  have  been  mis-stated  ;  in  other  in- 
stances the  accusation  has  been  retorted ;  in 
many  cases  the  tenets  have  been  defended  by 
strong  arguments  and  honest  appeal  to  Scrip- 
ture; in  many  with  consummate  acuteness 
and  deep  learning.  So  that  religious  studies 
often  teach  to  opponents  a  greater  respect  for 
each  other's  talents,  motives,  and  acquire- 
ments ;  exhibit  the  real  difficulties  of  the  sub« 
ject;  lessen  the  surpi'ise  and  auger  which  are 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


447 


apt  to  be  excited  by  opposition  ;  and,  by  these 
means,  promote  that  forgiving  one  another, 
and  forbearing  one  another,  which  are  so 
powerful.ly  recommended  by  the  words  of  my 
text. 

A  great  deal  of  mischief  is  done  by  not  at- 
tending to  the  limits  of  interference  with  each 
other's  religious  opinions, — by  not  leaving  to 
the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  that  which  be- 
longs to  God  alone.  Our  holy  religion  con- 
sists of  some  doctrines  which  influence  prac- 
tice, and  of  others  which  are  purely  specula- 
tive. If  religious  errors  are  of  the  former 
description,  they  may,  perhaps,  be  fair  objects 
of  human  interference;  but,  if  the  opinion  is 
merely  theological  and  speculative,  there  the 
right  of  human  interference  seems  to  end,  be- 
cause the  necessity  for  such  interference 
does  not  exist.  Any  error  of  this  nature  is 
between  the  Creator  and  the  creature, — be- 
tween the  Redeemer  and  the  redeemed.  If 
such  opinions  are  not  the  best  opinions  which 
can  be  found,  God  Almighty  will  punish  the 
error,  if  mere  error  seemeth  to  the  Almighty 
a  fit  object  of  punishment.  Why  may  not 
man  wait  if  God  waits  1  Where  are  we  called 
upon  in  Scripture  to  pursue  men  for  errors 
purely  speculative  ] — to  assist  Heaven  in 
punishing  those  offences  which  belong  only  to 
Heaven'? — in  fighting  unasked  for  what  we 
deem  to  be  the  battles  of  God, — of  that  patient 
and  merciful  God,  who  pities  the  frailties  we 
do  not  pity — who  forgives  the  errors  we  do 
not  forgive, — who  sends  rain  upon  the  just 
and  the  unjust,  and  maketh  his  sun  to  shine 
upon  the  evil  and  the  good  1 

Another  canon  of  religious  charity  is  to  re- 
vise, at  long  intervals,  the  bad  opinions  we 
have  been  compelled,  or  rather  our  forefathers 
have  been  compelled,  to  form  of  other  Christian 
sects ;  to  see  whether  the  different  bias  of  the 
age,  the  more  general  diffusion  of  intelligence, 
do  not  render  those  tenets  less  pernicious  : 
that  which  might  prove  ai^ery  great  evil  under 
other  circumstances,  and  in  other  times,  may, 
perhaps,  however  weak  and  erroneous,  be 
harmless  in  these  times,  and  under  these  cir- 
cumstances. We  must  be  aware,  too,  that  we 
do  not  mistake  recollections  for  apprehen- 
sions, and  confound  together  what  has  passed 
with  what  is  to  come, — history  with  futurity. 
For  instance,  it  would  be  the  most  enormous 
abuss  of  this  religious  institution  to  imagine 
that  such  dreadful  scenes  of  wickedness  are 
to  be  apprehended  from  the  Catholics  of  the 
present  day,  because  the  annals  of  this  coun- 
try were  disgraced  by  such  an  event  two  hun- 
dred years  ago.  It  would  be  an  enormous 
abuse  of  this  day  to  extend  the  crimes  of  a 
few  desperate  wretches  to  a  whole  sect ;  to 
fix  the  passions  of  dark  ages  upon  times  of 
refinement  and  civilization.  All  these  are 
mistakes  and  abuses  of  this  day,  which  vio- 
late every  principle  of  Christian  charity,  en- 
danger the  peace  of  societjs  and  give  life  and 
perpetuity  to  hatreds,  which  must  perish  at 
one  time  or  another,  and  had  better,  for  the 
peace  of  society,  perish  now. 

It  would  be  religiously  charitable,  also,  to 
consider  whether  the  objectionable  tenets, 
which   different   sects   profess,  are  in  their 


hearts  as  well  as  in  their  books.  There  is, 
unfortunately,  so  much  pride  where  there 
ought  to  be  so  much  humility,  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult, if  not  almost  impossible,  to  make  religious 
sects  abjure  or  recant  the  doctrines  they  have 
once  professed.  It  is  not  in  this  manner,  I 
fear,  that  the  best  and  purest  churches  are 
ever  reformed.  But  the  doctrine  gradually  be- 
comes obsolete ;  and,  though  not  disowned, 
ceases  in  fact  to  be  a  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic of  the  sect  which  professes  it.  These 
modes  of  reformation, — this  silent  antiquation 
of  doctrines, — this  real  improvement,  which 
the  parties  themselves  are  too  wise  not  to  feel, 
though  not  wise  enough  to  own,  must,  I  am 
afraid,  be  generally  conceded  to  human  in- 
firmity. They  are  indulgences  not  unneces- 
sary to  many  sects  of  Christians.  The  more 
generous  method  would  be  to  admit  error 
where  error  exists,  to  say  these  were  the 
tenets  and  interpretations  of  dark  and  igno- 
rant ages ;  wider  inquiry,  fresh  discussion, 
superior  intelligence  have  convinced  us  we  are 
wrong;  we  will  act  in  future  upon  better  and 
wiser  principles.  This  is  what  men  do  in 
laws,  arts,  and  sciences  ;  and  happy  for  them 
would  it  be  if  they  used  the  same  modest  do- 
cility in  the  highest  of  all  concerns.  But  it 
is,  I  fear,  more  than  experience  will  allow  us 
to  expect ;  and  therefore  the  kindest  and  most 
charitable  method  is  to  allow  religious  sects 
silently  to  improve  without  reminding  them 
of,  and  taunting  them  with,  the  improvement ; 
without  bringing  them  to  the  humiliation  of 
former  disavowal,  or  the  still  more  pernicious 
practice  of  defending  what  they  know  to  be 
indefensible.  The  triumphs  which  proceed 
from  the  neglect  of  these  principles  are  not 
(what  they  pretend  to  be)  the  triumphs  of  re- 
ligion, but  the  triumphs  of  personal  vanity. 
The  object  is  not  to  extinguish  the  dangerous 
errors  with  as  little  pain  and  degradation  as 
possible  to  him  who  has  fallen  into  the  error, 
but  the  object  is  to  exalt  ourselves,  and  to  de- 
preciate our  theological  opponents,  as  much 
as  possible,  at  any  expense  to  God's  service, 
and  to  the  real  interests  of  truth  and  religion. 
There  is  another  practice  not  less  common 
than  this,  and  equally  uncharitable  ;  and  that 
is  to  represent  the  opinions  of  the  most  violent 
and  eager  persons  who  can  be  met  with,  as 
the  common  and  received  opinions  of  the 
whole  sect.  There  are,  in  every  denomination 
of  Christians,  individuals,  by  whose  opinion 
or  by  whose  conduct  the  great  body  would 
very  reluctantly  be  judged.  Some  men  aim  at 
attracting  notice  by  singularity;  some  are  de- 
ficient in  temper;  some  in  learning;  some 
push  every  principle  to  the  extreme ;  distort, 
overstate,  pervert ;  fill  every  one  to  whom 
their  cause  is  dear  with  concern  that  it  should 
have  been  committed  to  such  rash  and  intem- 
perate advocates.  If  you  wish  to  gain  a  vic- 
tory over  your  antagonists,  these  are  the  men 
whose  writings  you  should  study,  whose  opi- 
nions you  should  dwell  on,  and  should  care- 
fully bring  forward  to  notice  ;  but  if  you  wish, 
as  the  elect  of  God,  to  put  on  kindness  and 
humbleness,  meekness  and  long-suffering, — if 
you  wish  to  forbear  and  to  forgive,  it  will  then 
occur  to  you  that  you  should  seek  the  tru3 


448 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


opinions  of  any  sect  from  those  only  who  are 
approved  of,  and  reverenced  by  that  sect ;  to 
whose  authority  that  sect  defer,  and  by  whose 
arguments  they  consider  their  tenets  to  be 
properly  defended.  This  may  not  suit  your 
purpose,  if  you  are  combating  for  victory ;  but 
it  is  your  duty  if  you  are  combating  for  truth ; 
it  is  the  safe,  honest,  and  splendid  conduct  of 
him  who  never  writes  nor  speaks  on  religious 
subjects,  but  that  he  may  diffuse  the  real  bless- 
ings of  religion  among  his  fellow-creatures, 
and  restrain  the  bitterness  of  controversy  by 
the  feelings  of  Christian  charity  and  forbear- 
ance. 

Let  us  also  ask  ourselves,  when  we  are  sit- 
ting in  severe  judgment  upon  the  faults,  follies, 
and  errors  of  other  Christian  sects,  whether  it 
is  not  barely  possible  that  we  have  fallen  into 
some  mistakes  and  misrepresentations  1  Let 
us  ask  ourselves,  honestly  and  fairly,  whether 
we  are  wholly  exempt  from  prejudice,  from 
pride,  from  obstinate  adhesion  to  what  candour 
calls  upon  us  to  alter,  and  to  yield  1  Are 
there  no  violent  and  mistaken  members  of 
our  own  community,  by  whose  conduct  we 
should  be  loath  to  be  guided, — by  whose 
tenets  we  should  not  choose  our  faith  should 
be  judged  1  Has  time,  that  improves  all, 
found  nothing  in  us  to  change  for  the  bet- 
ter ]  Amid  all  the  manifold  divisions  of  the 
Christian  world,  are  we  the  only  Christians 
who,  without  having  any  thing  to  learn  from 
the  knowledge  and  civilization  of  the  last  three 
centuries,  have  started  up,  without  infancy, 
and  without  error,  into  consummate  wisdom 
and  spotless  perfection  1 

To  listen  to  enemies  as  well  as  friends  is  a 
rule  which  not  only  increases  sense  in  com- 
mon life,  but  is  highly  favourable  to  the  in- 
crease of  religious  candour.  You  find  that 
you  are  not  so  free  from  faults  as  your  friends 
suppose,  nor  so  full  of  faults  as  your  enemies 
suppose.  You  begin  to  think  it  not  impossi- 
ble that  you  may  be  as  unjust  to  others  as  they 
are  to  you ;  and  that  the  wisest  and  most 
Christian  scheme  is  that  of  mutual  indulgence; 
that  it  is  better  to  put  on,  as  the  elect  of  God, 
kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  long- 
suffering,  forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving 
one  another. 

Some  men  cannot  understand  how  they  are 
to  be  zealous  if  they  are  candid  in  religious 
matters ;  how  the  energy  necessary  for  the  one 
virtue  is  compatible  with  the  calmness  which 
the  other  requires.  But  remember  that  the 
Scriptures  carefully  distinguish  between  laud- 
able zeal  and  indiscreet  zeal ;  that  the  apostles 
and  epistolary  writers  knew  they  had  as  much 
to  fear  from  the  over-excitement  of  some  men  as 
from  the  supineness  of  others  ;  and  in  nothing 
have  they  laboured  more  than  in  preventing 
religion  from  arming  human  passions  instead 
of  allaying  them,  and  rendering  those  princi- 
ples a  source  of  mutual  jealousy  and  hatred 
which  were  intended  for  universal  peace.  I 
admit  that  indifference  sometimes  puts  on  the 
appearance  of  candour ;  but,  though  there  is 
d  counterfeit,  yet  there  is  a  reality;  and  the 
imitation  proves  the  value  of  the  original,  be- 
cause men  only  attempt  to  multiply  the  appear- 
ances of  useful   and  important  things.    The 


object  is  to  be  at  the  same  time  pious  to  God 
and  charitable  to  man ;  to  render  your  own 
faith  as  pure  and  perfect  as  possible,  not  only 
without  hatred  of  those  who  differ  from  you, 
but  with  a  constant  recollection  that  it  is  possi- 
ble, in  spite  of  thought  and  study,  that  you  may 
have  been  mistaken, — that  other  sects  may  be 
right,  and  that  a  zeal  in  his  service,  which 
God  does  not  want,  is  a  very  bad  excuse  for 
those  bad  passions  which  his  sacred  word 
condemns. 

Lastly,  I  would  suggest  that  many  differences 
between  sects  are  of  less  importance  than 
the  furious  zeal  of  many  men  would  make 
them.  Are  the  tenets  of  any  sect  of  such  a 
description,  that  we  believe  they  will  be  saved 
under  the  Christian  faith  1  Do  they  fulfil  the 
common  duties  of  life  1  Do  they  respect  pro- 
perty 1  Are  they  obedient  to  the  laws  1  Do 
they  speak  the  truth  1  If  all  these  things  are 
right,  the  violence  of  hostility  may  surely  sub- 
mit to  some  little  softness  and  relaxation ; 
honest  difference  of  opinion  cannot  call  for 
such  entire  separation  and  complete  antipathy; 
such  zeal  as  this,  if  it  be  zeal,  and  not  some- 
thing worse,  is  not  surely  zeal  according  to 
discretion. 

The  arguments,  then,  which  I  have  adduced 
in  support  of  the  great  principles  of  religious 
charity  are,  that  violence  upon  such  subjects 
is  rarely  or  ever  found  to  be  useful;  but  gene- 
rally to  produce  effects  opposite  to  those  which 
are  intended.  I  have  observed  that  religious 
sects  are  not  to  be  judged  from  the  represen- 
tations of  their  enemies ;  but  that  they  are  to 
be  heard  for  themselves,  in  the  pleadings  of 
their  best  writers,  not  in  the  representations 
of  those  whose  intemperate  zeal  is  a  misfor- 
tune to  the  sect  to  which  they  belong.  If  you 
will  study  the  principles  of  your  religious 
opponents,  you  will  often  find  your  contempt 
and  hatred  lessened  in  proportion  as  you  are 
better  acquainted  with  what  you  despise.  Many 
religious  opinions,  which  are  purely  specu- 
lative, are  without  the  limits  of  human  inter- 
ference. In  the  numerous  sects  of  Christianity, 
interpreting  our  religion  in  very  opposite 
manners,  all  cannot  be  right.  Imitate  the  for- 
bearance and  long-suffering  of  God,  who 
throws  the  mantle  of  his  mercy  over  all,  and 
who  will  probably  save,  on  the  last  day,  the 
piously  right  and  the  piously  wrong,  seeking 
Jesus  in  humbleness  of  mind.  Do  not  drive 
religious  sects  to  the  disgrace  (or  to  what  they 
foolishly  think  the  disgrace)  of  formally  disa- 
vowing tenets  they  once  professed,  but  concede 
something  to  human  weakness ;  and,  when 
the  tenet  is  virtually  given  up,  treat  it  as  if  it 
were  actiially  given  up  ;  and  always  consider 
it  to  be  very  possible  that  you  yourself  may 
have  made  mistakes,  and  fallen  into  erroneous 
opinions,  as  well  as  any  other  sect  to  which 
you  are  opposed.  If  you  put  on  these  dispo- 
sitions, and  this  tenor  of  mind,  you  cannot  be 
guilty  of  any  religious  fault,  take  what  part 
you  will  in  the  religious  disputes  which  ap- 
pear to  be  coming  on  the  world.  If  you  choose 
to  perpetuate  the  restrictions  upon  your  fellow- 
creatures,  no  one  has  a  right  to  call  you  bigoted ; 
if  you  choose  to  do  them  away,  no  one  has  any 
right  to  call  you  lax  and  indifferent ;  you  have 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


449 


done  your  utmost  to  do  right,  and,  whether  you 
err,  or  do  not  err,  in  your  mode  of  interpreting 
the  Christian  religion,  you  show  at  least  that 
you  have  caught  its  heavenly  spirit, — that  you 
have  put  on,  as  the  elect  of  God,  kindness, 
humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  long-suffering, 
forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving  one 
another. 

I  have  thus  endeavoured  to  lay  before  you 
the  uses  and  abuses  of  this  day;  and,  having 
stated  the  great  mercy  of  God's  interference, 
and  the  blessings  this  country  has  secured  to 
itself  in  resisting  the  errors,  and  follies,  and 
superstitions  of  the  Catholic  Church,  I  have 
endeavoured  that  this  just  sense  of  our  own 
superiority  should  not  militate  against  the 
sacred  principles  of  Christian  charity.  That 
charity  which  I  ask  for  others,  I  ask  also  for 
myself.  I  am  sure  I  am  preaching  before 
those  who  will  think  (whether  they  agree 
with  me  or  not)  that  I  have  spoken  consci- 
entiously, and  from  good  motives,  and  from 
honest  feelings,  on  a  very  difficult  subject, — 
not  sought  for  by  me,  but  devolving  upon 
me  in  the  course  of  duty ; — in  which  I  should 
have  been  heartily  ashamed  of  myself  (as 
you  would  have  been  ashamed  of  me),  if  I 
had  thought  only  how  to  flatter  and  please, 
or   thought  of  any  thing  but  what  I  hope  I 


always  do  think  of  in  the  pulpit, — that  I  am 
placed  here  by  God  to  tell  the  truth,  and  to  do 
good. 

I  shall  conclude  my  sermon,  (pushed,  I  am 
afraid,  already  to  an  unreasonable  length,)  by 
reciting  to  you  a  very  short  and  beautiful  apo- 
logue, taken  from  the  rabbinical  writers.  It  is, 
I  believe,  quoted  by  Bishop  Taylor  in  his 
"  Holy  Living  and  Dying."  I  have  not  now 
access  to  that  book,  but  I  quote  it  to  you  from 
memory ;  and  should  be  made  truly  happy  if 
you  would  quote  it  to  others  from  memory 
also. 

"  As  Abraham  was  sitting  in  the  door  of  his 
tent,  there  came  unto  him  a  wayfaring  man ; 
and  Abraham  gave  him  water  for  his  feet,  and 
set  bread  before  him.  And  Abraham  said  unto 
him,  'Let  us  now  worship  the  Lord  our  God 
before  we  eat  of  this  bread.'  And  the  wayfar- 
ing man  said  unto  Abraham,  'I  will  not  wor- 
ship the  Lord  thy  God,  for  thy  God  is  not  my 
God,  but  I  will  worship  my  God,  even  the  God 
of  my  fathers.'  But  Abraham  was  exceeding 
wroth ;  and  he  rose  up  to  put  the  wayfaring 
man  forth  from  the  door  of  his  tent.  And  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  was  heard  in  the  tent, — Abra- 
ham, Abraham !  have  I  borne  with  this  man 
for  threescore  and  ten  years,  and  canst  not 
thou  bear  with  him  for  one  hourl" 


LETTERS  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OE  THE  CATHOLICS, 

TO 

MY  BROTHER  ABRAHAM,  WHO  LIVES  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 
BY  PETER  PLYMLEY. 


LETTER  L 

DxAii  Abraham, 

A  WORTHIER  and  better  man  than  yourself 
does  not  exist ;  but  I  have  always  told  you, 
from  the  time  of  our  boyhood,  that  you  were  a 
bit  of  a  goose.  Your  parochial  affairs  are  go- 
verned with  exemplary  order  and  regularity ; 
you  are  as  powerful  in  the  vestry  as  Mr.  Per- 
ceval is  in  the  House  of  Commons, — and,  I 
must  say,  with  much  more  reason ;  nor  do  I 
know  any  church  where  the  faces  and  smock- 
frocks  of  the  congregation  are  so  clean,  or 
their  eyes  so  uniformly  directed  to  the  preacher. 
There  is  another  point  upon  which  I  will  do 
you  ample  justice ;  and  that  is,  that  the  eyes 
so  directed  towards  you  are  wide  open ;  for 
the  rustic  has,  in  general,  good  principles, 
though  he  cannot  control  his  animal  habits ; 
and,  however  loud  he  may  snore,  his  face  is 
perpetually  turned  towards  the  fountain  of 
orthodoxy. 

Having  done  you  this  act  of  justice,  I  shall 
proceed,  according  to  our  ancient  intimacy 
and  familiarity,  to  explain  to  you  my  opinions 
about  the  Catholics,  and  to  reply  to  yours. 
57 


In  the  first  place,  my  sweet  Abrahaia,  the 
pope" is  not  landed — nor  are  there  any  curates 
sent  out  after  him — nor  has  he  been  hid  at  St. 
Alban's  by  the  Dowager  Lady  Spencer' — nor 
dined  privately  at  Holland  House — nor  been 
seen  near  Dropmore.  If  these  fears  exist 
(which  I  do  not  believe),  they  exist  only  in  the 
mind  of  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer;  they 
emanate  from  his  zeal  for  the  Protestant  inte- 
rest; and,  though  they  reflect  the  highest 
honour  upon  the  delicate  irritability  of  his 
faith,  must  certainly  be  considered  as  more 
ambiguous  proofs  of  the  sanity  and  vigour  of 
his  understanding.  By  this  time,  however, 
the  best  informed  clergy  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  metropolis  are  convinced  that  the  rumour 
is  without  foundation  ;  and,  though  the  pope-  is 
probably  hovering  about  our  coast  in  a  fishing 
smack,  it  is  most  likely  he  will  fall  a  prey  to 
the  vigilance  of  our  cruisers  ;  and  it  is  certain 
he  has  not  yet  polluted  the  Protestantism  of  our 
soil. 

Exactly  in  the  same  manner,  the  story  ©f 

the  wooden  gods  seized  at  Charing  Cross,  by 

an  order  from  the  Foreign  Office,  turns  out  to 

be  without  the   shadow  of  a  foundation;  la- 

2r  2 


450 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


stead  of  the  angels  and  archangels,  mentioned 
by  the  informer,  nothing  was  discovered  but  a 
wooden  image  of  Lord  Mulgrave,  going  doM'n 
to  Chatham,  as  a  head-piece  for  the  Spanker 
gun-vessel ;  it  was  an  exact  resemblance  of 
his  lordship  in  his  military  uniform ;  and  there- 
fore as  little  like  a  god  as  can  well  be  imagined. 

Having  set  your  fears  at  rest  as  to  the  extent 
of  the  conspiracy  formed  against  the  Protestant 
religion,  I  will  now  come  to  the  argument 
itself. 

You  say  these  men  interpret  the  Scriptures 
in  an  orthodox  manner;  and  that  they  eat  their 
God. — Very  likely.  All  this  may  seem  very 
important  to  you,  who  live  fourteen  miles  from 
a  market-town,  and,  from  long  residence  upon 
your  living,  are  become  a  kind  of  holy  ve- 
getable ;  and,  in  a  theological  sense,  it  is  highly 
important.  But  I  want  soldiers  and  sailors 
for  the  state ;  I  want  to  make  a  greater  use  than 
I  now  can  do  of  a  poor  country  full  of  men  ;  I 
want  to  render  the  military  service  popular 
among  the  Irish;  to  check  the  power  of 
France ;  to  make  every  possible  exertion  for 
the  safety  of  Europe,  which  in  twenty  years' 
time  will  be  nothing  but  a  mass  of  French 
slaves;  and  then  you,  and  ten  thousand  other 
such  boobies  as  you,  call  out — "  For  God's 
sake,  do  not  think  of  raising  cavalry  and  in- 
fantry in  Ireland !  .  .  .  .  They  interpret  the 
Epistle  to  Timothy  in  a  different  manner  from 
what  we  do !  .  .  .  .  They  eat  a  bit  of  wafer 
every  Sunday,  which  they  call  their  God!" 
....  I  wish  to  my  soul  they  would  eat  you, 
and  such  reasoners  as  you  are.  What !  when 
Turk,  Jew,  Heretic,  Infidel,  Catholic,  Protest- 
ant, are  all  combined  against  this  country; 
when  men  of  every  religious  persuasion,  and 
no  religious  persuasion;  when  the  population 
of  half  the  globe  is  up  in  arms  against  us  ;  are 
we  to  stand  examining  our  generals  and  armies 
as  a  bishop  examines  a  candidate  for  holy  or- 
ders ?  and  to  suffer  no  one  to  bleed  for  Eng- 
land who  does  not  agree  with  you  about  the 
2d  of  Timothy?  You  talk  about  the  Catholics  ! 
If  you  and  your  brotherhood  have  been  able  to 
persuade  the  country  into  a  continuation  of 
this  grossest  of  all  absurdities,  you  have  ten 
times  the  power  which  the  Catholic  clergy 
ever  had  in  their  best  days.  Louis  XIV.,  when 
he  revoked  the  Edict  of  JVantes,  never  thought 
of  preventing  the  Protestants  from  fighting  his 
battles ;  and  gained  accordingly  some  of  his 
most  splendid  victories  by  the  talents  of  his 
Pi-otestant  generals.  No  power  in  Europe,  but 
yourselves,  has  ever  thought,  for  these  hundred 
years  past,  of  asking  whether  a  bayonet  is 
Catholic,  or  Presbyterian,  or  Lutheran;  but 
whether  it  is  sharp  and  well-tempered.  A  bigot 
■delights  in  public  ridiciile ;  for  he  begins  to 
think  he  is  a  martyr.  I  can  promise  you  the 
full  enjoyment  of  this  pleasure,  from  one  ex- 
tremity of  Europe  to  the  other. 

I  am  as  disgusted  with  the  nonsense  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  religion  as  you  can  be ;  and  no 
man  who  talks  such  nonsense  shall  ever  tithe 
the  product  of  the  earth,  nor  meddle  with  the 
ecclesiastical  establishment  in  any  shape ; — 
Imt  what  have  I  to  do  with  the  speculative 
nonsense  of  his  theology,  when  the  object  is 
io  plect  the  mayor  of  a  country  town,  or  to 


appoint  a  colonel  of  a  marching  regiment? 
Will  a  man  discharge  the  solemn  imperti- 
nences of  the  on^  office  with  the  less  zeal,  or 
shrink  from  the  bloody  boldness  of  the  other 
with  greater  timidity,  because  the  blockhead  be- 
lieves in  all  the  Catholic  nonsense  of  the  real 
presence.  I  am  sorry  there  should  be  such 
impious  folly  in  the  world,  but  I  should  be  ten 
times  a  greater  fool  than  he  is,  if  I  refused,  in 
consequence  of  his  folly,  to  lead  him  out 
against  the  enemies  of  the  state.  Your  whole 
argument  is  wrong;  the  state  has  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  theological  errors  which 
do  not  violate  the  common  rules  of  morality, 
and  militate  against  the  fair  power  of  the  ruler: 
it  leaves  all  these  errors  to  you,  and  to  such 
as  you.  You  have  every  tenth  porker  in  your 
parish  for  refuting  them  ;  and  take  care  that 
you  are  vigilant  and  logical  in  the  task. 

I  love  the  church  as  well  as  you  do  ;  but  you 
totally  mistake  the  nature  of  an  establishment, 
when  you  contend  that  it  ought  to  be  connected 
with  the  military  and  civil  career  of  every  in- 
dividual in  the  state.  It  is  quite  right  that 
there  should  be  one  clergyman  to  every  parish 
interpreting  the  Scriptures  after  a  particular 
manner,  ruled  by  a  regular  hierarchy,  and  paid 
with  a  rich  proportion  of  haycocks  and  wheat- 
sheafs.  When  I  have  laid  this  foundation  for 
a  rational  religion  in  the  state — when  I  have 
placed  ten  thousand  well-educated  men  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  kingdom  to  preach  it  up, 
and  compelled  every  body  to  pay  them,  whether 
the)'^  hear  them  or  not — I  have  taken  such 
measures  as  I  know  must  ahvays  procure  an 
immense  majority  in  favour  of  the  established 
church  ;  but  I  can  go  no  farther.  I  cannot  set 
up  a  civil  inquisition,  and  say  to  one,  you 
shall  not  be  a  butcher,  because  you  are  not  or- 
thodox; and  prohibit  another  from  brewing, 
and  a  third  from  administering  the  law,  and  a 
fourth  from  defending  the  country.  If  com- 
mon justice  did  not  prohibit  me  from  such  a 
conduct,  common  sense  would.  The  advan- 
tage to  be  gained  by  quitting  the  heresy  would 
make  it  shameful  to  abandon  it ;  and  men  who 
had  once  left  the  church  would  continue  in 
such  a  state  of  alienation  from  a  point  of 
honour,  and  transmit  that  spirit  to  the  latest 
posterity.  This  is  just  the  effect  your  disquali- 
fying laws  have  produced.  They  have  fed  Dr. 
Rees  and  Dr.  Kippis ;  crowded  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  Old  Jewry  to  suffocation ;  and  ena- 
bled every  sublapsarian,  and  supralapsarian, 
and  semipelagian  clergyman,  to  build  himself 
a  neat  brick  chapel,  and  live  with  some  distant 
resemblance  to  the  state  of  a  gentleman. 

You  say  the  king's  coronation  oath  will  not 
allow  him  to  consent  to  any  relaxation  of  the 
Catholic  laws — Why  not  relax  the  Catholic 
laws  as  well  as  the  laws  against  Protestant 
dissenters  7  If  one  is  contrary  to  his  oath,  the 
other  must  be  so  too;  for  the  spirit  of  the  oath 
is,  to  defend  the  church  establishment ;  which 
the  Quaker  and  the  Presbyterian  differ  from 
as  much  or  more  than  the  Catholic ;  and  yet 
his  majesty  has  repealed  the  Corporation  and 
Test  Act  in  Ireland,  and  done  more  for  the 
Catholics  of  both  kingdoms  than  had  been 
done  for  them  since  the  Reformation.  In  1778 
the  ministers  said  nothing  about  the  roya  con 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


451 


science;  in  1793*  no  conscience;  in  1804  no 
conscience ;  the  common  feeling  of  humanity 
and  justice  then  seem  to  have  had  their  fullest 
influence  upon  the  advisers  of  the  crown;  but 
in  1807 — a  year,  I  suppose,  eminently  fruitful 
in  moral  and  religious  scruples,  (as  some  years 
are  fruitful  in  apples,  some  in  hops, — it  is  con- 
tended by  the  well-paid  Jo,hn  Bowles,  and  by 
Mr.  Perceval  (who  tried  to  be  well  paid),  that 
that  is  now  perjury  which  we  had  hitherto 
called  policy  and  benevolence!  Religious 
liberty  has  never  made  such  a  stride  as  under 
the  reign  of  his  present  majesty;  nor  is  there 
any  instance  in  the  annals  of  our  history, 
where  so  many  infamous  and  damnable  laws 
have  been  repealed  as  those  against  the  Ca- 
tholics, which  have  been  put  an  end  to  by 
him;  and  then,  at  the  close  of  this  useful  po- 
licy, his  advisers  discover  that  the  very  mea- 
sures of  concession  and  indulgence,  or  (to  use 
my  own  language),  the  measures  of  justice, 
which  he  has  been  pursuing  through  the  whole 
of  his  rei'^n,  are  contrary  to  the  oath  he  takes 
at  its  commencement!  That  oath  binds  his 
majesty  not  to  consent  to  any  measure  con- 
trary to  the  interests  of  the  established  church; 
but  who  is  to  judge  of  the  tendency  of  each 
particular  measure?  Not  the  king  alone;  it 
can  never  be  the  intention  of  this  law  that  the 
king,  who  listens  to  the  advice  of  his  Parlia- 
ment upon  a  road  bill,  should  reject  it  upon 
the  most  important  of  all  measures.  What- 
ever be  his  own  private  judgment  of  the  ten- 
dency of  any  ecclesiastical  bill,  he  complies 
most  strictly  with  his  oath,  if  he  is  guided  in 
that  particular  point  by  the  advice  of  his  Par- 
liament, who  may  be  presumed  to  understand 
its  tendency  better  than  the  king,  or  any  other 
individual.  You  say,  if  Parliament  had  been 
unanimous  in  their  opinion  of  the  absolute 
necessity  for  Lord  Howick's  bill,  and  the  king 
had  thought  it  pernicious,  he  would  have  been 
perjured  if  he  had  not  rejected  it.  I  say,  on 
the  contrary,  his  majesty  would  have  acted  in 
the  most  conscientious  manner,  and  have  com- 
plied most  scrupulously  with  his  oath,  if  he 
had  sacriliced  his  own  opinion  to  the  opinion 
of  the  great  council  of  the  nation  ;  because  the 
probability  was  that  such  opinion  was  better 
than  his  own;  and  upon  the  same  principle, 
in  common  life,  you  give  up  your  opinion  to 
your  physician,  your  lawyer,  and  your  builder. 
You  admit  this  bill  did  not  compel  the  king 
to  elect  Catholic  officers,  but  only  gave  him 
the  option  of  doing  so  if  he  pleased;  but  you 
add,  that  the  king  was  right  in  not  trusting 
such  dangerous  power  to  himself  or  his  suc- 
cessors. Now,  you  are  either  to  suppose  that 
the  king,  for  the  time  being,  has  a  zeal  for  the 
Catholic  establishment,  or  that  he  has  not.  If 
he  has  not,  where  is  the  danger  of  giving  such 
an  option  1  If  j'ou  suppose  that  he  may  be 
influenced  by  such  an  admiration  of  the  Ca- 
tholic religion,  why  did  his  present  majesty, 
in  the  year  1804,  consent  to  that  bill  which 
empowered  the  crown  to  station  ten  thousand 
Catholic  soldiers  in  any  part  of  the  kingdom, 
and  placed  them  absolutely  at  the  disposal  of 


♦These  feelines  of  humanity  and  justice  were  at  some 
periods  a  little"  quickened  by  the  representations  of 
40,000  armed  volunteers. 


the  crown  1  If  the  King  of  England  for  the 
time  being  is  a  good  Protestant,  there  can  be 
no  danger  in  making  the  Catholic  eligible  to 
any  thing ;  if  he  is  not,  no  power  can  possibly 
be  so  dangerous  as  that  conveyed  by  the  bill 
last  quoted;  to  which,  in  point  of  peril.  Lord 
Howick's  bill  is  a  mere  joke.  But  the  real 
fact  is,  one  bill  opened  a  door  to  his  majesty's 
advisers  for  trick,  jobbing,  and  intrigue ;  the 
other  did  not. 

Besides,  what  folly  to  talk  to  me  of  an  oath, 
which,  under  all  possible  circumstances,  is  to 
prevent  the  relaxation  of  the  Catholic  laws! 
for  such  a  solemn  appeal  to  God  sets  all  con- 
ditions and  contingencies  at  defiance.  Sup- 
pose Bonaparte  was  to  retrieve  the  only  very 
great  blunder  he  has  made,  and  were  to  suc- 
ceed, after  repeated  trials,  in  making  an  im- 
pression upon  Ireland,  do  you  think  we  should 
hear  any  thing  of  the  impediment  of  a  coro- 
nation oath  ?  or  would  the  spirit  of  this  country 
tolerate  for  an  hour  such  ministers,  and  such 
unheard-of  nonsense,  if  the  most  distant  pros- 
pect existed  of  conciliating  the  Catholics  by 
every  species  even  of  the  most  abject  conces- 
sion"!  And  yet,  if  your  argument  is  good  for 
any  thing,  the  coronation  oath  ought  to  reject, 
at  such  a  moment,  every  tendency  to  concilia- 
tion, and  to  bind  Ireland  forever  to  the  crown 
of  France. 

I  found  in  your  letter  the  usual  remarks 
about  fire,  fagot,  and  bloody  Mary.  Are  you 
aware,  my  dear  priest,  that  there  were  as  many 
persons  put  to  death  for  religious  opinions 
under  the  mild  Elizabeth  as  under  the  bloody 
Maryl  The  reign  of  the  former  was,  to  be 
sure,  ten  times  as  long;  but  I  only  mention  the 
fact,  merely  to  show  you  that  something  de- 
pends upon  the  age  in  which  men  live,  as 
well  as  on  their  religious  opinions.  Three 
hundred  years  ago,  men  burnt  and  hanged  each 
other  for  these  opinions.  Time  has  softened 
Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant;  they  both  re- 
quired it ;  though  each  perceives  only  his  own 
improvement,  and  is  blind  to  that  of  the  other. 
We  are  all  the  creatures  of  circumstances.  I 
know  not  a  kinder  and  better  man  than  your- 
self; but  you  (if  you  had  lived  in  those  times) 
would  certainly  have  roasted  yonr  Catholic; 
and  I  promise  you,  if  the  first  exciter  of  this 
religious  mob  had  been  as  powerful  then  as 
he  is  now,  you  would  soon  have  been  elevated 
to  the  mitre.  I  do  not  go  the  length  of  saying 
that  the  world  has  sufiered  as  much  from  Pro- 
testant as  from  Catholic  persecution  ;  far  from 
it:  but  you  should  remember  the  Catholics 
had  all  the  power,  when  the  idea  first  started 
up  in  the  world  that  there  could  be  two  modes 
of  faith ;  and  that  it  was  much  more  natural 
they  should  attempt  to  crush  this  diversity  of 
opinion  by  great  and  cruel  efforts,  than  that 
the  Protestants  should  rage  against  those  wno 
differed  from  them,  when  the  very  basis  of 
their  system  was  complete  freedom  in  all  spirit- 
ual matters. 

I  cannot  extend  my  letter  any  further  ai 
present,  but  you  shall  soon  hear  from  me 
again.  You  tell  me  I  am  a  party  man.  I  hope 
I  shall  always  be  so,  when  I  see  my  country 
in  the  hands  of  a  pert  London  joker  and  a  se- 
I  cond-rate  lawyer.    Of  the  first,  no  other  good 


408 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


is  known  than  that  he  makes  pretty  Latin 
Terses ;  the  second  seems  to  me  to  have  the 
head  of  a  country  parson,  and  the  tongue  of 
an  Old  Bailey  lawyer. 

If  I  could  see  good  measures  pursued,  I  care 
not  a  farthing  who  is  in  power;  but  I  have  a 
passionate  love  for  common  justice,  and  for 
common  sense,  and  I  abhor  and  despise  every 
man  who  builds  up  his  political  fortune  upon 
their  ruin. 

God  bless  you,  reverend  Abraham,  and  de- 
fend you  from  the  pope,  and  all  of  us  from 
that  administration  who  seek  power  by  oppos- 
ing a  measure  which  Burke,  Pitt,  and  Fox  all 
considered  as  absolutely  necessary  to  the  exist- 
ence of  the  country. 


LETTER  IL 

Dbar  Abraham, 

The  Catholic  not  respect  an  oath  !  why  not  T 
What  upon  earth  has  kept  him  out  of  Parlia- 
ment, or  excluded  him  from  all  the  otfices 
whence  he  is  excluded,  but  his  respect  for 
oaths  1  There  is  no  law  which  prohibits  a 
Catholic  to  sit  in  Parliament.  There  could  be 
no  such  law;  because  it  is  impossible  to  find 
out  what  passes  in  the  interior  of  any  man's 
mind.  Suppose  it  were  in  contemplation  to 
exclude  all  men  from  certain  offices  who  con- 
tended for  the  legality  of  taking  tithes :  the 
only  mode  of  discovering  that  fervid  love  of 
decimation  which  I  know  you  to  possess  would 
be  to  tender  you  an  oath  "against  that  damna- 
ble doctrine,  that  it  is  lawful  for  a  spiritual 
man  to  take,  abstract,  appropriate,  subduct,  or 
lead  away  the  tenth  calf,  sheep,  lamb,  ox,  pi- 
geon, duck,"  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  and  every  other  ani- 
mal that  ever  existed,  which  of  course  the 
lawyers  would  take  care  to  enumerate.  Now 
this  oath  I  am  sure  you  would  rather  die  than 
take ;  and  so  the  Catholic  is  excluded  from 
Parliament  because  he  will  not  swear  that  he 
disbelieves  the  leading  doctrines  of  his  reli- 
gion !  The  Catholic  asks  you  to  abolish  some 
oaths  which  oppress  him;  your  answer  is,  that 
he  does  not  respect  oaths.  Then  why  subject 
him  to  the  test  of  oaths  1  The  oaths  keep  him 
out  of  Parliament ;  why  then  he  respects  them. 
Turn  which  way  you  will,  either  your  laws 
are  nugatory,  or  the  Catholic  is  bound  by  reli- 
gious obligations  as  you  are  ;  but  no  eel  in  the 
well-sanded  fist  of  a  cook-maid,  upon  the  eve 
of  being  skinned,  ever  twisted  and  writhed  as 
an  orthodox  parson  does  when  he  is  compelled 
by  the  gripe  of  reason  to  admit  any  thing  in 
favour  of  a  dissenter. 

I  will  not  dispute  with  you  whether  the  pope 
be  or  be  not  the  Scarlet  Lady  of  Babylon.  I 
hope  it  is  not  so;  because  I  am  afraid  it  will 
induce  his  majesty's  chancellor  of  the  exche- 
quer to  introduce  several  severe  bills  against 
Popery,  if  that  is  the  case  ;  and  though  he  will 
have  the  decency  to  appoint  a  previous  com- 
mittee of  inquiry  as  to  the  fact,  the  committee 
will  be  garbled,  and  the  report  inflammatory. 
Leaving  this  to  be  settled  as  he  pleases  to 
settle  it,  I  wish  to  inform  you,  that  previously 
>o  the  bill  last  passed  in  favour  of  the  Catho- 


lics, at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Pitt,  and  for  his 
satisfaction,  the  opinions  of  six  of  the  most 
celebrated  of  the  foreign  Catholic  universities 
were  taken  as  to  the  right  of  the  pope  to  inter- 
fere in  the  temporal  concerns  of  any  country. 
The  answer  cannot  possibly  leave  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt,  even  in  the  mind  of  Baron  Ma- 
seres  ;  and  Dr.  Rennel  would  be  compelled  to 
admit  it,  if  three  bishops  lay  dead  at  the  very 
moment  the  question  were  put  to  him.  To 
this  answer  might  be  added  also  the  solemn 
declaration  and  signature  of  all  the  Catholics 
in  Great  Britaiii. 

I  should  perfectly  agree  with  you,  if  the 
Catholics  admitted  such  a  dangerous  dispens- 
ing power  in  the  hands  of  the  pope ;  but  they 
all  deny  it,  and  laugh  at  it,  and  are  ready  to 
abjure  it  in  the  most  decided  manner  you  can 
devise.  They  obey  the  pope  as  the  spiritual 
head  of  their  church ;  but  are  you  really  so 
foolish  as  to  bo  imposed  upon  by  mere  namesi 
— What  matters  it  the  seven-thousandth  part 
of  a  farthing  who  is  the  spiritual  head  of  any 
church  1  Is  not  Mr.  Wilberforce  at  the  head 
of  the  church  of  Clapham  1  Is  not  Dr.  Letsom 
at  the  head  of  the  Quaker  church  1  Is  not  the 
general  assembly  at  the  head  of  the  church  of 
Scotland  1  How  is  the  government  disturbed 
by  these  many-headed  churches  1  or  in  what 
way  is  the  power  of  the  crown  augmented  by 
this  almost  nominal  dignity  1 

The  king  appoints  a  fast-day  once  a  year, 
and  he  makes  the  bishops ;  and  if  the  govern- 
ment would  take  half  the  pains  to  keep  the 
Catholics  out  of  the  arms  of  France  that  it 
does  to  widen  Temple  Bar,  or  improve  Snow 
Hill,  the  king  would  get  into  his  hands  the 
appointments  of  the  titular  bishops  of  Ireland. 

— Both  Mr.  C 's    sisters    enjoy  pensions 

more  than  sufficient  to  place  the  two  greatest 
dignitaries  of  the  Irish  Catholic  Church  entirely 
at  the  disposal  of  the  crown. — Every  body  who 
knows  Ireland  knows  perfectly  well,  that 
nothing  would  be  easier,  with  the  expenditure 
of  a  little  money,  than  to  preserve  enough  of 
the  ostensible  appointment  in  the  hands  of  the 
pope  to  satisfy  the  scruples  of  the  Catholics, 
while  the  real  nomination  remained  with  the 
crown.  But,  as  I  have  before  said,  the  mo- 
ment the  very  name  of  Ireland  is  mentioned, 
the  English  seem  to  bid  adieu  to  common 
feeling,  common  prudence,  and  to  common 
sense,  and  to  act  with  the  barbarity  of  tyrants, 
and  the  fatuity  of  idiots. 

Whatever  your  opinion  may  be  of  the  follies 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  remember  they 
are  the  follies  of  four  millions  of  human 
beings,  increasing  rapidly  in  numbers,  wealth 
and  intelligence,  who,  if  firmly  united  with 
this  country,  would  set  at  defiance  the  power 
of  France,  and  if  once  wrested  from  their 
alliance  with  England,  would  in  three  years 
render  its  existence  as  an  independent  nation 
absolutely  impossible.  You  speak  of  danger 
to  the  establishment:  I  request  to  know  when 
the  establishment  was  ever  so  much  in  danger 
as  when  Hoche  was  in  Bantry  Bay,  and 
whether  all  the  books  of  Bossuet,  or  the  arts 
of  the  Jesuits,  were  half  so  terrible  1  Mr.  Per- 
ceval and  his  parsons  forgot  all  this,  in  their 
horror  lest  twelve  or  fourteen  old  women  may 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


453 


be  converted  to  holy  water,  and  Catholic  non- 
sense. They  never  see  that,  while  they  are 
saving  these  venerable  ladies  from  perdition, 
Ireland  may  be  lost,  England  broken  down, 
and  the  Protestant  Church,  with  all  its  deans, 
prebendaries,  Percevals  and  Rennels,  be  swept 
into  the  vortex  of  oblivion. 

Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  ever  mention  to  me 
again  the  name  of  Dr.  Duigenan.  I  have  been 
in  every  corner  of  Ireland,  and  have  studied 
its  present  strength  and  condition  with  no 
common  labour.  Be  assured  Ireland  does  not 
contain  at  this  moment  less  than  five  millions 
of  people.  There  were  returned  in  the  year 
1791  to  the  hearth  tax  701,000  houses,  and 
there  is  no  kind  of  question  that  there  were 
about  50,000  houses  omitted  in  that  return. 
Taking,  however,^  only  the  number  returned 
for  the  tax,  and  allowing  the  average  of  six  to 
■  a  house  (a  very  small  average  for  a  potato-fed 
people),  this  brings  the  population  to  4,200,000 
people  in  the  year  1791 ;  and  it  can  be  shown 
from  the  clearest  evidence,  (and  Mr.  Newen- 
ham  in  his  book  shows  it,)  that  Ireland  for  the 
last  fifty  years  has  increased  in  its  population 
at  the  rate  of  50  or  60,000  per  annum ;  which 
leaves  the  present  population  of  Ireland  at 
about  five  millions,  after  every  possible  deduc- 
tion for  existing  circumstances,  just  and  necessary 
wars,  monstrous  and  unnatural  rebellions,  and  all 
Other  sources  of  human  destruction.  Of  this 
population,  two  out  of  ten  are  Protestants  ;  and 
the  half  of  the  Protestant  population  are  dis- 
senters, and  as  inimical  to  the  church  as  the 
Catholics  themselves.  In  this  state  of  things, 
thumb-screws  and  whipping — admirable  en- 
gines of  policy,  as  they  must  be  considered  to 
be — will  not  ultimately  avail.  The  Catholics 
will  hang  over  you ;  they  will  watch  for  the 
moment;  and  compel  you  hereafter  to  give 
them  ten  times  as  much,  against  your  will,  as 
they  would  now  be  contented  with,  if  it  was 
voluntarily  surrendered.  Remember  what  hap- 
pened in  the  American  war:  when  Ireland 
compelled  you  to  give  her  every  thing  she 
asked,  and  to  renounce,  in  the  most  explicit 
manner,  your  claim  of  sovereignty  over  her. 
God  Almighty  grant  the  folly  of  these  present 
men  may  not  bring  on  such  another  crisis  of 
public  affairs ! 

What  are  your  dangers  which  threaten  the 
establishment] — Reduce  this  declamation  to  a 
point,  and  let  us  understand  what  you  mean. 
The  most  ample  allowance  does  not  calculate 
that  there  would  be  more  than  twenty  mem- 
bers who  were  Roman  Catholics  in  one  house, 
and  ten  in  the  other,  if  the  Catholic  emancipa- 
tion were  carried  into  effect.  Do  you  mean 
that  these  thirty  members  would  bring  in  a  bill 
to  take  away  the  tithes  from  the  Protestant, 
and  to  pay  them  to  the  Catholic  clergy  1  Do 
you  mean  that  a  Catholic  general  would  march 
his  army  into  the  House  of  Commons  and 
purge  it  of  Mr.  Perceval  and  Mr.  Duigenan  1 
or,  that  the  theological  writers  would  become 
all  of  a  sudden  more  acute  and  more  learned, 
if  the  present  civil  incapacities  were  removed! 
Do  you  fear  for  your  tithes,  or  your  doctrines, 
or  your  person,  or  the  English  constitution! 
Every  fear,  taken  separately,  is  so  glaringly 
absurd,  that  no  man  has  the  folly  or  the  bold- 


ness to  state  it.  Every  one  conceals  his  igno-. 
ranee,  or  his  baseness,  in  a  stupid  general 
panic,  whi«h,  when  called  on,  he  is  utterly 
incapable  of  explaining.  Whatever  you  think 
of  the  Catholics,  there  they  are — you  cannot 
get  rid  of  them ;  your  alternative  is,  to  give 
them  a  lawful  place  for  stating  their  griev- 
ances, or  an  unlawful  one  :  if  you  do  not  admit 
them  to  the  House  of  Commons,  they  will  hold 
their  Parliament  in  Potato-place,  Dublin,  and 
be  ten  times  as  violent  and  inflammatory  as 
they  would  be  in  Westminster.  Nothing  would 
give  me  such  an  idea  of  security,  as  to  see 
twenty  or  thirty  Catholic  gentlemen  in  Parlia- 
ment, looked  upon  by  all  the  Catholics  as  the 
fair  and  proper  organ  of  their  party.  I  should 
have  thought  it  the  height  of  good  fortune  that 
such  a  wish  existed  on  their  part,  and  the  very 
essence  of  madness  and  ignorance  to  reject  it. 
Can  you  murder  the  Catholics  1 — Can  you 
neglect  theml  They  are  too  numerous  for 
both  these  expedients.  What  remains  to  be 
done  is  obvious  to  every  human  being — but  to 
that  man  who,  instead  of  being  a  Methodist 
preacher,  is,  for  the  curse  of  us,  and  our 
children,  and  for  the  ruin  of  Troy,  and  the 
misery  of  good  old  Priam  and  his  sons,  become 
a  legislator  and  a  politician. 

A  distinction,  I  perceive,  is  taken,  by  one 
of  the  most  feeble  noblemen  in  Great  Britain, 
between  persecution  and  the  deprivation  of 
political  power ;  whereas,  there  is  no  more 
distinction  between  these  two  things  than 
there  is  between  him  who  makes  the  distinc- 
tion and  a  booby.  If  I  strip  off  the  relic-co- 
vered jacket  of  a  Catholic,  and  give  him 
twenty  stripes  ....  I  persecute ;  if  I  say,  every 
body  in  the  town  where  you  live  shall  be  a 
candidate  for  lucrative  and  honourable  offices, 
but  you  who  are  a  Catholic  ....  I  do  not  per- 
secute ! — What  barbarous  nonsense  is  this  !  as 
if  degradation  was  not  as  great  an  evil  as 
bodily  pain,  or  as  severe  poverty ;  as  if  I  could 
not  be  as  great  a  tyrant  by  saying.  You  shall 
not  enjoy — as  by  saying,  You  shall  suffer. 
The  English,  I  believe,  are  as  truly  religious 
as  any  nation  in  Europe ;  I  know  no  greater 
blessing;  but  it  carries  with  it  this  evil  in  its 
train,  that  any  villain  who  will  bawl  out  "  The 
church  is  in  danger!"  may  get  a  place,  and  a 
good  pension ;  and  that  any  administration 
who  will  do  the  same  thing  may  bring  a  set  ol 
men  into  power  who,  at  a  moment  of  stationary 
and  passive  piety,  would  be  hooted  by  the  very 
boys  in  the  streets.  But  it  is  not  all  religion; 
it  is,  in  great  part,  that  narrow  and  exclusive 
spirit  which  delights  to  keep  the  common 
blessings  of  sun,  and  air,  and  freedom  from 
other  human  beings.  "  Your  religion  has 
always  been  degraded;  you  are  in  the  dusl- 
and  I  will  take  care  you  never  rise  again.  I 
should  enjoy  less  the  possession  of  an  earthly 
good,  by  every  additional  person  to  whom  il 
was  extended."  You  may  not  be  aware  of  it 
yourself,  most  reverend  Abraham,  but  you 
deu)^  their  freedom  to  the  Catholics  upon  the 
same  principle  that  Sarah  your  wife  refuses 
to  give  the  receipt  for  a  ham  oi  a  gooseberry 
dumpling ;  she  values  her  receipts,  not  because 
they  secure  to  her  a  certain  flavour,  put  be- 
cause they  remind  her  that  her  neighbours 


454 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


want  it: — a  feeling  laughable  in  a  priestess, 
shameful  in  a  priest ;  venial  when  it  withholds 
the  blessings  of  a  ham,  tyrannical  and  exe- 
crable when  it  narrows  the  boon  of  religious 
freedom. 

You  spend  a  great  deal  of  ink  about  the 
character  of  the  present  prime-minister.  Grant 
you  all  that  you  write ;  I  say,  I  fear  he  will 
ruin  Ireland,  and  pursue  a  line  of  policy  de- 
structive to  the  true  interest  of  his  country; 
and  then  you  tell  me,  he  is  faithful  to  Mrs. 
Perceval,  and  kind  to  the  Master  Percevals ! 
These  are,  undoubtedly,  the  first  qualifications 
to  be  looked  to  in  a  time  of  the  most  serious 
public  danger;  but  somehow  or  another  (if 
public  and  private  virtues  must  always  be  in- 
compatible), I  should  prefer  that  he  destroyed 
the  domestic  happiness  of  Wood  or  Cockell, 
owed  for  the  veal  of  the  preceding  year,  whip- 
ped his  boys,  and  saved  his  country. 

The  late  administration  did  not  do  right; 
they  did  not  build  their  measures  upon  the 
solid  basis  of  facts.  They  should  have  caused 
several  Catholics  to  have' been  dissected  after 
death  by  surgeons  of  either  religion ;  and  the 
report  to  have  been  published  with  accompa- 
nying plates.  If  the  viscera,  and  other  organs 
of  life,  had  been  found  to  be  the  same  as  in 
Protestant  bodies ;  if  the  provision  of  nerves, 
arteries,  cerebrum,  and  cerebellum,  had  been 
the  same  as  we  are  provided  with,  or  as  the 
dissenters  are  now  known  to  possess ;  then, 
indeed,  they  might  have  met  Mr.  Perceval 
upon  a  proud  eminence,  and  convinced  the 
country  at  large  of  the  strong  probability  that 
the  Catholics  are  really  human  creatures,  en- 
dowed with  the  feelings  of  men,  and  entitled  to 
all  their  rights.  But  instead  of  this  wise  and 
prudent  measure,  Lord  Howick,  with  his  usual 
precipitation,  brings  forward  a  bill  in  their 
favour,  without  offering  the  slightest  proof  to 
the  country  that  they  were  any  thing  more  than 
horses  and  oxen.  The  person  who  shows  the 
lama  at  the  corner  of  Piccadilly  has  the  pre- 
caution to  write  up — Allowed  by  Sir  Joseph  Bunks 
to  be  a  real  quadruped:  so  his  lordship  might 
have  said — Allowed  by  the  Bench  of  Bishops  to  be 
real  human  creatures  ....  I  could  write  j'^ou 
twenty  letters  upon  this  subject :  but  I  am  tired, 
and  so  I  suppose  are  you.  Our  friendship  is 
now  of  forty  years'  standing;  you  know  me  to 
be  a  truly  religious  man;  but  I  shudder  to  see 
religion  ti-eated  like  a  cockade,  or  a  pint  of 
beer,  and  made  the  instrument  of  a  party.  I 
love  the  king,  but  I  love  the  people  as  well  as 
the  king;  and  if  I  am  sorry  to  see  his  old  age 
molested,  I  am  much  more  sorry  to  see  four 
millions  of  Catholics  baffled  in  their  just  ex- 
pectations. If  I  love  Lord  Grenville,  and 
Lord  Howick,  it  is  because  they  love  their 
country;  if  I  abhor  *****»,  it  is  because  I 
know  there  is  but  one  man  among  them  who 
is  not  laughing  at  the  enormous  folly  and  cre- 
dulity of  the  country,  and  that  he  is  an  ignorant 
and  mischievous  bigot.  As  for  the  light  and 
frivolous  jester,  of  whom  it  is  your  misfortune 
(O  think  so  highly,  learn,  my  dear  Abraham, 
ihat  this  political  Killigrew,  just  before  the 
breaking-up  of  the  last  administration,  was  in 
actual  treaty  with  them  for  a  place ;  and  if  they 
had   survived    twenty-four  hours   longer,  he 


would  have  been  now  declaiming  against  the 
cry  of  No  Popery!  instead  of  inflaming  it — 
With  this  practical  comment  on  the  baseness 
of  human  nature,  I  bid  you  adieu  ! 


LETTER   m. 

Ali  that  I  have  so  often  told  you,  Mr.  Abra- 
ham Plymley,  is  now  come  to  pass.  The 
Scythians,  in  whom  you  and  the  neighbouring 
country  gentlemen  placed  such  confidence,  are 
smitten  hip  and  thigh ;  their  Bennxngsen  put 
to  open  shame;  their  magazines  of  train  oil 
intercepted,  and  we  are  waking  from  our  dis- 
graceful drunkenness  to  all  the  horrors  of  Mr. 
Pefceval  and  Mr.  Canning  ....  We  shall 
now  see  if  a  nation  is  to  be  saved  by  school- 
boy jokes  and  doggerel  rhymes,  by  affronting 
petulance,  and  by  the  tones  and  gesticulations 
of  Mr.  Pitt.  But  these  are  not  all  the  auxilia- 
ries on  which  we  have  to  depend;  to  these  his 
colleague  will  add  the  strictest  attention  to  the 
smaller  parts  of  ecclesiastical  government,  to 
hassocks,  to  psalters,  and  to  surplices;  in  the 
last  agonies  of  England,  he  will  bring  in  a  bill 
to  regulate  Easter-offerings  ;  and  he  will  adjust 
the  stipends  of  curates,*  when  the  flag  of 
France  is  unfurled  on  the  hills  of  Kent.  What- 
ever can  be  done  by  very  mistaken  notions  of 
the  piety  of  a  Christian,  and  by  very  wretched 
imitation  of  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Pitt,  will  be 
done  by  these  two  gentlemen.  After  all,  if 
they  both  really  were  what  they  both  either 
wish  to  be  or  wish  to  be  thought;  if  the  one 
were  an  enlightened  Christian,  who  drew  from 
the  Gospel  the  toleration,  the  charity,  and  the 
sweetness  which  it  contains;  and  if  the  other 
really  possessed  any  portion  of  the  great  un- 
derstanding of  his  Nisus  who  guarded  him  from 
the  weapons  of  the  whigs,  I  should  still  doubt 
if  they  could  save  us.  But  I  am  sure  we  are 
not  to  be  saved  by  religious  hatred,  and  by  re- 
ligious trifling ;  by  any  psalmody,  however 
sweet;  or  by  any  persecution,  however  sharp: 
I  am  certain  the  sounds  of  Mr.  Pitt's  voice,  and 
the  measure  of  his  tones,  and  the  movement 
of  his  arms,  will  do  nothing  for  us ;  when  these 
tones,  and  movements,  and  voice  bring  us 
always  declamation  without  sense  or  know- 
ledge, and  ridicule  without  good  humour  or 
conciliation.  Oh,  Mr.  Plymley,  Mr.  Plymley, 
this  never  will  do.  Mrs.  Abraham  Plymley, 
my  sister,  will  be  led  away  captive  by  an 
amorous  Gaul ;  and  Joel  Plymley,  your  first- 
born, will  be  a  French  drummer. 

Out  of  sight,  out  of  mind,  seems  to  be  a  pro- 
verb which  applies  to  enemies  as  well  as 
friends.  Because  the  French  army  was  no 
longer  seen  from  the  cliffs  of  Dover ;  because 
the  sound  of  cannon  was  no  longer  heard  by 
the  debauched  London  bathers  on  the  Sussex 
coast ;  because  the  Morning  Post  no  longer  fixed 
the  invasion  sometimes  for  Monday,  sometimes 
for  Tuesday,  sometimes  (positively  for  the  last 
time  of  invading)  on  Saturday;  because  all 
these  causes  of  terror  were  suspended,  you 


*  The  reverend  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  has, 
since  this  was  written,  found  time,  in  the  heat  of  the  ses- 
sion, to  write  a  book  on  the  stipends  of  curates. 


WORKS   OF   THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


4.55 


conceived  the  power  of  Bonaparte  to  be  at  an 
end,  and  were  setting  off  for  Paris,  with  Lord 
Hawkesbury  the  conqueror. — This  is  precisely 
the  method  in  which  the  English  have  acted 
during  the  whole  of  the  revolutionary  war.  If 
Austria  or  Prussia  armed,  doctors  of  divinity 
immediately  printed  those  passages  out  of 
Habakkuk,  in  which  the  destruction  of  the 
usurper  by  General  Mack,  and  the  Duke  of 
Brunswick,  are  so  clearly  predicted.  If  Bona- 
parte halted,  there  was  a  mutiny,  or  a  dysen- 
tery. If  any  one  of  his  generals  were  eaten 
up  by  the  light  troops  of  Russia,  and  picked 
(as  their  manner  is)  to  the  bone,  the  sanguine 
spirit  of  this  country  displayed  itself  in  all  its 
glory.  What  scenes  of  infamy  did  the  Society 
for  the  Suppression  of  Vice  lay  open  to  our 
astonished  eyes  :  tradesmen's  daughters  danc- 
ing; pots  o-f  beer  carried  out  between  the  first 
and  second  lesson ;  and  dark  and  distant  ru- 
mours of  indecent  prints.  Clouds  of  Mr. 
Canning's  cousins  arrived  by  the  waggon ;  all 
the  contractors  left  their  cards  with  Mr.  Rose ; 
and  every  plunderer  of  the  public  crawled  out 
of  his  hole,  like  slugs  and  grubs,  and  worms, 
after  a  shower  of  rain. 

If  my  voice  could  have  been  heard  at  the 
late  changes,  I  should  have  said,  "  Gently ; 
patience ;  stop  a  little ;  the  time  is  not  yet 
come ;  the  mud  of  Poland  will  harden,  and  the 
bowels  of  the  French  grenadiers  will  recover 
their  tone.  When  honesty,  good  sense,  and 
liberality  have  extricated  you  out  of  your  pre- 
sent embarrassment,  then  dismiss  them  as  a 
matter  of  course ;  but  you  cannot  spare  them 
just  now;  don't  be  in  too  great  a  hurry,  or 
there  will  be  no  monarch  to  flatter,  and  no 
country  to  pillage  ;  only  submit  for  a  little  time 
to  be  respected  abroad ;  overlook  the  painful 
absence  of  the  tax-gatherer  for  a  few  years ; 
bear  up  nobly  under  the  increase  of  freedom 
and  of  liberal  policy  for  a  little  time,  and  I 
promise  you,  at  the  expiration  of  that  period, 
you  shall  be  plundered,  insulted,  disgraced, 
and  restrained  to  your  heart's  content.  Do 
not  imagine  I  have  any  intention  of  putting 
servility  and  canting  hypocrisy  permanently 
out  of  place,  or  of  filling  up  with  courage  and 
sense  those  offices  which  naturally  devolve 
upon  decorous  imbecility  and  inflexible  cun- 
ning: give  us  only  a  little  time  to  keep  off"  the 
hussars  of  France,  and  then  the  jobbers  and 
jesters  shall  return  to  their  birth-right,  and 
public  virtue  be  called  by  its  old  name  of 
fanaticism."*  Such  is  the  advice  I  would  have 
offered  to  my  infatuated  countrymen ;  but  it 
rained  very  hard  in  November,  Brother  Abra- 
ham, and  the  bowels  of  our  enemies  were 
loosened,  and  we  put  our  trust  in  white  fluxes, 
and  wet  mud ;  and  there  is  nothing  now  to 
oppose  to  the  conqueror  of  the  world,  but  a 


*  This  is  Mr.  Canning's  term  for  the  detection  of  public 
abuses ;  a  term  invented  by  him,  and  adopted  by  tliat 
eimious  parasite  who  is  always  grinning  at  his  heels. — 
Nature  descends  down  to  infinite  smallness.  Mr.  Can- 
ning has  his  parasites  ;  and  if  you  take  a  large  buzzing 
blue-bottle  fly,  and  look  at  it  in  a  microscope,  you  may 
see  20  or  30  little  usly  insects  crawling  about  it,  which 
doubtless  think  their  fiy  to  be  the  bluest,  grandest,  mer- 
riest, most  important  animal  in  the  universe,  and  are 
convi.ced  the  world  would  be  at  an  end  if  it  ceased  to 
buzz. 


small  table  wit,  and  the  sallow  surveyor  of  the 
meltings. 

You  ask  me,  if  I  think  it  possible  for  this 
country  to  survive  the  recent  misfortunes  of 
Europe? — I  answer  you  without  the  slightest 
degree  of  hesitation,  that,  if  Bonaparte  lives, 
and  a  great  deal  is  not  immediately  done  for 
the  conciliation  of  the  Catholics,  it  does  seem 
to  me  absolutely  impossible  but  that  we  must 
perish ;  and  take  this  with  you,  that  we  shall 
perish  without  exciting  the  slightest  feeling  of 
present  or  future  compassion,  but  fall  amidst 
the  hootings  and  revilings  of  Europe,  as  a  na- 
tion of  blockheads,  Methodists,  and  old  women. 
If  there  were  any  great  scenery,  any  heroic 
feelings,  any  blaze  of  ancient  virtue,  any  exalt- 
ed death,  any  termination  of  England  that 
would  be  ever  remembered,  ever  honoured  in 
that  western  world,  where  liberty  is  now  retir- 
ing, conquest  would  be  more  tolerable,  and 
ruin  more  sweet ;  but  it  is  doubly  miserable  to 
become  slaves  abroad,  because  we  would  be 
tyrants  at  home ;  to  persecute,  when  we  are 
contending  against  persecution  ;  and  to  perish, 
because  we  have  raised  up  worse  enemies 
within,  from  our  own  bigotry,  than  we  are  ex- 
posed to  without  from  the  unprincipled  ambi- 
tion of  France.  It  is,  indeed,  a  most  silly  and 
afflicting  spectacle  to  rage  at  such  a  moment 
against  our  own  kindred  and  our  own  blood; 
to  tell  them  they  cannot  be  honourable  in  war, 
because  they  are  conscientious  in  religion  ;  to 
stipulate  (at  the  very  moment  when  we  should 
buy  their  hearts  and  swords  at  any  price)  that 
they  must  hold  up  the  right  hand  in  prayer,  and 
not  the  left;  and  adore  one  common  God,  by 
turning  to  the  east  rather  than  to  the  west. 

What  is  it  the  Catholics  ask  of  you  1  Do 
not  exclude  us  from  the  honours  and  emolu- 
ments of  the  stale,  because  we  worship  God  in 
one  way,  and  you  worship  him  in  another, — in  a 
period  of  the  deepest  peace,  and  the  fattest  pros- 
perity, this  would  be  a  fair  request ;  it  should 
be  granted,  if  Lord  Hawkesbury  had  reached 
Paris,  if  Mr.  Canning's  interpreter  had  threat- 
ened the  Senate  in  an  opening  speech,  or  Mr. 
Perceval  explained  to  them  the  improvements 
he  meant  to  introduce  into  the  Catholic  reli- 
gion ;  but  to  deny  the  Irish  this  justice  now, 
in  the  present  state  of  Europe,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer months,  just  as  the  season  for  destroying 
kingdoms  is  coming  on,  is  (beloved  Abraham), 
whatever  you  may  think  of  it,  little  short  of 
positive  insanity. 

Here  is  a  frigate  attacked  by  a  corsair  of  im- 
mense strength  and  size,  rigging  cut,  masts  in 
danger  of  coming  by  the  board,  four  foot  water 
in  the  hold,  men  dropping  off  very  fast;  in  this 
dreadful  situation  how  do  you  think  the  captain 
acts  (whose  name  shall  be  Perceval)  ?  He 
calls  all  hands  upon  deck  ;  talks  to  them  of 
king,  country,  glory,  sweethearts,  gin,  French 
prison,  wooden  shoes,  old  England,  and  hearts 
of  oak;  they  give  three  cheers,  rush  to  their 
guns,  and,  after  a  tremendous  conflict,  succeed 
in  beating  off  the  enemy.  Not  a  syllable  of  all 
this  ;  this  is  not  the  manner  in  which  the  hon- 
ourable commander  goes  to  work;  the  first 
thing  he  does  is  to  secure  20  or  .30  of  his  prime 
sailors  who   happen   to  be  Catholics,  to  clap 


456 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


them  in  irons,  ana  set  over  them  a  guard  of  as 
many  Protestants  ;  having  taken  this  admirable 
method  of  defending  himself  against  his  infidel 
opponents,  he  goes  upon  deck,  reminds  the  sail- 
ors, in  a  very  bitter  harangue,  that  they  are  of 
different  religions  ;  exhorts  the  Episcopal  gun- 
ner not  to  trust  to  the  Presbyterian  quarter-mas- 
ter; issues  positive  orders  that  the  Catholics 
should  be  fired  at  upon  the  first  appearance  of 
discontent ;  rushes  tlirough  blood  and  brains,  ex- 
amining his  men  in  the  catechism  and  39  Arti- 
cles, and  positively  forbids  every  one  to  spunge 
or  ram  who  has  not  taken  the  sacrament  ac- 
cording to  the  Church  of  England.  Was  it 
right  to  take  out  a  captain  made  of  excellent 
British  stuff,  and  to  put  in  such  a  man  as  this  1 
Is  not  he  more  like  a  parson,  or  a  talking  law- 
yer, than  a  thorough-bred  seaman?  And  built 
as  she  is  of  heart  of  oak,  and  admirably 
manned,  is  it  possible,  with  such  a  captain,  to 
save  this  ship  from  going  to  the  bottom  1 

You  have  an  argument,  I  perceive,  in  com- 
mon with  many  others,  against  the  Catholics, 
that  their  demands  complied  with  would  only 
lead  to  farther  exactions,  and  that  it  is  better  to 
resist  them  now,  before  any  thing  is  conceded, 
than  hereafter,  when  it  is  found  that  all  conces- 
sions are  in  vain.  I  wish  the  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer,  who  uses  this  reasoning  to  exclude 
others  from  their  just  rights,  had  tried  its  effica- 
cy, not  by  his  understanding,  but  by  (what  are 
full  of  much  better  things)  his  pockets.  Sup- 
pose the  person  to  whom  he  applied  for  the 
meltings  had  withstood  every  plea  of  wife  and 
fourteen  children,  no  business,  and  good  cha- 
racter, and  refused  him  this  paltry  little  office, 
because  he  might  hereafter  attempt  to  get  hold 
of  the  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  for 
life;  would  not  Mr.  Perceval  have  contended 
eagerly  against  the  injustice  of  refusing  mode- 
rate requests,  because  immoderate  ones  may 
hereafter  be  made  1  Would  he  not  have  said, 
(and  said  truly,)  leave  such  exorbitant  attempts 
as  these  to  the  general  indignation  of  the  Com- 
mons, who  will  take  care  to  defeat  them  when 
they  do  occur;  but  do  not  refuse  me  the  irons, 
and  the  meltings  now,  because  I  may  totally 
lose  sight  of  all  moderation  hereafter.  Leave 
hereafter  to  the  spirit  and  the  wisdom  of  here- 
after; and  do  not  be  niggardly  now,  from  the 
apprehension  that  men  as  wise  as  you  should 
be  profuse  in  times  to  come. 

You  forget.  Brother  Abraham,  that  it  is  a 
vast  art  (where  quarrels  cannot  be  avoided)  to 
turn  the  public  opinion  in  your  favour  and  to 
the  prejudice  of  your  enemy;  a  vast  privilege 
to  feel  that  you  are  in  the  right,  and  to  make 
him  feel  that  he  is  in  the  wrong  :  a  privilege 
which  makes  you  more  than  a  man,  and  your 
antagonist  less  ;  and  often  secures  victory,  by 
convincing  him  who  contends,  that  he  must 
submit  to  injustice  if  he  submits  to  defeat. 
Open  every  rank  in  the  army  and  navy  to  the 
Catholic;  let  him  purchase  at  the  same  price 
as  the  Protestant  (if  either  Catholic  or  Protest- 
ant can  purchase  such  refined  pleasures)  the 
privilege  of  hearing  Lord  Castlereagh  speak 
for  three  hours;  keep  his  clergy  from  starving, 
soften  some  of  the  mostodious  powers  of  thetith- 
ing-man,  and  you  will  for  ever  lay  this  formi- 
dabi.e  question  to  rest.    But  if  I  am  wrong,  and 


you  must  quarrel  at  last,  quarrel  upon  just  rather 
than  unjust  grounds ;  divide  the  Catholic,  and 
unite  the  Protestant ;  be  just,  and  your  own  ex- 
ertions will  be  more  formidable  and  their  exer- 
tions less  formidable ;  be  just,  and  you  will  take 
away  from  their  party  all  the  best  and  wisest 
understandings  of  both  persuasions,  and  knit 
them  firmly  to  your  own  cause.  "  Thrice  is 
he  armed  who  has  his  quarrel  just;"  and  tea 
times  as  much  may  he  be  taxed.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  any  war,  however  destitute  of  common 
sense,  every  mob  will  roar,  and  every  lord  of 
the  bedchamber  address;  but  if  you  are  en- 
gaged in  a  war  that  is  to  last  for  years,  and  to 
require  important  sacrifices,  take  care  to  make 
the  justice  of  your  case  so  clear  and  so  obvious, 
that  it  cannot  be  mistaken  by  the  most  illiterate 
country  gentleman  who  rides  the  earth.  No- 
thing, in  fact,  can  be  so  grossly  absurd  as  the 
argument  which  says,  I  will  deny  justice  to 
you  now,  because  I  suspect  future  injustice 
from  you.  At  this  rate,  you  may  lock  a  man 
up  in  your  stable,  and  refuse  to  let  him  out  be- 
cause you  suspect  that  he  has  an  intention,  at 
some  future  period,  of  robbing  your  hen-roosL 
You  may  horsewhip  him  at  Lady-day,  because 
you  believe  he  will  affront  you  at  Midsummer. 
You  may  commit  a  greater  evil,  to  guard 
against  a  less,  which  is  merely  contingent,  and 
may  never  happen.  You  may  do  what  you 
have  done  a  century  ago  in  Ireland,  made  the 
Catholics  worse  than  Helots,  because  you  sus- 
pected that  they  might  hereafter  aspire  to  be 
more  than  fellow-citizens  ;  rendering  their  suf- 
ferings certain  from  your  jealousy,  while  yours 
were  only  doubtful  from  their  ambition ;  an  am- 
bition sure  to  be  excited  by  the  very  measures 
which  were  taken  to  prevent  it. 

The  physical  strength  of  the  Catholics  will 
not  be  greater  because  you  give  them  a  share 
of  political  power.  You  may,  by  these  means, 
turn  rebels  into  friends  ;  but  I  do  not  see  how 
you  make  rebels  more  formidable.  If  they 
taste  of  the  honey  of  lawful  power,  they  will 
love  the  hive  from  whence  they  procure  it ;  if 
they  will  struggle  with  us  like  men  in  the  same 
state  for  civil  influence,  we  are  safe.  All  that  I 
dread  is,  the  physical  strength  of  four  millions 
of  men  combined  with  an  invading  French 
army.  If  you  are  to  quarrel  at  last  with  this 
enormous  population,  still  put  it  off  as  long  as 
you  can ;  you  must  gain,  and  cannot  lose,  by 
the  delay.  The  state  of  Europe  cannot  be 
worse ;  the  conviction  which  the  Catholics 
entertain  of  your  tyranny  and  injustice  cannot 
be  more  alarming,  nor  the  opinions  of  your 
own  people  more  divided.  Time,  which  pro- 
duces such  effect  upon  brass  and  marble,  may 
inspire  one  minister  with  modesty,  and  another 
with  compassion;  every  circumstance  may  be 
better;  some  certainly  will  be  so,  none  can  be 
worse  ;  and,  after  all,  the  evil  may  never  happen. 

You  have  got  hold,  I  perceive,  of  all  the  vul- 
gar English  stories  respecting  the  hereditary 
transmission  of  forfeited  property,  and  serious- 
ly believe  that  every  Catholic  beggar  wears 
the  terriers  of  his  father's  land  next  his  skin, 
and  is  only  waiting  for  better  times  to  cut  the 
throat  of  the  Protestant  professor,  and  get 
drunk  in  the  hall  of  his  ancestors.  There  is 
one  irresistible  answer  to   this  mistake,  and 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


457 


that  is,  that  the  forfeitei'.  lands  are  purchased 
indiscriminately  by  Catholic  and  Protestant, 
and  that  the  Catholic  purchaser  never  objects 
to  such  a  title.  Now  the  land  (so  purchased 
by  a  Catholic)  is  either  his  own  family  estate, 
or  it  is  not.  If  it  is,  you  suppose  him  so  desi- 
rous of  coming  into  possession,  that  he  resorts 
to  the  double  method  of  rebellion  and  purchase ; 
if  it  is  not  his  own  family  estate  of  which  he 
becomes  the  purchaser,  you  suppose  him  first 
to  purchase,  then  to  rebel,  in  order  to  defeat  the 
purchase.  These  things  may  happen  in  Ire- 
land; but  it  is  totally  impossible  they  can  hap- 
pen anywhere  else.  In  fact,  what  land  can  any 
man  of  any  sect  purchase  in  Ireland,  but  for- 
feited property  1  In  all  other  oppressed  coun- 
tries which  I  have  ever  heard  of,  the  rapacity 
of  the  conqueror  was  bounded  by  the  territorial 
limits  in  which  the  objects  of  his  avarice  were 
contained  ;  but  Ireland  has  been  actually  con- 
fiscated twice  over,  as  a  cat  is  twice  killed  by 
a  wicked  parish-boy. 

I  admit  there  is  a  vast  luxury  in  selecting  a 
particular  set  of  Christians,  and  in  worrying 
them  as  a  boy  worries  a  puppy  dog ;  it  is  an 
amusement  in  which  all  the  young  English 
are  brought  up  from  their  earliest  days.  I  like 
the  idea  of  saying  to  men  who  use  a  different 
hassock  from  me,  that  till  they  change  their 
hassock,  they  shall  never  be  colonels,  alder- 
men, or  Parliament-men.  While  I  am  gratify- 
ing my  personal  insolence  respecting  religious 
forms,  I  fondle  myself  into  an  idea  that  I  am 
religious,  and  that  I  am  doing  my  duty  in  the 
most  exemplary  (as  I  certainly  am  in  the  most 
easy)  way.  But  then,  my  good  Abraham,  this 
sport,  admirable  as  it  is,  is  become,  with  re- 
spect to  the  Catholics,  a  little  dangerous ;  and 
if  we  are  not  extremely  careful  in  taking  the 
amusement,  we  shall  tumble  into  the  holy 
water,  and  be  drowned.  As  it  seems  neces- 
sary to  your  idea  of  an  established  church  to 
have  somebody  to  worry  and  torment,  suppose 
we  were  to  select  for  this  purpose  William 
Wilberforce,  Esq.,  and  the  patent  Christians 
of  Clapham.  We  shall  by  this  expedient  en- 
joy the  same  opportunity  for  cruelty  and  in- 
justice, without  being  exposed  to  the  same 
risks ;  we  will  compel  them  to  abjure  vital 
clergymen  by  a  public  test,  to  deny  that  the 
said  William  Wilberforce  has  any  power  of 
working  miracles,  touching  for  barrenness  or 
any  other  infirmity,  or  that  he  is  endowed  with 
any  preternatural  gift  whatever.  We  Avill 
swear  them  to  the  doctrine  of  good  works, 
compel  them  to  preach  common  sense,  and  to 
hear  it ;  to  frequent  bishops,  deans,  and  other 
high  churchmen ;  and  to  appear  (once  in  the 
quarter  at  the  least)  at  some  melodrame,  opera, 
pantomime,  or  other  light  scenical  representa- 
tion :  in  short,  we  will  gratify  the  love  of  inso- 
lence and  power;  we  will  enjoy  the  old  orthodox 
sport  of  witnessing  the  impotent  anger  of  men 
compelled  to  submit  to  civil  degradation,  or  to 
sacrifice  their  notions  of  truth  to  ours.  And 
all  this  JVC  may  do  without  the  slightest  risk, 
because  their  numbers  are  (as  yet)  not  very 
considerable.'  Cruelty  and  injustice  must,  of 
course,  exist;  but  why  connect  them  with 
danger  1  Why  torture  a  bull-dog  when  you 
can  get  a  frog  or  a  rabbit  1  I  am  sure  my 
58 


proposal  will  meet  with  the  most  universal 
approbation.  Do  not  be  apprehensive  of  any 
opposition  from  ministers.  If  it  is  a  case  of 
hatred,  we  are  sure  that  one  man  will  defend 
it  by  the  Gospel ;  if  it  abridges  human  free- 
dom, we  know  that  another  will  find  pi'ecedents 
for  it  in  the  Revolution. 

In  the  name  of  Heaven,  what  are  we  to  gain 
by  suffering  Ireland  to  be  rode  by  that  faction 
which  now  predominates  over  it?  Why  are 
we  to  endanger  our  own  church  and  state,  not 
for  500,000  Episcopalians,  but  for  ten  or  twelve 
great  Orange  families,  who  have  been  sucking 
the  blood  of  that  country  for  these  hundred 
years  last  past  1  and  the  folly  of  the  Orange- 
men* in  playing  this  game  themselves,  is 
almost  as  absurd  as  ours  in  playing  it  for 
them.  They  ought  to  have  the  sense  to  see 
that  their  business  now  is  to  keep  quietly  the 
lands  and  beeves  of  which  the  fathers  of  the 
Catholics  were  robbed  in  days  of  yore ;  they 
must  give  to  their  descendants  the  sop  of 
political  power ;  by  contending  with  them  for 
names,  they  will  lose  realities,  and  be  com- 
pelled to  beg  their  potatoes  in  a  foreign  land, 
abhorred  equally  by  the  English,  who  have 
witnessed  their  oppression,  and  by  the  Catho- 
lic Irish,  who  have  smarted  under  them. 


LETTER  IV. 

Then  comes  Mr.  Isaac  Hawkins  Brown  (the 
gentleman  who  dancedf  so  badly  at  the  court 
of  Naples),  and  asks,  if  it  is  not  an  anomaly 
to  educate  men  in  another  religion  than  your 
own]  It  certainly  is  our  duty  to  gei  rid  of 
error,  and  above  all,  of  religious  error;  but 
this  is  not  to  be  done  pei-  salttim,  or  the  mea- 
sure will  miscarry,  like  the  queen.  It  may  be 
very  easy  to  dance  away  the  royal  embryo  of 
a  great  kingdom ;  but  Mr.  Hawkins  Brown 
must  look  before  he  leaps,  when  his  object  is 
to  crush  an  opposite  sect  in  religion ;  false 
.^teps.  aid  the  one  effect  as  much  as  they  are 
fatal  to  the  other ;  it  will  require  not  only  the 
lapse  of  Mr.  Hawkins  Brown,  but  the  lapse  of 
centuries,  before  the  absurdities  of  the  Catho- 
lic religion  are  laughed  at  as  much  as  they 
deserve  to  be ;  but  surely,  in  the  mean  time, 
the  Catholic  religion  is  better  than  none  ;  foui 
millions  of  Catholics  are  better  than  four  mil- 
lions of  wild  beasts ;  two  hundred  priests, 
educated  by  our  own  government,  are  better 
than  the  same  number  educated  by  the  man 
who  means  to  destroy  us. 

The  whole  sum  now  appropriated  by  govern- 
ment to  the  religious  education  of  four  millions 
of  Christians  is  13,000?.;   a  sum   about   one 


*  This  remark  begins  to  be  sensibly  felt  in  Ireland. 
The  Protestants  in  Ireland  are  fast  coming  over  to  the 
Catliolic  cause. 

+  In  the  third  year  of  his  present  majesty,  and  in  the 
30th  of  his  own  ape,  Mr.  Isaac  Hawkins  IJrown,  then 
upon  his  travels,  danced  one  evening  at  tlie  court  of 
Naples.  Ilis  dress  was  a  volcanic  silk  with  lava  buttons. 
Whether  (as  the  Neapolitan  wits  said)  he  had  studied 
dancing  under  St.  Vitus,  or  whether  David,  dancing  in  a 
linen  vest,  was  his  model,  is  not  known ;  hut  Mr.  Brown 
danced  with  such  inconceivable  alacrity  and  vigour,  that 
he  threw  the  Queen  of  Naples  into  convulsions  of  laugh- 
ter, which  terminated  in  a  miscarriage,  and  changed  lb* 
dynasty  of  the  Neapolitan  throne. 
2Q 


458 


WORKS  OF   THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


hundred  times  as  large  being  appropriated  in 
the  same  country  to  about  one-eighth  part  of 
th's  number  of  Protestants.  When  it  was 
proposed  to  raise  this  grant  from  8,000/.  to 
13,000/.,  its  present  amount,  this  sum  was 
objected  to  by  that  most  indulgent  of  Chris- 
tians, Mr.  Spencer  Perceval,  as  enormous;  he 
himself  having  secured  for  his  own  eating  and 
drinking,  and  the  eating  and  drinking  of  the 
Master  and  Miss  Percevals,  the  reversionary 
sum  of  21,000/.  a  year  of  the  public  money, 
and  having  just  failed  in  a  desperate  and  rapa- 
cious attempt  to  secure  to  himself  for  life  the 
revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster;  and  the 
best  of  it  is,  that  this  minister,  after  abusing 
his  predecessors  for  their  impious  bounty  to 
the  Catholics,  has  found  himself  compelled, 
from  the  apprehension  of  immediate  danger, 
to  grant  the  sum  in  question;  thus  dissolving 
his  pearl*  in  vinegar,  and  destroyiug  all  the 
value  of  the  gift  by  the  virulence  and  reluc- 
tance with  which  it  was  granted. 

I  hear  from  some  persons  in  Parliament, 
and  from  others  in  the  sixpenny  societies  for 
debate,  a  great  deal  about  unalterable  laws 
passed  at  the  Revolution.  When  I  hear  any 
man  talk  of  an  unalterable  law,  the  only  effect 
it  produces  upon  me  is  to  convince  me  that  he 
is  an  unalterable  fool.  A  law  passed  when 
there  were  Germany,  Spain,  Russia,  Sweden, 
Holland,  Portugal,  and  Turkey;  when  there 
was  a  disputed  succession ;  when  four  or  five 
hundred  acres  were  won  and  lost  after  ten 
years'  hard  fighting ;  when  armies  were  com- 
manded by  the  sons  of  kings,  and  campaigns 
passed  in  an  interchange  of  civil  letters  and 
ripe  fruit ;  and  for  these  laws,  when  the  whole 
state  of  the  world  is  completely  changed,  we 
are  now,  according  to  my  Lord  Hawkesbury, 
to  hold  ourselves  ready  to  perish.  It  is  no 
mean  misfortune,  in  times  like  these,  to  be 
forced  to  say  any  thing  about  such  men  as 
Lord  Hawkesbury,  and  to  be  reminded  that  we 
are  governed  by  them;  but  as  I  am  driven  to 
it,  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  observing,  that 
the  wisdom  and  liberality  of  my  Lord  Hawkes- 
bury are  of  that  complexion  which  always 
shrinks  from  the  present  exercise  of  these 
virtues,  by  praising  the  splendid  examples  of 
them  in  ages  past.  If  he  had  lived  at  such 
periods,  he  would  have  opposed  the  Revolution 
by  praising  the  Reformation,  and  the  Reforma- 
tion by  speaking  handsomely  of  the  crusades. 
He  gratifies  his  natural  antipathy  to  great  and 
courageous  measures,  by  playing  off  the  wis- 
dom and  courage  which  have  ceased  to  influ- 
ence human  atfairs  against  that  wisdom  and 
courage  which  living  men  would  employ  for 
present  happiness.  Besides,  it  happens  un- 
fortunately for  the  warden  of  the  Cinque 
Ports,  that  to  the  principal  incapacities  under 
which  the  Irish  suffer,  they  were  subjected 
after  that  great  and  glorious  revolution,  to 
which  we  are  indebted  for  so  many  blessings, 
and  his  lordship  for  the  termination  of  so 
many  periods.  The  Catholics  Avere  not  ex- 
cluded from  the  Irish  House  of  Commons,  or 
military  commands,  before  the  3d  and  4th  of 

*  Perfectly  ready  at  the  same  time  to  follow  the  other 
half  of  Cleopatra's  example,  and  to  swallow  the  solution 
kiiiiself. 


William  and  Mary,  and  the  1st  and  2d  of 
Queen  Anne. 

If  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  environed 
as  they  are  on  every  side  with  Jeukinsons, 
Percevals,  Melvilles,  and  other  perils,  were  to 
pray  for  divine  illumination  and  aid,  what 
more  could  Providence  in  its  mercy  do  than 
send  them  the  example  of  Scotland  1  For 
what  a  length  of  years  was  it  attempted  to 
compel  the  Scotch  to  change  their  religion : 
horse,  foot,  artillery,  and  armed  prebendaries, 
were  sent  out  after  the  Presbyterian  parsons 
and  their  congregations.  The  Percevals  of 
those  days  called  for  blood ;  this  call  is  never 
made  in  vain,  and  blood  was  shed ;  but,  to  the 
astonishment  and  horror  of  the  Percevals  of 
those  days,  they  could  not  introduce  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  nor  prevent  that  meta- 
physical people  from  going  to  heaven  their 
true  way,  instead  of  our  true  way.  With  a 
little  oatmeal  for  food,  and  a  little  sulphur  for 
friction,  allaying  cutaneous  irritation  with  the 
one  hand,  and  holding  his  Calvinistical  creed 
in  the  other,  Sawney  ran  away  to  his  flinty 
hills,  sung  his  psalm  out  of  tune  his  own  way, 
and  listened  to  his  sermon  of  two  hours  long, 
amid  the  rough  and  imposing  melancholy  of 
the  tallest  thistles.  But  Sawney  brought  up 
his  unbreeched  offspring  in  a  cordial  hatred 
of  his  oppressors ;  and  Scotland  was  as  much 
a  part  of  the  Aveakness  of  England  then  as 
Ireland  is  at  this  moment.  The  true  and  the 
only  remedy  was  applied ;  the  Scotch  were 
suffered  to  worship  God  after  their  own  tire- 
some manner,  without  pain,  penalty,  and  pri- 
vation. No  lightnings  descended  from  hea- 
ven ;  the  country  was  not  ruined  ;  the  world 
is  not  yet  come  to  an  end;  the  dignitaries,  who 
foretold  all  these  consequences,  are  utterly 
forgotten ;  and  Scotland  has  ever  since  been 
an  increasing  source  of  strength  to  Great 
Britain.  In  the  six  hundredth  year  of  our 
empire  over  Ireland,  we  are  making  laws  to 
transport  a  man,  if  he  is  found  out  of  his 
house  after  eight  o'clock  at  night.  That  this  is 
necessary,  I  know  too  well;  but  tell  me  why 
it  is  necessary  1  It  is  not  necessary  in  Greece, 
where  the  Turks  are  masters. 

Are  you  aware,  that  there  is  at  this  moment 
an  universal  clamour  throughout  the  whole 
of  Ireland  against  the  union  1  It  is  now  one 
month  since  I  returned  from  that  country ;  I 
have  never  seen  so  extraordinary,  so  alarming, 
and  so  rapid  a  change  in  the  sentiments  of  any 
people.  Those  who  disliked  the  union  before 
are  quite  furious  against  it  now ;  those  who 
doubted  doubt  no  more  ;  those  who  were  friend- 
ly to  it  have  exchanged  that  friendship  for  the 
most  rooted  aversion ;  in  the  midst  of  all  this 
(which  is  by  far  the  most  alarming  symptom), 
there  is  the  strongest  disposition  on  the  part 
of  the  northern  dissenters  to  unite  with  the 
Catholics,  irritated  by  the  faithless  injustice 
with  which  they  have  been  treated.  If  this 
combination  does  take  place  (mark  what  I  say 
to  you),  you  will  have  meetings  all  over  Ire- 
land for  the  cry  of  No  Union;  that  cry  will 
spread  like  wild-fire,  and  blaze  over  every  op- 
position ;  and  if  this  is  the  case,  there  is  no 
use  in  mincing  the  matter,  Ireland  is  gone,  and 
the  death-blow  of  England  is  struck ;  and  this 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


459 


event  may  happen  instantly — before  Mr.  Can- 
ning and  Mr.  Hookham  Frere  have  turned 
Lord  Howick's  last  speech  into  doggerel 
rhyme ;  before  "  the  near  and  dear  relations" 
have  received  another  quarter  of  their  pen- 
.sion,  or  Mr.  Perceval  conducted  the  curates' 
salaiy  bill  safely  to  a  third  reading. — If  the 
mind  of  the  English  people,  cursed  as  they 
now  are  with  that  madness  of  religious  dis- 
sension which  has  been  breathed  into  them  for 
the  purpose  of  private  ambition,  can  be  alarm- 
ed by  any  remembrances,  and  warned  by  any 
events,  they  should  never  forget  how  nearly 
Ireland  was  lost  to  this  country  during  the 
American  war ;  that  it  was  saved  merely  by 
the  jealousy  of  the  Protestant  Irish  towards 
the  Catholics,  then  a  much  more  insignificant 
and  powerless  body  than  they  now  are.  The 
Catholic  and  the  dissenter  have  since  com- 
bined together  against  you.  Last  war,  the 
winds,  those  ancient  and  unsubsidized  allies 
of  England ;  the  winds,  upon  which  English 
ministers  depend  as  much  for  saving  king- 
doms as  washerwomen  do  for  drying  clothes ; 
the  winds  stood  your  friends ;  the  French 
could  only  get  into  Ireland  in  small  numbers, 
and  the  rebels  were  defeated.  Since  then,  all 
the  remaining  kingdoms  of  Europe  have  been 
destroyed ;  and  the  Irish  see  that  their  national 
independence  is  gone,  without  having  received 
any  single  one  of  those  advantages  which 
they  were  taught  to  expect  from  the  sacrifice. 
All  good  things  were  to  flow  from  the  union ; 
they  have  none  of  them  gained  any  thing. 
Every  man's  pride  is  wounded  by  it ;  no  man's 
interest  is  promoted.  In  the  seventh  year  of 
that  union,  four  million  Catholics,  lured  by 
all  kinds  of  promises  to  yield  up  the  separate 
dignity  and  sovereignty  of  their  country,  are 
forced  to  squabble  with  such  a  man  as  Mr. 
Spencer  Perceval  for  five  thousand  pounds 
with  which  to  educate  their  children  in  their 
own  mode  of  worship ;  he,  the  same  Mr.  Spen- 
cer, having  secured  to  his  own  Protestant 
self  a  reversionary  portion  of  the  public  mo- 
ney amounting  to  four  times  that  sum.  A 
senior  proctor  of  the  University  of  Oxford, 
the  head  of  a  house,  or  the  examining  chap- 
lain to  a  bishop,  may  believe  these  things  can 
last;  but  every  man  of  the  world,  whose  un- 
derstanding has  been  exercised  in  the  business 
of  life,  must  see  (and  see  with  a  breaking 
heart)  that  they  will  soon  come  to  a  fearful 
termination. 

Our  conduct  to  Ireland,  during  the  whole 
of  this  war,  has  been  that  of  a  man  who  sub- 
scribes to  hospitals,  weeps  at  charity  sermons, 
carries  out  broth  and  blankets  to  beggars,  and 
then  comes  home  and  beats  his  wife  and 
children.  We  had  compassion  for  the  victims 
of  all  other  oppression  and  injustice,  except 
our  own.  If  Switzerland  was  threatened, 
away  went  a  treasury  clerk  with  a  hundred 
thousand  pounds  for  Switzerland ;  large  bags 
of  money  were  kept  constantly  under  sailing 
orders ;  upon  the  slightest  demonstration  to- 
wards Naples,  down  went  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton upon  his  knees,  and  begged  for  the  love  of 
St.  Januarius  they  would  help  us  off  with  a 
little  money;  all  the  arts  of  Machiavel  were 
resorted  to,  to  persuade  Europe   to   borrow ; 


troops  were  sent  off"  in  all  directions  to  save 
the  Catholic  and  Protestant  world ;  the  pope 
himself  was  guarded  by  a  regiment  of  English 
dragoons ;  if  the  Grand  Lama  had  been  at  hand, 
he  would  have  had  another;  every  Catholic 
clergyman,  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
neither  English  nor  Irish,  was  immediately 
provided  with  lodgings,  soup,  crucifix,  missal, 
chapel-beads,  relics,  and  holy  water ;  if  Turks 
had  landed,  Turks  would  have  received  an 
order  from  the  treasury  for  coffee,  opium,  ko- 
rans,  and  seraglios.  In  the  midst  of  all  this 
fury  of  saving  and  defending,  this  crusade  for 
conscience  and  Christianity,  there  was  an  uni- 
versal agreement  among  all  descriptions  of 
people  to  continue  every  species  of  internal 
persecution ;  to  deny  at  home  every  just  right 
that  had  been  denied  before ;  to  pummel  poor 
Dr.  Abraham  Rees  and  his  dissenters ;  and  to 
treat  the  unhappy  Catholics  of  Ireland  as  if 
their  tongues  were  mute,  their  heels  cloven, 
their  nature  brutal,  and  designedly  subjected 
by  Providence  to  their  Orange  masters. 

How  would  my  admirable  brother,  the  Rev. 
Abraham  Plymley,  like  to  be  marched  to  a 
Catholic  chapel,  to  be  sprinkled  with  the  sanc- 
tified contents  of  a  pump,  to  hear  a  number 
of  false  quantities  in  the  Latin  tongue,  and  to 
see  a  number  of  persons  occupied  in  making  a 
right  angles  upon  the  breast  and  forehead] 
And  if  all  this  would  give  you  so  much  pain, 
what  right  have  you  to  march  Catholic  sol 
diers  to  a  place  of  worship  where  there  is  no 
aspei-sion,  no  rectangular  gestures,  and  w^here 
they  understand  every  word  they  hear,  having 
first,  in  order  to  get  him  to  enlist,  made  a  so- 
lemn promise  to  the  contrary "?  Can  you  won- 
der, after  this,  that  the  Catholic  priest  stops 
the  recruiting  in  Ireland,  as  he  is  now  doing 
to  a  most  alarming  degree  1 

The  late  question  concerning  military  rank 
did  not  individually  affect  the  lowest  persons 
of  the  Catholic  persuasion ;  but  do  you  ima- 
gine that  they  do  not  sympathize  with  he 
honour  and  disgrace  of  their  superiors  1  Do 
you  think  that  satisfaction  and  dissatisfaction 
do  not  travel  down  from  Lord  Fingal  to  the 
most  potatoless  Catholic  in  Ireland,  and  that 
the  glory  or  shame  of  the  sect  is  not  felt  by 
many  more  than  these  conditions  personally 
and  corporally  affect?  Do  you  suppose  that 
the  detection  of  Sir  H.  M.,  and  the  disappoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Perceval  in  the  matter  of  the  Duchy 
of  Lancaster,  did  not  affect  every  dabbler  in 
public  property  1  Depend  upon  it  these  things 
were  felt  through  all  the  gradations  of  small 
plunderers,  down  to  him  who  filches  a  pound 
of  tobacco  from  the  king's  warehouses;  while, 
on  the  contrary,  the  acquittal  of  any  noble  and 
official  thief  would  not  fail  to  diffuse  the  most 
heartfelt  satisfaction  over  the  larcenous  and 
burglarious  world.  Observe,  I  do  not  say  be- 
cause the  lower  Catholics  are  affected  by  what 
concerns  their  superiors,  that  they  are  not  af- 
fected by  what  concerns  themselves.  There 
is  no  disguising  the  horrid  truth ;  there  must  be 
some  relaxation  with  respect  to  tithe :  this  is  the 
cruel  and  heart-rending  price  which  must  be 
paid  for  national  preservation.  I  feel  ho-o* 
little  existence  will  be  worth  having,  if  anv 
alteration,  however  slight,  is  made  in  tho  pro- 


460 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


perty  of  Irish  rectors ;  I  am  conscious  how 
much  such  changes  must  affect  the  daily  and 
hourly  comforts  of  every  Englishman  ;  I  shall 
feel  too  happy  if  they  leave  Europe  untouched, 
and  are  not  ultimately  fatal  to  the  destinies  of 
America;  but  I  am  madly  bent  upon  keeping 
foreign  enemies  out  of  the  British  empire,  and 
my  limited  understanding  presents  me  with  no 
other  means  of  effecting  my  object. 

You  talk  of  waiting  till  another  reign,  before 
any  alteration  is  made ;  a  proposal  full  of 
good  sense  and  good  nature,  if  the  measure 
in  question  were  to  pull  down  St.  James's  Pa- 
lace, or  to  alter  Kew  Gardens.  Will  Bona- 
parte agree  to  put  off  his  intrigues,  and  his  in- 
vasion of  Ireland  ?  If  so,  I  will  overlook  the 
question  of  justice,  and  finding  the  danger  sus- 
pended, agree  to  the  delay.  I  sincerely  hope 
this  reign  may  last  many  years,  )^et  the  delay 
of  a  single  session  of  Parliament  may  be  fa- 
tal ;  but  if  another  year  elapses  without  some 
serious  concession  made  to  the  Catholics,  I 
believe,  before  God,  that  all  future  pledges  and 
concessions  will  be  made  in  vain.  I  do  not  think 
that  peace  will  do  you  any  good  under  such 
circumstances ;  if  Bonaparte  gives  you  a  res- 
pite, it  will  only  be  to  get  ready  the  gallows  on 
which  he  means  to  hang  you.  The  Catholic 
A  and  the  dissenter  can  unite  in  peace  as  well  as 
war.  If  they  do,  the  gallows  is  ready;  and 
your  executioner,  in  spite  of  the  most  solemn 
promises,  will  turn  you  off  the  next  hour. 

With  every  disposition  to  please  (where  to 
please  within  fair  and  rational  limits  is  an  high 
duty),  it  is  impossible  for  public  men  to  be 
long  silent  about  the  Catholics:  pressing  evils 
are  not  got  rid  of  because  they  are  not  talked 
of.  A  man  may  command  his  family  to  say 
nothing  more  about  the  stone,  and  surgical 
operations ;  but  the  ponderous  malice  still  lies 
upon  the  nerve,  and  gets  so  big,  that  the  patient 
breaks  his  own  law  of  silence,  clamours  for 
the  knife,  and  expires  under  its  late  operation. 
Believe  me,  you  talk  folly,  when  you  talk  of 
suppressing  the  Catholic  question.  I  wish  to 
God  the  case  admitted  of  such  a  remedy:  bad 
as  it  s,  it  does  not  admit  of  it.  If  the  wants  of 
the  Catholics  are  not  heard  in  the  manly  tones 
of  Lord  Grenville,  or  the  servile  drawl  of  Lord 
Custlereagh,  they  will  be  heard  ere  long  in  the 
madness  of  mobs,  and  the  conflicts  of  armed 
men. 

I  observe,  it  is  now  universally  the  fashion 
lo  speak  of  the  first  personage  in  the  state  as 
the  great  obstacle  to  the  measure  In  the  first 
place,  I  am  not  bound  to  believe  such  rumours 
because  I  hear  them  ;  and  in  the  next  place,  I 
object  to  such  language  as  unconstitutional. 
Whoever  retains  his  situation  in  the  ministry, 
while  the  incapacities  of  the  Catholics  remain, 
is  the  advocate  for  those  incapacities ;  and  to 
him,  and  to  him  only,  am  I  to  look  for  respon- 
feibility.  But  waive  this  question  of  the  Catho- 
lics, and  put  a  general  case :  How  is  a  minister 
of  this  country  to  act  when  the  conscientious 
scruples  of  his  sovereign  prevent  the  execution 
of  a  measure  deemed  by  him  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  safety  of  the  country  1  His  conduct 
is  quite  clear — he  should  resign.  But  what  is 
his  successor  to  do? — Resign.  But  is  the  king 
to  be  lefi  without  ministers,  and  is  he  in  this 


manner  to  be  compelled  to  act  against  his  own 
conscience  1  Before  I  answer  this,  pray  tell 
me,  in  my  turn,  what  better  defence  is  there 
against  the  machinations  of  a  wicked,  or  the 
errors  of  a  weak  monarch,  than  the  impossi- 
bility of  finding  a  minister  who  will  lend  him- 
self to  vice  and  folly  1  Every  English  monarch, 
in  such  a  predicament,  would  sacrifice  his 
opinions  and  views  to  such  a  clear  expression 
of  the  public  will ;  and  it  is  one  method  iu 
which  the  constitution  aims  at  bringing  about 
such  a  sacrifice.  You  may  say,  if  you  please, 
the  ruler  of  a  state  is  forced  to  give  up  his 
object,  when  the  natural  love  of  place  and 
power  will  tempt  no  one  to  assist  him  in  its 
attainment.  This  may  be  force;  but  it  is  force 
without  injury,  and  therefore  without  blame. 
I  am  not  to  be  beat  out  of  these  obvious  rea- 
sonings, and  ancient  constitutional  provisions, 
by  the  term  conscience.  There  is  no  fantasy, 
however  wild,  that  a  man  may  not  persuade 
himself  that  he  cherishes  from  motives  of 
conscience;  eternal  war  against  impious 
France,  or  rebellious  America,  or  Catholic 
Spain,  may  in  times  to  come  be  scruples  of 
conscience.  One  English  monarch  may,  from 
scruples  of  conscience,  wish  to  abolish  every 
trait  of  religious  persecution ;  another  monarch 
may  deem  it  his  absolute  and  indispensable 
duty  to  make  a  slight  provision  for  dissenters 
out  of  the  revenues  of  the  Church  of  England- 
So  that  you  see.  Brother  Abraham,  there  are 
cases  where  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  best 
and  most  loyal  subjects  to  oppose  the  consci- 
entious scruples  of  their  sovereign,  still  taking 
care  that  their  actions  were  constitutional,  and 
their  modes  respectful.  Then  you  come  upon 
me  with  personal  questions,  and  say,  that  no 
such  dangers  are  to  be  apprehended  now  under 
our  present  gracious  sovereign,  of  whose  good 
qualities  we  must  be  all  so  well  convinced. 
AH  these  sorts  of  discussions  I  beg  leave  to 
decline ;  what  I  have  said  upon  constitutional 
topics,  I  mean  of  course  for  general,  not  for 
particular  application.  I  agree  with  you  in  all 
the  good  you  have  said  of  the  powers  that  be, 
and  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  point- 
ing out  general  dangers  to  the  constitution,  at 
a  moment  when  we  are  so  completely  exempted 
from  their  present  influence.  I  cannot  finish 
this  letter  without  expressing  my  surprise  and 
pleasure  at  your  abuse  of  the  servile  addresses 
poured  in  upon  the  throne;  nor  can  I  conceive 
a  greater  disgust  to  a  monarch,  with  a  true 
English  heart,  than  to  see  such  a  question  as 
that  of  Catholic  emancipation  argued,  not  with 
a  reference  to  its  justice  or  its  importance,  but 
universally  considered  to  be  of  no  farther  con- 
sequence than  as  it  affects  his  own  private 
feelings.  That  these  sentiments  should  be 
mine,  is  not  wonderful ;  but  how  they  come  to 
be  yours,  does,  I  confess,  fill  me  with  surprise. 
Are  you  moved  by  the  arrival  of  the  Irish 
brigade  at  Antwerp,  and  the  amorous  violence 
which  awaits  Mrs.  Plymley  1 


LETTER  V. 
Dear  Abraham, 
I  NEVER  met  a  parson  in  my  life  who  did  not 
consider  the  Corporation  and  Test  Acts  as  the 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


461 


great  bulwarks  of  the  church ;  and  yet  it  is  now 
just  sixty-four  years  since  bills  of  indemnity 
to  destroy  their  penal  effects,  or,  in  other  words, 
to  repeal  them,  have  been  passed  annually  as 
a  matter  of  course. 

Heu  vatum  ignarcB  mentes. 

These  bulwarks,  without  which  no  clergyman 
thinks  he  could  sleep  with  his  accustomed 
soundness,  have  actually  not  been  in  existence 
since  any  man  now  living  has  taken  holy 
orders.  Every  year  the  indemnity  act  pardons 
past  breaches  of  these  two  laws,  and  prevents 
any  fresh  actions  of  informers  from  coming  to 
a  conclusion  before  the  period  for  the  next 
indemnity  bill  arrives;  so  that  these  penalties, 
by  which  alone  the  church  remains  in  existence, 
have  not  had  one  moment's  operation  for  sixty- 
four  years.  You  will  say  the  legislature,  during 
the  whole  of  this  period,  has  reserved  to  itself 
the  discretion  of  suspending,  or  not  suspending. 
But  had  not  the  legislature  the  right  of  re- 
enacting,  if  it  was  necessary  1  And  now,  when 
you  have  kept  the  rod  over  these  people  (with 
the  most  scandalous  abuse  of  all  principle)  for 
sixty-four  years,  and  not  found  it  necessary  to 
strike  once,  is  not  that  the  best  of  all  reasons 
why  the  rod  should  be  laid  aside  T  You  talk 
to  me  of  a  very  valuable  hedge  running  across 
your  fields  which  you  would  not  part  with  on 
any  account.  I  go  down,  expecting  to  find  a 
limit  impervious  to  cattle,  and  highly  useful 
for  the  preservation  of  property;  but,  to  my 
utter  astonishment,  I  find  that  the  hedge  was 
cut  down  half  a  century  ago,  and  that  every 
year  the  shoots  are  clipped  the  moment  they 
appear  above  ground:  it  appears,  upon  farther 
inquiry,  that  the  hedge  never  ought  to  have 
existed  at  all ;  that  it  originated  in  the  malice 
of  antiquated  quarrels,  and  was  cut  down  be- 
cause it  subjected  you  to  vast  inconvenience, 
and  broke  up  your  intercourse  with  a  country 
absolutely  necessary  to  your  existence.  If  the 
remains  of  this  hedge  serve  only  to  keep  up  an 
irritation  in  your  neighbours,  and  to  remind 
them  of  the  feuds  of  former  times,  good  nature 
and  good  sense  teach  you  that  you  ought  to 
grub  it  up,  and  cast  it  into  the  oven.  This  is 
the  exact  state  of  these  two  laws ;  and  yet  it  is 
made  a  great  argument  against  concession  to 
the  Catholics,  that  it  involves  their  repeal ; 
which  is  to  say.  Do  not  make  me  relinquish  a 
folly  that  will  lead  to  my  ruin ;  because,  if  you 
do,  I  must  give  up  other  follies  ten  times 
greater  than  this. 

I  confess,  with  all  our  bulwarks  and  hedges, 
it  mortifies  me  to  the  very  quick,  to  contrast 
with  our  matchless  stupidity  and  inimitable 
folly,  the  conduct  of  Bonaparte  upon  the  subject 
of  religious  persecution.  At  the  moment  when 
we  are  tearing  the  crucifixes  from  the  necks  of 
the  Catholics,  and  M-'ashing  pious  mud  from  the 
foreheads  of  the  Hindoos;  at  that  moment  this 
man  is  assembling  the  very  Jews  at  Paris,  and 
endeavouring  to  give  them  stability  and  import- 
ance. I  shall  never  be  reconciled  to  mending 
shoes  in  America;  but  I  see  it  must  be  my  lot, 
and  I  will  then  take  a  dreadful  revenge  upon 
Mr.  Perceval,  if  I  catch  him  preaching  within 
ten  miles  of  me.  I  cannot  for  the  soul  of  me 
conceive  whence   this   man   has   gained  his 


notions  of  Christianity;  he  has  the  most  evan- 
gelical charity  for  errors  in  arithmetic,  and  the 
most  inveterate  malice  against  errors  in  con- 
science. While  he  rages  against  those  whom, 
in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  he  ought  to  in- 
dulge, he  forgets  the  only  instance  of  severity 
which  that  Gospel  contains,  and  leaves  the 
jobbers,  and  contractors,  and  money-changers 
at  their  seats,  without  a  single  stripe. 

You  cannot  imagine,  you  say,  that  England 
will  ever  be  ruined  and  conquered;  and  for  no 
other  reason  that  I  can  find,  but  because  it 
seems  so  very  odd  it  should  be  ruined  and 
conquered.  Alas!  so  reasoned,  in  their  time, 
the  Austrian,  Russian  and  Prussian  Plymleys. 
But  the  English  are  brave;  so  were  all  these 
nations.  You  might  get  together  an  hundred 
thousand  men  individually  brave;  but  without 
generals  capable  of  commanding  such  a  ma- 
chine, it  would  be  as  useless  as  a  first-rate 
man-of-war  manned  by  Oxford  clergymen,  or 
Parisian  shopkeepers.  I  do  not  say  this  to  the 
disparagement  of  English  officers;  they  have 
had  no  means  of  acquiring  experience;  but  I 
do  say  it  to  create  alarm ;  for  we  do  not  appear 
to  me  to  be  half  alarmed  enough,  or  to  entertain 
that  sense  of  our  danger  which  leads  to  the 
most  obvious  means  of  self-defence.  As  for 
the  spirit  of  the  peasantry,  in  making  a  gallant 
defence  behind  hedge-rows,  and  through  plate- 
racks  and  hen-coops,  highly  as  I  think  of  their 
bravery,  I  do  not  know  any  nation  in  Europe 
so  likely  to  be  struck  with  panic  as  the  English; 
and  this  from  their  total  unacquaintance  with 
the  science  of  war.  Old  wheat  and  beans 
blazing  for  twenty  miles  round;  cart  mares 
shot;  sows  of  Lord  Somerville's  breed  running 
wild  over  the  country ;  the  minister  of  the  parish 
wounded  solely  in  his  hinder  parts;  Mrs. 
Plymley  in  fits;  all  these  scenes  of  war  an 
Austrian  or  a  Russian  has  seen  three  or  four 
times  over;  but  it  is  now  three  centuries  since 
an  English  pig  has  fallen  in  a  fair  battle  upon 
English  ground,  or  a  farm-house  been  rifled, 
or  a  clergyman's  wife  been  subjected  to  any 
other,  proposals  of  love  than  the  connubial 
endearments  of  her  sleek  and  orthodox  mate. 
The  old  edition  of  Plutarch's  Lives,  which 
lies  in  the  corner  of  your  parlour  window,  has 
contributed  to  work  you  up  to  the  most 
romantic  expectations  of  our  Roman  behaviour. 
You  are  persuaded  that  Lord  Amherst  will 
defend  Kew  Bridge  like  Codes ;  that  some 
maid  of  honour  will  break  away  from  her 
captivity,  and  swim  over  the  Thames  ;  that  the 
Duke  of  York  will  burn  his  capitulating  hand; 
and  little  Mr.  Sturges  Bourne*  give  forty  years' 
purchase  for  Moulsham  Hall,  while  the  French 
are  encamped  upon  it.  I  hope  we  shall  witness 
all  this,  if  the  French  do  come ;  but  in  the  mean 
time  I  am  so  enchanted  with  the  ordinary 
English  behaviour  of  these  invaluable  persons 
that  I  earnestly  pray  no  opportunity  may  be 
given  them  for  Roman  valour,  and  for  those 
very  un-Roman  pensions  which  they  would 
all,  of  course,  take  especial  care  to  claim  ia 


*  There  is  nofhine  more  objectionahle  in  Plymley'* 
Letters  than  the  abuse  of  Mr.  Stiirees  Bourne,  who  is  an 
honoiirahlft,  able,  and  excellent  person;  but  auch  are  the 
malevolent  effects  of  party  spirit. 
2  4.  2 


462 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


consequence.  But  whatever  was  our  conduct, 
if  every  ploughman  was  as  great  a  hero  as  he 
who  was  called  from  his  oxen  to  save  Rome 
from  her  enemies,  I  should  still  say,  that  at 
such  a  crisis  you  want  the  affections  of  all 
your  subjects  in  both  islands  ;  there  is  no  spirit 
which  you  must  alienate,  no  heart  you  must 
avert;  every  man  must  feel  he  has  a  country, 
and  that  there  is  an  urgent  and  pressing  cause 
why  he  should  expose  himself  to  death. 

The  effects  of  penal  laws,  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion, are  never  confined  to  those  limits  in 
which  the  legislature  intended  they  should  be 
placed ;  it  is  not  only  that  I  am  excluded  from 
certain  offices  and  dignities  because  I  am  a 
Catholic,  but  the  exclusion  carries  with  it  a 
certain  stigma,  which  degrades  me  in  the  eyes 
of  the  monopolizing  sect,  and  the  very  name 
of  my  religion  becomes  odious.  These  effects 
are  so  very  striking  in  England,  that  I  solemnly 
believe  blue  and  red  baboons  to  be  more  popu- 
lar here  than  Catholics  and  Presbyterians ;  they 
are  more  understood,  and  there  is  a  greater  dis- 
position to  do  something  for  them.  When  a 
country  squire  hears  of  an  ape,  his  first  feeling 
is  to  give  it  nuts  and  apples;  when  he  hears 
of  a  dissenter,  his  immediate  impulse  is  to 
commit  it  to  the  county  jail,  to  shave  its  head, 
to  alter  its  customary  food,  and  to  have  it 
privately  whipped.  This  is  no  caricature,  but 
an  accurate  picture  of  national  feelings,  as  they 
degrade  and  endanger  us  at  this  very  moment. 
The  Irish  Catholic  gentleman  would  bear  his 
legal  disabilities  with  greater  temper,  if  these 
were  all  he  had  to  bear — if  they  did  not  enable 
every  Protestant  cheesemonger  and  tidewaiter 
to  treat  him  with  contempt.  He  is  branded  on 
the  forehead  with  a  red-hot  iron,  and  treated 
like  a  spiritual  felon,  because,  in  the  highest 
of  all  considerations,  he  is  led  by  the  noblest 
of  all  guides,  his  own  disinterested  conscience. 

Why  are  nonsense  and  cruelty  a  bit  the  better 
because  they  are  enacted  1  If  Providence, 
which  gives  wine  and  oil,  had  blessed  us  with 
that  tolerant  spirit  which  makes  the  counte- 
nance more  pleasant  and  the  heart  more  glad 
than  these  can  do ;  if  our  statute  book  had 
never  been  defiled  with  such  infamous  laws, 
the  sepulchral  Spencer  Perceval  would  have 
been  hauled  through  the  dirtiest  horse-pond  in 
Hampstead,  had  he  ventured  to  propose  them. 
But  now  persecution  is  good,  because  it  exists ; 
every  law  which  originated  in  ignorance  and 
malice,  and  gratifies  the  passions  from  whence 
it  sprang,  we  call  the  wisdom  of  our  ancestors ; 
when  such  laws  are  repealed,  they  will  be 
cruelty  and  madness;  till  they  are  repealed, 
ihey  are  policy  and  caution. 

I  was  somewhat  amused  with  the  imputation 
brought  against  the  Catholics  by  the  University 
of  Oxford,  that  they  are  enemies  to  liberty.  I 
immediately  turned  to  my  history  of  England, 
and  marked  as  an  historical  error  that  passage 
in  which  it  is  recorded  that,  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Anne,  the  famous  decree  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  respecting  passive  obedience, 
was  ordered,  by  the  House  of  Lords,  to  be 
burnt  by  the  hands  of  the  common  hangman, 
as  contrary  to  the  liberty  of  the  subject,  and 
the  law  of  the  land.  Nevertheless,  I  wish, 
whatever  be  the  modesty  of  those  who  impute, 


that  the  imputation  was  a  little  more  true;  the 
Catholic  cause  would  not  be  quite  so  desperate 
with  the  present  administration.  I  fear,  how- 
ever, that  the  hatred  to  liberty  in  these  poor 
devoted  wretches  may  ere  long  appear  more 
doubtful  than  it  is  at  present  to  the  vice-chan- 
cellor and  his  clergy,  inflamed,  as  they  doubt- 
less are,  with  classical  examples  of  republican 
virtue,  and  panting,  as  they  always  have  been, 
to  reduce  the  power  of  the  crown  within  nar- 
rower and  safer  limits.  What  mistaken  zeal 
to  attempt  to  connect  one  religion  with  free- 
dom, and  another  with  slavery  !  Who  laid  the 
foundations  of  English  liberty  1  What  was  the 
mixed  religion  of  Switzerland  ?  What  has  the 
Protestant  religion  done  for  liberty  in  Den- 
mark, in  Sweden,  throughout  the  north  of  Ger- 
many, and  in  Prussia?  The  purest  religion  in 
the  world,  in  my  humble  opinion,  is  the  religion 
of  the  Church  of  England  ;  for  its  preservation 
(so  far  as  it  is  exercised  without  intruding  upon 
the  liberties  of  others),  I  am  ready  at  this  mo- 
ment to  venture  my  present  life,  and  but 
through  that  religion  Ihave  no  hopes  of  any 
other ;  yet  I  am  not  forced  to  be  silly  because  I 
am  pious  ;  nor  will  I  ever  join  in  eulogiums  on 
my  faith,  which  every  man  of  common  reading 
and  common  sense  can  so  easily  refute. 

You  have  either  done  too  much  for  the 
Catholics  (worthy  Abraham),  or  too  little;  if 
you  had  intended  to  refuse  them  political 
power,  you  should  have  refused  them  civil 
rights.  After  you  had  enabled  them  to  acquire 
property,  after  you  had  conceded  to  them  all 
that  you  did  concede  in  78  and  93,  the  rest  is 
wholly  out  of  your  power;  you  may  choose 
whether  you  will  give  the  rest  in  an  honour- 
able or  a  disgraceful  mode,  but  it  is  utterly  out 
of  your  power  to  withhold  it. 

In  the  last  year,  land  to  the  amount  of  eight 
hundred  thousand  pounds  was  purchased  by  the 
Catholics  in  Ireland.  Do  you  think  it  possible 
to  be-Perceval,  and  be-Canning,  and  be-Castle- 
reagh  such  a  body  of  men  as  this  out  of  their 
common  rights  and  their  sense  1  Mr.  George 
Canning  may  laugh  and  joke  at  the  idea  of 
Protestant  bailiffs  ravishing  Catholic  ladies, 
under  the  9th  clause  of  the  sunset  bill;  but  if 
some  better  remedy  is  not  applied  to  the  dis- 
tractions of  Ireland  than  the  jocularity  of  Mr. 
Canning,  they  will  soon  put  an  end  to  his  pen- 
sion, and  to  the  pension  of  those  "  near  and 
dear  relatives,"  for  whose  eating,  drinking, 
washing,  and  clothing,  every  man  in  the  United 
Kingdoms  now  pays  his  two-pence  or  three- 
pence a  year.  You  may  call  these  observa- 
tions coarse,  if  you  please  ;  but  I  have  no  idea 
that  the  Sophias  and  Carolines  of  any  man 
breathing  are  to  eat  national  veal,  to  drink 
public  tea,  to  wear  treasury  ribands,  and  then 
that  we  are  to  be  told  that  it  is  coarse  to 
animadvert  upon  this  pitiful  and  eleemosynary 
splendour.  If  this  is  right,  why  not  mention 
it?  If  it  is  wrong,  why  should  not  he  who 
enjoys  the  ease  of  supporting  his  sisters  in  this 
manner  bear  the  shame  of  it?  Every  body 
seems  hitherto  to  have  spared  a  man  who 
never  spares  any  body. 

As  for  the  enormous  wax  candles,  and  super- 
stitious mummeries,  and  painted  jackets  of  the 
Catholic  priests,  I  fear  them  not.    Tell  me  that 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


463 


the  world  will  return  again  under  the  influence 
of  the  small-pox;  that  Lord  Castlereagh  will 
hereafter  oppose  the  power  of  the  court;  that 
Lord  Howick  and  Mr.  Grattan  will  do  each  of 
them  a  mean  and  dishonourable  action  ;  that 
any  body  who  has  heard  Lord  Redesdale  speak 
once  will  knowingly  and  willingly  hear  him 
again ;  that  Lord  Eldon  has  assented  to  the 
fact  of  two  and  two  making  four,  without 
shedding  tears,  or  expressing  the  smallest 
doubt  or  scruple;  tell  me  any  other  thing 
absurd  or  incredible,  but,  for  the  love  of  com- 
mon sense,  let  me  hear  no  more  of  the  danger 
to  be  apprehended  from  the  general  diffusion 
of  Popery.  It  is  too  absurd  to  be  reasoned 
upon ;  every  man  feels  it  is  nonsense  when  he 
hears  it  stated,  and  so  does  every  man  while  he 
is  stating  it. 

I  cannot  imagine  why  the  friends  to  the 
church  establishment  should  entertain  such  an 
horror  of  seeing  the  doors  of  Parliament  flung 
open  to  the  Catholics,  and  view  so  passively 
the  enjoyment  of  that  right  by  the  Presbyte- 
rians, and  by  every  other  species  of  dissenter. 
In  their  tenets,  in  their  church  government,  in 
the  nature  of  their  endowments,  the  dissenters 
are  infinitely  more  distant  from  the  Church  of 
England  than  the  Catholics  are ;  yet  the  dis- 
senters have  never  been  excluded  from  Parlia- 
ment. There  are  45  members  in  one  house 
and  16  in  the  other,  who  always  are  dissenters. 
There  is  no  law  which  would  prevent  every 
member  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  from 
being  dissenters.  The  Catholics  could  not 
bring  into  Parliament  half  the  number  of  the 
Scotch  members;  and  yet  one  exclusion  is  of 
such  immense  importance,  because  it  has  taken 
place  ;  and  the  other  no  human  being  thinks  of, 
because  no  one  is  accustomed  to  it.  I  have 
often  thought,  if  the  unsdom  of  our  ancestors  had 
excluded  all  persons  with  red  hair  from  the 
House  of  Commons,  of  the  throes  and  convul- 
sions it  would  occasion  to  restore  them  to  their 
natural  rights.  What  mobs  and  riots  would  it 
produce  1  To  what  infinite  abuse  and  obloquy 
would  the  capillary  patriot  be  exposed?  what 
wormwood  would  distil  from  Mr.  Perceval, 
what  froth  would  drop  from  Mr.  Canning  ;  how 
(I  will  not  say  my,  but  our  Lord  Hawkesbury, 
for  he  belongs  to  us  all),  how  our  Lord  Hawkes- 
bury would  work  away  about  the  hair  of  King 
William  and  Lord  Somers,  and  the  authors  of 
the  great  and  glorious  Revolution;  how  Lord 
Elton  would  appeal  to  the  Deity  and  his  own 
virtues,  and  to  the  hair  of  his  children:  some 
would  say  that  red-haired  men  were  supersti- 
tious ;  some  would  prove  they  were  atheists ; 
they  would  be  petitioned  against  as  the  friends 
of  slavery,  and  the  advocates  for  revolt;  in 
short,  such  a  corrupter  of  the  heart  and  the  un- 
derstanding is  the  spirit  of  persecution,  and 
these  unfortunate  people  (conspired  against  by 
tneir  fellow-subjects  of  every  complexion),  if 
they  did  not  emigrate  to  countries  where  hair 
of  another  colour  was  persecuted,  would  be 
driven  to  the  falsehood  of  perukes,  or  the  hy- 
pocrisy of  the  Tricosian  fluid. 

As  for  the  dangers  of  the  church  (in  spite  of 
the  staggering  events  which  have  lately  taken 
place),  I  have  not  yet  entirely  lost  my  confi- 
dence in  the  power  of  common  sense,  and  I 


believe  the  church  to  be  in  no  danger  at  all ; 
but  if  it  is,  that  danger  is  not  from  the  Catho- 
lics, but  from  the  Methodists,  and  from  that 
patent  Christianity  which  has  been  for  some 
time  manufacturing  at  Clapham,  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  old  and  admirable  article  prepared 
by  the  church.  I  would  counsel  my  lords  the 
bishops  to  keep  their  eyes  upon  that  holy  vil- 
lage, and  its  hallowed  vicinity;  they  will  find 
there  a  zeal  in  making  converts  far  superior  to 
any  thing  which  exists  among  the  Catholics ; 
a  contempt  for  the  great  mass  of  English 
clergy  much  more  rooted  and  profound ;  and 
a  regular  fund  to  purchase  livings  for  those 
groaning  and  garrulous  gentlemen,  whom  they 
denominate  (by  a  standing  sarcasm  against 
the  regular  church)  gospel  preachers,  and 
vital  clergymen.  I  am  too  firm  a  believer  in 
the  general  propriety  and  respectability  of  the 
English  clergy,  to  believe  they  have  much  to 
fear  either  from  old  nonsense,  or  from  new; 
but  if  the  church  must  be  supposed  to  be  in 
danger,  I  prefer  that  nonsense  which  is  grown 
half  venerable  from  time,  the  force  of  which 
I  have  already  tried  and  baflied,  which  at  least 
has  some  excuse  in  the  dark  and  ignorant 
ages  in  which  it  originated.  The  religious 
enthusiasm  manufactured  by  living  men  before 
my  own  eyes  disgusts  my  understanding  as 
much,  influences  my  imagination  not  at  all, 
and  excites  my  apprehensions  much  more. 

I  may  have  seemed  to  you  to  treat  the  situa- 
tion of  public  affairs  with  some  degree  of 
levity;  but  I  feel  it  deeply,  and  with  nightly 
and  daily  anguish ;  because  I  know  Ireland ;  I 
have  known  it  all  my  life ;  I  love  it,  and  I  fore- 
see the  crisis  to  which  it  will  soon  be  exposed. 
Who  can  doubt  but  that  Ireland  will  experience 
ultimately  from  France  a  treatment  to  which 
the  conduct  they  have  experienced  from  Eng- 
land is  the  love  of  a  parent,  or  a  brother  1 
Who  can  doubt  but  that  five  years  after  he  has 
got  hold  of  the  country,  Ireland  will  be  tossed 
away  by  Bonaparte  as  a  present  to  some  one 
of  his  ruflian  generals,  who  will  knock  the 
head  of  Mr.  Keogh  against  the  head  of  Cardi- 
nal Troy,  shoot  twenty  of  the  most  noisy  block- 
heads of  the  Roman  persuasion,  wash  his 
pug-dogs  in  holy  water,  and  confiscate  the  salt 
butter  of  the  Milesian  republic  to  the  last  tubl 
But  what  matters  this  1  or  who  is  wise  enough 
in  Ireland  to  heed  iti  or  when  had  common 
sense  mucli  influence  with  my  poor  dear  Irish  1 
Mr.  Perceval  does  not  know  the  Irish ;  but  I 
know  them,  and  I  know  that  at  every  rash  and 
mad  hazard,  they  will  break  the  union,  revenge 
their  wounded  pi'ide  and  their  insulted  religion, 
and  fling  themselves  into  the  open  arms  of 
France,  sure  of  dying  in  the  embrace.  And 
now,  what  means  have  you  of  guarding  against 
this  coming  evil,  upon  which  the  future  happi- 
ness or  misery  of  every  Englishman  depends? 
Have  you  a  single  ally  in  the  whole  world? 
Is  there  a  vulnerable  point  in  the  French  em- 
pire where  the  astonishing  resources  of  that 
people  can  be  attracted  and  employed  ?  Have 
you  a  ministry  wise  enough  to  comprehend 
the  danger,  manly  enough  to  believe  unplea- 
sant intelligence,  honest  enough  to  state  their 
apprehensions  at  the  peril  of  their  places  ?  Is 
there  anywhere  the  slightest  disposition  to  joju 


464 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


any  measure  of  love,  or  conciliation,  or  hope, 
with  that  dreadful  bill  which  the  distractions 
of  Ireland  have  rendered  necessary  1  At  the 
very  moment  that  the  last  monarchy  in  Europe 
has  fallen,  are  we  not  governed  by  a  man  of 
pleasantry,  and  a  man  of  theology]  In  the 
six  hundredth  year  of  our  empire  over  Ireland, 
have  we  any  memorial  of  ancient  kindness  to 
refer  to  !  any  people,  any  zeal,  any  country  on 
which  we  can  depend  1  Have  we  any  hope, 
but  in  the  winds  of  heaven,  and  the  tides  of 
the  sea  1  any  prayer  to  prefer  to  the  Irish,  but 
that  they  should  forget  and  forgive  their  op- 
pressors, who,  in  the  very  moment  that  they 
are  calling  upon  them  for  their  exertions, 
solemnly  assure  them  that  the  oppression 
shall  still  remain  1 

Abraham,  farewell !  If  I  have  tired  you, 
remember  how  often  you  have  tired  me  and 
others.  I  do  not  think  we  really  differ  in 
politics  so  much  as  you  suppose ;  or  at  least, 
if  we  do,  that  difference  is  in  the  means,  and 
not  in  the  end.  We  both  love  the  constitution, 
respect  the  king,  and  abhor  the  French.  But 
though  you  love  the  constitution,  you  would 
perpetuate  the  abuses  which  have  been  en- 
grafted upon  it;  though  you  respect  the  king, 
you  would  confirm  his  scruples  against  the 
Catholics;  though  you  abhor  the  French,  you 
would  open  to  them  the  conquest  of  Ireland. 
My  method  of  respecting  my  sovereign  is  by 
protecting  his  honour,  his  empire,  and  his  last- 
ing happiness  ;  I  evince  my  love  of  the  consti- 
tution, by  making  it  the  guardian  of  all  men's 
rights  and  the  source  of  their  freedom ;  and  I 
prove  my  abhorrence  of  the  French,  by  uniting 
against  them  the  disciples  of  every  church  in 
the  only  remaining  nation  in  Europe.  As  for 
the  men  of  whom  I  have  been  compelled,  in 
this  age  of  mediocrity,  to  say  so  much,  they 
cannot  of  themselves  be  worth  a  moment's 
consideration  to  you,  to  me,  or  to  any  body. 
In  a  year  after  their  death,  they  will  be  forgotten 
as  completely  as  if  they  had  never  been ;  and 
are  now  of  no  farther  importance  than  as  they 
are  the  mere  vehicles  of  carrying  into  effect 
the  common-place  and  mischievous  prejudices 
of  the  times  in  which  they  live. 


LETTER  VI. 

Deak  Abkaham, 

What  amuses  me  the  most  is,  to  hear  of  the 
indulgences  \vhich  the  Catholics  have  received, 
and  their  exorbitance  in  not  being  satisfied 
with  those  indulgences :  now  if  you  complain 
to  me  that  a  man  is  obtrusive  and  shameless 
in  his  requests,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to 
bring  him  to  reason,  I  must  first  of  all  hear 
the  whole  of  your  conduct  towards  him ;  for 
you  may  have  taken  from  him  so  much  in  the 
first  instance,  that,  in  spite  of  a  long  series  of 
restitution,  a  vast  latitude  for  petition  may  still 
remain  behind. 

There  is  a  village  (no  matter  where)  in 
which  the  mhabitants,  on  one  day  in  the  year, 
sit  down  to  a  dinner  prepared  at  the  common 
expense  ;  by  an  extraordinary  piece  of  tyranny 
(which  Lord  Hawkesbury  would  call  the  wis- 
'lom  of  the  village  ancestors),  the  inhabitants 


of  three  of  the  streets,  about  an  hundred  years 
ago,  seized  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  fourth 
street,  bound  them  hand  and  foot,  laid  them 
upon  their  backs,  and  compelled  them  to  look 
on  while  the  rest  were  stuffing  themselves 
with  beef  and  beer ;  the  next  year,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  persecuted  street  (though  they 
contributed  an  equal  quota  of  the  expense) 
were  treated  precisely  iu  the  same  manner. 
The  tyranny  grew  into  a  custom ;  and  (as  the 
manner  of  our  nature  is)  it  was  considered  as 
the  most  sacred  of  all  duties  to  keep  these 
poor  fellows  without  their  annual  dinner ;  the 
village  was  so  tenacious  of  this  practice,  that 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  resign  it ;  every 
enemy  to  it  was  looked  upon  as  a  disbeliever 
in  Divine  Providence,  and  any  nefarious 
churchwarden  who  wished  to  succeed  in  his 
election  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  represent  his 
antagonist  as  an  abolitionist,  in  order  to  frus- 
trate his  ambition,  endanger  his  life,  and  throw 
the  village  into  a  state  of  the  most  dreadful 
commotion.  By  degrees,  however,  the  ob- 
noxious street  grew  to  be  so  well  peopled,  and 
its  inhabitants  so  firmly  united,  that  their  op- 
pressors, more  afraid  of  injustice,  were  more 
disposed  to  be  just.  At  the  next  dinner  they 
are  unbound,  the  year  after  allowed  to  sit  up- 
right, then  a  bit  of  bread  and  a  glass  of  water; 
till  at  last,  after  a  long  series  of  concessions, 
they  are  emboldened  to  ask,  in  pretty  plain 
terms,  that  they  may  be  allowed  to  sit  down  at 
the  bottom  of  the  table,  and  to  fill  their  bellies 
as  well  as  the  rest.  Forthwith  a  general  cry 
of  shame  and  scandal :  "  Ten  years  ago,  were 
you  not  laid  upon  your  backs  1  Don't  you 
remember  what  a  great  thing  you  thought  it  to 
get  a  piece  of  bread?  How  thankful  you 
were  for  cheese  parings  1  Have  you  forgotten 
that  memorable  era,  when  the  lord  of  the  manor 
interfered  to  obtain  for  you  a  slice  of  the  public 
pudding]  And  now  with  an  audacity  only 
equalled  by  your  ingratitude,  you  have  the 
impudence  to  ask  for  knives  and  forks,  and  to 
request,  in  terms  too  plain  to  be  mistaken,  that 
you  may  sit  down  to  table  with  the  rest,  and 
be  indulged  even  with  beef  and  beer:  there 
are  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  dishes  which 
we  have  reserved  for  ourselves ;  the  rest  has 
been  thrown  open  to  you  in  the  utmost  profu- 
sion; you  have  potatoes,  and  carrots,  suet 
dumplings,  sops  in  the  pan,  and  delicious  toast 
and  water,  in  incredible  quantities.  Beef, 
mutton,  lamb,  pork,  and  veal  are  ours ;  and  if 
you  were  not  the  most  restless  and  dissatisfied 
of  human  beings,  you  would  never  think  of 
aspiring  to  enjoy  them." 

Is  not  this,  my  dainty  Abraham,  the  very 
nonsense  and  the  very  insult  which  is  talked 
to  and  practised  upon  the  Catholics  ]  You  are 
surprised  that  men  who  have  tasted  of  partial 
justice  should  ask  for  perfect  justice;  that  he 
who  has  been  robbed  of  coat  and  cloak  will 
not  be  contented  with  the  restitution  of  one  of 
his  garments.  He  would  be  a  very  lazy  block- 
head if  he  were  content,  and  I  (who,  though 
an  inhabitant  of  the  village,  have  preserved, 
thank  God,  some  sense  of  justice)  most  earn- 
estly counsel  these  half-fed  claimants  to  per- 
severe in  their  just  demands,  till  they  are  ad- 
mitted to  a  more  complete  share  of  a  dinner 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


4C5 


for  which  they  pay  as  much  as  the  others  ;  and 
if  they  see  a  little  attenuated  lawyer  squabbling 
at  the  head  of  their  opponents,  let  them  desire 
him  to  empty  his  pockets,  and  to  pull  out  all 
the  pieces  of  duck,  fowl,  and  pudding,  which 
he  has  filched  from  the  public  feast,  to  carry 
home  to  his  wife  and  children. 

You  parade  a  great  deal  upon  the  vast  con- 
cessions made  by  this  country  to  the  Irish  be- 
fore the  union.  I  deny  that  any  voluntary 
concession  was  ever  made  by  England  to  Ire- 
land.— What  did  Ireland  ever  ask  that  was 
granted  ?  What  did  she  ever  demand  that  was 
refused  ■?  How  did  she  get  her  mutijiy  bill — 
a  limited  Parliament — a  repeal  of  Poyning's 
law — a  constitution  1  Not  by  the  concessions 
of  England,  but  by  her  fears.  When  Ireland 
asked  for  all  these  things  upon  her  knees,  her 
petitions  were  rejected  with  Percevalism  and 
contempt:  when  she  demanded  them  with  the 
voice  of  60,000  armed  men,  they  were  granted 
with  every  mark  of  consternation  and  dismay. 
Ask  of  Lord  Auckland  the  fatal  consequences 
of  trifling  with  such  a  people  as  the  Irish.  He 
himself  was  the  organ  of  these  refusals. — 
As  secretary  to  the  lord-lieutenant,  the  inso- 
lence and  tyranny  of  this  country  passed 
through  his  hands.  Ask  him  if  he  remembers 
the  consequences.  Ask  him  if  he  has  forgotten 
that  memorable  evening,  wheu  he  came  down 
booted  and  mantled  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
when  he  told  the  House  he  was  about  to  set 
off  for  Ireland  that  night,  and  declared,  before 
God,  if  he  did  not  carry  with  him  a  compliance 
with  all  their  demands,  Ireland  was  for  ever 
lost  to  this  country.  The  present  generation 
have  forgotten  this  ;  but  I  have  not  forgotten 
it;  and  I  know,  hasty  and  undignified  as  the 
submission  of  England  then  was,  that  Lord 
Auckland  was  right,  that  the  delay  of  a  single 
day  might  very  probably  have  separated  the 
two  people  for  ever.  The  terms  submission 
and  fear  are  galling  terms,  when  applied  from 
the  lesser  nation  to  the  greater;  but  it  is  the 
plain  historical  truth,  it  is  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  injustice,  it  is  the  predicament  in 
which  every  country  places  itself  which  leaves 
such  a  mass  of  haired  and  discontent  by  its 
side.  No  empire  is  powerful  enough  to  endure 
it;  it  would  exhaust  the  strength  of  China,  and 
sink  it  with  all  its  mandarins  and  tea-kettles 
to  the  bottom  of  the  deep.  By  refusing  them 
justice  now,  when  you  are  strong  enough  to 
refuse  them  any  thing  more  than  justice,  you 
will  act  over  again,  with  the  Catholics,  the  same 
scene  of  mean  and  precipitate  submission 
which  disgraced  you  before  America,  and  be- 
fore the  volunteers  of  Ireland.  We  shall  live 
to  hear  the  Hampstead  Protestant  pronouncing 
such  extravagant  panegyrics  upon  holy  water, 
and  paying  such  fulsome  compliments  to  the 
thumbs  and  offals  of  departed  saints,  that  parties 
will  change  sentiments,  and  Lord  Henry  Pecty 
and  Sam  Whitbread  take  a  spell  at  No-Popery. 
The  wisdom  of  Mr.  Fox  was  alike  employed  in 
teaching  his  country  justice  when  Ireland  was 
weak,  and  dignity  when  Ireland  was  strong.  We 
are  fast  pacing  round  the  same  miserable  circle  j 
ofruin  and  imbecility.  Alas!  where  is  our  guide? 
You  saj'^  that  Ireland  is  a  millstone  about 
our  necks ;  that  it  would  be  belter  for  us  if  Ire- 1 
59 


land  were  sunk  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea ;  that 
the  Irish  are  a  nation  of  irreclaimable  savages 
and   barbarians.      How   often   have   I   heard 
these    sentiments   fall   from   the    plump    and 
thoughtless  squire,  and  from  the  thriving  Eng- 
lish shopkeeper,  who  has  never  felt  the  rod 
of  an  Orange  master  upon  his  back.     Ireland 
a  millstone  about  your  neck!     Why  is  it  not 
a  stone  of  Ajax  in  your  handl     I  agree  with 
you  most  cordially,  that,  governed  as  Ireland 
now  is,  it  would  be  avast  accession  of  strength 
if  the  waves  of  the  sea  were  to  rise  and  ingulf 
her  to-morrow.    At  this  moment,  opposed  as 
we  are  to  all  the  world,  the  annihilation  of  one 
of  the  most  fertile  islands  on  the  face  of  the 
globe,  containing  five  millions  of  human  crea- 
tures, would  be  one  of  the  most  solid  advan- 
tages which  could  happen  to  this  country.     I 
doubt  very  much,  in  spite  of  all  the  just  abuse 
which  has   been   lavished  upon    Bonaparte, 
whether  there   is  any  one  of  his   conquered 
countries  the  blotting  out  of  which  would  be 
as  beneficial  to  him  as  the  destruction  of  Ire- 
land would  be  to  us:  of  countries,  I  speak, 
differing  in  language  from  the  French,  little 
habituated  to  their  intercourse,  and  inflamed 
with  all  the  resentments  of  a  recently  conquered 
people.    Why  will  you  attribute  the  turbulence 
of  our  people  to  any  cause  but  tae  right — to 
any  cause  but  your  own  scandalous  oppres- 
sion 1     If  you  tie  your  horse  up  to  a  gate,  and 
beat  him  cruelly,  is  he  vicious  because  he  kicks 
yo^^'?      If  you   have  plagued  and  worried  a 
mastiff  dog  for  years,  is  he  mad  because  he 
flies  at  you  whenever  he  sees  you  1     Hatred  is 
an  active,  troublesome  passion.    Depend  upon 
it,  whole  nations  have  always  some  reason  for 
their  hatred.     Before  you  refer  the  turbulence 
of  the  Irish  to  indurable  defects  in  their  cha- 
racter, tell  me  if  you  have  treated  them   as 
friends  and  equals  1   Have  you  protected  their 
commerce  ]      Have  you  respected  their  reli- 
gion 1     Have  you  been  as  anxious  for  their 
freedom  as  your  own  ]     Nothing  of  all  this. 
What  then'' — Why,  you  have  confiscated  the 
territorial  surface  of  the  country  twice  over; 
you  have  massacred  and  exported  her  inhabit- 
ants ;    you  have  deprived  four-fifths  of  them 
of  every  civil  privilege  ;  you  have  at  every 
period  made  her  commerce  and  manufactures 
slavishly  subordinate  to  your  own  ;    and  yet 
the  hatred  which  the  Irish  bear  to  you  is  the 
result  of  an  original  turbulence  of  character, 
and  of  a  primitive,  obdurate  wildness,  utterly 
incapable   of  civilization.     The  einbroidered 
inanities  and  the   sixth-form  effusions  of  Mr. 
Canning,  are  really  not  powerful   enough  to 
make  me  believe  this  ;  nor  is  there  any  autho- 
rity on  earth  (always  excepting  the  I)ean  of 
Christ-Church)  which  could  make  it  credible  to 
me.    I  am  sick  of  Mr.  Canning.    There  is  not  a 
ha'p'orth  of  bread  to  all  this  sugar  and  sack.  I 
love  not  the  cretaceous  and  incredible  counte- 
nance of  his  colleague.     The  only  opinion  ia 
which  I  agree  with  these  two  gentlemen,  is  that 
which  they  entertain  of  each  other;  I  am  sure 
that  the  insolence  of  Mr.  Pitt,  and  the  unbalanced 
accounts  of  Melville,  were  far  better  than  thfi 
perils  of  this  new  ignorance  : — 

Nonne  fnit  sntiiis  tristes  Amaryllidis  iras 
Aiqiie  superba  pali  tastidia— nonne  Menalcara, 
Quainvis  ille  ni^er  ? 


466 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


In  the  midst  of  the  most  profound  peace,  the 
secret  articles  of  the  treaty  of  Tilsit,  in  which 
the  destruction  of  Ireland  is  resolved  upon,  in- 
duce you  to  rob  the  Danes  of  their  fleet. — After 
the  expedition  sailed  comes  the  treaty  of  Tilsit, 
containing  no  article,*  public  or  private,  allud- 
ing to  Ireland.  The  state  of  the  M'orld,  you  tell 
me,  justified  us  in  doing  this. — Just  God  !  do 
"we  think  only  of  the  state  of  the  world  when 
there  is  an  opportunity  for  robbery,  for  mur- 
der, and  for  plunder ;  and  do  we  forget  the 
state  of  the  world  when  we  are  called  upon  to 
be  wise,  and  good,  and  just!  Does  the  state 
of  the  world  never  remind  us,  that  we  have 
four  millions  of  subjects  whose  injuries  Ave 
ought  to  atone  for,  and  whose  affections  we 
ought  to  conciliate  ]  Does  the  state  of  the 
world  never  warn  us  to  lay  aside  our  infernal 
bigotry,  and  to  arm  every  man  who  acknow- 
ledges a  God  and  can  grasp  a  sword  ]  Did  it 
never  occur  to  this  administration,  that  they 
might  virtuously  get  hold  of  a  force  ten  times 
greater  than  the  force  of  the  Danish  fleet  ]  Was 
there  no  other  way  of  protecting  Ireland,  but 
by  bringing  eternal  shame  upon  Great  Britain, 
and  by  making  the  earth  a  den  of  robbers  1  See 
what  the  men  whom  you  have  supplanted  would 
have  done.  They  would  have  rendered  the 
invasion  of  Ireland  impossible,  by  restoring  to 
the  Catholics  their  long-lost  rights  ;  they  would 
have  acted  in  such  a  manner  that  the  French 
would  neither  have  wished  for  invasion,  nor 
dared  to  attempt  it ;  they  would  have  increased 
the  permanent  strength  of  the  country  while 
they  preserved  its  reputation  unsullied.  No- 
thing of  this  kind  your  friends  have  done,  be- 
cause they  are  solemnly  pledged  to  do  nothing 
of  this  kind ;  because  to  tolerate  all  religions, 
and  to  equalize  civil  rights  to  all  sects,  is  to 
oppose  some  of  the  Avorst  passions  of  our  na- 
ture— to  plunder  and  to  oppress  is  to  gratify 
them  all.  They  wanted  the  huzzas  of  mobs, 
and  they  have  for  ever  blasted  the  fame  of 
England  to  obtain  them.  Were  the  fleets  of 
Holland,  France,  and  Spain,  destroj-ed  by  lar- 
ceny ?  You  resisted  the  power  of  150  sail  of 
the  line  by  sheer  courage,  and  violated  every 
principle  of  morals  from  the  dread  of  15  hulks, 
while  the  expedition  itself  cost  you  three  times 
more  than  the  value  of  the  larcenous  matter 
brought  away.  The  French  trample  upon  the 
laws  of  God  and  man,  not  for  old  cordage,  but 
for  kingdoms,  and  always  take  care  to  be  well 
paid  for  their  crimes.  We  contrive,  under  the 
present  administration,  to  unite  moral  with  in- 
tellectual deficiency,  and  to  grow  weaker  and 
worse  by  the  same  action.  If  they  had  any 
evidence  of  the  intended  hostility  of  the  Danes, 
why  was  it  not  produced  1  Why  have  the  na- 
tions of  Europe  been  allowed  to  feel  an  indig- 
nation against  this  country  beyond  the  reach 
of  all  subsequent  information  ?  Are  these 
limes,  do  you  imagine,  when  we  can  trifle  with 
a  year  of  universal  hatred,  dally  with  the  curses 
of  Europe,  and  then  regain  a  lost  character  at 
pleasure,  by  the  parliamentary  perspirations 
of  the  foreign  secretary,  or  the  solemn  asseve- 
rations of  the  pecuniary  Rose  1  Believe  me, 
Abraham,  it  is  not  under  such  ministers  as 


*  This  is  now  completely  confessed  to  be  the  case  by 
ministers. 


these  that  the  dexterity  of  honest  Englishmen 
will  ever  equal  the  dexterity  of  French  knaves ; 
it  is  not  in  their  presence  that  the  serpent  of 
Moses  will  ever  swallow  up  the  serpents  of  the 
magicians. 

Lord  Hawkesbury  says,  that  nothing  is  to  be 
granted  to  the  Catholics  from  fear.  What ! 
not  even  justice?  Why  not!  There  are  four 
millions  of  disaffected  people  within  twenty 
miles  of  your  own  coast.  I  fairly  confess,  that 
the  dread  which  I  have  of  their  physical 
power,  is  with  me  a  very  strong  motive  for 
listening  to  their  claims.  To  talk  of  not 
acting  from  fear  is  mere  parliamentary  cant. 
From  what  motive  but  fear,  I  should  be  glad 
to  know,  have  all  the  improvements  in  our 
constitution  proceeded  1  I  question  if  any 
justice  has  ever  been  done  to  large  masses  of 
mankind  from  any  other  motive.  By  what 
other  motives  can  the  plunderers  of  the  Baltic 
suppose  nations  to  be  governed  in  their  inter- 
course with  each  other  ?  If  I  say,  Give  this 
people  what  they  ask  because  it  is  just,  do 
you  think  I  should  get  ten  people  to  listen  to 
me  ]  Would  not  the  lesser  of  the  two  Jenkin- 
sons  be  the  first  to  treat  me  with  contempt? 
The  only  true  way  to  make  the  mass  of  man- 
kind see  the  beauty  of  justice,  is  by  showing 
to  them  in  pretty  plain  terms  the  consequences 
of  injustice.  If  any  body  of  French  troops 
land  in  Ireland,  the  whole  population  of  that 
country  will  rise  against  you  to  a  man,  and 
)'ou  could  not  possibly  survive  such  an  event 
three  years.  Such,  from  the  bottom  of  my 
soul,  do  I  believe  to  be  the  present  state  of  that 
country;  and  so  far  does  it  appear  to  me  to  be 
impolitic  and  imstatesmanlike  to  concede  any 
thing  to  such  a  danger,  that  if  the  Catholics,  in 
addition  to  their  present  just  demands,  were  to 
petition  for  the  perpetual  removal  of  the  said 
Lord  Hawkesbury  from  his  majesty's  coun- 
cils, I  think,  Avhatever  might  be  the  effect  upon 
the  destinies  of  Europe,  and  however  it  might 
retard  our  own  individual  destruction,  that  the 
prayer  of  the  petition  should  be  instantly  com- 
plied with.  Canning's  crocodile  tears  should 
not  move  me ;  the  hoops  of  the  maids  of 
honour  should  not  hide  him.  I  would  tear 
him  from  the  banisters  of  the  back  stairs,  and 
plunge  him  in  the  fishy  fumes  of  the  dirtiest 
of  all  his  Cinque  Ports. 


LETTER  Vn. 

Deak  Abraham, 

In  the  correspondence  which  is  passing  be- 
tween us,  you  are  perpetually  alluding  to  the 
foreign  secretary ;  and  in  answer  to  the  dan- 
gers of  Ireland,  which  I  am  pressing  upon 
your  notice,  you  have  nothing  to  urge  but  the 
confidence  which  you  repose  in  the  discretion 
and  sound  sense  of  this  gentleman.*     I  can 


*  The  attack  upon  virtue  and  morals  in  the  debate 
upon  Copenhagen  is  brought  forward  with  preat  ostenta- 
tion by  this  eentleman's  friends.  But  is  Harlequin  less 
Harlequin  because  he  acts  well'?  I  was  present:  he 
leaped  aliout,  touched  facts  with  his  wand,  turned  yes 
into  no,  and  no  into  yes;  it  was  a  pantomime  well 
played,  but  a  pantomime;  Harlequin  deserves  higher 
wages  than  he  did  two  years  ago  j  is  he  therefore  fit  for 
serious  parts  ? 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV,  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


467 


only  say,  that  I  have  listened  to  him  long  and 
often,  with  the  greatest  attention  ;  I  have  used 
every  exertion  in  my  power  to  take  a  fair 
measure  of  him,  and  it  appears  to  me  impos- 
sible to  hear  him  upon  any  arduous  topic 
without  perceiving  that  he  is  eminently  defi- 
cient in  those  solid  and  serious  qualities  upon 
which,  and  upon  which  alone,  the  confidence 
of  a  great  country  can  properly  repose.  He 
sweats,  and  labours,  and  works  for  sense,  and 
Mr.  Ellis  seems  always  to  think  it  is  coming, 
but  it  does  not  come ;  the  machine  can't  draw 
up  what  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  spring; 
Providence  has  made  him  a  light,  jesting, 
paragraph-writing  man,  and  that  he  will  re- 
main to  his  dying  day.  When  he  is  jocular 
he  is  strong,  when  he  is  serious  he  is  like 
Samson  in  a  wig;  any  ordinary  person  is  a 
match  for  him ;  a  song,  an  ironical  lettef,  a 
burlesque  ode,  an  attack  in  the  newspaper 
upon  NicoU's  eye,  a  smart  speech  of  twenty 
minutes,  full  of  gross  misrepresentations  and 
clever  turns,  excellent  language,  a  spirited 
manner,  lucky  quotation,  success  in  provoking 
dnll  men,  some  half  information  picked  up  in 
Pall  Mall  in  the  morning ;  these  are  your 
friend's  natural  weapons;  all  these  things  he 
can  do ;  here  I  allow  him  to  be  truly  great ; 
nay,  I  will  be  just,  and  go  still  farther,  if  he 
would  confine  himself  to  these  things,  and 
consider  the  facetc  and  the  plaj^ful  to  be  the 
basis  of  his  character,  he  would,  for  that  spe- 
cies of  man,  be  univei'sally  regarded  as  a 
person  of  a  very  good  understanding ;  call  him 
a  legislator,  a  reasoner,  and  the  conductor  of 
the  affairs  of  a  great  nation,  and  it  seems  to 
me  as  absurd  as  if  a  butterfly  were  to  teach 
bees  to  make  honey.  That  he  is  an  extraor- 
dinary writer  of  small  poetr}%  and  a  diner  out 
of  the  highest  lustre,  I  do  most  readily  admit. 
After  George  Selwyn,  and  perhaps  Tickell, 
there  has  been  no  such  man  for  this  half  cen- 
tury. The  foreign  secretary  is  a  gentleman,  a 
respectable  as  well  as  an  highly  agreeable 
man  in  private  life ;  but  you  may  as  well  feed 
me  with  decayed  potatoes  as  console  me  for 
the  miseries  of  Ireland  by  the  resources  of  his 
sense  and  his  discretion.  It  is  only  the  public 
situation  which  this  gentleman  holds  which 
entitles  me  or  induces  me  to  say  so  much 
about  him.  He  is  a  fly  in  amber;  nobody 
cares  about  the  fly :  the  only  question  is.  How 
the  devil  did  it  get  there  1  Nor  do  I  attack 
him  from  the  love  of  glory,  but  from  the  love 
of  utility,  as  a  burgomaster  hunts  a  rat  in  a 
Dutch  dyke,  for  fear  it  should  flood  a  province. 
The  friends  of  the  Catholic  question  are,  I 
observe,  extremely  embarrassed  in  arguing 
when  they  come  to  the  loyalty  of  the  Irish 
Catholics.  As  for  me,  I  shall  go  straight  for- 
ward to  my  object,  and  state  what  I  have  no 
manner  of  doubt,  from  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  Ireland,  to  be  the  plain  truth.  Of  the  great 
Roman  Catholic  proprietors,  and  of  the  Ca- 
tholic prelates,  there  may  be  a  few,  and  but  a 
few,  who  would  follow  the  fortunes  of  England 
at  all  events  ;  there  is  another  set  of  men  who, 
thoroughly  detesting  this  country,  have  too 
much  properly  and  too  much  character  to 
lose,  not  to  wait  for  some  very  favourable 
event  before  they  show  themselves;  but  the 


great  mass  of  Catholic  population,  upon  the 
slightest  appearance  of  a  French  force  in  that 
country,  would  rise  upon  you  to  a  man.  It  is 
the  most  mistaken  policy  to  conceal  the  plain 
truth.  There  is  no  loyalty  among  the  Catho- 
lics ;  they  detest  you  as  their  worst  oppressors, 
and  they  will  continue  to  detest  }^ou  till  you 
remove  the  cause  of  their  hatred.  It  is  in  your 
power  in  six  months'  time  to  produce  a  total 
revolution  of  opinions  among  this  people  ;  and 
in  some  future  letter  I  will  show  you  that  this 
is  clearly  the  case.  At  present,  see  what  a 
dreadful  state  Ireland  is  in.  The  common 
toast  among  the  low  Irish  is,  the  feast  of  the 
passover.  Some  allusion  to  Bonaparte,  in  a 
play  lately  acted  at  Dublin,  produced  thunders 
of  applause  from  the  pit  and  the  galleries ;  and 
a  politician  should  not  be  inattentive  to  the 
public  feelings  expressed  in  theatres.  Mr. 
Perceval  thinks  he  has  disarmed  the  Irish;  he 
has  no  more  disarmed  the  Irish  than  he  has 
resigned  a  shilling  of  his  own  public  emolu- 
ments. An  Irish*  peasant  fills  the  barrel  of 
his  gun  full  of  tow  dipped  in  oil,  butters  up 
the  lock,  buries  it  in  a  bog,  and  allows  the 
Orange  bloodhound  to  ransack  his  cottage  at 
pleasure.  Be  just  and  kind  to  the  Irish,  and 
you  will  indeed  disarm  them  :  rescue  them 
from  the  degraded  servitude  in  which  they  are 
held  by  an  handful  of  their  own  countrymen, 
and  you  will  add  four  millions  of  brave  and 
affectionate  men  to  your  strength.  Nightly 
visits,  Protestant  inspectors,  licenses  to  pos- 
sess a  pistol  or  a  knife  and  fork,  the  odious 
vigour  of  the  evangelical  Perceval — acts  of 
Parliament,  drawn  up  by  some  English  attor- 
ney, to  save  you  from  the  hatred  of  four  mil- 
lion people — the  guarding  yourselves  from 
universal  disaffection  by  a  police  ;  a  confidence 
in  the  little  cunning  of  Bow  Street,  when  you 
might  rest  your  security  upon  the  eternal  basis 
of  the  best  feelings;  this  is  the  meanness  and 
madness  to  which  nations  are  reduced  when 
they  lose  sight  of  the  first  elements  of  justice, 
without  which  a  country  can  be  no  more  se- 
cure than  it  can  be  healthy  without  air.  I 
sicken  at  such  policy  and  such  men.  The 
fact  is,  the  ministers  know  nothing  about  the 
present  state  of  Ireland ;  Mr.  Perceval  sees  a 
few  clergymen.  Lord  Castlereagh  a  few  gene- 
ral officers,  who  take  care,  of  course,  to  report 
what  is  pleasant  rather  than  what  is  true.  As 
for  the  joyous  and  lepid  consul,  he  jokes  upon 
neutral  flags  and  feuds,  jokes  upon  Irish  re- 
bels, jokes  upon  northern,  and  western,  and 
southern  foes,  and  gives  himself  no  trouble 
upon  any  subject;  nor  is  the  mediocrity  of  the 
idolatrous  deputy  of  the  slightest  use.  Dis- 
solved in  grins,  he  reads  no  memorials  upon 
the  state  of  Ireland,  listens  to  no  reports,  asks 
no  questions,  and  is  the 

"Bourn  from  whom  no  traveller  returns." 
The  danger  of  an  immediate  insurrection  is 
now,  /  believe,-f  blown  over.    You  have  so  strong 

*  No  man  who  is  not  intimately  acqviainted  with  the 
Ir'sh,  can  tell  to  what  a  cnrions  extent  this  concealment 
of  arms  is  carried.  I  have  stated  the  exact  mode  in 
whicli  it  is  done. 

I  I  know  too  much,  however,  of  the  state  of  Tr"'Tn4 
not  to  speak  trembUngly  about  this.  I  hope  to  God  I  am 
right. 


463 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


an  army  in  Ireland,  and  the  Irish  are  become 
so  much  more  cunning  from  the  last  insurrec- 
tion, that  you  may  perhaps  be  tolerably  secure 
just  at  present  from  that  evil:  but  are  you  se- 
cure from  the  efforts  which  the  French  may 
make  to  throw  a  body  of  troops  into  Ireland? 
and  do  you  consider  that  event  to  be  difficult 
and  improbable?  From  Brest  Harbour  to 
Cape  St.  Vincent,  you  have  above  three  thou- 
sand miles  of  hostile  sea-coast,  and  twelve  or 
fourteen  harbours  quite  capable  of  contain- 
ing a  sufficient  force  for  the  powerful  invasion 
of  Ireland.  The  nearest  of  these  harbours  is 
not  two  days'  sail  from  the  southern  coast  of 
Ireland,  with  a  fair  leading  wind;  and  the 
farthest  not  ten.  Five  ships  of  the  line,  for  so 
very  short  a  passage,  might  carry  five  or  six 
thousand  troops  with  cannon  and  ammunition  ; 
and  Ireland  presents  to  their  attack  a  southern 
coast  of  more  than  500  miles,  abounding  in 
deep  bays,  admirable  harbours,  and  disaffected 
inhabitants.  Your  blockading  ships  may  be 
forced  to  come  home  for  provisions  and  repairs, 
or  they  may  be  blown  off  in  a  gale  of  wind  and 
compelled  to  bear  away  for  their  own  coast; — 
and  you  will  observe,  that  the  very  same  wind 
which  locks  you  up  in  the  British  Channel, 
when  you  are  got  there,  is  evidently  favourable 
for  the  invasion  of  Ireland.  And  yet  this  is 
called  government,  and  the  people  huzza  Mr. 
Perceval  for  continuing  to  expose  his  country 
day  after  day  to  such  tremendous  perils  as 
these ;  cursing  the  men  who  would  have  given 
up  a  question  in  theology  to  have  saved  us 
from  such  a  risk.  The  British  empire  at  this 
moment  is  in  the  state  of  a  peach-blossom — if 
the  wind  blows  gently  from  one  quarter,  it  sur- 
vives; if  furiously  from  the  other,  it  perishes. 
A  stiff  breeze  may  set  in  from  the  north,  the 
Rochefort  squadron  will  be  taken,  and  the 
minister  will  be  the  most  holy  of  men  ;  if  it 
comes  from  some  other  point,  Ireland  is  gone, 
we  curse  ourselves  as  a  set  of  monastic  mad- 
men, and  call  out  for  the  unavailing  satisfac- 
tion of  Mr.  Perceval's  head.  Such  a  state  of 
political  existence  is  scarcely  credible;  it  is 
the  action  of  a  mad  young  fool  standing  upon 
one  foot,  and  peeping  down  the  crater  of  Mount 
jJ^tna,  not  the  conduct  of  a  wise  and  sober 
people  deciding  upon  their  best  and  dearest 
interests:  and  in  the  name,  the  much  injured 
name,  of  Heaven,  what  is  it  all  for  that  we 
expose  ourselves  to  these  dangers?  Is  it  that 
we  may  sell  more  muslin?  Is  it  that  we  may 
acquire  more  territory  ?  Is  it  that  we  may 
strengthen  what  we  have  already  acquired  ? 
No:  nothing  of  all  this;  but  that  one  set  of 
Irishmen  may  torture  another  set  of  Irishmen — 
that  Sir  Phelim  O'Callagan  may  continue  to 
whip  Sir  Toby  M'Tackle,  his  next-door  neigh- 
bour, and  continue  to  ravish  his  Catholic 
daughters;  and  these  are  the  measures  which 
the  honest  and  consistent  secretary  supports ; 
and  this  is  the  secretary  whose  genius,  in  the 
estimation  of  Brother  Abraham,  is  to  extin- 
guish the  genius  of  Bonaparte.  Pompey  was 
killed  by  a  slave,  Goliath  smitten  by  a  stripling, 
Pyrrhus  died  by  the  hand  of  a  woman  ;  tremble, 
thou  great  Gaul,  from  whose  head  an  armed 
Minerva  leaps  forth  in  the  hour  of  danger; 
tremble,  thou  scourge  of  God,  a  pleasant  man 


is  come  out  against  thee,  and  thou  shall  be  laid 
low  by  a  joker  of  jokes,  and  he  shall  talk  his 
pleasant  talk  against  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  no 
more ! 

You  tell  me,  in  spite  of  all  this  parade  of 
sea-coast,  Bonaparte  has  neither  ships  nor 
sailors  :  but  this  is  a  mistake.  He  has  not 
ships  and  sailors  to  contest  the  empire  of  the 
seas  with  Great  Britain,  but  there  remains 
quite  sufficient  of  the  navies  of  France,  Spain, 
Holland,  and  Denmark,  for  these  short  excur- 
sions and  invasions.  Do  you  think,  too,  that 
Bonaparte  does  not  add  to  his  navy  every  year? 
Do  you  suppose,  with  all  Europe  at  his  feet,  that 
he  can  find  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  timber, 
and  that  money  will  not  procure  for  him  any 
quantity  of  naval  stores  he  may  want?  The 
mere  machine,  the  empty  ship,  he  can  build  as 
well,  and  as  quickly,  as  you  can;  and  though 
he  may  not  find  enough  of  practised  sailors  to 
man  large  fighting  fleets — it  is  not  possible  to 
conceive  that  he  can  want  sailors  for  such  sort 
of  purposes  as  I  have  stated?  He  is  at  pre- 
sent the  despotic  monarch  of  above  twenty 
thousand  miles  of  sea-coast,  and  yet  you  sup- 
pose he  cannot  procure  sailors  for  the  invasioa 
of  Ireland.  Believe,  if  you  please,  that  such 
a  fleet  met  at  sea  by  any  number  of  our  ships 
at  all  comparable  to  them  in  point  of  force, 
would  be  immediately  taken;  let  it  be  so ;  I 
count  nothing  upon  their  power  of  resistance, 
only  upon  their  power  of  escaping  unobserved. 
If  experience  has  taught  us  any  thing,  it  is  the 
impossibility  of  perpetual  blockades.  The  in- 
stances are  innumerable,  during  the  course  of 
this  war,  where  whole  fleets  have  sailed  in  and 
out  of  harbour  in  spite  of  every  vigilance  used 
to  prevent  it.  I  shall  only  mention  those  cases 
where  Ireland  is  concerned.  In  December, 
1796,  seven  ships  of  the  line,  and  ten  trans- 
ports, reached  Bantry  Bay  from  Brest,  with- 
out having  seen  an  English  ship  in  their  pas- 
sage. It  blew  a  storm  when  they  were  off 
shore,  and  therefore  England  still  continues  to 
be  an  independent  kingdom.  You  will  observe 
that  at  the  very  time  the  French  fleet  sailed  out 
of  Brest  harbour,  Admiral  Colpoys  was  cruis- 
ing off  there  with  a  powerful  squadron,  and 
still,  from  the  particular  circumstances  of  the 
weather,  found  it  impossible  to  prevent  the 
French  from  coming  out.  During  the  time  that 
Admiral  Colpoys  was  cruising  off  Brest,  Ad- 
miral Richery,  with  six  ships  of  the  line,  passed 
him,  and  got  safe  into  the  harbour.  At  the 
very  moment  when  the  French  squadron  was 
lying  in  Bantry  Bay,  Lord  Bridport  with  his 
fleet  was  locked  up  by  a  foul  wind  in  the 
Channel,  and  for  several  days  could  not  stir  to 
the  assistance  of  Ireland.  Admiral  Colpoys, 
totally  unable  to  find  the  French  fleet,  came 
home.  Lord  Bridport,  at  the  change  of  the 
wind,  cruised  for  them  in  vain,  and  they  got 
safe  back  to  Brest,  without  having  seen  a 
single  one  of  these  floating  bulwarks,  the  pos- 
session of  which  we  believe  will  enable  us 
with  impunity  to  set  justice  and  common  sense 
at  defiance.  Such  is  the  miserable  and  preca- 
rious state  of  an  anemocracy,  of  a  people  who 
put  their  trust  in  hurricanes,  and  are  governed 
by  wind.  In  August,  1798,  three  forty-gun 
frigates  landed  1 100  men  under  Humbert,  mak- 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


469 


ing  the  passage  from  Rochelle  to  Killala  with- 
out seeing  any  English  ship.  In  October  of 
the  same  year,  four  French  frigates  anchored 
in  Killala  Bay  with  2000  troops ;  and  though 
they  did  not  land  their  troops,  they  returned  to 
France  in  safety.  In  the  same  month,  a  line 
of  battle  ship,  eight  stout  frigates,  and  a  brig, 
all  full  of  troops  and  stores,  reached  the  coast 
of  Ireland,  and  were  fortunately,  in  sight  of 
land,  destroyed,  after  an  obstinate  engagement, 
by  Sir  John  Warren. 

If  you  despise  the  little  troop  which,  in  these 
numerous  experiments,  did  make  good  its  land- 
ing, take  with  you,  if  you  please,  this  precis  of 
its  exploits  :  eleven  hundred  men,  commanded 
by  a  soldier  raised  from  the  ranks,  put  to  rout 
a  select  army  of  6000  men,  commanded  by 
General  Lake,  seized  their  ordinance,  ammuni- 
tion, and  stores,  advanced  150  miles  into  a 
country  containing  an  armed  force  of  150,000 
men,  and  at  last  surrendered  to  the  viceroy,  an 
experienced  general,  gravely  and  cautiously 
advancing  at  the  head  of  all  his  chivalry  and 
of  an  immense  army  to  oppose  him.  You 
must  excuse  these  details  about  Ireland,  but  it 
appears  to  me  to  be  of  all  other  subjects  the 
most  important.  If  we  conciliate  Ireland,  we 
can  do  nothing  amiss  ;  if  we  do  not,  we  can  do 
nothing  well.  If  Ireland  was  friendly,  we  might 
equally  set  at  defiance  the  talents  of  Bonaparte 
and  the  blunders  of  his  rival,  Mr.  Canning;  we 
could  then  support  the  ruinous  and  silly  bustle 
of  our  useless  expeditions,  and  the  almost  in- 
credible ignorance  of  our  commercial  orders  in 
council.  Let  the  present  administration  give 
up  but  this  one  point,  and  there  is  nothing 
which  I  would  not  consent  to  grant  them.  Mr. 
Perceval  shall  have  full  liberty  to  insult  ihe 
tomb  of  Mr.  Fox,  and  to  torment  every  eminent 
dissenter  in  Great  Britain  ;  Lord  Camden  shall 
have  large  boxes  of  plums ;  Mr.  Rose  receive 
permission  to  prefix  to  his  name  the  appella- 
tive of  virtuous ;  and  to  the  Viscount  Castle- 
reagh*  a  round  sum  of  ready  money  shall  be 
well  and  truly  paid  into  his  hand.  Lastly,  what 
remains  to  Mr.  George  Canning,  but  that  he 
rides  up  and  down  Pall  Mall  glorious  upon  a 
white  horse,  and  that  they  cry  out  before  him, 
Thus  shall  it  be  done  to  the  statesman  who 
hath  written  "The  Needy  Knife-Grinder,"  and 
the  German  play  1  Adieu  only  for  the  present; 
you  shall  soon  hear  from  me  again  ;  it  is  a  sub- 
ject upon  which  I  cannot  long  be  silent. 


LETTER  Vni. 

Nothing  can  be  more  erroneous  than  to  sup- 
pose that  Ireland  is  not  bigger  than  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  or  of  more  consequence  than  Guernsey 
or  Jersey  ;  and  yet  I  am  almost  inclined  to  be- 
lieve, from  the  general  supineness  which  pre- 
vails here  respecting  the  dangerous  stale  of 
that  country,  that  such  is  the  rank  which  it 
holds  in  our  statistical  tables.  I  have  been 
writing  to  you  a  great  deal  about  Ireland,  and 
perhaps  it  may  be  of  some  use  to  state  to  you 
concisely  the  nature  and  resources  of  the 
country  which  has  been  the  subject  of  our  long 


♦This  is  a  very  unjust  imputation  on  Lord  Castlereagh- 


and  strange  correspondence.  There  were  re- 
turned, as  I  have  before  observed,  to  the  hearth 
tax,  in  1791,  701,132*  houses,  which  Mr.New- 
enham  shows  from  unquestionable  documents 
to  be  nearly  80,000  below  the  real  number  of 
houses  in  that  country.  There  are  27,457 
square  English  miles  in  Ireland,!  ^^^  more 
than  five  millions  of  people. 

By  the  last  survey,  it  appears  that  the  inha- 
bited houses  in  England  and  Wales  amount  to 
1,574,902,  and  the  population  to  9,343,578, 
which  gives  an  average  of  5f  to  each  house,  in 
a  country  where  the  density  of  population  is 
certainly  less  considerable  than  in  Ireland.  It 
is  commonly  supposed  that  two-fifths  of  the 
army  and  navy  are  Irishmen,  at  periods  when 
political  disaffection  does  not  avert  the  Catho- 
lics from  the  service.  The  current  value  of 
Irish  exports  in  1807  was  9,314,854;.  17s.  7d.; 
a  state  of  commerce  about  equal  to  the  com- 
merce of  England  in  the  middle  of  the  reign  of 
George  II.  The  tonnage  of  ships  entered  in- 
ward and  cleared  outward  in  the  trade  of  Ire- 
land, in  1807,  amounted  to  1,567,430  tons.  The 
quantity  of  home  spirits  exported  amounted  to 
10,284  gallons  in  1796,  and  to  930,800  gallons 
in  1804.  Of  the  exports,  which  I  have  stated, 
provisions  amounted  to  four  millions,  and  linen 
to  about  four  millions  and  a  half.  There  was 
exported  from  Ireland,  upon  an  average  of  two 
years  ending  in  January,  1804,  591,274  barrels 
of  barley,  oats,  and  wheat ;  and  by  weight 
910,848  cwts.  of  flour,  oatmeal,  barley,  oats 
and  wheat.  The  amount  of  butter  exported  in 
1804,  from  Ireland,  was  worth,  in  money, 
1,704,680Z.  sterling.  The  importation  of  ale 
and  beer  from  the  immense  manufactures  now 
carrying  on  of  these  articles,  was  diminished 
to  3209  barrels,  in  the  year  1804,  from  111,920 
barrels,  which  was  the  average  importation 
per  annum,  taking  from  three  years  ending  in 
1792;  and  at  present  there  is  an  export  trade 
of  porter.  On  an  average  of  the  three  years, 
ending  March,  1783,  there  were  imported  into 
Ireland,  of  cotton  wool,  3326  cwts.,  of  cotton 
yarn,  5405  lbs. ;  but  on  an  average  of  three 
years,  ending  January,  1803,  there  were  im- 
ported, of  the  first  article,  13,159  cwts.,  and  of 
the  latter,  628,406  lbs.  It  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive any  manufacture  more  flourishing.  The 
export  of  linen  has  increased  in  Ireland  from 
17,776,862  yards,  the  average  in  1770,  to 
43,534,971  yards,  the  amount  in  1805.  The 
tillage  of  Ireland  has  more  then  trebled  within 
the  last  twenty-one  years.  The  importation 
of  coals  has  increased  from  230,000  tons  in 
1783,  to  417,030  in  1804;  of  tobacco,  from 
3,459,861  lbs.  in  1783,  to  6,611,543  in  1804  ;  of 
tea,  from  1,703,855  lbs.  in  1783,  to  3,358,256,  in 
1804;  of  sugar,  from  143,117  cwts.  in  1782,  to 
309,076,  in  1804.  Ireland  now  supports  a 
funded  debt  of  above  64  millions,  and  it  is 
computed  that  more  than  three  millions  of 
money  are  annually  remitted  to  Irish  absentees 
resident  in  this  country.    In  Mr.  Foster's  re- 


*  The  checks  to  population  were  very  trifling  from  the 
rebellion.     It  lasted  two  months  :  of  his  majesty's  Irish 
forces,  there  perished  about  1600;  of  the  rebels,  11,000 
were  killed  in  the  field,  and  2000  hanged  or  exported 
400  loyal  persons  were  assassinated. 

+  In  England  49,450. 

2R 


470 


WORKS    OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


port,  of  100  folio  pages,  presented  to  the  House 
of  Commons  in  the  year  1806,  the  total  expen- 
diture of  Ireland  is  stated  at  9,760,013/.  Ire- 
land has  increased  about  two-thirds  in  its 
population  within  twenty-five  years,  and  yet, 
and  in  about  the  same  space  of  time,  its  ex- 
ports of  beef,  bullocks,  cows,  pork,  swine,  but- 
ter, wheat,  barley,  and  oats,  collectively  taken, 
have  doubled;  and  this  in  spite  of  two  years' 
famine,  and  the  presence  of  an  immense  army, 
that  is  always  at  hand  to  guard  the  most  valu- 
able appanage  of  our  empire  from  joining  our 
most  inveterate  enemies.  Ireland  has  the 
greatest  possible  facilities  for  carrying  on  com- 
merce with  the  whole  of  Europe.  It  contains, 
within  a  circuit  of  750  miles,  66  secure  har- 
bours, and  presents  a  western  frontier  against 
Great  Britain,  reaching  from  the  Frith  of  Clyde 
north  to  the  Bristol  Channel  south,  and  vary- 
ing in  distance  from  20  to  100  miles;  so  that 
the  subjugation  of  Ireland  would  compel  us  to 
guard  with  ships  and  soldiers  a  new  line  of 
coast,  certainly  amounting,  with  all  its  sinuosi- 
ties, to  more  than  700  miles — an  addition  of  po- 
lemics, in  our  present  state  of  hostility  with  all 
the  world,  which  must  highly  gratify  the  vigor- 
ists,  and  give  them  an  ample  opportunity  of 
displaying  that  foolish  energy  upon  which 
their  claims  to  distinction  are  founded.  Such 
is  the  country  which  the  right  reverend  the 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer  would  drive  into 
the  arms  of  France,  and  for  the  conciliation  of 
which  we  are  requested  to  wait,  as  if  it  were 
one  of  those  sinecure  places  which  were  given 
to  Mr.  Perceval  snarling  at  the  breast,  and 
which  cannot  be  abolished  till  his  decease. 

How  sincerely  and  fervently  have  I  often 
wished  that  the  Emperor  of  the  French  had 
thought  as  Mr.  Spencer  Perceval  does  upon  the 
subject  of  government;  that  he  had  entertained 
doubts  and  scruples  upon  the  propriety  of  ad- 
mitting the  Protestants  to  an  equality  of  rights 
with  the  Catholics,  and  that  he  had  left  in  the 
middle  of  his  empire  these  vigorous  seeds  of 
hatred  and  disaffection  :  but  the  world  was 
never  yet  conquered  by  a  blockhead.  One  of 
the  very  first  measures  we  saw  him  recurring 
to  was  the  complete  establishment  of  religious 
liberty ;  if  his  subjects  fought  and  paid  as 
he  pleased,  he  allowed  them  to  believe  as  they 
pleased;  the  moment  I  saw  this,  my  best  hopes 
were  lost.  I  perceived  in  a  moment  the  kind  of 
man  we  had  to  do  with.  I  was  well  aware  of 
the  miserable  ignorance  and  folly  of  this 
country  upon  the  subject  of  toleration;  and 
every  year  has  been  adding  to  the  success  of 
that  game  which  it  was  clear  he  had  the  will 
and  the  ability  to  play  against  us. 

You  say  Bonaparte  is  not  in  earnest  upon  the 
subject  of  religion,  and  that  this  is  the  cause 
of  his  tolerant  spirit ;  but  is  it  possible  you  can 
intend  to  give  us  such  dreadful  and  unamiable 
notions  of  religion  1  Are  we  to  understand 
that  the  moment  a  man  is  sincere  he  is  narrow- 
minded;  that  persecution  is  the  child  of  belief; 
and  that  a  desire  to  leave  all  men  in  the  quiet 
and  unpunished  exercise  of  their  own  creed 
can  only  exist  in  the  mind  of  an  infidel? 
Thank  God!  I  know  many  men  whose  prin- 
ciples are  as  firm  as  they  are  expanded,  who 
cling  tenaciously  to  their  own  modification  of 


the  Christian  faith,  without  the  slightest  dispo- 
sition to  force  that  modification  upon  other 
people.  If  Bonaparte  is  liberal  in  subjects  of 
religion  because  he  has  no  religion,  is  this  a 
reason  why  we  should  be  illiberal  because  we 
are  Christians  1  If  he  owes  this  excellent  quality 
to  a  vice,  is  that  any  reason  why  we  may  not 
owe  it  to  a  virtue?  Toleration  is  a  great  good, 
and  a  good  to  be  imitated,  let  it  come  from 
whom  it  will.  If  a  sceptic  is  tolerant,  it  only 
shows  that  he  is  not  foolish  in  practice  as  well 
as  erroneous  in  theory.  If  a  religious  man  is 
tolerant,  it  evinces  that  he  is  religious  from 
thought  and  inquiry,  because  he  exhibits  in  his 
conduct  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  import- 
ant consequences  of  a  religious  mind, — an  in- 
violable charity  to  all  the  honest  varieties  of 
human  opinion. 

Lord  Sidmouth,  and  all  the  anti-Catholie 
people,  little  foresee  that  they  will  hereafter  be 
the  sport  of  the  antiquary;  that  their  prophe- 
cies of  ruin  and  destruction  from  Catholic 
emancipation  will  be  clapped  into  the  notes  of 
some  quaint  history,  and  be  matter  of  plea- 
santry even  to  the  sedulous  housewife  and  the 
rural  dean.  There  is  always  a  copious  sup- 
ply of  Lord  Sidmouths  in  the  world:  nor  is 
there  one  single  source  of  human  happiness 
against  which  they  have  not  uttered  the  most 
lugubrious  predictions.  Turnpike  roads,  navi- 
gable canals,  inoculation,  hops,  tobacco,  the 
Reformation,  the  Revolution — there  are  always 
a  set  of  worthy  and  moderately-gifted  men, 
who  bawl  out  death  and  ruin  upon  every  valu- 
able change  which  the  varying  aspect  of  human 
aflfairs  absolutely  and  imperiously  requires.  I 
have  often  thought  that  it  would  be  extremely 
useful  to  make  a  collection  of  the  hatred  and 
abuse  that  all  those  changes  have  experienced, 
which  are  now  admitted  to  be  marked  improve- 
ments in  our  condition.  Such  an  history  might 
make  folly  a  little  more  modest,  and  suspicious 
of  its  own  decisions. 

Ireland,  you  say,  since  the  union,  is  to  be 
considered  as  a  part  of  the  whole  kingdom; 
and  therefore,  however  Catholics  may  predo- 
minate in  that  particular  spot,  yet,  taking  the 
whole  empire  together,  they  are  to  be  consi- 
dered as  a  much  more  insignificant  quota  of 
the  population.  Consider  them  in  what  light 
you  please,  as  part  of  the  whole,  or  by  them- 
selves, or  in  what  manner  may  be  most  con- 
sentaneous to  the  devices  of  your  holy  mind — 
I  say  in  a  very  few  words,  if  you  do  not  relieve 
these  people  from  the  civil  incapacities  to 
which  they  are  exposed,  you  will  lose  them ; 
or  you  must  employ  great  strength  and  much 
treasure  in  watching  over  them.  In  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  world,  you  can  afford  to  do 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  Having  stated 
this,  I  shall  leave  you  to  be  ruined,  Puffendorf 
in  hand,  (as  Mr.  Secretary  Canning  says,)  and 
to  lose  Ireland,  just  as  you  have  found  out  what 
proportion  the  aggrieved  people  should  bear  to 
the  whole  population,  before  their  calamities 
meet  with  redress.  As  for  your  parallel  cases, 
I  am  no  more  afraid  of  deciding  upon  them  than 
I  am  upon  their  prototype.  If  ever  any  one 
heresy  should  so  far  spread  itself  over  the  prin- 
cipality of  Wales  that  the  established  church 
were  left  in  a  minority  of  one  to  four;  if  you 


WORKS  OF  THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


471 


had  subjected  these  heretics  to  very  severe 
civil  privations;  if  the  consequence  of  such 
privations  were  an  universal  state  of  disaffec- 
tion among  that  caseous  and  wrathful  people; 
and  if,  at  the  same  time,  you  were  at  war  with 
all  the  world,  how  can  you  doubt  for  a  moment 
that  I  would  instantly  restore  them  to  a  state  of 
the  most  complete  civil  liberty  1  What  matters 
it  under  what  name  you  put  the  same  easel 
Common  sense  is  not  changed  by  appellations. 
I  have  said  how  1  would  act  to  Ireland,  and  I 
would  act  so  to  all  the  world. 

I  admit  that,  to  a  certain  degree,  the  govern- 
ment will  lose  the  affections  of  the  Orangemen 
by  emancipating  the  Catholics ;  much  less, 
however,  at  present,  than  three  years  past. 
The  few  men,  who  have  ill-treated  the  whole 
crew,  live  in  constant  terror  that  the  oppressed 
people  will  rise  upon  them  and  carry  the  ship 
into  Brest : — they  begin  to  find  that  it  is  a  very 
tiresome  thing  to  sleep  every  night  with  cocked 
pistols  under  their  pillows,  and  to  breakfast, 
dine,  and  sup  with  drawn  hangers.  They 
suspect  that  the  privilege  of  beating  and  kick- 
ing the  rest  of  the  sailors  is  hardly  worth  all 
this  anxiety,  and  that  if  the  ship  does  ever  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  disaffected,  all  the  cruel- 
ties which  they  have  experienced  will  be  tho- 
roughly remembered  and  amply  repaid.  To  a 
short  period  of  disaffection  among  the  Orange- 
men, I  confess  I  should  not  much  object:  my 
love  of  poetical  justice  does  carry  me  as  far 
as  that;  one  summers  whipping,  only  one: 
the  thumb-screw  for  a  short  season;  a  little 
light,  easy  torturing  between  Lady-day  and 
Michaelmas;  a  short  specimen  of  Mr.  Perce- 
val's rigour.  I  have  malice  enough  to  ask  this 
slight  atonement  for  the  groans  and  shrieks 
of  the  poor  Catholics,  unheard  by  any  human 
tribunal,  but  registered  by  the  angel  of  God 
against  their  Protestant  and  enlightened  op- 
pressors. 

Besides,  if  you  who  count  ten  so  often  can 
count  five,  you  must  perceive  that  it  is  better 
to  have  four  friends  and  one  enemy  than  four 
enemies  and  one  friend;  and  the  more  violent 
the  hatred  of  the  Orangemen,  the  more  certain 
the  reconciliation  of  the  Catholics.  The  dis- 
affection of  the  Orangemen  will  be  the  Irish 
rainbow;  when  I  see  it,  I  shall  be  sure  that  the 
storm  is  over. 

If  those  incapacities,  from  which  the  Ca- 
tholics ask  to  be  relieved,  were  to  the  mass  of 
them  only  a  mere  feeling  of  pride,  and  if  the 
question  were  respecting  the  attainment  of 
privileges  which  could  be  of  importance  only 
to  the  highest  of  the  sect,  I  should  still  say, 
that  the  pride  of  the  mass  was  very  naturally 
wounded  by  the  degradation  of  their  superiors. 
Indignity  to  George  Rose  would  be  felt  by  the 
smallest  nummary  gentleman  in  the  king's 
employ;  and  Mr.  John  Bannister  could  not  be 
indifferent  to  any  thing  which  happened  to 
Mr.  Canning.  But  the  truth  is,  it  is  a  most 
egregious  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  Catholics 
are  contending  merely  for  the  fringes  and  fea- 
thers of  their  chiefs.  I  will  give  you  a  list, 
in  my  next  letter,  of  those  privations  which 
are  represented  to  be  of  no  consequence  to 
any  body  but  Lord  Fingal,  and  some  twenty 
or  thirty  of  the  principal  persons  of  their  sect. 
la  the  mean  time,  adieu,  and  be  wise. 


LETTER  IX. 

Dear  Abraham, 

No  catholic  can  be  chief  governor  or  go- 
vernor of  this  kingdom,  chancellor  or  keeper 
of  the  great  seal,  lord  high-treasurer,  chief  of 
any  of  the  courts  of  justice,  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer,  puisne  judge,  judge  in  the  admi- 
ralty, master  of  the  rolls,  secretary  of  state, 
keeper  of  the  privy  seal,  vice-treasurer  or  his 
deputy,  teller  or  cashier  of  exchequer,  auditor 
or  general,  governor  or  custos  rotulorum  of 
counties,  chief  governor's  secretary,  privy 
councillor,  king's  counsel,  Serjeant,  attorney, 
solicitor-general,  master  in  chancery,  provost 
or  fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  post- 
master-general, master  and  lieutenant-general 
of  ordnance,  commander-in-chief,  general  on 
the  staff,  sheriff,  sub-sheriff,  mayor,  bailifT, 
recorder,  burgess,  or  any  other  officer  in  a 
city,  or  a  corporation.  No  Catholic  can  be 
guardian  to  a  Protestant,  and  no  priest  guar- 
dian at  all ;  no  Catholic  can  be  a  gamekeeper, 
or  have  for  sale,  or  otherwise,  any  arms  or 
warlike  stores ;  no  Catholic  can  present  to  a 
living,  unless  he  chooses  to  turn  Jew  in  order 
to  obtain  that  privilege;  the  pecuniary  quali- 
fication of  Catholic  jurors  is  made  higher  than 
that  of  Protestants,  and  no  relaxation  of  the 
ancient  rigoi-ous  code  is  permitted,  unless  to 
those  who  shall  take  an  oath  prescribed  by  13 
&  14  Geo.  III.  Now  if  this  is  not  picking  the 
plums  out  of  the  pudding,  and  leaving  the 
mere  batter  to  the  Catholics,  I  know  not  what 
is.  If  it  were  merely  the  privy  council,  it 
would  be  (I  allow)  nothing  but  a  point  of 
honour  for  which  the  mass  of  Catholics  were 
contending,  the  honour  of  being  chief  mourn- 
ers or  pall-bearers  to  the  country;  but  surely 
no  man  will  contend  that  every  barrister  may 
not  speculate  upon  the  possibility  of  being  a 
puisne  judge  ;  and  that  every  shopkeeper  must 
not  feel  himself  injured  by  his  exclusion  from 
borough  offices. 

One  of  the  greatest  practical  evils  which  the 
Catholics  suffer  in  Ireland,  is  their  exclusion 
from  the  offices  of  sheriff  and  deputy  sheriff. 
Nobody  who  is  unacquainted  with  Ireland 
can  conceive  the  obstacles  which  this  opposes 
to  the  fair  administration  of  justice.  The  for- 
mation of  juries  is  now  entirely  in  the'  hands 
of  the  Protestants :  the  lives,  liberties,  and 
properties  of  the  Catholics  in  the  hands  of  the 
juries ;  and  this  is  the  arrangement  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  in  a  country  where  re- 
ligious prejudices  are  inflamed  to  the  greatest 
degree  of  animosity !  In  this  country,  if  a  man 
is  a  foreigner,  if  he  sells  slippers,  and  sealing 
wax  and  artificial  flowers,  we  are  so  tender  of 
human  life,  that  we  take  care  half  the  number 
of  persons  who  are  to  decide  upon  his  fate 
should  be  men  of  similar  prejudices  and  feel- 
ings with  himself:  but  a  poor  Catholic  in  Ire- 
land may  be  tried  by  twelve  Percevals,  and 
destroyed  according  to  the  manner  of  that  gen- 
tleman in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  with  all 
the  insulting  forms  of  justice.  I  do  not  go  the 
length  of  saying  that  deliberate  and  wilful  in- 
justice is  done.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
Orange  de{)uty-slierifr  thinks  it  would  be  a 
most  unpardonable  breach  of  his  duty  if  ho 
did  not  summon  a  Protestant  panel.    I  can 


473 


WORKS   OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


easily  believe  that  the  Protestant  panel  may 
conduct  themselves  very  conscientiously  in 
hanging  the  gentleman  of  the  crucifix;  but  I 
blame  the  law  which  does  not  guard  the  Ca- 
tholic against  the  probable  tenour  of  those 
feelings  which  must  unconsciously  influence 
the  judgments  of  mankind.  I  detest  that  state 
of  society  which  extends  unequal  degrees  of 
protection  to  diflTerent  creeds  and  persuasions; 
and  I  cannot  describe  to  you  the  contempt  I 
feel  for  a  man  who,  calling  himself  a  states- 
man, defends  a  system  which  fills  the  heart  of 
every  Irishman  with  treason,  and  makes  his 
allegiance  prudence,  not  choice. 

I  request  to  know  if  the  vestry  taxes,  in 
Ireland,  are  a  mere  matter  of  romantic  feeling, 
which  can  aSect  only  the  Earl  of  Fingal  ]  In 
a  parish  where  there  are  four  thousand  Catho- 
lics and  fifty  Protestants,  the  Protestants  may 
meet  together  in  a  vestry  meeting,  at  which 
no  Catholic  has  the  right  to  vote,  and  tax  all 
the  lands  in  the  parish  Is.  6c/.  per  acre,  or  in 
the  pound,  I  forget  which,  for  the  repairs  of 
the  church — and  how  has  the  necessity  of 
these  repairs  been  ascertained  1  A  Protestant 
plumber  has  discovered  that  it  wants  new 
leading;  a  Protestant  carpenter  is  convinced 
the  timbers  are  not  sound,  and  a  glazier,  who 
hates  holy  water,  (as  an  accoucher  hates  celi- 
bacy because  he  gets  nothing  by  it,)  is  em- 
ployed to  put  in  new  sashes. 

The  grand  juries  in  Ireland  are  the  great 
scene  of  jobbing.  They  have  a  power  of 
making  a  county  rate  to  a  considerable  extent 
for  roads,  bridges,  and  other  objects  of  general 
accommodation  "You  suffer  the  road  to  be 
brought  through  my  park,  and  I  will  have  the 
Dridge  constructed  in  a  situation  where  it  will 
make  a  beautiful  object  to  your  house.  You 
do  my  job,  and  I  will  do  yours."  These  are 
the  sweet  and  interesting  subjects  which  occa- 
sionally occupy  Milesian  gentlemen  while  they 
are  attendant  upon  this  grand  inquest  of  jus- 
lice.  But  there  is  a  religion,  it  seems,  even 
in  jobs ;  and  it  will  be  highly  gratifying  to 
Mr.  Perceval  to  learn  that  no  man  in  Ireland 
who  believes  in  seven  sacraments  can  carry 
a  public  road,  or  bridge,  one  yard  out  of  the 
direction  most  beneficial  to  the  public,  and 
that  nobody  can  cheat  that  public  who  does 
not  expound  the  Scriptures  in  the  purest  and 
most  orthodox  manner.  This  will  give  plea- 
sure to  Mr.  Perceval :  but,  from  his  unfairness 
upon  these  topics,  I  appeal  to  the  justice  and 
proper  feelings  of  Mr.  Huskisson.  I  ask  him 
if  the  human  mind  can  experience  a  more 
dreadful  sensation  than  to  see  its  own  jobs 
refused,  and  the  jobs  of  another  religion  per- 
petually succeeding  1  I  ask  him  his  opinion 
of  a  jobless  faith,  of  a  creed  which  dooms  a 
man  through  life  to  a  lean  and  plunderless  in- 
tegrity. He  knows  that  human  nature  cannot 
and  will  not  bear  it ;  and  if  we  were  to  paint  a 
political  Tartarus,  it  would  be  an  endless  series 
of  snug  expectations  and  cruel  disappoint- 
ments. These  are  a  few  of  many  dreadful 
inconveniences  which  the  Catholics  of  all 
ranks  sufler  from  the  laws  by  which  they  are 
at  present  oppressed.  Besides,  look  at  human 
nature  : — what  is  the  history  of  all  professions  1 
Joel  is  to  be  brought  up  to  the  bar :  has  Mrs. 


Plyraley  the  slightest  doubt  of  his  being  chan- 
cellor 1  Do  not  his  two  shrivelled  aunts  live 
in  the  certainty  of  seeing  him  in  that  situa- 
tion, and  of  cutting  out  with  their  own  hands 
his  equity  habiliments  1  And  I  could  name  a 
certain  minister  of  the  Gospel  who  does  not, 
in  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  much  differ  from 
these  opinions.  Do  you  think  that  the  fathers 
and  mothers  of  the  holy  Catholic  Church  are 
not  as  absurd  as  Protestant  papas  and  ma- 
mas 1  The  probability  I  admit  to  be,  in  each 
particular  case,  that  the  sweet  little  blockhead 
will  in  fact  never  get  a  brief; — but  I  will  ven- 
ture to  say,  there  is  not  a  parent  from  the 
Giant's  causeway  to  Bantry  Bay  who  does  not 
conceive  that  his  child  is  the  unfortunate  vic- 
tim of  the  exclusion,  and  that  nothing  short  of 
positive  law  could  prevent  his  own  dear  pre- 
eminent Paddy  from  rising  to  the  highest  ho- 
nours of  the  state.  So  with  the  army,  and 
Parliament;  in  fact,  few  are  excluded;  but,  in 
imagination,  all :  you  keep  twenty  or  thirty 
Catholics  out,  and  you  lose  the  affections  of 
four  millions ;  and,  let  me  tell  you,  that  recent 
circumstances  have  by  no  means  tended  to 
diminish  in  the  minds  of  men  that  hope  of 
elevation  beyond  their  own  rank  which  is  so 
congenial  to  our  nature;  from  pleading  for 
John  Roe  to  taxing  John  Bull,  from  jesting  for 
Mr.  Pitt  and  writing  in  the  Anti-Jacobin,  to 
managing  the  affairs  of  Europe — these  are 
leaps  which  seem  to  justify  the  fondest  dreams 
of  mothers  and  aunts. 

I  do  not  say  that  the  disabilities  to  which 
the  Catholics  are  exposed  amount  to  such  in- 
tolerable grievances,  that  the  strength  and  in- 
dustry of  a  nation  are  overwhelmed  by  them ; 
the  increasing  prosperity  of  Ireland  fully  de- 
monstrates the  contrary.  But  I  repeat  again, 
what  I  have  often  stated  in  the  course  of  our 
correspondence,  that  your  laws  against  the 
Catholic  are  exactly  in  that  state  in  which 
you  have  neither  the  benefits  of  rigour  nor  of 
liberality ;  every  law  which  prevented  the 
Catholics  from  gaining  strength  and  wealth  is 
repealed ;  every  law  which  can  irritate  re- 
mains ;  if  you  were  determined  to  insult  the 
Catholics,  you  should  have  kept  them  weak ; 
if  you  resolved  to  give  them  strength,  you 
should  have  ceased  to  insult  them  : — at  present 
your  conduct  is  pure,  unadulterated  folly. 

Lord  Hawkesbury  says,  we  heard  nothing 
about  the  Catholics  till  we  began  to  mitigate 
the  laws  against  them  ;  when  we  relieved  them 
in  part  from  this  oppression  they  began  to  be 
disaffected.  This  is  very  true ;  but  it  proves 
just  what  I  have  said,  that  you  have  either 
done  too  much,  or  too  little ;  and  as  there 
lives  not,  I  hope,  upon  earth,  so  depraved  a 
courtier  that  he  would  load  the  Catholics  with 
their  ancient  chains,  what  absurdity  it  is  then 
not  to  render  their  dispositions  friendly,  when 
you  leave  their  arms  and  legs  free  ! 

You  know,  and  many  Englishmen  know, 
what  passes  in  China;  but  nobody  knows  or 
cares  what  passes  in  Ireland.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  reign,  no  Catholic  could 
realize  property,  or  carry  on  any  business ; 
they  were  absolutely  annihilated,  and  had  no 
more  agency  in  the  country  than  so  many 
trees.    They  were  like  Lord  Mulgrave's  elo- 


WORKS   OF  THE   REV.   SYDNEY  SMITH. 


473 


quence,  and  Lord  Camden's  wit ;  the  legisla- 
tive bodies  did  not  know  of  their  existence. 
For  these  twenty-five  years  last  past,  the  Ca- 
tholics have  been  engaged  in  commerce ; 
within  that  period  the  commerce  of  Ireland 
has  doubled : — there  are  four  Catholics  at  work 
for  one  Protestant,  and  eight  Catholics  at  work 
for  one  Episcopalian ;  of  course  the  propor- 
tion which  Catholic  wealth  bears  to  Protestant 
wealth  is  every  year  altering  rapidly  in  favour 
of  the  Catholics.  I  have  already  told  3'ou  what 
their  purchases  of  land  were  the  last  year ; 
since  that  period,  I  have  been  at  some  pains 
to  find  out  the  actual  state  of  the  Catholic 
wealth ;  it  is  impossible,  upon  such  a  subject, 
to  arrive  at  complete  accuracy ;  but  I  have 
good  reason  to  believe  that  there  are  at  pre- 
sent 2000  Catholics  in  Ireland,  possessing  an 
income  from  500?.  upwards,  many  of  these 
with  incomes  of  one,  two,  three,  and  four 
thousand,  and  some  amounting  to  fifteen  and 
twenty  thousand  per  annum: — and  this  is  the 
kingdom,  and  these  the  people,  for  whose  con- 
ciliation we  are  to  wait  Heaven  knows  when, 
and  Lord  Hawkesbury  why!  As  for  me,  I 
never  think  of  the  situation  of  Ireland,  v,nih- 
out  feeling  the  same  necessity  for  immediate 
interference  as  I  should  do  if  I  saw  blood 
flowing  from  a  great  artery.  I  rush  to- 
wards it  with  the  instinctive  rapidity  of  a  man 
desirous  of  preventing  death,  and  have  no 
other  feeling  but  that  in  a  few  seconds  the 
patient  may  be  no  more. 

I  could  not  help  smiling,  in  the  times  of  No- 
Popery,  to  witness  the  loyal  indignation  of 
many  persons  at  the  attempt  made  by  the  last 
ministry  to  do  something  for  the  relief  of  Ire- 
land. The  general  cry  in  the  country  was, 
that  they  would  not  see  their  beloved  monarch 
used  ill  in  his  old  age,  and  that  they  would 
stand  by  him  to  the  last  drop  of  their  blood. 
I  respect  good  feelings,  however  erroneous  be 
the  occasions  on  which  they  display  them- 
selves ;  and,  therefore,  I  saw  in  all  this  as 
much  to  admire  as  to  blame.  It  was  a  species 
of  affection,  however,  which  reminded  me 
very  forcibly  of  the  attachment  displayed  by 
the  servants  of  the  Russian  ambassador,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  His  excel- 
lency happened  to  fall  down  in  a  kind  of  apo- 
plectic fit,  when  he  was  paying  a  morniiig 
visit  in  the  house  of  an  acquaintance.  The 
confusion  was  of  course  very  great,  and  mes- 
sengers were  despatched,  in  every  direction, 
to  find  a  surgeon,  who,  upon  his  arrival,  de- 
clared that  his  excellency  must  be  immediately 
blooded,  and  prepared  himself  forthwith  to 
perform  the  operation ;  the  barbarous  servants 
of  the  embassy,  who  were  there  in  great  num- 
bers, no  sooner  saw  the  surgeon  prepared  to 
wound  the  arm  of  their  master  with  a  sharp 
shining  instrument,  than  they  drew  their 
swords,  put  themselves  in  an  attitude  of  de- 
fence, and  swore  in  pure  Sclavonic,  "  that 
they  would  murder  any  man  who  attempted 
to  do  him  the  slightest  injury;  he  had  been  a 
very  good  master  to  them,  and  they  would  not 
desert  him  in  his  misfortunes,  or  suffer  his 
blood  to  be  shed  while  he  was  off"  his  guard, 
and  incapable  of  defending  himself."  By  good 
fortune,  the  secretary  arrived  about  this  period 
60 


of  the  dispute,  and  his  excellency,  relieved 
from  superfluous  blood  and  perilous  affection, 
was,  after  much  difficulty,  restored  to  life. 

There  is  an  argument  brought  forward  with 
some  appearance  of  plausibility  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  which  certainly  merits  an  an- 
swer. You  know  that  the  Catholics  now  vote 
for  members  of  Parliament  in  Ireland,  and 
that  they  outnumber  the  Protestants  in  a  very 
great  proportion  ;  if  you  allow  Catholics  to  sit 
in  Parliament,  religion  will  be  found  to  influ- 
ence votes  more  than  property,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  100  Irish  members  who  are  return- 
ed to  Parliament  will  be  Catholics.  Add  to 
these  the  Catholic  members  who  are  returned 
in  England,  and  you  will  have  a  phalanx  of 
heretical  strength  which  every  minister  will 
be  compelled  to  respect,  and  occasionally  to 
conciliate  by  concessions  incompatible  with 
the  interests  of  the  Protestant  Church.  The 
fact  is,  however,  that  you  are  at  this  moment 
subjected  to  ever}^  danger  of  this  kind  which 
you  can  possibly  apprehend  hereafter.  If  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  voters  are  more  pow- 
erful than  their  temporal  interests,  they  can 
bind  down  their  representatives  to  support  any 
measures  favourable  to  the  Catholic  religion, 
and  they  can  change  the  objects  of  their 
choice  till  they  have  found  Protestant  members 
(as  they  easily  may  do)  perfectly  obedient  to 
their  wishes.  If  the  superior  possessions  of 
the  Protestants  prevent  the  Catholics  from 
uniting  for  a  common  political  object,  then 
the  danger  you  fear  cannot  exist;  if  zeal,  on 
the  contrary,  gets  the  better  of  acres,  then  the 
danger  at  present  exists,  from  the  right  of 
voting  already  given  to  the  Catholics,  and  it 
will  not  be  increased  by  allowing  them  to  sit 
in  Parliament.  There  are,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
recollect,  thirty  seats  in  Ireland  for  cities  and 
counties,  where  the  Protestants  are  the  most 
numerous,  and  where  the  members  returned 
must  of  course  be  Protestants.  In  the  other 
seventy  representations,  the  wealth  of  the  Pro- 
testants is  opposed  to  the  number  of  the  Ca- 
tholics ;  and  if  all  the  seventy  members  re- 
turned were  of  the  Catholic  persuasion,  they 
must  still  plot  the  destruction  of  our  religion 
in  the  midst  of  58S  Protestants.  Such  terrors 
would  disgrace  a  cook-maid,  or  a  toothless 
aunt — when  the}'^  fall  from  the  lips  of  bearded 
and  senatorial  men,  they  are  nauseous,  anti- 
peristaltic, and  emetical. 

How  can  you  for  a  moment  doubt  of  the 
rapid  effects  which  would  be  produced  by  the 
emancipation? — In  the  first  place,  to  my  cer- 
tain knowledge,  the  Catholics  have  long  since 
expressed  to  his  majesty's  ministers  their  per- 
fect readiness  to  vest  in  his  majesty,  either  with 
the  consent  of  the  pope,  or  ivithout  it,  if  it  cannot 
be  obtained,  the  nomination  of  the  Catholic  prelacy. 
The  Catholic  prelacy  in  Ireland  consists  of 
twenty-six  bishops  and  the  warden  of  Galway, 
a  dignitary  enjoying  Catholic  jurisdiction. 
The  number  of  Roman  Catholic  priests  in 
Ireland  exceeds  one  thousand.  The  expenses 
of  his  peculiar  worship  are,  to  a  substantial 
farmer  or  mechanic,  five  shillings  per  annum; 
to  a  labourer  (where  he  is  not  entirely  ex- 
cused), one  shilling  per  annum  ;  this  includes 
the  contribution  of  the  whole  family,  and  for 
2ji2 


474 


WORKS   OF   THE    REV.  SYDNEY   SMITH. 


this  the  priest  is  bound  to  attend  them  when 
sick,  and  to  confess  them  when  they  apply  to 
him;  he  is  also  to  keep  his  chapel  in  order,  to 
celebrate  divine  service,  and  to  preach  on 
Sundays  and  holydays.  In  the  northern  dis- 
trict a  priest  gains  from  30/.  to  50/.;  in  the 
other  parts  of  Ireland  from  60/.  to  90/.  per  an- 
num. The  best  paid  Catholic  bishops  receive 
about  400/.  per  ann.;  the  others  from  300/.  to 
350/.  My  plan  is  very  simple ;  I  Avould  have 
300  Catholic  parishes  at  100/.  per  ann.,  300  at 
200/.  per  ann.,  and  400  at  300/.  per  ann.;  this, 
for  the  whole  thousand  parishes,  would  amount 
to  190,000/.  To  the  prelacy  I  would  allot 
20,000/.  in  unequal  proportions,  from  1000/.  to 
500/.;  and  I  would  appropriate  40,000/.  more 
for  the  support  of  Catholic  schools,  and  the 
repairs  of  Catholic  churches  :  the  whole 
amount  of  which  sums  is  250,000/.,  about  the 
expense  of  three  days  of  one  of  our  genuine, 
good,  English,  just  atid  necessary  tvars.  The 
clergy  should  all  receive  their  salaries  at  the 
Bank  of  Ireland,  and  I  would  place  the  whole 
patronage  in  the  hands  of  the  crown.  Now,  I 
appeal  to  any  human  being,  except  Spencer 
Perceval,  Esq.,  of  the  parish  of  Hampstead, 
what  the  disaffection  of  a  clergy  would  amount 
to,  gaping  after  this  graduated  bounty  of  the 
crown,  and  whether  Ignatius  Loyola  himself, 
if  he  were  a  living  blockhead  instead  of  a  dead 
saint,  could  withstand  the  temptation  of  bounc- 
ing from  100/.  a  year  in  Sligo,  to  300/.  in  Tip- 
perary?  This  is  the  miserable  sum  of  money 
for  which  the  merchants,  and  land-owners, 
and  nobility  of  England  are  exposing  them- 
selves to  the  tremendous  peril  of  losing  Ire- 
land. The  sinecure  places  of  the  Roses  and 
the  Percevals,  and  the  "dear  and  near  rela- 
tions," put  up  to  auction  at  thirty  years'  pur- 
chase, would  almost  amount  to  the  money. 

I  admit  that  nothing  can  be  more  reasonable 
than  to  expect  that  a  Catholic  priest  should 
starve  to  death,  genteelly  and  pleasantly,  for 
the  good  of  the  Protestant  religion ;  but  is  it 
equally  reasonable  to  expect  that  he  should  do 
so  for  the  Protestant  pews,  and  Protestant 
brick  and  mortar  1  On  an  Irish  Sabbath,  the 
bell  of  a  neat  parish  church  often  summons  to 
church  only  the  parson  and  an  occasionally 
conforming  clerk;  while,  two  hundred  yards 
off,  a  thousand  Catholics  are  huddled  together 
in  a  miserable  hovel,  and  pelted  by  all  the 
storms  of  heaven.  Can  any  thing  be  more 
distressing  than  to  see  a  venerable  man  pour- 
ing forth  sublime  truths  in  tattered  breeches, 
and  depending  for  his  food  upon  the  little  offal 
he  gets  from  his  parishioners  1  I  venerate  a 
human  being  who  starves  for  his  principles, 
let  them  be  what  they  may ;  but  starving  for 
any  thing  is  not  at  all  to  the  taste  of  the  hon- 
ourable flagellants;  strict  principles,  and  good 
pay,  is  the  motto  of  Mr.  Perceval ;  the  one  he 
keeps  in  great  measure  for  the  faults  of  his 
enemies,  the  other  for  himself. 

There  ai'e  parishes  in  Connaught  in  which 
a  Protestant  was  never  settled,  nor  even  seen  ; 
in  that  province,  in  Munster,  and  in  parts  of 
I^einster,  the  entire  peasantry  for  sixty  miles 
are  Catholics;  in  these  tracts,  the  churches  are 
frequently  shut  for  want  of  a  congregation,  or 
opened  to  an  assemblage  of  from  six  to  twenty 


persons.  Of  what  Protestants  there  are  in 
Ireland,  the  greatest  part  are  gathered  together 
in  Ulster,  or  they  live  in  towns.  In  the  coun- 
try of  the  other  three  provinces  the  Catholics 
see  no  other  religion  but  their  own,  and  are  at 
the  least  as  fifteen  to  one  Protestant.  In  the 
diocese  of  Tuam,  they  are  sixty  to  one ;  in  the 
parish  of  St.  Mullins,  diocese  of  Leghlin,  there 
are  four  thousand  Catholics  and  one  Protestant  ; 
in  the  town  of  Grasgenamana,  in  the  county 
of  Kilkenny,  there  are  between  four  and  five 
hundred  Catholic  houses,  and  three  Protestant 
houses.  In  the  parish  of  Allen,  county  Kildare, 
there  is  no  Protestant,  though  it  is  very  popu- 
lous. In  the  parish  of  Arlesin,  Queen's  county, 
the  proportion  is  one  hundred  to  one.  In  the 
whole  county  of  Kilkenny,  by  actual  enumera- 
tion, it  is  seventeen  to  one;  in  the  diocese  of 
Kilmacduagh,  province  of  Connaught,  fifty-two 
to  one,  by  ditto.  These  I  give  you  as  a  few 
specimens  of  the  present  state  of  Ireland; — 
and  yet  there  are  men  impudent  and  ignorant 
enough  to  contend  that  such  evils  require  no 
remedy,  and  that  mild  family  man  who  dwell- 
eth  in  Hampstead  can  find  none  but  the  cau- 
tery and  the  knife, 


omne  per  ignem 

Escoquitur  vitium. 

I  cannot  describe  the  horror  and  disgust 
which  I  felt  at  hearing  Mr.  Perceval  call  upon 
the  then  ministr)^  for  measures  of  vigour  in 
Ireland.  If  I  lived  at  Hampstead  upon  stewed 
meats  and  claret;  if  I  walked  to  church  every 
Sunday  before  eleven  young  gentlemen  of  my 
own  begetting,  with  their  faces  washed,  and 
their  hair  pleasingly  combed;  if  the  Almighty 
had  blessed  me  with  every  earthly  comfort, — 
how  awfully  would  I  pause  before  I  sent  forth 
the  flame  and  the  sword  over  the  cabins  of  the 
poor,  brave',  generous,  open-hearted  peasants 
of  Ireland !  How  easy  it  is  to  shed  human 
blood — how  easy  it  is  to  persuade  ourselves 
that  it  is  our  duty  to  do  so — and  that  the  de- 
cision has  cost  us  a  severe  struggle — how 
much,  in  all  ages,  have  wounds  and  shrieks 
and  tears  been  the  cheap  and  vulgar  resources 
of  the  rulers  of  mankind — how  difficult  and 
how  noble  it  is  to  govern  in  kindness,  and  to 
found  an  empire  upon  the  everlasting  basis  of 
justice  and  aflection  ! — But  what  do  men  call 
vigour?  To  let  loose  hussars  and  to  bring 
up  artillery,  to  govern  Avith  lighted  matches, 
and  to  cut,  and  push,  and  prime — I  call  this, 
not  vigour,  but  the  sloth  of  cruelty  and  ignorance. 
The  vigour  I  love  consists  in  finding  out 
wherein  subjects  are  aggrieved,  in  relieving 
them,  in  studj-ing  the  temper  and  genius  of  a 
people,  in  consulting  their  prejudices,  in  se- 
lecting proper  persons  to  lead  and  manage 
them,  in  the  laborious,  watchful,  and  difficult 
task  of  increasing  public  happiness  by  allay- 
ing each  particular  discontent.  In  this  way 
Hoche  pacified  La  Vendee — and  in  this  way 
only  will  Ireland  ever  be  subdued.  But  this, 
in  the  eyes  of  Mr.  Perceval,  is  imbecility  and 
meanness ;  houses  are  not  broken  open — wo- 
men are  not  insulted — the  people  seem  all  to 
be  happy  ;  they  are  not  rode  over  by  horses, 
and  cut  by  whips.  Do  you  call  this  vigour  ! — 
Is  this  government'! 


WORKS   OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


475 


LETTER  X.  AND  LAST. 

You  must  observe  that  all  I  have  said  of  the 
effects  which  will  be  produced  by  giving  sala- 
ries to  the  Catholic  clergy,  only  proceeds  upon 
the  supposition  that  the  emancipation  of  the 
laity  is  effected : — without  that,  I  am  sure  there 
is  not  a  clergyman  in  Ireland  who  would  re- 
ceive a  shilling  from  government;  he  could 
not  do  so,  without  an  entire  loss  of  credit 
among  the  members  of  his  own  persuasion. 

What  you  say  of  the  moderation  of  the  Irish 
Protestant  clergy  in  collecting  tithes,  is,  I  be- 
lieve, strictly  true.  Instead  of  collecting  what 
the  law  enables  them  to  collect,  I  believe  they 
seldom  or  ever  collect  more  than  two-thirds ; 
and  I  entirely  agree  with  you,  that  the  abolition 
of  agistment  tithe  in  Ireland  by  a  vote  of  the 
Irish  House  of  Commons,  and  without  an)' 
remuneration  to  the  church,  was  a  most  scan- 
dalous and  Jacobinical  measure.  I  do  not 
blame  the  Irish  clergy;  but  I  submit  to  your 
common  sense,  if  it  is  possible  to  explain  to 
an  Irish  peasant  upon  what  principle  of  justice, 
or  common  sense,  he  is  to  pay  every  tenth 
potato  in  his  little  garden  to  a  clergyman  in 
whose  religion  nobody  believes  for  twenty 
miles  around  him,  and  who  has  nothing  to 
preach  to  but  bare  walls.  It  is  true,  if  the 
tithes  are  bought  up,  the  cottager  must  pay 
more  rent  to  his  landlord;  but  the  same  thing, 
done  in  the  shape  of  rent,  is  less  odious  than 
when  it  is  done  in  the  shape  of  tithe ;  I  do  not 
watit  to  take  a  shilling  out  of  the  pockets  of 
the  clergy,  but  to  leave  the  substance  of  things, 
«\id  to  change  their  names.  I  cannot  see  the 
slightest  reason  why  the  Irish  labourer  is  to  be 
relieved  from  the  real  onus,  or  from  any  thing 
else  but  the  name  of  tithe.  At  present,  he 
rents  only  nine-tenths  of  the  produce  of  the 
land,  which  is  all  that  belongs  to  the  owner ; 
this  he  has  at  the  market  price ;  if  the  land- 
owner purchase  the  other  tenth  of  the  church, 
of  course  he  has  a  right  to  make  a  correspond- 
ent advance  upon  his  tenant. 

I  very  much  doubt,  if  you  were  to  lay  open 
all  civil  offices  to  the  Catholics,  and  to  grant 
salaries  to  their  clergy,  in  the  manner  I  have 
stated,  if  the  Catholic  laity  would  give  them- 
selves much  trouble  about  the  advance  of  their 
church ;  for  they  would  pay  the  same  tithes 
under  one  system  that  they  do  under  another. 
If  you  were  to  bring  the  Catholics  into  the 
daylight  of  the  world,  to  the  high  situations  of 
the  army,  the  navy,  and  the  bar,  numbers  of 
them  would  come  over  to  the  established 
church,  and  do  as  other  people  do ;  instead  of 
that  you  set  a  mark  of  infamy  upon  them,  rouse 
every  passion  of  our  nature  in  favour  of  their 
creed,  and  then  wonder  that  men  are  blind  to 
the  follies  of  the  Catholic  religion.  There  are 
hardly  any  instances  of  old  and  rich  families 
among  the  Protestant  dissenters  ;  when  a  man 
keeps  a  coach,  and  lives  in  good  company,  he 
comes  to  church,  and  gets  ashamed  of  the 
meeting-house  ;  if  this  is  not  the  case  with  the 
father,  it  is  almost  always  the  case  with  the 
son.  These  things  would  never  be  so,  if  the 
dissenters  were  in  practice  as  much  excluded 
from  all  the  concerns  of  civil  life,  as  the 
Catholics  are.    If  a  rich  voung  Catholic  were 


in  Parliament,  he  would  belong  to  White's  and 
to  Brooke's,  would  keep  race-horses,  would 
walk  up  and  down  Pall  Mall,  be  exonerated  of 
his  ready  money  and  his  constitution,  become 
as  totally  devoid  of  morality,  honesty,  know- 
ledge, and  civility,  as  Protestant  loungers  in 
Pall  Mall,  and  return  home  with  a  supreme 
contempt  for  Father  O'Learj-  and  Father 
O'Callaghan.  I  am  astonished  at  the  madness 
of  the  Catholic  clergy,  in  not  perceiving  that 
Catholic  emancipation  is  Catholic  infidelity; 
that  to  entangle  their  people  in  the  intrigues 
of  a  Protestant  Parliament,  and  a  Protestant 
court,  is  to  insure  the  loss  of  every  man  of 
fashion  and  consequence  in  their  community. 
The  true  receipt  for  preserving  their  religion 
is  Mr.  Perceval's  receipt  for  destroying  it;  it 
is  to  deprive  every  rich  Catholic  of  all  the 
objects  of  secular  ambition,  to  separate  him 
from  the  Protestant,  and  to  shut  him  up  in  his 
castle,  with  priests  and  relics. 

We  are  told,  in  answer  to  all  our  arguments, 
that  this  is  not  a  fit  period, — that  a  period  of 
universal  war  is  not  the  proper  time  for  dan- 
gerous innovations  in  the  constitution;  this  is 
as  much  as  to  say,  that  the  worst  time  for 
making  friends  is  the  period  when  you  have 
made  many  enemies ;  that  it  is  the  greatest  of 
all  errors  to  stop  when  you  are  breathless,  and 
to  lie  down  when  you  are  fatigued.  Of  one 
thing  I  am  quite  certain :  if  the  safety  of 
Europe  is  once  completely  restored,  the  Ca- 
tholics may  for  ever  bid  adieu  to  the  slightest 
probability  of  effecting  their  object.  Such  men 
as  hang  about  a  court  not  only  are  deaf  to  the 
suggestions  of  mere  justice,  but  they  despise 
justice;  they  detest  the  word  right;  the  only 
word  which  rouses  them  is  peril;  where  they 
can  oppress  with  impunity,  they  oppress  for 
ever,  and  call  it  loyalty  and  wisdom. 

I  am  so  far  from  conceiving  the  legitimate 
strength  of  the  crown  would  be  diminished  by 
these  abolitions  of  civil  incapacities  in  conse- 
quence of  religious  opinions,  that  my  only  ob- 
jection to  the  increase  of  religious  freedom  is, 
that  it  would  operate  as  a  diminution  of  po- 
litical freedom;  the  power  of  the  crown  is  so 
overbearing  at  this  period,  that  almost  the  only 
steady  opposers  of  its  fatal  influence  are  men 
disgusted  by  religious  intolerance.  Our  esta- 
blishments are  so  enormous,  and  so  utterly 
disproportioned  to  our  population,  that  every 
second  or  third  man  you  meet  in  society  gains 
something  from  the  public ;  my  brother  the 
commissioner, — my  nephew  the  police  justice, 
— purveyor  of  small  beer  to  the  army  in  Ire- 
land,— clerk  of  the  mouth, — yeoman  to  the  left 
hand, — these  are  the  obstacles  which  common 
sense  and  justice  have  now  to  overcome.  Add 
to  this,  that  the  king,  old  and  infirm,  excites  a 
principle  of  very  amiable  generosity  in  his  fa- 
vour ;  that  he  has  led  a  good,  moral,  and  reli- 
gious life,  equally  removed  from  profligacy 
and  methodistical  hypocrisy;  that  he  has  been 
a  good  husband,  a  good  father,  and  a  good 
master;  that  he  dresses  plain,  loves  hunting 
and  farming,  hates  the  French,  and  is,  in  all 
his  opinions  and  habits,  quite  English  ; — these 
feelings  are  heightened  by  the  present  situa- 
tion of  the  world,  and  the  yet  unexploded  cla- 
mour of  Jacobinism.  In  short,  from  the  various 


476 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


sources  of  interest,  personal  regard,  and  na- 
tional taste,  such  a  tempest  of  loyalty  has  set 
in  upon  the  people,  that  the  47th  proposition  in 
Euclid  might  now  be  voted  down  with  as  much 
ease  as  any  proposition  in  politics  ;  and,  there- 
fore, if  Lord  Hawkesbury  hates  the  abstract 
truths  of  science  as  much  as  he  hates  concrete 
truth  in  human  affairs,  now  is  his  time  for 
getting  rid  of  the  multiplication  table,  and 
passing  a  vote  of  censure  upon  the  pretensions 
of  the  hypothenusc.  Such  is  the  history  of  Eng- 
lish parties  at  this  moment ;  you  cannot  seri- 
ously suppose  that  the  people  care  for  such 
men  as  Lord  Hawkesbury,  Mr.  Canning,  and 
Mr.  Perceval,  on  their  own  account ;  you  can- 
not really  believe  them  to  be  so  degraded  as  to 
look  to  their  safety  from  a  man  who  proposes 
to  subdue  Europe  by  keeping  it  without  Jesu- 
it's bark.  The  people,  at  present,  have  one 
passion,  and  but  one — 

A  Jove  principium,  Jovis  omnia  plena. 

They  care  no  more  for  the  ministers  I  have 
mentioned,  than  they  do  for  those  sturdy  royal- 
ists who,  for  60/.  per  annum,  stand  behind  his 
majesty's  carriage,  arrayed  in  scarlet  and  in 
gold.  If  the  present  ministers  opposed  the 
court  instead  of  flattering  it,  they  would  not 
command  twenty  votes. 

Do  not  imagine  by  these  observations,  that 
I  am  not  loyal ;  without  joining  in  the  common 
cant  of  the  best  of  kings,  I  respect  the  king 
most  sincerely  as  a  good  man.  His  religion  is 
better  than  the  religion  of  Mr.  Perceval,  his 
old  morality  very  superior  to  the  old  morality 
of  Mr.  Canning,  and  I  am  quite  certain  he  has 
a  safer  understanding  than  both  of  them  put 
together.  Loyalty,  within  the  bounds  of  reason 
and  moderation,  is  one  of  the  great  instruments 
of  English  happiness ;  but  the  love  of  the  king 
may  easily  become  more  strong  than  the  love 
of  the  kingdom,  and  we  may  lose  sight  of  the 
public  welfare  in  our  exaggerated  admiration 
of  him  who  is  appointed  to  reign  only  for  its 
promotion  and  support.  I  detest  Jacobinism ; 
and  if  I  am  doomed  to  be  a  slave  at  all,  I 
would  rather  be  the  slave  of  a  king  than  a 
cobler.  God  save  the  king,  you  say,  warms 
your  heart  like  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.  I  can- 
not make  use  of  so  violent  a  metaphor;  but  I 
am  delighted  to  hear  it,  when  it  is  the  cry  of 
genuine  affection ;  I  am  delighted  to  hear  it, 
■when  they  hail  not  only  the  individual  man, 
but  the  outward  and  living  sign  of  all  English 
blessings.  These  are  noble  feelings,  and  the 
heart  of  every  good  man  must  go  with  them ; 
but  God  save  the  king,  in  these  times,  too  often 
means  God  save  my  pension  and  my  place, 
God  give  my  sisters  an  allowance  out  of  the 
privy  purse, — make  me  clerk  of  the  irons,  let 
me  survey  the  meltings,  let  me  live  upon  the 
fruits  of  other  men's  industry,  and  fatten  upon 
the  plunder  of  the  public. 

What  is  it  possible  to  say  to  such  a  man  as 
the  gentleman  of  Hampstead,  who  really  be- 
lieves it  feasible  to  convert  the  four  million 
Irish  Catholics  to  the  Protestant  religion,  and 
considers  this  as  the  best  remedy  for  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  Ireland?  It  is  not  possible  to 
answtr  such  a  man  with  arguments;  we  must 
enme  out  against  him  with  beads,  and  a  cowl, 


and  push  him  into  an  hermitage.  It  is  really 
such  trash,  that  it  is  an  abuse  of  the  privilege 
of  reasoning  to  reply  to  it.  Such  a  project  is 
well  worthy  the  statesman  who  would  bring 
the  French  to  reason  by  keeping  them  without 
rhubarb,  and  exhibit  to  mankind  the  awful 
spectacle  of  a  nation  deprived  of  neutral  salts. 
This  is  not  the  dream  of  a  wild  apothecary 
indulging  in  his  own  opium ;  this  is  not  the 
distempered  fancy  of  a  pounder  of  drugs,  deli- 
rious from  smallness  of  profits  ;  but  it  is  the 
sober,  deliberate,  and  systematic  scheme  of  a 
man  to  whom  the  public  safety  is  entrusted, 
and  whose  appointment  is  considered  by  many 
as  a  masterpiece  of  political  sagacity.  What 
a  sublime  thought,  that  no  purge  can  now  be 
taken  between  the  Weser  and  the  Garonne; 
that  the  bustling  pestle  is  still,  the  canorous 
mortar  mute,  and  the  bowels  of  mankind  locked 
up  for  fourteen  degrees  of  latitude !  When,  I 
should  be  curious  to  know,  were  all  the  powers 
of  crudity  and  flatulence  fully  explained  to  his 
majesty's  ministers  1  At  what  period  was  this 
great  plan  of  conquest  and  constipation  fully 
developed  1  In  whose  mind  was  the  idea  of 
dfistroying  the  pride  and  the  plasters  of  France 
first  engendered  1  Without  castor  oil  they 
might,  for  some  months,  to  be  sure,  have  car- 
ried on  a  lingering  war ;  but  can  they  do  with- 
out barki  Will  the  people  live  under  a  go- 
vernment where  antimonial  powders  cannot  be 
procured  1  Will  they  bear  the  loss  of  mercui"y  ] 
"There's  the  rub."  Depend  upon  it,  the  ab- 
sence of  materia  medica  will  soon  bring  them 
to  their  senses,  and  the  cry  of  Bourbon  and 
bolus  burst  forth  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean. 

You  ask  me  for  any  precedent  in  our  history 
where  the  oath  of  supremacy  has  been  dis- 
pensed with.  It  was  dispensed  with  to  the 
Catholics  of  Canada,  in  1774.  They  are  only 
required  to  take  a  simple  oath  of  allegiance. 
The  same,  I  believe,  was  the  case  in  Corsica. 
The  reason  of  such  exemption  was  obvious  ; 
you  could  not  possibly  have  retained  either  of 
these  countries  without  it.  And  what  did  it 
signify,  whether  you  retained  them  or  not?  In 
cases  where  you  might  have  been  foolish  with- 
out peril,  you  were  wise  ;  when  nonsense  and 
bigotry  threaten  you  with  destruction,  it  is  im- 
possible to  bring  you  back  to  the  alphabet  of 
justice  and  common  sense;  if  men  are  to  be 
fools,  I  would  rather  they  were  fools  in  little 
matters  than  in  great ;  dulness  turned  up  with 
temerity,  is  a  livery  all  the  worse  for  the 
facings  ;  and  the  most  tremendous  of  all  things 
is  the  magnanimity  of  a  dunce. 

It  is  not  by  any  means  necessary,  as  you 
contend,  to  repeal  the  Test  Act  if  you  give  re- 
lief to  the  Catholic ;  what  the  Catholics  ask 
for  is  to  be  put  on  a  footing  with  the  Protestant 
dissenters,  which  would  be  done  by  repealing 
that  part  of  the  law  which  compels  them  to 
take  the  oath  of  supremacy  and  to  make  the 
declaration  against  transubstantiation ;  they 
would  then  come  into  Parliament  as  all  other 
dissenters  are  allowed  lo  do,  and  the  penal 
laws  to  which  they  were  exposed  for  taking 
office  would  be  suspended  every  year,  as  they 
have  been  for  this  half  century  past  towards 
Protestant  dissenters.     Perhaps,  after  all,  this 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


477 


is  the  best  method, — to  continvie  the  persecut- 
ing law,  and  to  suspend  it  every  year, — a  me- 
thod which,  while  it  effectually  destroys  the 
persecution  itself,  leaves  to  the  great  mass  of 
mankind  the  exquisite  gratification  of  suppos- 
ing that  they  are  enjoying  some  advantage 
from  which  a  particular  class  of  their  fellow- 
creatures  are  excluded.  We  manage  the  Cor- 
poration and  Test  Acts  at  present  much  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  we  were  to  persuade  parish 
boys,  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  beating  an 
ass,  to  spare  the  animal,  and  beat  the  skin  of 
an  ass  stuffed  with  straw  ;  this  would  preserve 
the  semblance  of  tormenting  without  the  re- 
ality, and  keep  boy  and  beast  in  good  humour. 

How  can  you  imagine  that  a  provision  for 
the  Catholic  clergy  affects  the  5th  article  of 
the  Union  ]  Surely  I  am  preserving  the  Pro- 
testant church  in  Ireland,  if  I  put  it  in  a  better 
condition  than  that  in  which  it  now  is.  A  tithe 
proctor  in  Ireland  collects  his  tithes  with  a 
blunderbuss,  and  carries  his  tenth  hay-cock  by 
storm,  sword  in  hand ;  to  give  him  equal  value 
in  a  more  specific  shape,  cannot,  I  should  ima- 
gine, be  considered  as  injurious  to  the  church 
of  Ireland ;  and  what  right  has  that  church  to 
complain,  if  Parliament  chooses  to  fix  upon 
the  empire  the  burthen  of  supporting  a  double 
ecclesiastical  establishment!  Are  the  reve- 
nues of  the  Irish  Protestant  clergy  in  the 
slightest  degree  injured  by,  such  provision  1  On 
the  contrary,  is  it  possible  to  confer  a  more 
serious  benefit  upon  thatchurch,  than  by  quiet- 
ing and  contenting  those  who  are  at  work  for 
its  destruction? 

It  is  impossible  to  think  of  the  affairs  of 
Ireland  without  being  forcibly  struck  with  the 
parallel  of  Hungary.  Of  her  seven  millions 
of  inhabitants,  one-half  were  Protestants,  Cal- 
vinists,  and  Lutherans,  many  of  the  Greek 
Church,  and  many  Jews;  such  was  the  state 
of  their  religious  dissensions,  that  Mahomet 
had  often  been  called  in  to  the  aid  of  Calvin, 
and  the  crescent  often  glittered  on  the  walls  of 
Buda  and  of  Presburg.  At  last,  in  1791,  during 
the  most  violent  crisis  of  disturbance,  a  diet 
was  called, 'and  by  a  great  majority  of  voices 
a  decree  was  passed,  which  secured  to  all  the 
contending  sects  the  fullest  and  freest  exercise 
of  religious  worship  and  education;  ordained 
(let  it  be  heard  in  Hampstead)  that  churches 
and  chapels  should  be  erected  for  all  on  the 
most  perfectly  equal  terms,  that  the  Protestants 
of  both  confessions  should  depend  upon  their 
spiritual  superiors  alone,  liberated  them  from 
swearing  by  the  usual  oath,  "  the  holy  Virgin 
Mary,  the  saints,  and  chosen  of  God ;"  and  then, 
the  decree  adds,  "  that  public  ojjiccs  and  honours, 
high  or  low,  great  or  small,  shall  be  given  to  natural 
bom  Hungarians  who  deserve  well  of  their  cmmtry, 
and  possess  the  other  ijualifications,  let  their  religion 
be  what  it  may."  Such  was  the  line  of  policy 
pursued  in  a  diet  consisting  of  four  hundred 
members,  in  a  state  whose  form  of  government 
approaches  nearer  to  our  own  than  any  other, 
having  a  Roman  Catholic  establishment  of 
great  weahh  and  power,  and  under  the  influence 
of  one  of  the  most  bigoted  Catholic  courts  in 
Europe.  This  measure  has  now  the  experience 
of  eighteen  years  in  its  favour;  it  has  under- 
gone a  trial  of  fourteen  years  of  revolution, 


such  as  the  world  never  witnessed,  and  more 
than  equal  to  a  century  less  convulsed.  What 
have  been  its  effects  ?  When  the  French 
advanced  like  a  torrent  within  a  few  days' 
march  of  Vienna,  the  Hungarians  rose  in  a 
mass  ;  they  formed  what  they  called  the  sacred 
insurrection,  to  defend  their  sovereign,  their 
rights  and  liberties,  now  common  to  all ;  and 
the  apprehension  of  their  approach  dictated  to 
the  reluctant  Bonaparte  the  immediate  signa- 
ture of  the  treaty  of  Leohen:  the  Romish  hie- 
rarchy of  Hungary  exists  in  all  its  former 
splendour  and  opulence ;  never  has  the  slightest 
attempt  been  made  to  diminish  it;  and  those 
revolutionary  principles,  to  which  so  large  a 
portion  of  civilized  Europe  has  been  sacrificed, 
have  here  failed  in  making  the  smallest  suc- 
cessful inroad. 

The  whole  history  of  this  proceeding  of  the 
Hungarian  diet  is  so  extraordinary,  and  such 
an  admirable  comment  upon  the  Protestantism 
of  Mr.  Spencer  Perceval,  that  I  must  compel 
you  to  read  a  few  short  extracts  from  the  law 
itself: — "The  Protestants  of  both  confessions 
shall,  in  religious  matters,  depend  upon  their 
own  spiritual  superiors  alone.  The  Protestants 
may  likewise  retain  their  trivial  and  grammar 
schools.  The  church  dues  'which  the  Pro- 
testants have  hitherto  paid  to  the  Catholic 
parish  priests,  schoolmasters,  or  other  such 
officers,  either  in  money,  productions,  or  labour, 
shall  in  future  entirely  cease,  and  after  three 
months  from  the  publishing  of  this  law,  be  no 
more  anywhere  demanded.  In  the  building  or 
repairing  of  churches,  parsonage-houses,  and 
schools,  the  Protestants  are  not  obliged  to  assist 
the  Catholics  with  labour,  nor  the  Catholics  the 
Protestants.  The  pious  foundations  and  dona- 
tions of  the  Protestants  which  already  exist, 
or  which  in  future  may  be  made  for  their 
churches,  ministers,  schools  and  students, 
hospitals,  orphan-houses  and  poor,  cannot  be 
taken  from  them  under  any  pretext,  nor  yet 
the  care  of  them;  but  rather  the  unimpeded 
administration  shall  be  entrusted  to  those  from 
among  them  to  whom  it  legally  belongs,  and 
those  foundations  which  may  have  been  taken 
from  them  under  the  last  government,  shall  be 
returned  to  them  without  delay;  all  aflairs  of 
marriage  of  the  Protestants  are  left  to  their 
own  consistories ;  all  landlords  and  masters  of 
families,  under  the  penalty  of  public  prose- 
cution, are  ordered  not  to  prevent  their  sub- 
jects and  servants,  whether  they  be  Catholic 
or  Protestant,  from  the  observance  of  the 
festivals  and  ceremonies  of  their  religion," 
&c.  &c.  &c. — By  what  strange  chances  are 
mankind  influenced !  A  little  Catholic  barrister 
of  Vienna  might  have  raised  the  crv  of  no 
Protestantism,  and  Hungary  would  have  panted 
for  the  arrival  of  a  French  army  as  much  as 
Ireland  does  at  this  moment;  arms  would  have 
been  searched  for;  Lutheran  and  Calvinist 
houses  entered  in  the  dead  of  the  night;  and 
the  strength  of  Austria  exhausted  in  guarding 
a  country  from  which,  under  the  present  liberal 
system,  she  may  expect,  in  a  moment  of  danger 
tiie  most  powerful  aid;  and  let  it  be  remem 
bered,  that  this  memorable  example  of  political 
wisdom  took  place  at  a  period  when  many 
great  monarchies  were   yet  unconquered  iii 


478 


WORKS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


Europe;  m  a  country  where  the  two  religious 
parties  were  equal  in  number;  and  where  it  is 
impossible  to  suppose  indifference  in  the  party 
which  relinquished  its  exclusive  privileges. 
Under  all  these  circumstances,  the  measure 
was  carried  in  the  Hungarian  diet  by  a  ma- 
jority of  280  to  120.  In  a  few  weeks,  we  shall 
see  every  concession  denied  to  the  Catholics 
by  a  much  larger  majority  of  Protestants,  at  a 
moment  when  every  other  power  is  subjugated 
but  ourselves,  and  in  a  country  where  the 
oppressed  are  four  times  as  numerous  as  their 
oppressors.  So  much  for  the  wisdom  of  our 
ancestors — so  much  for  the  nineteenth  century 
— so  much  for  the  superiority  of  the  English 
over  all  the  nations  of  the  continent! 

Are  you  not  sensible,  let  me  ask  j^ou,  of  the 
absurdity  of  trusting  the  lowest  Catholics  with 
offices  correspondent  to  their  situation  in  life, 
and  of  denying  such  privilege  to  the  higher? 
A  Catholic  may  serve  in  the  militia,  but  a 
Catholic  cannot  come  into  Parliament;  in  the 
latter  case  you  suspect  combination,  and  in 
the  former  case  you  suspect  no  combination; 
»you  deliberately  arm  ten  or  twenty  thousand 
of  the  lowest  of  the  Catholic  people ; — and  the 
moment  you  come  to  a  class  of  men  whose 
education,  honour,  and  talents,  seem  to  render 
all  mischief  less  probable,  then  you  see  the 
danger  of  employing  a  Catholic,  and  cling  to 
your  investigating  tests  and  disabling  laws. 
If  j'ou  tell  me  you  have  enough  of  members  of 
Parliament,  and  not  enough  of  militia,  without 
the  Catholics,  I  beg  leave  to  remind  you,  that, 
by  employing  the  physical  force  of  any  sect,  at 
the  same  time  when  you  leave  them  in  a  state 
of  utter  disafiection,  you  are  not  adding 
strength  to  your  armies,  but  weakness  and 
l^in  : — if  you  want  the  vigour  of  their  common 
people,  you  must  not  disgrace  their  nobility, 
and  insult  their  priesthood. 

I  thought  that  the  terror  of  the  pope  had 
been  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  nursery,  and 
merel)'-  employed  as  a  means  to  induce  young 
master  to  enter  into  his  small  clothes  with 
greater  speed,  and  to  eat  his  breakfast  with 
greater  attention  to  decorum.  For  these  pur- 
poses, the  name  of  the  pope  is  admirable  ;  but 
why  push  it  beyond  1  Why  not  leave  to  Lord 
Hawkesbury  all  farther  enumeration  of  the 
pope's  powers  1  P'or  a  whole  century,  you 
have  been  exposed  to  the  enmity  of  France, 
and  your  succession  was  disputed  in  two 
rebellions;  what  could  the  pope  do  at  the 
period  when  there  was  a  serious  struggle, 
whether  England  should  be  Protestant  or  Ca- 
tholic, and  when  the  issue  was  completely 
doubtful?  Could  the  pope  induce  the  Irish  to 
rise  in  17151  Could  he  induce  them  to  rise 
in  17451  You  had  no  Catholic  enemy  when 
half  this  island  was  in  arms;  and  what  did 
the  pope  attempt  in  the  last  rebellion  in  Ire- 
land] But  if  he  had  as  much  power  over  the 
minds  of  the  Irish  as  Mr.  Wilberforce  has 
over  the  mind  of  a  young  Methodist,  converted 
the  preceding  quarter,  is  this  a  reason  why  we 
are  to  disgust  men,  who  may  be  acted  upon  in 
such  a  manner  by  a  foreign  power?  or  is  it  not 
an  additional  reason  why  we  should  raise  up 
every  barrier  of  alTection  and  kindness  against 
the  mischief  of  foreign  influence?     But  the 


true  answer  is,  the  mischief  does  not  exist. 
Gog  and  Magog  have  produced  as  much  in- 
fluence upon  human  affairs  as  the  pope  has 
done  for  this  half  century  past;  and  by  spoil- 
ing him  of  his  possessions,  and  degrading  hira 
in  the  eyes  of  all  Europe,  Bonaparte  has  not 
taken  quite  the  proper  method  of  increasing 
his  influence. 

But  why  not  a  Catholic  king,  as  well  as  a 
Catholic  member  of  Parliament,  or  of  the 
cabinet? — Because  it  is  probable  that  the  one 
would  be  mischievous,  and  the  other  not.  A 
Catholic  king  might  struggle  against  the  Pro- 
testantism of  the  country,  and  if  the  struggle 
was  not  successful,  it  would  at  least  be  dan- 
gerous; but  the  efforts  of  any  other  Catholic 
would  be  quite  insignificant,  and  his  hope  of 
success  so  small,  that  it  is  quite  improbable 
the  effort  would  ever  be  made ;  my  argumen-t 
is,  that  in  so  Protestant  a  country  as  Great 
Britain,  the  character  of  her  Parliaments  and 
her  cabinet  could  not  be  changed  by  the  few 
Catholics  who  would  ever  find  their  way  to 
the  one  or  the  other.  But  the  power  of  the 
crown  is  immeasurabl}^  greater  than  the  power 
which  the  Catholics  could  obtain  from  any 
other  species  of  authority  in  the  state;  and  it 
does  not  follow,  because  the  lesser  degree  of 
power  is  innocent,  that  the  greater  should  be 
so  too.  As  for  the  stress  you  lay  upon  the 
danger  of  a  Catholic  chancellor,  I  have  not  the 
least  hesitation  in  saying,  that  his  appointment 
would  not  do  a  ten-thousandth  part  of  the  mis- 
chief to  the  English  church  that  might  be  done 
by  a  methodistical  chancellor  of  the  true  Clap- 
ham  breed;  and  I  request  to  know,  if  it  is 
really  so  very  necessary  that  a  chancellor 
should  be  of  the  religion  of  the  Church  of 
England,  how  many  chancellors  you  have  had 
within  the  last  century  who  have  been  bred  up 
in  the  Presbyterian  religion  ? — And  again,  how 
many  you  have  had  who  notoriously  have 
I  een  without  any  religion  at  all? 

Why  are  }'ou  to  suppose  that  eligibility  and 
elecnbn  are  the  same  thing,  and  that  all  the 
cabinet  tvill  be  Catholics,  whenever  all  the 
cabinet  may  be  Catholics  ?  You  have  a  right, 
you  say,  to  suppose  an  extreme  case,  and  to 
argue  upon  it — so  have  I:  and  I  will  suppose 
that  the  hundred  Irish  members  will  one  day 
come  down  in  a  body,  and  pass  a  law  com- 
pelling the  king  to  reside  in  Dublin.  I  will 
suppose  that  the  Scotch  members,  by  a  similar 
stratagem,  Avill  lay  England  under  a  large 
contribution  of  meal  and  sulphur;  no  measure 
is  without  objection,  if  you  sweep  the  whole 
horizon  for  danger ;  it  is  not  sufficient  to  tell 
me  of  what  may  happen,  but  you  must  show 
me  a  rational  probability  that  it  will  happen: 
after  all,  I  might,  contrary  to  my  real  opinion, 
admit  all  your  dangers  to  exist;  it  is  enough 
for  me  to  contend  that  all  other  dangers  taken 
together  are  not  equal  to  the  danger  of  losing 
Ireland  from  disaffection  and  invasion. 

I  am  astonished  to  see  you,  and  many  good 
and  well-meaning  clergymen  beside  you,  paint- 
ing the  Catholics  in  such  detestable  colours; 
two-thirds,  at  least,  of  Europe  are  Catholics, — 
they  are  Christians,  though  mistaken  Chris- 
tians ;  how  can  I  possibly  admit  that  any  sect 
of  Christians,  and  above  all,  that  the  oldest  and 


WORKS  OF  THE    REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


479 


the  most  numerous  sect  of  Christians,  are  inca- 
pable of  fulfilling  the  common  duties  and  rela- 
tions of  life :  though  I  do  differ  from  them  in 
many  particulars,  God  forbid  I  should  give 
such  a  handle  to  infidelity,  and  subscribe  to 
such  blasphemy  against  our  common  religion! 
Do  you  think  mankind  never  change  their 
opinions  without  formally  expressing  and  con- 
fessing that  change  1  When  you  quote  the 
decisions  of  ancient  Catholic  councils,  are  you 
prepared  to  defend  all  the  decrees  of  English 
convocations  and  universities  since  the  reign 
of  Queen  Elizabeth  1  I  could  soon  make  you 
sick  of  your  uncandid  industry  against  the 
Catholics,  and  bring  you  to  allow  that  it  is 
better  to  forget  times  past,  and  to  judge  and 
be  judged  by  present  opinions  and  present 
practice. 

I  must  beg  to  be  excused  from  explaining 
and  refuting  all  the  mistakes  about  the  Catho- 
lics made  by  my  Lord  Redesdale  ;  and  I  must 
do  that  nobleman  the  justice  to  sa)^,  that  he  has 
been  treated  with  great  disrespect.  Could  any 
thing  be  more  indecent  than  to  make  it  a 
morning  lounge  in  Dublin  to  call  upon  his 
lordship,  and  to  cram  him  with  Arabian-night 
stories  about  the  Catholics!  Is  this  proper 
behaviour  to  the  representative  of  majesty,  the 
child  of  Themis,  and  the  keeper  of  the  con- 
science in  West  Britain]  Whoever  reads  the 
letters  of  the  Catholic  bishops,  in  the  appendix 
to  Sir  John  Hippesly's  very  sensible  book,  will 
see  to  what  an  excess  this  practice  must  have 
been  carried  with  the  pleasing  and  Protestant 
nobleman  whose  name  I  have  mentioned,  and 
from  thence  I  wish  you  to  receive  your  answer 
about  excommunication,  and  all  the  trash 
which  is  talked  against  the  Catholics. 

A  sort  of  notion  has,  by  some  means  or 
another,  crept  into  the  world,  that  difference  of 
religion  would  render  men  unfit  to  perform 
together  the  offices  of  common  and  civil  life ; 
that  Brother  Wood  and  Brother  Grose  could 
not  travel  together  the  same  circuit  if  they  dif- 
fered in  creed,  nor  Cockell  and  Mingay  be  en- 
gaged in  the  same  cause  if  Cockell  was  a 
Catholic  and  Mingay  a  Muggletonian.  It  is 
supposed  that  Huskisson  and  Sir  Harry  Engle- 
field  would  squabble  behind  the  speaker's  chair 
about  the  Council  of  Lateran,  and  many  a  turn- 
pike bill  miscarry  by  the  sarcastical  contro- 
versies of  Mr.  Hawkins  Brown  and  Sir  John 
Throckmorton  upon  the  real  presence.  I  wish 
Icould  see  some  of  these  symptoms  of  earnest- 
ness upon  the  subject  of  religion  ;  but  it  really 
seems  to  me,  that,  in  the  present  state  of  so- 
ciety, men  no  more  think  about  inquiring  con- 
cerning each  other's  faith  than  they  do  concern- 
ing the  colour  of  each  other's  skins.  There 
may  have  been  times  in  England  when  the 
quarter  sessions  would  have  been  disturbed  by 
the  theological  polemics;  but  now,  after  a 
Catholic  justice  had  once  been  seen  on  the 
bench,  and  it  had  been  clearly  ascertained  that 
he  spoke  English,  had  no  tail,  only  a  single  row 
of  teeth,  and  that  he  loved  port-wine, — after  all 
the  scandalous  and  infamous  reports  of  his 
physical  conformation  had  been  clearly  proved 
10  be  false, — he  would  be  reckoned  a  jolly  fel- 
low, and  very  superior  in  flavour  to  a  sly  Pres- 


byterian. Nothing,  in  fact,  can  be  more  un- 
candid and  unphilosophical*  than  to  say  that  a 
man  has  a  tail,  because  you  cannot  agree  with 
him  upon  religious  subjects;  it  appears  to  be 
ludicrous,  but  I  am  convinced  it  has  done  infi- 
nite mischief  to  the  Catholics,  and  made  a  very 
serious  impression  upon  the  minds  of  many 
gentlemen  of  large  landed  property. 

In  talking  of  the  impossibility  of  Catholics 
and  Protestants  living  together  with  equal  pri- 
vilege under  the  same  government,  do  you 
forget  the  cantons  of  Switzerland!  You  might 
have  seen  there  a  Protestant  congregation 
going  into  a  church  which  had  just  been  quitted 
by  a  Catholic  congregation  ;  and  I  will  venture 
to  say  that  the  Swiss  Catholics  were  more 
bigoted  to  their  religion  than  any  people  in  the 
whole  world.  Did  the  kings  of  Prussia  ever 
refuse  to  employ  a  Catholic  1  Would  Frede- 
rick the  Great  have  rejected  an  able  man  on 
this  account?  We  have  seen  Prince  Czarto- 
rinski,  a  Catholic  secretary  of  stale  in  Russia; 
in  former  times,  a  Greek  patriarch  and  an 
apostolic  vicar  acted  together  in  the  most  per- 
fect harmony  in  Venice ;  and  we  have  seen  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  in  modern  times  entrust- 
ing the  care  of  his  person  and  the  command 
of  his  guard  to  a  Protestant  prince,  Ferdinand 
of  Wirtemberg.  But  what  are  all  these  things 
to  Mr.  Perceval  1  He  has  looked  at  human 
nature  from  the  top  of  Hampstead  Hill,  and 
has  not  a  thought  beyond  the  little  sphere  of 
his  own  vision.  "  The  snail,"  say  the  Hindoos, 
"sees  nothing  but  its  own  shell,  and  thinks  it 
the  grandest  palace  in  the  universe." 

I  now  take  a  final  leave  of  this  subject  of 
Ireland ;  the  only  difiiculty  in  discussing  it  is 
a  want  of  resistance,  a  want  of  something 
difficult  to  uni'avel,  and  something  dark  to 
illumine;  to  agitate  such  a  question  is  to  beat 
the  air  with  a  club,  and  cut  down  gnats  with 
a  scimitar ;  it  is  a  prostitution  of  industry,  and 
a  waste  of  strength.  If  a  man  says  I  have  a 
good  place,  and  I  do  not  choose  to  lose  it,  this 
mode  of  arguing  upon  the  Catholic  question  I 
can  well  understand;  but  that  any  human  be- 
ing with  an  understanding  two  degrees  elevated 
above  that  of  an  Anabaptist  preacher,  should 
conscientiously  contend  for  the  expediency 
and  propriety  of  leaving  the  Irish  Catholics  in 
their  present  state,  and  of  subjecting  us  to  such 
tremendous  peril  in  the  present  condition  of 
the  world,  it  is  utterly  out  of  my  power  to  con- 
ceive. Such  a  measure  as  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion is  entirely  beyond  the  common  game  of 
politics ;  it  is  a  measure  in  which  all  parties 
ought  to  acquiesce,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
place  where,  and  the  stake  for  which  they  play. 
If  Ireland  is  gone,  where  are  jobs  1  where  are 
reversions  1  where  is  my  brother.  Lord  Ardenl 
where  are  my  dear  and  near  relations  1  The 
game  is  up,  and  the  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons  will  be  sent  as  a  present  to  the 
menagerie  at  Paris.  We  talk  of  waiting  from 
particular  considerations,  as  if  centuries  of 
joy  and  prosperity  were  before  us  ;  in  the  next 
ten  years  our  fate  must  be  decided;  we  shall 
know,  long  before  that  period,  whether  we  can 


*  Fide  Lord  Bacon,  Locke,  and  Descartes. 


480 


WORKS  OP    THE   REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


bear  up  against  the  miseries  by  which  we  are 
threatened,  or  not;  and  yet,  in  the  very  midst 
of  our  crisis,  we  are  enjoined  to  abstain  from 
the  most  certain  means  of  increasing  our 
strength,  and  advised  to  wait  for  the  remedy 
till  the  disease  is  removed  by  death  or  health. 
And  now,  instead  of  the  plain  and  manly 
policv  of  increasing  unanimity  at  home,  by 
equalizing  rights  and  privileges,  what  is  the 
ignorant,  arrogant,  and  wicked  system  which 
has  been  pursued  1  Such  a  career  of  madness 
and  of  folly  was,  I  believe,  never  run  in  so 
short  a  period.  The  vigour  of  the  ministry  is 
like  the  vigour  of  a  grave-digger, — the  tomb 
becomes  more  ready  and  more  wide  for  every 
effort  which  they  make.  There  is  nothing 
which  it  is  worth  while  either  to  take  or  to  re- 
tain, and  a  constant  train  of  ruinous  expedi- 
lionj  has  been  kept  up.  Every  Englishman 
felt  proud  of  the  integrity  of  his  country ;  the 
character  of  the  country  is  lost  for  ever.  It  is 
of  the  utmost  consequence  to  a  commercial 
people  at  war  with  the  greatest  part  of  Europe, 
that  there  should  be  a  free  entry  of  neutrals 
into  the  enemy's  ports ;  the  neutrals  who  car- 
ried our  manufactures  we  have  not  only  ex- 
cluded, but  we  have  compelled  them  to  declare 
war  against  us.  It  was  our  interest  to  make  a 
good  peace,  or  convince  our  own  people  that 
it  could  not  be  obtained;  we  have  not  made  a 
peace,  and  we  have  convinced  the  people  of 
nothing  but  of  the  arrogance  of  the  foreign 
secretary;  and  all  this  has  taken  place  in  the 
short  space  of  a  year,  because  a  King's  Bench 
barrister  and  a  writer  of  epigrams,  turned  into 
ministers  of  state,  were  determined  to  show 
country  gentlemen  that  the  late  administration 
had  no  vigour.  In  the  mean  time  commerce 
stands  still,  manufactures  perish,  Ireland  is 
more  and  more  irritated,  India  is  threatened, 
fresh  taxes  are  accumulated  upon  the  wretched 
people,  the  war  is  carried  on  without  it  being 
possible  to  conceive  any  one  single  object 
which  a  rational  being  can  propose  to  himself 
by  its  continuation ;  and  in  the  midst  of  this 
unparalleled  insanity  we  are  told  that  the  conti- 
nent is  to  be  reconquered  by  the  want  of  rhu- 


barb and  plums.*  A  better  spirit  than  exists 
in  the  English  people  never  existed  in  any 
people  in  the  world ;  it  has  been  misdirected, 
and  squandered  upon  party  purposes  in  the 
most  degrading  and  scandalous  manner;  they 
have  been  led  to  believe  that  they  were  bene- 
fiting the  commerce  of  England  by  destroying 
the  commerce  of  America,  that  they  were  de- 
fending their  sovereign  by  perpetuating  the 
bigoted  oppression  of  their  fellow-subject; 
their  rulers  and  their  guides  have  told  them 
that  they  would  equal  the  vigour  of  France  by 
equalling  her  atrocity;  and  they  have  goue  on 
wasting  that  opulence,  patience,  and  courage, 
which,  if  husbanded  by  prudent  and  moderate 
counsels,  might  have  proved  the  salvation  of 
mankind.  The  same  policy  of  turning  the 
good  qualities  of  Englishmen  to  their  own 
destruction,  which  made  Mr.  Pitt  omnipotent, 
continues  his  power  to  those  who  resemble 
him  only  in  his  vices ;  advantage  is  taken  of 
the  loyalty  of  Englishmen,  to  make  them 
meanly  submissive  ;  their  piety  is  turned  into 
persecution,  their  courage  into  useless  and 
obstinate  contention ;  they  are  plundered  be- 
cause they  are  ready  to  pay,  and  soothed  into 
asinine  stupidity  because  they  are  full  of  vir- 
tuous patience.  If  England  must  perish  at 
last,  so  let  it  be ;  that  event  is  in  the  hands  of 
God;  we  must  dry  up  our  tears  and  submit. 
But  that  England  should  perish  swindling  and 
stealing;  that  it  should  perish  waging  war 
against  lazar-houses,  and  hospitals ;  that  it 
should  perish  persecuting  with  monastic  bigot- 
ry ;  that  it  should  calmly  give  itself  up  to  be 
ruined  by  the  flashy  arrogance  of  one  man, 
and  the  narrow  fanaticism  of  another;  these 
events  are  within  the  power  of  human  beings, 
and  I  did  not  think  that  the  magnanimity  of 
Englishmen  would  ever  stoop  to  such  de- 
gradations. 

Longum  vale ! 

PETER  PLYMLEY. 

*  Even  Alien  Park  (accustomed  as  he  has  always  been 
to  be  delighted  by  all  administrations)  says  it  is  too  bad  ; 
and  Hall  and  Morris  are  said  to  have  actually  blushed  ia 
one  of  the  divisions. 


THE  END. 


PR5455  .A2  1845 

The  works  of  the  Rev.  Sydney  Smith  ... 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 

lllllllllllllllllliilllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 


1    1012  00005  2672 


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